City of Athens
Visitors can find information about Athens in numerous online and printed guides. Museums, galleries, cultural centers, theaters, movie theaters, concerts, conferences, exhibitions, restaurants, bars, clubs and ideas for short road trips and excursions. Most of these guides provide detailed information, like opening hours, cost of entrance, meal and drinks prices, critiques, comparative analyses and alternative suggestions for every taste.
Athens, being a very big city, offers its residents and visitors a wide choice of activities. One of them is shopping! Four are the main commercial hubs of the Greek capital. In downtown, which means Syntagma and Kolonaki, there are countless stores with clothes, shoes, cosmetics, furniture, decoration and home ware.
The second popular commercial hub is Kifisia, one of the richest northern suburbs of Athens. Visitors will enjoy the open layout shopping malls and the famous haute couture boutiques, which are bustling during the week and the weekends. Few centrally located roads were recently paved, something that made strolling a delightful experience, but the parking problematic, especially during the weekends.
In the southern suburbs there are two more commercial hubs. Piraeus and Glyfada. Both have a big market, numerous cafes, restaurants, taverns, clubs and bars, by the water. Especially the area of Mikrolimano in Piraeus is one of the major hot spots during the summer months. Glyfada, on the other hand, just like the entire Posidonos Coastal Highway is known for the massive clubs, where famous DJs from all over the world perform on special theme nights (R&B, soul, alternative, rock, alternative dance etc.).
Athens is also known worldwide for its lovely weather. The Attic sky is blue almost during the entire year and the sun is shining, urging people to enjoy their coffee outdoors, downtown or near the sparkling water. During the winter, the cold is dry and mild, while during the summer temperatures can easily reach 40 degrees (app. 100 F.), but with no humidity. In the northern suburbs of the capital, temperature during the winter and the summer months is a tad lower than in downtown and snow usually appears during the months of January and February. All the hotels, the stores, the restaurants, the museums, the bars, clubs and the means of transportation are fully air-conditioned throughout the year.
To safely move around Athens you need to buy a map of the city, either in electronic or in printed form. Most have details, such as archeological sites, churches, museums, attractions, metro, bus and trolley stops that concern the entire Attica basin. Transportation in Athens is quite well structured and functional. NJV Athens offers visitors the advantage to hop on any transportation means, which will take them around the city. There are bus and trolley stops approximately every 200-250 meters, while the metro has been undergoing major extension and it is very popular amongst Athenians.
From a historical point of view, it would be interesting to find out where Athens got its name from. Goddess Athena was Zeus’ favorite daughter and according to the Greek mythology she was born out of his head. When Athena and Poseidon claimed the city of Athens, they went up the Acropolis Hill and in front of all residents they decided that whoever would offer the city the most beautiful and useful gift would prevail. Poseidon hit with his triaina one side of the hill. The water than came out was salty, thus not that useful for the city. Athens offered a branch of olive, which was considered beneficial, since it could offer food, oil and timber. Goddess Athena won and gave the eternal city her name!
