Athens, Greece

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The following is a presentation of Voyescape Media.

You can find all of our travel podcasts from around the world at voyescape.com.

Welcome to this week's edition of the Travel in 10 podcast.

And this week, we are traveling to Athens, Greece.

I had a chance to go there recently on a really more of a stopover.

I was there for about three or four days as part of another trip exploring the city a bit.

But I know it's somewhere that you've spent a lot of time, Tim,

and have a huge amount of affinity for.

Tell me a bit about what you love about Athens.

I love Athens. I really do.

I mean, there's a few cities in the world that if I don't know where else I want to go,

like if I feel like going somewhere, where am I going to go?

There's probably three cities like that in the world for me.

Prague, Istanbul, and Athens.

And Athens is a great city on its own.

Obviously, a very historic city that dates all the way back to the ancients.

It has that historical patina, that ancient patina.

But also what it grants access to.

It is so close to all these other amazing Greek attractions, islands, and other things.

So, yeah, I do love Athens.

It is a great place.

So, you were there.

I know you were there just a couple of months ago.

What were some of the things you did while you were in the Greek capital?

I mean, we hit all the big, big attractions.

So, you know, some time at the Parthenon, the Acropolis Museum.

A lot of times exploring the markets throughout the city.

The area that we were staying in had a huge, the main central city.

The big market was just across the street from our hotel.

So, I spent a lot of time there and sort of the back streets around there.

I'm a little surprised to hear that Athens ranks so high on your list of cities.

Because it did surprise me a little bit.

And that it was a much grittier city than I expected.

It is a gritty city.

You're right.

It is a gritty city.

And I think you have to, in some ways, you have to embrace the grit.

You know, like I did a...

Once I did a graffiti tour.

And so, we went to all these kind of, you know, even the gritty side of the gritty, you know, city.

And, you know, and learned about kind of protest movements.

And, you know, the things that led to these, you know, to the graffiti.

And, you know, and I think I just love the Greek people.

And I kind of get along well with Greeks.

And the food, we're going to talk about the food soon.

But, you know, it's a city.

Where you can turn left or turn right.

Walk half a block.

And you're going to find something good to eat.

And it's not going to cost you very much money.

So, I think it's...

I think you're absolutely right.

The city itself.

I think people are surprised that they don't love the city when they get to the city.

Especially for the first time.

But I think it's one of those places that you love the longer that you stay.

And then also, you love for the things that it allows you to do very close by.

Yeah.

Well, it was interesting.

We had, you know, probably...

I guess two days when we first arrived in Greece that we spent in Athens.

Then we headed up to the Peloponnese region.

In an area, kind of a more rural district that you can drive to from Athens.

It's probably about a three, four hour drive away.

And I loved that area.

I mean, little villages and towns and tons of character and incredible food.

Then we were back in Athens for another, I guess, three nights.

Two or three nights on our way out.

And I almost felt like we had rushed too much time in Athens.

I found it was a lot of graffiti.

A lot of...

But it may have been the part of the city that we were staying in as well.

And, you know, we certainly explored a little bit.

But probably didn't get as far afield as you have on some of your explorations throughout the city.

Yeah.

Let me address that for sure.

Because, you know, so the place that most of the tourists go is Plaka, right?

The old town.

Yeah.

Which, you know, I think has its charms.

It tends to be fairly crowded.

You can see the Acropolis from anywhere, basically.

Yeah.

In Plaka.

You know, good restaurants.

There's a place I was going to mention called Bredo's.

That is the oldest distillery in Athens.

Founded in 1909.

And they do wine and olive oil tastings.

And then if you want to try ouzo, you know, this classic Greek, I think, the liqueur spirit.

You can try it there.

They have a vast, vast variety of ouzo.

But, you know, speaking about...

You know, you're absolutely right.

The city itself, it can wear on you a little bit.

But if you know where to go.

So there's this area called...

They kind of informally talk about it as the Athenian Riviera.

And so if you go...

It's probably about...

You can even take public transit down there.

And an Uber, it's going to take you maybe 20, 30 minutes, depending on the traffic.

And the neighborhoods, which are really part of Athens, are...

Like Voulia, Gmani, and Glyphada.

And there you've got beaches.

Beautiful Aegean Sea beaches.

You've got nightclubs that rock all night.

You've got resort-style hotels.

And so, you know, 20, 30 minutes outside of the city.

Not even outside of the city.

Part of the city.

You can feel like you are on a Greek island.

And you can get there on a city bus or an Uber.

Some great hotels down that way.

I'm going to talk about...

That a little bit later.

And then one other thing I wanted to say about areas that you can go to that are nearby and very accessible.

There's these islands called the Saronic Islands.

You know, we all know about the Cyclades.

We all know about, you know, Santorini.

And we know about Mykonos.

Which I recommend going to the greater Greek islands.

But these small islands.

It's like the one that I visited, Astetis.

It has a beautiful hotel built in 1914.

That was actually in the latest Knives Out movie.

And it is a grand, beautiful hotel.

And you go out there.

I stayed there.

And maybe it is an hour by fast ferry from Piraeus, from Athens.

The harbor in Athens.

And you feel like it's got a forest and fish markets.

And feels like a complete...

Place, a part, a village on an island in the country.

And you're in Orphanage.

So, I think, you know, there's Athens itself.

And then there's what you can do nearby.

So, yeah.

I think that's why I went.

In terms of where to stay.

What are some of your go-to places in Athens?

Well, I mean, my favorite place.

My favorite, favorite place is the Four Seasons Athens.

Not hard to love.

It was one of the classic hotels.

It was called the...

It's still called the Four Seasons Astere Palace.

And it was in its heyday, you know, where all of the big Greek celebrities came.

It's right, again, it's in the Athenian Riviera.

And I stayed there twice.

I stayed there once when it was just called the Astere Palace.

And it was beautiful.

And it was well located.

And it was also very tired.

It was very...

It needed a renovation.

And then they closed it for three years.

And they completely reinvented it.

It's on 75 acres.

It's got a thousand foot boardwalk in front of it.

It's got big, beautiful pools.

And it's reopened.

That was the Four Seasons.

You know, they have these balconies on the rooms that have beautiful cushy couches.

And you're in the sun.

And you're looking out on the blue Aegean Sea.

And you've got maybe the pool below you.

You've got a...

You know, a little taverna.

They have a taverna that serves all the Greek classics over there.

And you've got the boardwalk over there.

And I could sit on that patio, that balcony, that room balcony, you know, all day long.

So, it was good before the renovation.

Better.

So, much better.

So, what about you?

Do you have any favorites?

We stayed in a very cool boutique hotel called Fresh Hotel.

It was directly across the street from the Athens Central Market.

So, the main sort of...

Farmer's market, local market in town.

We were maybe about a five-minute walk away from Monastiriki Square.

One of the main sort of public markets where there's a flea market every day.

Lots of great restaurants, souvenir shops, things like that.

Or local crafts around that area.

The hotel itself, they had a great Greek breakfast every morning.

You'd get a fugazza, this sort of Greek pastry filled with like a custard sort of pastry.

It had all kinds of different Greek.

Dishes and international dishes.

So, a great breakfast that was included with the room.

They had a really nice rooftop pool and rooftop restaurant overlooking the...

Or you can see the Acropolis from both the rooftop pool and the room we were staying in had a great Acropolis view as well.

And it was right in that sort of very central part of the...

Really the heart of the city, I would say.

You know, now...

Now, one downside is, you know, it could be a little loud.

So, for example, one night, the music was just pumping at about 3.30 in the morning.

Right.

And we woke up and we were already kind of jet lagged anyways.

We're like, oh, let's go check it out.

So, it was a little annoying at first that it was so loud.

But then we got down and actually went and explored.

And it was right in the middle of that central market.

One of the restaurants there, I think it was the Greek equivalent of Halloween was happening.

And so, it was an all-night party.

And, you know, people dancing on the tables.

People breaking the dishes.

It was so much fun.

It was like an amazing experience.

And the market itself was also, you know, 3.30 in the morning.

And there were people out shopping and buying fish and buying...

Because I guess the day after this is sort of a big celebration as well.

So, the markets stay open much later.

And so, it was packed at 3.30 in the morning.

Yeah.

I mean, the Greeks know how to party.

I mean, they really do.

I had an assignment once.

I was writing an article about the nightlife.

You know, five best bars.

I think it was supposed to be five best ouzo bars in Athens.

And, you know, I remember I made a dinner reservation that night at...

I can't remember the name of the place.

But they said...

I made the reservation for 10 o'clock.

And they said, that's way too early for dinner.

Yeah.

No one's going to be here.

So, I said, okay.

I'll come at 10.

You know, it's like as Canadians, right?

It's like 7, 8 o'clock.

You know, it was a very normal time for dinner.

I went at 10 o'clock.

10 o'clock.

They were right.

There's hardly anyone in the restaurant.

And it was only at midnight that it filled up.

And it was...

And people were eating, you know, these giant, like, lamb shanks and everything, you know, at midnight.

And then I went out after that.

And I think that night, well, I was out until 5 o'clock in the morning.

And 3, 4, 5 o'clock in the morning, the bars were still open.

You know, I mean, there was...

It was, you know, it was, I don't know, I think it was a Friday night.

And people felt no compulsion to go to bed.

And Greeks are...

I mean, I think that's why I'm a late person.

I like being up late.

And Athens is a late city.

Greeks are kind of late people.

And I've never...

I always say I've never seen a hotel breakfast in Greece that ended before 11 o'clock in the morning.

You know, there's no 9.30, you know, breakfast, you know, in Athens.

So, no, that sounds like a great hotel.

I will mention one other hotel that I like, which is surprising for me.

Because it's not the...

It's not the type of hotel that I usually like, but the Moxie Hotel.

You know, it's kind of this kind of hipster cool kind of hotel, which, again, isn't normally my style.

But I really...

It was friendly.

It was...

The check-in desk doubled as a bar.

And so, you know, people...

It encouraged people to meet each other, you know?

So, you check in.

Maybe you're having a little bit of a chat with somebody at the bar.

And people, you know...

People...

People would chat and interact.

And so, you know, got to know the bartender there was like a local legend.

People would come just to see him.

And it was...

I just love that.

I feel like Greeks are sort of communal people.

They like being together.

They like being out.

And I felt like that was...

Even though, you know, obviously most of the people staying at the hotel weren't necessarily Greek.

I felt like that.

It felt very Greek in that sense.

That you could sit down at the bar.

Everybody was willing to chat.

You could chat with everybody else.

And every single night it was...

People didn't go to their rooms and watch television.

People went down to the bar and chatted with each other.

So...

And it was a nice hotel.

It was right in the middle of everything.

Walking distance to a lot of the biggest attractions.

To the metro and everything.

So, yeah.

I loved it.

What about...

We talked a little bit about food.

You got any thoughts on food?

Yeah, food was amazing.

Everywhere there.

I mean, and staying right across the street from the central market.

I mean, we got to sample all kinds of...

Great stuff.

There was a very small local taverna not far from Fresh Hotel called Kokora.

We had a great traditional Greek meal there.

But really it was, you know, every night, you know, even just stumbling into random places.

I don't think we ever had a bad meal.

There was a place called Kostas, which I know is very well known for Slovakia.

Great spot.

No, here's a tough Greek name forever.

A place called...

Delicious Fresh Slovakia.

I hear the Slovakia there is delicious and fresh.

It is delicious and fresh.

It lived up to its name.

Yeah.

And that was like two blocks away from the hotel.

And it was packed with locals.

And I think it was like $6, $7 for, you know, a meal with a beer and a Slovakia and everything.

And yeah, so the street food was great.

Lots of food.

Lots of great places.

Any restaurants or bars that jumped out for you?

Yeah, I mean, for me, same thing that you've just...

I mean, I feel like you don't have to walk two blocks to find good food in Athens.

Often, you know, a gyros, you know, the souvlaki that's in the pita.

Two, three euros at the most, you know, and it's enough to fill you up.

I have gone on the record and I have said I love tzatziki sauce so much that I would eat it if it was smothered on hot steaming garbage.

I would eat.

I still eat the tzatziki.

It is so delicious.

I love tzatziki sauce.

And I will say one of the restaurants, so, you know, it's just kind of everywhere.

But one of the restaurants that I love is called, I've eaten there a few times, called Nice and Easy.

It is, it's got this great hillside location.

So breezy.

Athens can be very hot in the summer, but you get a nice breeze and very kind of relaxed vibe.

And the owner spent a lot of time.

And so he's named a lot of the dishes, you know, the Paul Newman or the Frank Sinatra, the Marlon Brando.

And the food is mostly local, mostly organic, you know, and it's this Mediterranean food that's elevated.

So they do a beautiful meatball.

I believe it's a lamb meatball.

Nice cocktails and, you know, a little bit of a view.

So I really do.

I really do like it.

Nice and easy.

That's one of my go-to's when I come to town.

Yeah.

Any final tips or can't misses for a trip to Athens?

You know, I got to, I'm going to double back to something I already said, which is, is to go to the Saronic Islands, to go to Spetses.

So there's three or four hydras, another one.

And it doesn't take any planning.

It doesn't take any, you just go down to Piraeus, you get on a hydrofoil, you take your pick.

You can even just take your pick of whatever one is leaving.

It's going to be an hour, sometimes even choosing the milk run.

You know, sometimes there's ferries that stop at three or four different islands.

It's really interesting because you can see, you know, each island is like a little world unto itself with its own cathedral or clock tower or whatever.

And it's kind of this like inexpensive way to get on the water and see all these different places.

You know, you can get off and you can go walk around.

You know, whatever, go to the fish market and go walk around the harbor.

And it's just an easy, cheap day trip from Athens.

You can take the metro to Piraeus and spend the day out there, come back, stay in your Athens hotel.

So I do love, I do love the Saronic Islands a lot.

So what about you?

Any final thoughts?

Final, final tip.

There's a great local chain, sort of a restaurant chain called Lucamades.

They're these deep fried sort of little donut type.

Almost love it for anybody familiar with.

Tim Hortons in Canada, Timbits.

They're almost like a Timbit, but much lighter.

Greeks would probably be horrified to hear that because they're so much better than Timbits.

Covered in honey or covered in chocolate.

They've got this chain that serves nothing but those called Lucamades that you can find multiple locations all around the city.

There's one not far from Monastiriki Square and the area where it is, there's full little side streets there with all kinds of great restaurants.

We ate at a place called Idri Ailu 29 that was great there.

Um, but all up and down that street were, were all kinds of great patios with, with, um, you know, you can go have a cold Greek beer and Slovakia and lots of, lots of great restaurants there to, to check out.

Um, and then, you know, just making sure for, you know, there's obviously all these iconic, um, historic location, the, the Panathinaik Stadium where the, you know, the first, uh, modern Olympics was held.

Um, the Acropolis, the Parthenon, all these iconic, um, attractions to make sure.

Um, you know, if you're, if you're going to go check some of those out, I know, of course you're going to go check some of those out.

It's the reason to go to Athens, just plan ahead a little bit, making sure to, you know, check in times for, for tickets and, um, admissions because they get busy.

And especially as, as you get deeper into the summer, um, you know, Athens is a super popular spot and, you know, a stopover where everybody heading out to the Greek islands and, um, yeah, to, to really make sure that you've, you've planned out and set aside enough time.

Yeah, for sure.

That's a, that is a great tip because it can lead to frustration.

If you think, you know, especially in high season, you're just going to walk straight up and go straight to the Acropolis.

There's lineups there.

It's going to be hot.

It's going to be a little bit frustrating to go off season.

It's a little bit different, but, um, I just want to add two things.

Uh, one is Athens is also a great city, um, for a haircut.

Uh, we, you know, I believe that I think, you know, I, you know, I've had my haircut in 40, 40 or 50 different countries and, uh, they, they, they, they give you the, uh, really, you know, you get, uh,

you get a lot of good care there, you know, they, they, they take their time and they'll burn off the excess hair with a, with a, an open flame, which is, uh, you know, a little bit of an experience.

Um, last time I was there, I got my haircut and they, they stuck these Q-tips up my nose to get the nose hair out.

You know, that was unexpected, you know, it was, you know, and I'm not going to say I would do it again.

I wouldn't, but, uh, but it was, uh, you know, it was, I guess that's what Greek people do.

I don't know, but, uh, uh, but yeah, so.

It is a great place for a haircut.

And then also there, my favorite, this is, you know, I don't know, my favorite optical place there is, is on the, uh, the main, uh, shopping street and you can have glasses.

They'll let you, uh, watch as they make your lenses.

They make the lenses in house.

I've bought like three or four different pairs of glasses there.

It's like 15 minutes to get a pair of glasses.

I've never seen anything.

I'm all over the world.

You know, I've never seen anything where you could just, I mean, I know lens crafters or whatever you can get done.

In an hour, but they'll be like, yeah, come up, see the machine and the lenses.

And, and, uh, uh, so it is, uh, I can't remember that.

I wish I remember if I had a glasses case close to me, I could give them a shout out.

But anyway, it's, it's, it's a good, it's, it's a good place for a pair of glasses and a great place for a haircut.

So, yeah.

Well, we'll definitely, we'll definitely put the, the name and link to where to go in the show notes for the show.

And we're also, um, building out detailed guides for all of the, the, and, and like suggested itineraries for all the places that we talked about on the podcast.

That people find on our website at voyescape.com.

Um, so we'll make sure we, we include both those there.

Absolutely.

It's been fun.

It's been fun talking about Athens.

It's always great to chat with you, David.

And, uh, can't wait to chat with you next week.

Look forward to it.

Yeah.

Looking forward to it too.

Thanks, David.

Thanks, Tim.

You've been listening to a podcast from the Voyescape Podcast Network.

You can find all of our podcasts from around the world at voyescape.com.

We'll see you next time.

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