Athens, Greece

After a long flight, the most wonderful dinner at Mani Mani!

Coffee in hand and ready for our Rick Steves Athens City Walking Tour.

Temple of Olympian Zeus

Tomb of the Unknown Soldier and Evzones Guards

Delicious gyros for lunch!

The beautiful neighborhood of Anafiotika.

Colorful buildings and flowers, tiny streets, and Tyler's favorite animal: Cats.

Monastiraki Square

The Acropolis looming over the city

A cat hoping for scraps during dinner

We had heard from several friends that Athens was not somewhere we'd want to spend much time, so our expectations of the city were low. Maybe it was the low expectations, but we were pleasantly surprised and enjoyed our stay! If you can get away from some of the really touristy areas, Athens is beautiful.

Because we missed the Acropolis, we ended up taking an early flight back from Santorini to come back and see it. We couldn't travel all this way and not see it!

Recommendations

• Attractions

  • The Acropolis: Um, make sure it's open!

  • Walking tour of the city: A great way to learn about the history of Athens and see a lot of the city, including sidestreets. It includes:

  • Syntagma Square: City center.

    1. Tomb of the Unknown Soldier & Evzones Guards: We were lucky enough to be there during the changing of the guards.

    2. Arch of Hadrian & Temple of Olympian Zeus

    3. Anafotika: Quaint neighborhood.

    4. Monastiraki Square

• Food & Drink

  • Mani Mani: Gorgeous restaurant with some of the best food we had on the whole trip.