A Simple Key For My Athens Unveiled

Greece, the birthplace of democracy, is a lovely, rugged country, soaked in history. It has almost 1600 islands, however just 170 of them are lived in. Half of the 10 million population live in Athens.

The white marble Parthenon on Acropolis Hill is a breathtaking sight. The Acropolis is sometimes called the sacred rock.

There are three other buildings on the site besides the Parthenon. The Erechtheum is a temple honoring Athena and Poseidon. The Propylea is a significant entrance. To its best stands the Temple of Athena Nyke or Wingless Victory. The most recent building, The Castle Museum, homes lots of masterpieces found given that excavation began in 1835.

At night the Acropolis is the website of the Son-et-Lumiere, or Noise and Light program. The entrance is in fact across the street from the Acropolis. The very first time we attempted to discover it we walked the base of the Acropolis. This appears to be an enthusiast's lane and it was extremely tempting to remain and delight in the view in the pleasant air.

The show, in English, is every night unless there is a moon. The audience sits in chairs facing the Castle, which is illuminated from different sides at various times in various colors to highlight a taped narrative of the history of the Castle. It lasts about 30 minutes.

After this it is a brief walk to the Plaka. This area has to do with two blocks packed full of dining establishments and coffee shops moving directly up the hill toward the Acropolis. It is impossible to stroll through the streets without waiters attracting you to try their restaurant: \"Just take a look at our menu. Great prices, excellent food, good music, can be found in and browse.\" They state in ideal English.

Their bouzouki music mingles in the street. We went to a Taverna with a floorshow and although they had no cover charge there was a minimum order of at least a plate of fruit. The floorshow, with a number of singers, a stomach dancer and volunteer dancers from the audience was very good.

On the whole we found Greek food affordable and very yummy. Meals are constantly served with water and bread, although at an outside dining establishment you will be charged for the bread. A lot of menus have an English translation and many locations show you the food in the cooking area from which you can choose.

The custom in Greece is a light breakfast, a late lunch, dinner about 9 or 9:30 and remaining over all meals.

Greek coffee, or Turkish coffee, is very strong, but you can buy Nescafe or American coffee at a lot of places. For lunches we would either go to a souvlaki store for gyro sandwiches, have a wonderful Greek salad topped with feta cheese at a sidewalk café on Constitution Square or purchase from a pastry vendor on the street. We also saw numerous suppliers offering corn on the cob and chestnuts.

A good afternoon break is a drink at one of the numerous cafes on Syntagma Square. We were provided a silver tray with one full glass of water, another glass with a shot of fresh lemon juice in it and sugar on the side.

We didn't see lots of tourists in this area, mainly just old Greek ladies in widow's attire; black scarves, black equipping and black dresses, purchasing their fresh supper components. Greece likewise has the world's finest yogurt.

Shopping in Greece is nearly as much fun as consuming! There is a fantastic flea market near the base of the Acropolis, which is open many of the time, even what to do in athens on Sundays and is so colorful! There are numerous good buys consisting of: brass, copper (get a big bowl to beat your egg whites in), flakti carpets, fur coats, tiles, gold jewelry, pottery copied from museum pieces, onyx, marble, alabaster, handcrafted sandals and handicrafts.

There are lots of interesting museums and historic sights in the city. The admission is free on Sundays although it's impossible to hit all them in between their open hours: 10 - 4 pm. The Castle is also open on weekdays from 9:00 until sunset when there's a full moon it opens again from 8:45 up until midnight.

The Parliament Structure and the Burial Place of the Unidentified Soldier is at Syntagma Square, which is the center of the life of Athens. There is an altering of the guard there at twenty minutes prior to every hour and at 11:00 a.m. on Sundays. Around the corner is a beautiful park, The National Gardens, where something is constantly going on. At the entrance, across the street from the Temple of Olympian Zeus is where all the public buses seem to satisfy. Each route runs every twenty minutes, twenty-four hours a day.

Among the best views of the city is from Mt. Lycabettus. You can ride a tram to the leading where there's a large area to walk around, a small chapel and a dining establishment.

There are lots of beautiful beaches in Greece and Glyfada is a really great place to enjoy Greece's moderate winter seasons and subtropical summers.

Greece is a totally unique, pleasurable location, which shouldn't be missed. And keep in mind, this was only Athens! There are still 170 occupied islands to check out!