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From: Eddy on 1 Oct 2009 07:33
Hi,

I am going to spend a couple of weeks in Athens early next year. I have
spent a lot of time on the Greek Islands already. This trip is for
exploring the whole of Athens!

Does anybody know of a place that is not expensive, but which is quiet
and clean?

Thanks.
From: Alexander Arnakis on 11 Oct 2009 01:34
On Thu, 01 Oct 2009 12:33:57 +0100, Eddy
<eddy.bentley(a)removeALLbutRESTvirgin.net> wrote:

>Hi,
>
>I am going to spend a couple of weeks in Athens early next year. I have
>spent a lot of time on the Greek Islands already. This trip is for
>exploring the whole of Athens!
>
>Does anybody know of a place that is not expensive, but which is quiet
>and clean?
>
>Thanks.

You don't give much information (for example, what you mean by
"expensive" and by "quiet and clean"), so it's hard to give you
advice. What are your expections? Advice for a backpacking hosteler
would be quite different from that for a middle-aged retiree.

In general, Athens is an extremely expensive destination, especially
for someone coming from outside the Eurozone. Going in low season
(prior to May) tends to mitigate this a bit. It would help a lot to be
able to stay with a friend or relative, particularly for a stay of as
long as two weeks.

Just as a general guideline, an "A" class hotel in the center of
Athens, including breakfast, should run in the neighborhood of 115
euros a night for two people. This is what I would call clean and
convenient, but by no means luxury. This same type of hotel would be
about 98 euros in other major Greek cities, and much less in small
towns and (non-touristy) islands. Low season, of course.

Another major consideration in Athens is security (or the lack
thereof). Years ago, one could wander about pretty much at will. Not
any more. There are places in Athens that are literally "no go" zones.
(Exarcheia, for example.) What I'm trying to say is that Athens is not
a city for "exploring," if you don't know where you are and what
you're doing. The island lifestyle is a far cry from the Athens
lifestyle. I could write volumes about this, all from bitter
experience. Trust me.

I know this is not the type of advice that you want to hear, but here
goes anyway: Bottom line -- spend a couple of *days* in Athens to see
the required sights (the Acropolis, etc.) and then get the hell out of
town! (This is what the Greeks themselves would do if they had the
choice.)

From: Mike Lane on 11 Oct 2009 06:47
Alexander Arnakis wrote on Oct 11, 2009:

> On Thu, 01 Oct 2009 12:33:57 +0100, Eddy
> <eddy.bentley(a)removeALLbutRESTvirgin.net> wrote:
>
>> Hi,
>>
>> I am going to spend a couple of weeks in Athens early next year. I have
>> spent a lot of time on the Greek Islands already. This trip is for
>> exploring the whole of Athens!
>>
>> Does anybody know of a place that is not expensive, but which is quiet
>> and clean?

[Lots of very useful advice snipped]
....
> I know this is not the type of advice that you want to hear, but here
> goes anyway: Bottom line -- spend a couple of *days* in Athens to see
> the required sights (the Acropolis, etc.) and then get the hell out of
> town! (This is what the Greeks themselves would do if they had the
> choice.)

I agree with everything that Alexander has said. These days when I visit
Greece, (if I have to pass through Athens) I arrange to arrive in the early
morning, and leave in the evening, so I don't have to spend the night in a
hugely over-priced indifferent hotel.

Spending two weeks 'exploring the whole of Athens' is one of those things
that sounds good in theory, but in in reality would be extremely expensive
and not very rewarding. The centre of Athens has been cleaned up in recent
years and there is plenty of interest there, but once you get away from that
you are back into a grimy urban jungle filled with semi-derelict concrete
buildings stretching for miles. This wouldn't be so bad if prices hadn't
tripled or quadrupled in the past 5 years since the Olympics. It seems that
the hoteliers and restauranteurs have realized that there are plenty of rich
tourists (mainly Japanese and Russian it seems) who are willing to spend any
amount for a few days doing the sights.

This saddens me a great deal since I actually used to like Athens a lot -
unlike the majority of people I know. Six or seven years ago it was quite
cheap to stay there, and although grimy and polluted, there was plenty to do
and see, and there was a 'buzz' to the place that made it interesting just to
walk around. No more alas!

--
Mike Lane
UK North Yorkshire
mike_lane at mac dot com

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