24 hours in Athens

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This was published 13 years ago

24 hours in Athens

Modern antique ... the Acropolis in Athens.

Modern antique ... the Acropolis in Athens.Credit: AFP

Kylie Northover revels in the caffeine-fuelled street life of a modern city full of ancient treasures.

For decades, Athens was often used as merely a stopover en route to the Greek Islands but the city, improved vastly since a makeover in the lead-up to the 2004 Olympic Games, is a fascinating mix of the ancient and the contemporary.

Athens is small and easily navigated and its metro is efficient, simple to use and one of the cheapest in Europe - a flat-fare one-ride ticket costs just 80 euro cents ($1.13) and many of the stations are well worth visiting for their displays of the archaeological finds that were unearthed during construction.

7.30am

Start with the Acropolis. In summer, it's best to get here as early as possible - although bear in mind every other tourist is likely to have this idea. Prepare for your climb up Athens' Sacred Rock with some breakfast and take water with you.

Wear shoes with grip - the marble steps leading up to the Parthenon can be slippery. Breakfast is considered the least important meal of the day for Greeks, many of whom get by on a coffee and a cigarette, or a meal of bread, cheese and fruit. For extra stamina, seek out a koulourakia, a sweet brioche-like roll.

The easiest way to get to the site is to take the metro to the Acropolis station. Despite the crowds and the distracting whir of cameras, as you ascend through the Propylaia Gateway, the grandeur of the classic architecture is striking.

As well as the Temple of Athena Nike, the Theatre of Dionysus, the Sanctuary of Asclepius, the Parthenon and the Erechtheion, there are various broken columns and fragments, all waiting for restoration by specialists who, even as the tourists pass, work at the site.

The Acropolis, Dionysiou Areopayitou. Hard to miss from anywhere in the city. The €12 entry fee for adults includes entry to the Acropolis Museum. See www.acropolisofathens.gr.

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10am

A couple of hundred metres from the site is the recently opened Acropolis Museum. As with every major construction in Athens, work here uncovered several archaeological finds, most notably the remains of an ancient settlement - these have been incorporated into the museum's design and may be viewed through a glass floor.

The museum houses 4000 works, in five exhibits - from the slopes of the Acropolis, the archaic period, the classical Acropolis, the post-Parthenon and the Roman period, alongside many replicas. Just don't mention the (real) Elgin Marbles that are controversially and permanently on display in London's British Museum.

Acropolis Museum, open Tuesday-Sunday, 8am-8pm, see www.theacropolismuseum.gr.

11.30am

Head down the hill past the shops selling kitsch souvenirs and the obligatory buskers (buskers abound in Athens, from men juggling at intersections to children playing bouzouki) and you're in the old-town flea market neighbourhood of Monastiraki. Fortify yourself with a frappe - essentially an iced coffee and usually very strong, sometimes needing several sugars.

You can pay up to €6 for a frappe but coffee is more than a beverage in Greece - it's a legitimate pastime and it's more than acceptable to sit on one coffee for an hour or more while partaking in the Athenian tradition of people watching.

When asked what Athenians do in the way of outdoor activities, a local tells me ''coffee''.

Vyzantino Cafe, corner of Kydathineon and Adrianou streets.

Noon

Wander towards Adrianou Street, where the Monastiraki flea market starts. During the week the area is more a bustling collection of shops than a market but on Sundays you can find hundreds of stores selling anything from antiques to used DVDs, leather sandals to the Komboloi - worry beads (also available at every convenience store, supermarket and newspaper kiosk).

1pm

For an authentic souvlaki, head to the north-east corner of Monastiraki Square to Thanasis, a bustling cafe heaving with travellers and locals.

Their signature Thanasis kebab is massive - four kebabs, tomatoes and shredded onions (ask for tzatziki, which is served in a dish) for €8. You can order a half-plate, which is meal enough for most, for €4. Accompany this with a Mythos beer, the local favourite, and you've got a huge feast for less than €10. Even in the heat of summer, it's more fun sitting outside, where you can take some respite in the tide of colourful Athenian action passing by - tourists, locals, wandering musicians, hawkers and gypsies. All of whom seem to be shouting.

Thanasis, 69 Mitropoleos, Monastiraki, open Monday-Saturday, 9am-2am.

2.30pm

There are dozens of museums in Athens but if you have only one day, the Benaki is one of the best. From Monastiraki, take the metro to Evangelismos station and the Benaki is a short walk along Vassilissis Sofias. Housed in beautiful neo-classical style, similar to its neighbours along the stately Vassilissis Sofias, home to many embassies, it exhibits a huge collection of artefacts, from the Paleolithic period (on the bottom floor) to the Roman and Byzantine empires to its modern collection, with artefacts from the Ottoman Empire.

Benaki Museum, Vassilissis Sofias Avenue, between Kolonaki Square and the National Gardens (closed on Tuesdays), see www.benaki.gr.

5pm

Surely it's time for another coffee. Turn left from the Benaki into Neofytou Vamva and meander up to Kolonaki, the upmarket shopping district and home to the the Athenian elite. Enjoy some window (or actual, depending on your budget) shopping along Tsakalof, reportedly among the world's most expensive streets, and home to high-end fashion labels and myriad shoe stores for men and women.

Kolonaki is the place to be seen and the cafes and bars are crowded from early evening as people gather to drink coffee and watch each other. Sit on a frappe or a beer at Peros, on the Square (7 Kolonaki Square).

8.30pm

For a taste of the new Athens, head out of the centre to Gazi, formerly an industrial suburb that was home to the city's gasworks. Take the metro to Kerameikos. The area's bars and galleries have eclipsed nearby Psirri in recent years as the hippest. You can also find a new breed of Greek restaurants, such as the acclaimed Butcher Shop, which has traditional ''psistaria'' fare: meat cooked on a charcoal grill. Butcher Shop uses organic Greek meat for regional specialities and features home-made sausages, cured pork and spicy kebabs. The ''fresh pasture boar'' is €15 or tuck into the enormous burger for €10. The menu also has regional wines and be sure to stick around for the complimentary after-dinner mastiha liqueur, a distinctive drink made from the aromatic sap of the mastic trees that grow on the island of Chios.

Butcher Shop, 19 Persefonis Street, Gazi.

11pm

If you have the stamina, a nightcap should end your day. The Brettos Bar and Distillery in Kydathinaion in Plaka (purportedly the second-oldest bar in Europe) has an impressive array of ouzo and 25 flavours of liqueur. Don't worry - you can always sober up with another coffee.

Brettos Bar and Distillery, 41 Kydathineon Street, Plaka, open daily 10am-3am. See www.brettosplaka.com.

Kylie Northover travelled courtesy of Qatar Airways.

FAST FACTS

Getting there

Qatar Airways flies to Athens for about $1790, from Melbourne to Doha (about 14hr), then Athens (5hr). Sydney passengers fly Virgin Blue to Melbourne to connect. Fare is low-season return from Melbourne and Sydney, including tax.

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