From There to Here: Six Hours in One of the World's Oldest Cities

Friday, 31 May 2013

While there are several flights a day from Athens to Santorini, the connection with our carrier left us with a lengthy layover. We had talked about heading into the city but with our 3:40 am wake up call, I wasn't sure we'd be up for much so we decided to play it by ear. Upon arrival in Athens and one quick look around the airport, we knew 6 hours was going to be far too long to do nothing so we picked up the pace and put the plan to action.

At the end of the Arrivals hall, we checked our carry-on bag for 3€ with Pacific Baggage Services and then followed the signs to the Metro where we bought 2 tickets to Central Athens (Syntagma Square) for 14€. The train departs every 30 minutes and it takes about 40 minutes to the centre.

Originally, we talked about immediately walking to the Acropolis in hopes of taking in one of Athens most famous sites but by the time we got everything sorted and into town, we knew we'd be too rushed for time. Instead, we perused the streets and stopped in awe every time the Parthenon & Acropolis came into view, perched high above the city. We stumbled upon other Ancient ruins scattered throughout the city centre and after a late lunch, we returned to the airport to catch our final flight.

A few hours definitely wasn't enough to take in one of the world's oldest cities and the birthplace of democracy.

11 comments:

Anonymous31 May 2013 at 16:58
Wonderful photographs! It really makes me want to visit!
Unknown31 May 2013 at 18:01
Beautiful photos... we've gotta make it to Greece soon after seeing your amazing trip!
Anonymous31 May 2013 at 20:37
Wow. I definitely want to try to spend a couple of days here in Sept/Oct!
David Nikel31 May 2013 at 22:47
Awesome. I love doing this on layovers, Copenhagen is a particularly great place for it!
bethan1 June 2013 at 01:45
This sounds like a pretty fabulous lay over! Way better than an airport terminal! Your whole trip has been seriously inspiring!
Chelsea @ Lost in Travels1 June 2013 at 11:29
way to take advantage of a long layover! we plan on doing the same when we have a layover in shanghai this summer!
Melanie Fontaine3 June 2013 at 23:33
I spent a couple of days in Athens during a school trip in '08 and the overwhelming feeling that I remember is that of stress... Athens just seemed to be so loud, full and big, especially after the peaceful days we had spent in the Greek countryside and it didn't really help that we had some panicked teachers/busdrivers who made some of us think that we would get robbed at every streetcorner. (Which never happened and wasn't something that I worried about, but some others certainly did)

However, Athens is also one of the most unique places I have ever been to and home to so many things to see and experience. I really think my memories are probably just tainted by the stress some other people felt and should probably be rectified one day. :)

xx
Melanie