Cruising Greece: Athens for the First Time

Story and photography by
Nancy & Eric Anderson 

 

Cruise travelers standing amid the din and confusion of downtown Athens might, for a moment, yearn for the serenity of their ship.

T'is true this is not the tranquility of the open seas: Heavy trucks and long buses thump and rattle their way across Constitution Square, and, amongst them like bees around a honey pot, flutter vans, cars, taxis, mopeds and bicycles. The noises stun the senses: There goes the policeman's hand. The shrill sound of his whistle blast pierces the air screeching like chalk on a blackboard. Brakes squeal, tires scream, horns blow. And blow. And since it's against the law in Greece to sound your horn without due cause, the Greeks honk theirs again, for no reason other than it's a hot day, the wrong party got elected, gasoline prices have gone up once more and the British museum won't return the Elgin Marbles.

Mid all this babble, Constitution (Syntagma) Square goes about its daily affairs. Storekeepers wash their windows, kiosk operators set out their wares and businesspersons with briefcases, dressed despite the heat in three-piece suits, dart amongst traffic. Syntagma's sales force is out in strength: old men shuffle past laden with lottery tickets, pistachio nuts, newspapers. Black-robed elderly women wander along presenting woolen shawls, flowers, candy. Small children turn their large dark eyes on you as they quietly offer up their crumpled postcards.

Through the crowd move the visitors with quickly-learned dexterity. Some are suntanned youths and they stride along with tents and sleeping bags slung from gigantic backpacks. Some are chic butterflies and they flap around on their Charles Jourdan sandals thoughtfully sucking their Vuarnet sunglasses. Some are more determined tourists and they stumble by, guide books in hand, cameras swinging below bowed shoulders, perspiring, thirsty.

This latter group is easily intercepted by waiters poised like penguins in the coolness of the plane trees shading their outdoor restaurants. Their skills learned over a lifetime, those waiters with little more than a smile, a bow and a gesture completely divert tourists from their previous intentions and lead them, uncomplaining, to where they may sit and enjoy the prime pastime of Athenians of all ages: people-watching.

It's appropriate to watch the people of Athens because, more than in any other European capital, they are the prime asset of the country. The people of Greece are that nation's strength. Gentle, friendly, unselfish, interested in visitors they are the perfect backdrop for the monuments of glorious Greece. And most of the younger people speak English.

Furthermore, there is very little crime in the streets of Athens even at night. Said a Greek friend, “We are a homogeneous race all the same religion, Greeks would regard it as an insult to their country if Athens had, for example, the crime statistics of Rome or worse -- that of any large American city.” Ouch!

Thus Athens is a joy for visitors who like to walk and truly catch the flavor of a city.

There are other reasons why Athens is a perfect place for cruise travelers to explore: it's a compact city where most of the ruins and monuments are close to each other. Not only are distances short but you'll find taxis are the least costly of any in Europe. And even with the weakness to the dollar, some hotels are relatively inexpensive and meals can cheap. Mark you, you're not exactly getting cordon bleu or Bolognese cooking, but it's edible and actually turns out to be better than you had expected.

How then might visitors spend their extra days if a cruise starts or ends in Piraeus, the port of Athens? As always, it depends on how much time is available.

A few hours

If time is so limited that you almost shouldn't leave the ship, then you have two options. You can walk about ten blocks east from where the cruise liners dock over the hill to Zea the marina where all the luxury yachts tie down. The Naval Museum is nearby; Zea is a pleasant enough spot but more attractive is the little harbor to the north, Microlimano.

Here in what used to be called Tourkolimano you'll find the best fish food in Athens. Brightly colored canopies decorate the restaurants occupying the curve of the harbor. Each eating place has its booster standing outside extolling its meals, service and prices. If you're going to eat, pay attention to what's being said and read the menus because fish is expensive in Athens even when you're eating right beside the boat that landed the catch.

Your second option is to disembark from your ship, grab a taxi ,and head for the Acropolis. The fare may not be high but you may wish to negotiate an hourly rate and hold onto your taxi for your brief visit. Ask the purser what he thinks you might have to pay -- Greek taxi drivers are not greedy and they don't expect to be over-tipped.

Since time is limited ask the driver to take you as far up Philopappos Hill as he can, then wait for you. This elevated spot also called FilopapouI lies to the south west of the Acropolis and offers a magnificent view especially if you take a further ten minutes to walk up to the monument, erected about 115 AD, that gives the hill its name.

The restaurant at the base of the hill with the magnificent view of the Acropolis through its plate glass windows is called the Dionysus. By the way, expect all sorts of spelling variations in Greek names since the words are merely attempts by Greeks to reproduce phonetically in western languages how the words sound in Greek. You will therefore have better luck saying the destination to a taxi driver than trying to write it in English for him to study.

Anyway, if you dine at Dionysus and gaze up at the monuments on the Acropolis you are probably seeing those symbols of Greece at their best -- from far off. The ancient Greeks worshipped outside their temples. Location and atmosphere were the ingredients their builders sought. Pericles and his architect Iktinos put up their temples on this 370 foot high hill to be seen best and to impress most at a distance. Thus, they reasoned, a distant enemy might be overawed and choose not to come closer. As artifacts are moved from the Acropolis to the new museum down below there may not be so much to see when you look up in future. But this is for now. Therefore though the clock is ticking insidiously and you may barely have time for more than a distant view, it's worth it. That breathtaking moment when you look upon the glory of Greece will last forever.

A full day

If you have a full day available take a morning tour of the city. Most tour operators like Viator offer half day excursions that leaves from near Syntagma (Constitution) Square and finish four hours later. It's money well spent and orients you for anything you may want to do on your own later. Verify what you are getting: The price should include admission to the Acropolis and to the National Archaeological Museum though on Mondays, if that museum is closed, the Benaki Museum may substituted.

Your afternoon might be spent walking through the ancient marketplace of Athens the Agora, through the flea market area of Monastiraki, and through the adjacent 19th century village, the Plaka. They sprawl over the north east slopes of the Acropolis. You could spend a whole day shopping in the Plaka. It resembles an eastern bazaar. Much of what you see on sale on the Greek islands comes from Athens and the prices are not only better in the Plaka but are subject, with rare exceptions, to further reduction if you're good at bargaining. The most effective technique for this horse trading -- and the Greeks seem to enjoy it -- is to look wistful and say, "Oh dear, I do like it, I want to buy it, but it's a bit too expensive." Politeness pays. The Greeks are gentle souls even in the Plaka -- they do not have the abrasive behavior and hard-sell tactics of, say, Egyptian merchants.

Come evening, you'll find all sorts of outdoor restaurants and tavernas ready to satisfy your needs. The secret is to look for the busy ones especially ones full of Greeks not tourists, they're the best. However, the true Greek eats very late and the Plaka will not echo with the sounds of the bittersweet bouzouki until the evening is well advanced. You can eat on the sidewalk at Milton's, or in a garden at Erato's. You can follow the Athenians to Xynou's or the tourists to Taverna Vlachou. Wherever you go, you'll be watching the greatest show in town -- Athens itself.

If you're heading back to the ship you won't need a hotel. Most of the lodgings in the Plaka area are inexpensive student-type accommodations. Several better quality hotels are just below the monument, Hadrian's Arch. The one with the best view of the magnificent Temple of the Olympian Zeus is the luxury Royal Olympic Hotel. However, a superb choice for the American cruise traveler is the Athens Chandris on Syngrou Avenue. It's about halfway between the airport and Piraeus, and offers a courtesy bus from the hotel to Syntagma Square. Its quality equals that of a Marriott, maybe a Sheraton -- at half the price. And if you’ve been a long time in Greece, you’ll sure fancy the Chandris American-style hamburger.

Next day

If you have another day to explore Athens, you might take a taxi halfway up Lycabettus (Likavitos) Hill to where the funicular railway starts its seep ascent. This 1000 foot high limestone rock challenges the Acropolis itself as the landmark of Athens. It sits as glaringly white as a wedding cake above the city and affords a spectacular vista. The Church of St. George crowns the hill and just below it you can have some baklava and a cup of cappuccino at the Dionysus restaurant, the sister establishment to the one of the same name below the Acropolis. If you have dinner here, check the menu prices carefully before you order -- the bill can become as high as the view, but of course that's what you're paying for.

Once you've walked down from Lycabettus you're within striking distance of the War Museum of Greece and the Benaki Museum, the latter the result of the wide-ranging interest of a wealthy Greek Anthony Benaki who left his collection to his country. The National Gallery and Byzantine Museum are nearby also.

However, if you're now ready for lunch you are close to the Athens Hilton. Take the elevator to the top to the Galaxy Bar and BBQ Restaurant where the panorama of Athens alone will pay for your meal. The Athens Hilton is arguably the flagship of all the International Hilton hotels. If you stay there be sure and request a room that looks over to the distant Acropolis.

Your other luncheon choice would be to walk for another fifteen minutes past the flower shops of Athens back to Syntagma Square but to stop at the north east aspect to eat at the Grande Bretagne Corner. You can enter from the street but it's more fun to go round to the front of the hotel. The GB is one of the great hotels of the world. Moreover, you're walking through a hundred years of Greek history when you go up its steps and through its foyer to the restaurant. After lunch, take a moment to sit in its elegant lounge and plan your afternoon. There's a lot to do in this area. You may want to visit the tourist office in the bank at the northwest corner of the square and pick up a city map.

Many attractive shops spread out from the square but before you start off to visit them consider a trip to the exhibition of Greek Handicrafts at 9 Mitropoleos Street two blocks away. You can't purchase items there but you'll see what's available and the staff will tell you where you can buy what you've taken a liking for.

Now that you've walked and eaten your way through Athens you're probably ready to relax. Why not take a bus tour to Cape Sounion ninety minutes to the south east? Here 40 miles down the Apollo Coast on the last outcrop of land Greek sailors saw before they headed into open water, the ancients built a temple to Poseidon, their god of the sea. A famous British poet once stood on this rock promontory and pledged his soul to the battle for Greek independence. He gave his life to that cause and thus may be forgiven his graffiti, the name, Byron, he carved on the marble columns of the temple. To stand on this windswept cape, and watch the sun set on one side of you and the moon rise on the other is to be deeply moved by the magic of Greece.

The bus returns you to Syntagma Square.

Extra day

If you have one more day you may choose to check out what Viator has available as one-day trips to either Delphi or Mycenae. Delphi is more mystical but in some ways Mycenae is more interesting with, first, the Corinth Canal (started when the Emperor Nero dug in the dirt with a golden shovel and finally completed in 1893). Old Corinth itself is visited, a port so corrupt St. Paul railed against its citizens and its Temple of Aphrodite staffed by 1000 "priestesses." The bema or stone platform on which he stood to give his address to the Corinthians still stands.

Next on the tour comes Mycenae the center of Greek civilization in 1400 BC. Here the great German amateur archaeologist Schliemann startled the world in 1874 when, convinced that Homer was as much historian as poet, he dug down and almost immediately came upon the graves containing the golden Treasuries of Mycenaean art. The tour to Mycenae also takes you to the small seaside village of Nauplia with its Venetian Bourtzi fortress floating in the bay and to the ancient site of Epidaurus, the medical center of the world in the 5th century BC. Here you can sit in an outdoor theater 24 centuries' old where still the furthest row of 12,000 spectators can hear the softest whisper from the stage. Even today when you stand at Epidaurus and the cypress trees stir in the balmy breeze so you hear murmurs that hint of those moments when man left the cave, democracy was born, and Greece led the world.