Visiting the Acropolis of Athens, Parthenon & Shopping (Greece)
After about ten days in Istanbul, here we are in Greece for the first time!
Part 1: Travel Journal
Part 2: Practical Tips
Part 1: Travel Journal
Oddly enough, we took a long time to visit some European countries. Since it’s close to France, there’s the “we can go later” side. That’s why a destination as popular as Athens has remained unknown to us after almost 8 years of traveling the world. This is the first time we’ve set foot on Greek soil. We were told to come to Greece with a lot of imagination because the archaeological sites aren’t as well preserved as in Italy. And indeed, they are less well preserved than in Italy, and less well preserved than in Turkey, but Greece’s biggest plus is its people. They are super super nice and they ALL speak English.
Taking an Uber from the airport, we pass by an Olympic stadium and the taxi driver shows it to us, saying it’s really THE Olympic stadium where the first Olympic Games took place. It’s huge, all in stone, and visible from the street, it’s very pretty!
We opted for an Airbnb for a month and a half. We hesitated between the northern district of the city (more central) and the southwestern district. Apparently the city center is a bit too lively in the evening and teems with junkies, so we prefer to be a bit away, but 1 metro station from the Acropolis (or 25 minutes on foot). I’m disappointed as soon as we step into the Airbnb: it stinks of cigarette smoke. After 1 hour of airing out, it still stinks. I wash absolutely everything and the smell doesn’t go away. We’ll discover by chance that the smell comes from the neighbors, and after putting a nice thick towel under the front door and opening the window of the common hallway, the smell no longer comes in. PHEW. I can finally breathe deeply. It’s the smell I hate most in the world. My friend L. did a thesis on the impacts of secondhand smoke, and it’s not pretty. I think there’s a huge difference between hanging out with smoker friends on a terrace and putting up with neighbors’ smoke at home.
We are so tired and busy with work that we don’t visit anything at all for 10 days. I’m also very busy with my translation project since I found a more powerful AI (I talked about it here). And on the 11th day, we tell ourselves it’s a bit excessive to be in a city that many people dream of and not visit anything. That says a lot about travel fatigue. When you do something for too long, even if it’s traveling, at some point it becomes exhausting.
JB books our tickets for the Acropolis in advance (10 euros/person) and we take the metro for the first time. There are rechargeable tickets, we pay about 1.3 euros per trip.
Honestly, looking at the huge Acropolis hill from our street rising like a huge cliff, we seriously wonder how you can climb that high without getting out of breath, but the Acropolis metro station is already halfway up, and then you climb gently to the Parthenon, so even sports duds like me can do it. There are 2 tickets, the 10 euro one lets you visit just the Acropolis, the 30 euro ticket lets you visit lots of other things, but today we’re just doing the Acropolis, hence the 10 euro ticket.
Brief “general knowledge” side notes:
The Acropolis, a fortified hill in the heart of Athens, has had a rich history since the Neolithic period. During the Mycenaean period, it became the residence of the local ruler. In the 6th century BC, it transformed into a sanctuary dedicated to Athena.
The Parthenon, jewel of the Acropolis, had two main functions: a religious temple housing the chryselephantine statue of Athena (12 meters high, made of gold and ivory) and the city’s treasury. This treasury, funded by contributions from Athens’ allied cities, financed the common defense against the Persians and major construction projects.
The major transformation of the Acropolis occurred in the 5th century BC under Pericles. The current monuments (Parthenon, Propylaea, Erechtheion, Temple of Athena Nike) were built during this period, symbols of Athens’ political and artistic peak.
The history of the Parthenon took a tragic turn in 1687. During the siege of Athens by the Venetians, the bombing of the monument, then used as a gunpowder magazine by the Turks, caused a devastating explosion. The damage worsened in the early 19th century when Lord Elgin removed many sculptures, now housed in the British Museum.
Today, the Acropolis, under the protection of the Greek state since 1822, is the subject of a vast ongoing restoration program, highlighting the importance of preserving this symbol of ancient civilization.
There are many signs showing us the “BEFORE”
and then we see the AFTER and think… oh yes, you need a lot of imagination.
We’ve visited many amphitheaters like this and they were better restored or better preserved, and we could even access them. Here, you can’t access anything, it’s too damaged.
This one is in better condition/well restored, with a superb view too!
The Propylaea, the ancient entrance, is probably my favorite spot on the site. These beautiful columns remind me a bit of Egypt (to a lesser extent), and I must say this part is really really pretty from afar, I’ll show you a photo later.
We come face to face with the Parthenon. Luckily I was warned, I have no expectations, and I think I would have been disappointed if I had too many. It’s very pretty, but this site lacks atmosphere, I don’t know, I think the gods have deserted this place because there are no good vibes here, it’s a super neutral place.
Given the work done to restore the whole site, I think 10 euros is cheap. The columns are assembled like puzzle pieces, the interior walls are being put back up, it’s a colossal task. They’ve set up their own rails to transport the stones… Hats off! It takes a long time to walk around the Parthenon. It must have been something when the Parthenon was at the height of its glory.
There’s a small temple next door, Erechtheion, with little statues that are just too cute.
We’re at the top of the hill with a 360-degree view over Athens. Like Palermo, Oslo, Athens has mountains while having access to the sea, it’s especially feng shui as a landscape, I really love this kind of city. Despite the cold, it’s sunny almost every day. From here, you can see there’s a huge archaeological park in the city center. But as soon as you leave it, there are only white buildings with terraces, no remarkable old buildings. All this whiteness reminds us of Malta (we’d love to go back).
I don’t know if you can see a temple surrounded by greenery and very well preserved? That’s the temple of Hephaestus, we’ll go there another day.
In the distance, there’s a beautiful hill accessible by cable car. Search for Lycabettus Hill Viewing Area on Google Maps.
We head back down slowly towards this viewpoint and look at that! You can see the entrance to the Acropolis really well. The view is incredible! I can totally imagine the little people looking at the Acropolis with admiration. They must really think the gods live there, it’s so beautiful and massive!
Anyway, the visit is very pleasant. You have to walk a lot, so bring your walking shoes. It’s advisable to arrive before 10am on weekdays to avoid the crowds. For the weekend, I don’t even want to imagine. You can buy tickets online before coming.
Restaurants
Greece is the land of olive oil, so you’ll find plenty of dishes with olives or olive oil. There’s feta everywhere. If a dish says “cheese,” it’s definitely feta. JB finds feta and Greek dishes too salty for him. Dishes cost between 10 and 12 euros. Honestly, it’s even cheaper than in Istanbul! I think the food is pretty good, but there aren’t any restaurants that are WOW for me yet. There are “canteen” or “deli” type restaurants with prepared dishes, and you pay between 8 and 9 euros at lunchtime.
Since everything is written in the Greek alphabet, we feel a bit stupid here. If we spot a restaurant on Google Maps and go to the location, the name on Google Maps is in Latin letters, but on site the name is in Greek, and we can’t tell if we’re in front of the right restaurant 🙂 We feel illiterate. Once, JB went to see an ENT doctor, and we stood in front of the building for 5 minutes, not knowing which buzzer to press because his Greek name on the internet doesn’t match the name on the doorbell (it’s a matter of uppercase/lowercase, hahaha).
Shopping
Not far from the Acropolis, there are pedestrian streets (Ermou Street) dedicated solely to shopping. A cold wave is starting in Europe, and it reminds me that I need to refresh my wardrobe. My cashmere sweater needs to be replaced after 2 years of use (nothing lasts in this fast fashion world, I swear!). I have to go to 15 stores and can’t find a single quality sweater. Everything is polyester, viscose, polyamide, acrylic… For years, I’ve been wearing only natural materials like cotton, linen, silk, luxury wools, real fur… so I’m horrified by the decline in quality everywhere I go. I seriously wonder if I should take up sewing because it’s no longer possible to get noble materials without selling an arm and a leg! Plus, everything is oversized! Horrible!!!
Then I come across a store (Tsantilis) showcasing a gorgeous coat, 890 euros but on sale for 390 euros. I decide to try it on anyway. The saleswoman is really nice, she lets me try it even though the whole store fits ladies in size 40 or larger. After touching petroleum derivatives all afternoon, my hands are too happy to finally touch pure wool. 90% wool, 10% cashmere. It’s silky with a bit of cashmere sheen. I love it!
Once in Lisbon, I was walking behind two ladies in an upscale neighborhood, and one lady’s coat caught my eye. You could tell it was expensive and quality. But I didn’t know what it was due to. Was it the cut? The material? The fact there were no cat hairs or pills? Testing this coat in Athens made me realize it was a combination of all that. I had two 100% double-faced wool coats, but the feel wasn’t as nice as this one, the coat absolutely had to have a bit of cashmere to achieve that kind of result. And of course, a good cut so everything glides over the body as if you were a Greek goddess.
I put the coat back and thanked the saleswoman (it wasn’t my size anyway), then spent 3-4 days researching thoroughly about cashmere (see my article), reading all the fiber composition labels on coats I find on Vinted, and I came to the conclusion: I absolutely had to have a coat 100% double-faced cashmere. 100% cashmere because I love how light it is. Double-faced because linings are often polyester and create static electricity, I want 100% cashmere. The lack of lining will allow me to wear a jacket underneath if I’m still cold. New coats like this cost from 1500 euros up to 10,000 euros, so the resale price is at least 800 euros. I’m looking into buying double-faced cashmere fabric from dormant stocks of Loro Piana or Hermès, even if it means sewing a coat myself, but the fabric alone is already worth 600 euros. But I never give up when I have an obsession. I know where to find good deals. The best coats come from Loro Piana, Hermès, Max Mara, and The Row. Other brands create similar coats but they cut corners on materials or labor. I notice that Italians all resell discounted Max Mara coats, a sign that there’s a Max Mara outlet store in Italy. After a bit of research, I discover Intrend which is the outlet store for all Max Mara brands, Max & Co, etc. They never have my size in stock online, so I know I need to buy second-hand. I come across a coat worth 1600 euros resold for 450 euros on Vinted. I send an offer for 300 euros and to my surprise, the person accepts!!!! I can’t believe it! A 100% cashmere double-faced hand-sewn coat, this will be my very first one, I’m so happy!! I showed the photo to JB and even he thinks the cut is very classy. I’ll do a post about it when I receive it.
Part 2: Practical Tips
- Acropolis entrance fee: 10 euros
- Restaurants: between 10 and 12 euros per dish
- Credit cards are accepted everywhere.
