Athens, Greece Travel - Guides
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Athens Introduction
Not too long ago, Athens used to be the city Greeks loved to hate. Expensive, polluted, overcrowded, and bursting at the seams with more than 5 million inhabitants -- over 40% of the entire country's population. However, the preparations for the 2004 homecoming Olympics brought forth many changes to the city and the successful staging of the Games imbued the ancient city and her residents with a newfound confidence that acted like a catalyst for the many changes that are continuing to take place. Much like Barcelona, the Olympics were just what Athens needed to get its groove back. The city suddenly, unexpectedly, and almost unabashedly feels young again. Forever the city of a thousand contradictions, Athens is one of the few ancient cities in the world where the cutting edge, the hip, and the modern can suddenly coexist so harmoniously with the classical and complement each other to near perfection.
Athens today is a strikingly wealthier, more sophisticated and cosmopolitan city than it was pre-Olympics and most certainly than it was when I was growing up in the '80s, but no matter how fascinating its current renaissance is, one must keep in mind that this is a city that has gone through countless transformations throughout its long and turbulent history. When I was talking with my grandmother about how different the Athens of today is to that of my childhood, I paused to ask her what the biggest difference was between the Athens she had known as a young woman and the Athens of today. "People used to say 'I'm hungry'" she said. "Now they say 'I'm bored.'" She had been a young woman in Athens during the famine, poverty, and horrors of World War II; the images of the Nazi flag on the Acropolis and finding friends and neighbors dead in the streets were etched in her memory.
The dawn of the 21st century found the ancient city with a multitude of much-needed changes: a vast new infrastructure system; a sparkling and continuously expanding new Metro and immaculate stations, many of which display the artifacts found during its construction; a new international airport named one of the world's finest by the International Air Transport Association; miles of new roads and a sorely needed beltway around the city that has eased the city's infamous traffic and has significantly reduced the city's equally infamous smog. The ancient sites have been linked together by a promenade, a unique city boardwalk around classical Athens with antiquities on one side and modern-day sidewalk cafes, galleries, renovated mansions, and rotating outdoor art installations on the other. All in all, 10 miles of downtown Athens's notoriously traffic-clogged streets have been pedestrianized, transforming one of the most pedestrian-unfriendly cities in the world into a stroller's delight and into a much more charming, accessible, and enjoyable city than before. Pavements have been widened and squares refurbished or redesigned. The capital's coastline has also been revived, with a dizzying selection of cafes, restaurants, and open-air nightclubs by the sea and in marinas; the coast also has a multitude of sporting facilities, pedestrian shopping districts, and pristine beaches -- all a mere tram ride from downtown.
The city's hotels also underwent major renovations that changed the landscape dramatically in just a couple of years. Not only were classic hotels restored to their former glory with all the modern comforts and luxuries, but new boutique hotels appeared that set the bar higher than one could have thought possible just a few years ago.
Greek cuisine is undergoing its own renaissance at the hands of talented new chefs, making Athens a haven for foodies worldwide (three restaurants have already been awarded a prestigious Michelin star); museums were renovated and expanded while several new and exceptional smaller museums have also joined the already impressive lineup (the stunning new Acropolis museum will steal the show for many years to come and will hopefully see the return of the Parthenon Marbles to their home), and many galleries and art and exhibition centers have sprung up all over the city -- the majority of them housed in former warehouses and factories. The numerous industrial-to-art conversions have been among the most pleasant surprises for the city, for they led almost immediately to the rebirth of formerly run down and all-but-abandoned neighborhoods. Following the lead of Psirri and Thissio -- two ancient neighborhoods neglected in more recent years that are now the hippest downtown destinations -- Gazi and Kerameikos have also risen from the ashes, going from gritty to urban chic.
As you explore Athens, try to make the city your own. Walk its streets, take in its scents, linger in its sidewalk cafes, squares, and rooftop terraces, take in a show in an ancient open-air theater, or an avant-garde performance, concert, or art exhibition at one of the new multipurpose arts complexes, or enjoy a movie under the stars. Climb its mountains, swim in its waters, visit its ancient temples and Byzantine churches, try its food and its nightlife, and see as many museums as you can. Take a stroll along the Archaeological Promenade, inside the lush National Gardens and Zappeio gardens, through the many neighborhoods and ports, and find yourself at the top of Lycabettus Mountain or Cape Sounion at dusk for two of the most spectacular sunsets outside of Santorini. Explore its ancient districts and its most modern ones to witness an ancient city discovering its modern soul in front of your very eyes. Take the bad in stride as well -- long-term problems have been addressed, not eradicated. The smog does return from time to time (especially during heat waves) and traffic can still be fierce -- so feel free to yell at the taxi driver who refuses to stop for you in a torrential rain or packs you into his taxi with many other passengers in the stifling summer heat; to mutter obscenities to yourself for getting stuck in traffic when you could have easily taken the Metro instead; and to throw your hands up in exasperation as a strike threatens to ruin your holiday -- a glimpse of the floodlit Parthenon or a glass of wine on a rooftop, in an ancient quarter, or by the sea will have you back to your old self in no time. Long after you have gone, you may feel a strange call, a certain nostalgia for something you will not be able to explain at first. You will soon realize it is Athens calling you back like a siren as she has done to so many of us that have tried to leave her. For anybody that has taken the time to truly get to know her, you will find yourself longing to return to her embrace. Exciting and exasperating, ancient and modern, seductive and unforgettable -- welcome to my Athens.
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