Hotels Restaurants Cafés Nightlife Sightseeing Events Maps “In Your Pocket: A cheeky, well- written series of guidebooks.” ATHENS The New York Times April - May 2011 Greek Easter A survival guide Gardens & Parks Spring in the city N°18 - €2 inyourpocket.com \ CONTENTS T H E M O S T C H I C B O U T I Q U E - K I T O N - S A R T O R I A P A R T E N O P E A - A L D E N - J O O P ! - R E N E L E Z A R D - W I N D S O R - S A I N T A N D R E W S - S E R A P H I N - I N C O T E X - B I E L L A C O L L E Z I O N I M E N ' S & L A D I E S F A S H I O N : 1 4 K A N A R I S T R . K O L O N A K I / 1 0 6 7 4 A T H E N S / T E L . : 2 1 0 3 6 2 2 8 6 0 CONTENTS 3 ESSENTIAL CITY GUIDES Contents The Basics Facts, habits, attitudes 6 History A few thousand years in two pages 10 Districts of Athens Be seen in the right places 12 Gardens and Parks Spring in the city 14 Greek Easter A surnival guide 15 Culture & Events Posing under the Acropolis What’s on 16 Dining & Nightlife Where to stay Restaurants 5* or hostels, the best is here for you 18 How to avoid eating like a ‘tourist’ 23 Cafés Join the ‘frappé’ nation 28 Nightlife One of the main reasons you’re here! 30 Gay Athens 34 Sightseeing Monuments and Archaeological Sites 36 Acropolis Museum 40 Museums 42 Historic Buildings 46 Getting Around Airplanes, boats and trains 49 Shopping 53 Directory 56 Maps & Index Metro map 59 City map 60 Index 66 Blooming flowers in Thissio athens.inyourpocket.com April - May 2011 4 FOREWORD ARRIVING IN ATHENS A constant rise in living standards, was taken for granted by the Greek population for decades. Since Europe In Your Pocket WWII and after the end of the civil war, in the late ‘40s, every Greek generation has lived better than the previous one. In the past 30 years, however, that prosperity wasn’t due to an increasing productivity or creation of national wealth, but was based on borrowed money - both for the state and citizens. This non-sustainable path - which of course is not an exclusively Greek phenomenon - came to a sudden end in late 2009 and the country was saved from official bankrupty by a huge bailout that came at a very high price: the living standards and consumption habits have to be adjusted to the country’s means and at the same time surplusses must be created to repay the mountains of debt. In the process, the economy has taken a beating, more jobs disappear every day, taxes are rising and incomes have been slashed to levels unthinkable until just a year ago. No one knows when things will start to get better and if the IMF and EU imposed remedies will save or completely kill what’s left of the Greek economy. However, the expected higher number of visitors this year will enjoy more reasonable prices and better service as the economy adjusts to more “competitive” levels, enforced by the “mnimonio” (the memorandum) In Your Pocket has broken much new ground of signed by the Greek state and its creditors. On top late, publishing new guides in the Netherlands of the usual surplus of culture and Mediterranean (Den Bosch, Utrecht), in Austria (Vienna), in Cro- sunshine of course. Let us be your guide to the best this atia (Brac and Senj), in Slovenia (Celje), in Serbia city has to offer. Enjoy your stay. (Nis) and in Switzerland (Zurich). A new guide to Minsk, Belarus, will be the next In Your Pocket to launch, early in the summer. We have also begun Cover story rolling out iPhone apps to all our cities. We will be launching even more In Your Pocket guides as apps Spring comes this year as a natural throughout this year: to find out which cities we will soothing for a Greek population in be covering, and to keep up to date with all In Your desperate need for a little optimism Pocket news and events, like In Your Pocket on and a good deal of sunshine. Facebook (facebook.com/inyourpocket) or follow © VK us on Twitter (twitter.com/inyourpocket). Editorial Copyright notice Publisher Fotis Georgeles Text and photos copyright Athens Pocket ESSENTIAL CITY GUIDES Managing Editor Vangelis Koronakis Ltd 2008-2011. Maps copyright Road Contributor Mandi Millen Editions. All rights reserved. No part of Layout & Design AIYP creative studio this publication may be reproduced in Athens In Your Pocket Photography © Athens IYP - VK any form, except brief extracts for the Harilaou Trikoupi 22 Maps © Road Editions purpose of its review, without written 106 79 Athens permission from the publisher and Greece copyright owner. The trademark In Your tel. (+30) 210 3316196 Pocket is used under license from UAB fax (+30) 210 3316195 In Your Pocket (Vokieciu 10-15, Vilnius, e-mail: [email protected] Lithuania tel. (+370-5) 212 29 76). Sales & Circulation www.inyourpocket.com Editor’s note www.inyourpocket.gr Advertising Director Louisa Nathanail The editorial content of In Your Pocket Advertising Mgr Nikos Tsouanatos guides is independent from paid-for Direct Market Mgr Vassilis advertising. Sponsored listings are ISSN 1791-4558 Zarkadoulas clearly marked as such. We welcome all © Athens In Your Pocket readers‘ comments and suggestions. Financial Director Efi Mourtzi We have made every effort to ensure Published 5 times per year the accuracy of the information at the This issue: 20,000 copies tel. (+30) 210 3617530 time of going to press and assume no fax (+30) 210 3617310 responsibility for changes and errors. Athens In Your Pocket athens.inyourpocket.com FOREWORD ARRIVING IN ATHENS 5 Message from the Mayor Arriving by air Dear friends, Eleftherios Venizelos Athens International Airport The primary entry into Athens is Eleftherios Venizelos I would like to wel- airport, situated 27 km (16.8 miles) east of Athens. To come you to the City get to town you have a choice between metro, suburban of Athens, and wish railway, bus, taxi and, of course, car hire. you an exciting, en- joyable and reward- Metro is probably the best option (40 minutes to the ing stay. Athens, you centre of Athens). will soon discover, Suburban railway-Proastiakos (running every 30 min- entails a great deal utes) will take you to Nerantziotissa station, where you more than its world- must change to enter the metro system. renowned historic Tickets for both the metro and the Proastiakos cost €8 and cultural attrac- for a single ride (€14 for two and €20 for three persons tions. This comes traveling together). down to its richest resource – its people, who are friendly, active and innovative. Full of life and The bus ticket costs €5 and will take you to the following passionate about their town, they love nothing destinations: Bus X92 to Kifisia, Bus X93 to the central more than showing guests what makes Athens intercity bus station, Bus X94 to Ethniki Amyna metro sta- so unique. tion, Bus X95 to Syntagma Square, Bus X96 to Piraeus & the harbour and Bus X97 to Dafni metro station. Athens is a global capital, one that has helped All the above except Bus X94 run 24hrs. define and still treasures freedom, fairness, Indicatively, it takes about 45 minutes to get to Syn- democracy, solidarity and passionate exchange tagma Square by bus, but that of course depends on of ideas and knowledge. Through the ages Athe- the traffic. nians have always filled the streets and the agora to meet people, discover new ideas and speak You can always pick up a taxi which costs €35 (fixed price their mind, loudly and clearly, while preserving a including all extras) during daytime and €50 (fixed) profound respect for the opinions of others. between 00:00 and 05:00 . Athens is a city open to visitors year-round with Finally, all major car rental companies keep desks inside an array of tourism options that encompasses the airport building. An array of shops and services is arts and culture, innovation, gastronomy, day available at the airport such as a post office, banks, and night life, shopping, spiritual landmarks and newsstands, cafés, even an airport museum. sport, among others. Easily accessible and strategically located, Arriving by boat Athens is a city that offers those wishing to do business or talk business with top quality infra- From Italy to Patras: There are many connections structure, highly-qualified, multilingual human across the Adriatic Sea and a few ferry companies oper- resources, unlimited development potential, ate between the Italian ports of Brindisi and Ancona and professional services, state-of-the-art technol- the port of Patras. ogy and a secure, hospitable environment. If you have your own car, take the road to Korinthos and then on to Athens (220 km). Be extremely careful as this We welcome all visitors to Athens, be it for busi- poor excuse for a national road is very dangerous and ness or pleasure, and hope their stay proves an accidents happen very often. If you‘re traveling without a inspiring, invigorating and meaningful experience. car take the intercity bus (KTEL) to Athens central station We look forward to seeing you here again soon.