Visiting Athens, Greece
Did you know that Athens is one of the world’s oldest cities with recorded history dating back to over 3,400 years? That alone was enough to entice me to visit Athens.
A Little Bit About Athens
Athens, capital city of Greece, is the birth place of some of the world’s greatest eras of art, learning and philosophy. It is widely regarded as the ‘cradle of Western civilization’.
With a population of over 800,000 within its 39km2, Athensis the 4th most populous capital city in continental Europe. It’s as crowded and busy now as it was two thousand years ago.
Getting To Athens
Reaching Athens seemed to be harder then getting around it. At the moment relatively few countries offer daily direct flights to Athens, or if they do, it is only the odd one here or there. In order to get from Malta to Athens, which is geographically very close, I had to fly 2.5 hours to Munich and then south another 2.5 hours to Athens. There was one direct flight leaving from Malta on Friday which took a little more than one hour.
There, of course, is a long ferry ride from Italy as a possibility. And while international trains were cancelled in 2011 after running for over 100 years, the train lines recently returned this year and you can now get in from Sofia or Belgrade via rail.
Getting Around Athens
The train system within Athens is extensive and easy to use. When I arrived and found a taxi to the city was going to cost me over €50, I decided to make my way in by train. Josh and the kids were coming to Athens a little later, and since I was by myself I was feeling quite adventurous.
The train station was directly opposite the airport and cost me around €13 to the city centre. Once I reached Syntagma, I took a taxi to my hotel for €10 – saving over 50% compared to taking the taxi all the way. That’s a few extra gyros!
We used the trains both times we were in Athens, before and after our Greek Island experience, and they ran on time for us. A train ticket including a change of lines was €1.40 euros each, kids were free. If you only needed the one line then it was cheaper (at €1.20), but if you wanted to go further, say to the port, it was the higher price.
Location information
● Athens, Greece
