Athens

First and foremost you will need somewhere to stay. There are absolutely loads of hotels in Athens and in the surrounding area.

Personally, whenever we stay over in Athens we prefer to stay in the periphery at a place called the Poseidon Hotel in Kalamaki. The reason we stay there is because we prefer to be outside the hustle and bustle in the evening and find the area of Kalamaki nice. It is also only around a half hour from the tram stop at the hotel to Syntagma Square.

If you prefer staying somewhere more central then use Tripadvisor you’ll then be able to match the hotel with your budget easier.

When you first visit Athens, before you do anything else I would advise you to contact New Athens Free Tour.

They do walking tours and while you are on the tour you will pick up information about Athens that will save you time and money because it will take all the guess work out of your first visit. The tour itself is very, very interesting and what’s more it’s free. All they ask is that by way of a thank you to them for giving the tour is just to tip what you think it was worth. I have been on this tour a couple of times and have suggested it to many of our own guests and we have not yet had a bad review.

Their contact details are info@newathensfreetour.com

I don’t get, nor do I ask for any commission from them but please do mention us if you do go.

After this walking tour you will have a good basic idea of what you want to do next and where you want to go.

The hop on/off bus tour is also worth taking a ride on and if you want lunch with a nice view I’d suggest the restaurant in the Hondos Centre at Omonia Square.

I would definitely advise you not to eat anywhere in the busy areas like Monastiraki Square. Instead find somewhere out of the way. You will get better service, better prices and more importantly much better food.

Other places to visit are:

• The Acropolis and Parthenon.
• The Ancient Agora.
• Monastiraki Square.
• The Temple of Zeus.
• Panathenaic Stadium.
• The Acropolis Museum

Top tip. For the best selfie in Athens visit the Panathenaic Stadium. As you walk in go about a 1/3 of the way inside then start to walk up to the highest section on your left. You will then be able to get a selfie with the Acropolis right behind you.

This is just the first draft of our Athens Guide so please call back as it will be updated regularly.