The Other Athens

Advantages: fun, charming and diverting city with plenty of interesting things to see and do; great variety of bars and restaurants
Disadvantages: has some shonky areas, may bring you to spend more than you'd like

...The city of Athens, Georgia, USA, is one of those eclectic university towns scattered all the way across the country. If you're an American and a seasoned college student, you know all about what that means - an infinite variety of bars, pubs, theatres and crack houses. And, of course, a vast number of students to take advantage of whichever of these vices may take their fancy. In this particular case, it's the enormous campus of the University of Georgia which has set up shop in this interesting town. Athens is about 70 miles from Atlanta, anywhere from an hour to an hour and a half drive depending on various things - the traffic, whether there is a thunderstorm present, or if someone has managed to cark it somewhere along the road and has thus blocked it in some manner. Once you're out of the suburban and ugly sprawl of Atlanta you...

adamsputnik 05.06.2004 · Read review
Ciao members have rated this review on average very helpful
Review of Athens

Athens - Haven't You Grown Since I Saw You Last?

Advantages: Vibrant, cheap excellent public transport. Famous historic sites. Eating out
Disadvantages: Not as 'Greek' as it used to be. Poor air quality. The drivers!

...I'd been to Athens before, but not since 1973 so I was fully expecting a lot of changes, and to a greater extent I was right. For example, I was probably amongst the last tourists to be allowed full access to wander all over the famous Parthenon on the Acropolis hill. Since then it has been fenced off and variously concealed behind one piece of scaffolding or another, and is rumoured to stay that way for decades. I remember that summer of '73 with some trepidation - it was damned hot to be in a city and the traffic was truly awful, with blue fumes from two-stroke 'pop-pops' everywhere. Since then, cars have got a lot cleaner, but regrettably more numerous. Of course, going there in the October half-term holiday helps with the air-quality too! WHERE IS IT? It's the capital of Greece and lies in the province...

BNibbles 30.11.2007 (06.09.2008) · Read review
Ciao members have rated this review on average very helpful
Review of Athens in general

The green green grass of Greece.

Advantages: Much greener than greek islands in the east,some traditionally greek,not bad prices
Disadvantages: Can be rainy,some resorts overdeveloped

...We were late starters to foreign travel due to one hundred and one reasons in our life. When we finally booked to fly abroad it was to Yugoslavia. As we arrived home from the travel agents the news on our television showed the start of the war out there. After many months we finally got our money back and picked Malta. That was an excellent holiday, but another story. Having whetted our appetite for foreign travel we browsed the brochures on our return from Malta wanting to pick somewhere we really fancied for the next year. We had relatives who had gone to the Greek islands in the past so somehow or other we ended up picking Lefkas, which is one the Ionian Islands of Greece. LEFKAS (lefkada) ITHAKI (ithaca) KEFALONIA ***************** ****************** *************** We travelled to the Ionian Island of Lefkas in...

grafter123 05.12.2006 (24.04.2008) · Read review
Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful
Review of Ionian Islands (Greece)

Plaka Hotel, Athens

Advantages: Position, Price
Disadvantages: Basic (but plentiful) breakfast

...The Plaka Hotel is a real find. It is ideally situated at the foot of the Acropolis and is amongst ,or within easy walking distance, of many of Athens attractions. It is on the corner of a small side street just a hundred yards or so from the metro station that is at the end of the line from the airport. Some bedrooms do have a direct view to the Acropolis. The hotel staff are friendly and helpful and the accomodation is generally clean and modern. Our room was quite small but not so much that it was a problem. There was an adequate amount of storage space. The bathroom was small and a bit dated but ok, considering the price! We paid £33 a night for a double room with breakfast and thought this was a real bargain. Make sure you compare sites for prices as they vary considerably. The breakfast was quite basic but included...

suelr13 21.07.2007 (26.07.2007) · Read review
Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful
Review of Plaka Hotel, Athens

Good and bad of Athens

Advantages: Vibrant, lively, good food, great sights.
Disadvantages: Some dodgy bits!

...I recently took a four day break in Athens with my wife and thirteen year old son. Like all cities, we found it had good and bad bits, but on the whole, I would highly recommend a visit. Our hotel was located just off an area called Omonia Square. The guide book described this area as 'gritty'. I guess we should have read into that what we actually found. There are men with obvious Heroin addictions wandering around the area day and night. Prostitutes can be seen plying their trade. One of these was at least sixty-five years old and was wearing a skirt that revealed her bum cheeks. The shock registered by my wife and me was only matched by the amusement caused to my son. The stalls evenly dotted around the square sell the usual magazines, cigarettes, touristy stuff, and sweets, but also have a fine selection of pornographic videos...

GF1124 12.12.2007 · Read review
Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful
Review of Athens in general

Long awaited Athens 2004

Advantages: Good graphics, realistic, fun game!
Disadvantages: Controls can b difficult to master.

...I've owned this game for little over 24hours, I'd say I know pretty much everything there is to know about the game, now that's not cos it's simple, or that it's an easy game, it's most likely cos I've played it for around 12 of the 24 hours I've owned it. THE GAME Well It's Athens 2004, so yeah it's an Olympics game.... Not all events are included in Athens 2004, so that's a downside but the main events are there. CONTROLS The controls are not simple, but once you have played for a while, they do come more naturally. For most events "x" and "o" are the buttons used to gain speed, or distance when throwing the javelin or shot put. When running this can be uncomfortable. For example the 400m sprint often proves difficult for me as you must hold "L1" to take your mark, then be quick off the release to make sure you get a quick...

PlaceboFan 01.09.2004 · Read review
Ciao members have rated this review on average very helpful
Review of Athens 2004 (PS2)

Athens off the tourist track

Advantages: Fun, fascinating and altogether fabulous
Disadvantages: Chaotic and confusing for the first time visitor

...The first thing I should say is that I never visited Athens purely as a tourist. I lived in Greece for three years, and spent the first two in Halkida, on an island called Evia, about an hour and a half north of Athens (well worth a day out for seafood lunch, the beach and the bars but that is another review). We didn't go to Athens often, and when we did the first stop was usually Marks and Spencers to stock up our small English community on tights and underwear! After two years I moved to Piraeus and set about discovering the capital in all its glory. Now I'm not going to spend this review talking about the Acropolis, or Plaka, or taxis, or pollution, or any of the other things that are discussed in many of the other fine reviews on this site. Those places are very interesting to visit - the Acropolis is a must for the first time...

Agglida 11.06.2005 · Read review
Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful
Review of Athens in general

new airport athens

Advantages: clean,efficient,quick check-in
Disadvantages: access time

...The new airport brings greek aviation into the 21st century. Due to the traffic situation in athens travel time to the airport should be assesed by the day and time of day. The airport can be reached by the new motorway if you are in north or west of athens and by a back road ( now being converted into a motorway)if you are in the south or east of the city. Other than by private cars and coaches, the airport can be reached by taxi or bus. Taxi costs in greece are low and the cost to the airport will average at about 20-25Euro from athens center, should the taxi cost too much more than this you should note the taxi number ( displayed in the taxi) and ask for an official reciept.At the airport you should then take the reciept and number of the taxi to the police office at the airport where it will be dealt with to your advantage...

johngrant 06.05.2003 · Read review
Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful
Review of Athens (ATH)

Fourka in Halkidiki (Greece)

Advantages: Gorgeous weather, fantastic people, great scenery
Disadvantages: Could perhaps do with a bit of a tidy up in places ?!

...My boyfriend and I wanted a cheap holiday - a week in the sun where we could relax and do not a lot basically! We booked an internet deal through Thompson Holidays for £190 each (incl. flights, transfers and accomodation) for a week in Self Catering appartments. Our flights were from Birmingham to Thessaloniki (which is the nearest airport to Halkidiki). The flight took around 3 hours and we then had an hour and a half transfer from the airport to our resort - Fourka. Halkidiki is split into three penisulars, Kassandra, Sithonia and Mount Athos. These are near the north of main land Greece and are surrounded by the Aegean Sea. Kassandra and Sithonia are supposed to be the livliest of the three, although they are not busy or crowded. Mount Athos is a Monks Republic and is usually only seen by people from sea. Fourka is...

n_walker 13.06.2005 · Read review
Ciao members have rated this review on average very helpful
Review of Halkidiki (Greece)

AEGINA: ONE HOP AWAY FROM ATHENS

Advantages: Quite a nice island, close to Athens, good temple, pistachios
Disadvantages: Touristy and overall nothing particularly special

...**** NOTE: this review concerns only Aegina and not the other Saronic Gulf islands and would be of more interest to day trippers than resort-dwellers**** Aegina is one of the islands of the Saronic Gulf and possibly the one island which is closest to Athens (apart from rather industrial/military Salamis). It takes only about an hour from Piraeus to get here (half of the time if taking a hydrofoil) and thus it's a prime weekend and holiday spot for Athenians, as well as being a package tour destination. We have visited Aegina on a Sunday which is perhaps not the best day to choose, though it was mitigated by the fact that it was only May. We didn't come from Athens but from Methana (on the other side of the gulf), on an almost empty morning ferry, accompanied only by a few families dressed in their Sunday best, obviously going...

magdadh 01.08.2005 · Read review
Ciao members have rated this review on average very helpful
Review of Saronic Gulf Islands (Greece)