visiting greece, what should i see?

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alejandro
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visiting greece, what should i see?

Post by alejandro »

Dear Pothosians,

It's been a while since my last post. I moved to Spain and been busy. Also I had problems logging in, though they seem to be over now. But I kept on reading your -as always- interesting posts.

In any case, I need your help to organise a trip to Greece next summer, and I want to know what I should visit and how much time to spend in each place.

I made a list with the obvious places: Acropolis (and the new museum nearby?) in Athens and the museum in Vergina (is it open?). But then I don't know what else to see, especially since I don't know if well known places 2000 years ago are still around or something remains to be seen (eg, Sparta, Delphi, Thermopylae).

Thanks in advance for your help.

It's good to be back! I look forward to join in the stimulating conversations this forum usually provides!

All the best,
Alejandro
derek
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Post by derek »

Alejandro,

It's a bit off the beaten path, but I'd recommend a visit to Olynthus. It was leveled by Philip, literally, and they've excavated a huge grid plan of streets and houses. It's where xxx (I forget his name) invented urban planning, and there's row after row of almost identical houses reaching no higher than knee-height. You just don't expect that from Ancient Greece and it was amazing to see. It makes it one of the few places where you can find the ruins of ordinary dwellings.

It's just east of Thessalonika and north of the Halkidiki peninsular, and you'll need a car to get there.

Derek
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Phoebus
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Post by Phoebus »

Athens is typically a chaotic mass of traffic; a middle finger extended toward humanity's desire to park within a reasonable distance of their destination.

As long as you research your destinations ahead of time and find a willing cabbie, there is no reason why you shouldn't be able to visit everything worth seeing in Athens within 48 hours. Any longer, and you're wasting time, money and possibly your lungs.

The Acropolis and surrounding ruins, the Plaka district, the Metropolis Cathedral, Constitution Square/Syntagma and the fashionable Gazi district are all within an hour's walk from one another:

Syntagma to Plaka = 5-10 minutes' walk on two roads (Mitropoleos and Aeolou), with the Metropolis half-way down the first of the two. Syntagma is worth the stop to see the changing of the Presidential Guard in front of the monument of the Unknown Soldier. Facing the monument itself, if one to go towards the right, a 5-10 minute walk would take said tourist to the Zappeion gardens--I'm not sure if they are open or still being renovated, though. The Metropolis is impressive but not imposing; a nice stop for a look at Greek Orthodox religion... but not a life-changer by any means.

Plaka to Acropolis = 15-20 minutes' walk, without any stops... which would be a shame. There are many tourist shops, if that's your thing, some reasonably priced... all selling roughly the same thing. For a snack, I would recommend a souvlaki at Kostas' stand, which is located right near the start of the cobblestoned portion of Plaka. It's been around since, well, forever, and was a standby of mine and my father's when we each went to school right down the road. Getting into the Acropolis means also getting into the museum. On the side of the Acropolis opposite to that of Plaka, one can find the ancient theatre, etc. Plaka is home to a few theatres, which might interest you depending on what's being played. Some shows are rather decent and universal in taste; others will probably be Greek-centric enough in content and language to skip.

Plaka to Gazi = 15-20 minutes' walk, but worth it only if there's a cultural event going on or if you want to eat at one of the neo-tavernas there. I have to be partial here; my uncle owns Mamacas there, which has great food but pricy menus, and one of our good friends owns a good seafood restaurant right at the beginning of Persephonis street, next to the factory-turned-cultural center. Gazi is home to one of the newer tram stations.

You could take Aiolou the opposite way, as well, and eventually you'll run into Stadiou (10-15m walk). From there, take a right, and you'll hit the Museum of Greek History--you'll get there when you see the statue of Gen. Kolokotronis on his horse. Interesting fact: ancient Greek names can be very elegant, like Nikodemos... Victory of the People. Modern Greek names, following a few centuries of, well, less culture and occupation, can be somewhat crude. Hence, Kolokotronis, a combination of Kolo- or ass (hind end) and kotronis--a play of kotrona, or rock. Moving on!

At the point, I would recommend getting a cab. Hailing a taxi in Athens requires a good bit of initiative. By initiative, I mean stepping in front of the taxi when necessary. Some Greek destinations can be challenging to pronounce; study the names of landmarks AHEAD OF TIME so you can yell them out quickly... the taxi WILL NOT STOP, and failure to shout out your destination ahead of the next person means the driver will just go on.

There are two different art museums heading towards the Zografos district (if you're looking at the Unknown Soldier, turn left and take the first light right, and you're heading in the right direction), as well as a military museum. Try to catch the sunset at Lycavitos, which is the monastery atop the most dominant hill in your horizon within the city center. If you're at syntagma or Plaka, literally just scan the sky-line; you'll see it.

Get your taxi driver to take you to a good Zeibekiko--think Greek blues music with your own table, lots of wine, appetizers, etc. Get hammered, join the others in singing, but make sure you have the cabbie's number on you still. You probably won't leave 'till 0300-0400 AM... plan accordingly for the next day.

Mainland Greece is a wash, as far as I'm concerned. There's a number of destinations, but getting there by land is ridiculous. Take a ferry, instead, or an airplane, and hit islands. Crete is excellent; Corfu (Kerkyra) and Rhodes give you more of that "European" feel. Zakynthos and Ithaka are rather nice as well.

I could probably post more, but I am dead tired and have to run to my plywood cabin and sleep some before the next shift!
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Post by Paralus »

I'd echo Phoebus' thoughts. Athens is easy to get around on foot. We went in January '07 and stayed at the quite reasonable Attalos hotelin the Monasteraki. This is at the foot of the Acropolis and ten minutes from the Plaka. The picture tells you all you need to know: that is the view from the roof bar. There are a wealth of eateries and ouzeries in the district though, Sophia will take care of you in the roof bar.

The National Museum is some ten minutes up the road - past the meat, fish and vege markets - from the hotel and the Kerameikos is somewhat less to the southwest.

The Acropolis musem is excellent.

When you fly in take the airport Metro: it is excellent. If I remeber it cost myself, my wife and two children (then 8 and 10) some 16 Euro. If staying at the Attalos, the Metro will drop you at Monasteraki staion, in 40 minutes, a block and a half from the hotel. Monasteraki station is worth seeing on its own: there is an archaeolgical dig in situ (it should, by now, be open to the public).

What else to do depends on time. We did the Argolid; Mycennae; the beatiful drive accros the old road through Arcadia to Olmpia; accross the Patros bridge to Naupactos and Delphi. Delphi you should not miss. We stayed in the very reasonable Kouros Hotelhere. We also did Meteora but ran out of time for Pella and Aegae. We returned to Athens via Larissa, Thermopylae and Chaeroneia. All in about six day if I recall.

The best car hire was Swift: they delivered the vehicle to the hotel and picked it up at trip's end.

Go to Matt Barrett's site: there is nothing it won't tell you and he is very helpfull should you email him. It's where I did my homework.

If you can, try to go in autumn. When we went in January (where it was 20-22 degrees c by day!) and had the Acropolis, et al to ourselves. Everyone told us how it was the best time (autumn or even winter when mild) as in the summer you can't move at many of the sites.

Be happy to help if you need anything else...
Paralus
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Wicked men, you sin against your fathers, who conquered the whole world under Philip and Alexander.

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Efstathios
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Post by Efstathios »

Athens is typically a chaotic mass of traffic; a middle finger extended toward humanity's desire to park within a reasonable distance of their destination.
You can say that again. Luckily we have a metro that is slowly expanding during the last 9 years.

It is nice during the summer. As long as you dont find yourself in the middle of a heat wave. This summer we had an almost 2 weeks heat wave, and for one or two days the maximum temp at the afternoon was around 46-49 C in Athens. That was a first though.

As for places to go, Phoebus and Michael (Paralus) pretty much covered the important things. There are other nice places too in Athens, and around Greece. In the immediate vicinity of Athens, there are nice beaches with nice cafes that you can go for some hours. Spending 2 days roaming around Athens trying to see everything is tiresome, so some relaxation is also good. If you can, stay 3 days in Athens, so you can get some rest too. Then, there are other nice places around Greece. As Michael said, Delfoi is a must. If you are to rent a car, you can go pretty much everywhere you want to and stay as long as you want to. But you must be carefull when driving in Greece. Always go slow, stay at the right lane, and let those Schumacher's wannabes go their way. It all depends on how many days you are planning to stay.

Catching a plane or a ferry to an island is also a good idea. On mainland Greece you can also go visit mount Olympus and the surroundings, which is on the way to Vergina and Pella.

When you will know how many days you will stay here me and Michael will be able to provide you with more information. Also, if you want to we can meet and have some glasses of wine, send me a pm when you are about to come and i'll send you my mobile phone number. :)
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Post by marcus »

derek wrote: It's where xxx (I forget his name) invented urban planning, and there's row after row of almost identical houses reaching no higher than knee-height.
Hippodamos? Wasn't that his name (I know it's "Hippodamian", anyway)?

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Re: visiting greece, what should i see?

Post by marcus »

alejandro wrote:Dear Pothosians,

It's been a while since my last post. I moved to Spain and been busy. Also I had problems logging in, though they seem to be over now. But I kept on reading your -as always- interesting posts.

In any case, I need your help to organise a trip to Greece next summer, and I want to know what I should visit and how much time to spend in each place.

I made a list with the obvious places: Acropolis (and the new museum nearby?) in Athens and the museum in Vergina (is it open?). But then I don't know what else to see, especially since I don't know if well known places 2000 years ago are still around or something remains to be seen (eg, Sparta, Delphi, Thermopylae).

Thanks in advance for your help.

It's good to be back! I look forward to join in the stimulating conversations this forum usually provides!

All the best,
Alejandro
I haven't been to mainland Greece for many years, except for business trips to Athens. when I did travel around, the places I loved were:

Epidauros / Nauplia
Olympia
Mycenae

Unfortunately, I didn't get to Macedonia at all. I would also have loved to see Tiryns and Sparta, but will have to do that holiday some other time!

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rocktupac
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Post by rocktupac »

derek wrote:
It's where xxx (I forget his name) invented urban planning, and there's row after row of almost identical houses reaching no higher than knee-height.


Hippodamos? Wasn't that his name (I know it's "Hippodamian", anyway)?

ATB
Correct, it was Hippodamos (or Hippodamus) of Miletus, who in the 5th century introduced the style of having two large intersecting roads at the center of the city with smaller grid patterned streets surrounding. (And as you all know, it was the same method followed when Alexandria in Egypt was set up)
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Visiting Greece

Post by ruthaki »

I've been visiting Greece since 1978 and lived there for almost 5 years, also spent several years there for six month stints. I go there pretty well every two years for sure as it's my second home. You won't be disappointed in Athens now as there are some terrific improvements, restorations etc, been happening since before the Olympics were there.
And everywhere is easy to get around to (without a car it's a good public transport system by bus, excellent ferries now, etc and reasonably priced as the Greeks use it all the timel)
In Athens itself, the metro is excellent, the tram line down the coast from Syntagma is convenient and the city transit system is cheap and easy to get around on.

Outside of Athens, of course you must see the tombs at Vergina. Veria itself is an interesting town to stay in. I've been to pretty well all the sites across the north from Epiros to Thrace (been several times so I'm familiar with them all). Also been to most of the islands on the West coast and several sites in Peloponnese. Try to go to Olympia if you can. And of course, Delphi is always the pilgrimage I make every time I'm there.

If you want, check my travel blog at http://travelthroughistory.blogspot.com
I have quite a bit about Greece on there.

And I am also now publishing/editor of a new travel web site
Travel Thru History www.travelthruhistory.com
There are a couple of stories of Greece up there and will be more to come soon.
Feel free to ask any questions about travel in Greece.

As well as being a historical fiction writer, I'm also a travel journalist and most of my stories are about Greece.
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