One Day Only - Athens, Greece, Athens, Greece

Greece is well-known as the ultimate summer beach destination, but this beautiful country is also great for city breaks all year round.

Athens, the capital of Greece, is a vibrant city full of history, amazing architecture, great people and delicious food. It’s a shame that Athens doesn’t get as much attention as the other European capitals because it has so much to offer to its visitors.

The city might not have the best reputation, especially after the economic and political turmoil during the last few years. We had no idea what to expect but we decided to stop there on the way back from the Greek islands. We stayed in Athens for three nights, which was just perfect for us.

We were pleasantly surprised and so glad that we didn’t skip this amazing city. The local people were so friendly and we didn’t have any issues at all. It only shows how media, which usually focus only on the negatives, can influence us and create pessimistic assumptions about places. However, many things in Athens have changed since the Olympic Games in 2004 - the infrastructure has been improved, many historic sites and buildings renovated, etc.

Athens is considered the birthplace of Western civilisation. There are many landmarks spread all over the city, especially in the historic centre. We loved how lively the city centre became in the evening (particularly in the Monastiraki, Plaka and Psyri districts), the restaurants and bars were packed with people having a good time. ...... (follow the instructions below for accessing the rest of this article).