Welcome to the Athens Tourist Guide
Athens Tourist Guide is a resourceful guide which will showcase the major highlights of the city. Athens being an ancient city soaked in history and evolution since centuries, has an overflowing platter to appease the thirsty traveler in all aspects. When researching for a trip to this city, it could be cumbersome for you to choose from a plethora of options. Here, Athens Tourist Guide will try to make your trip hassle-free by giving you all the information in a concise manner with all the necessary details.
As per history Athens acquired its named after wisdom goddess Athina who defeated Poseidon and the construction of a temple on the Acropolis was a mark of its celebration, which heralds the beginning of one of the early settlements in Attica. The city flourished not only in intellectual arts, but it was the birthplace of democracy and the seeds of Western philosophy by Socrates was sown here.
The revival of Athens took place in 1834 when it was proclaimed the official capital of Greece. This place became a refuge for the Greek-Turkish war victims. However, after World War II, America aided this city to stand on its feet by ushering in industrial programs. With the population spilling over and its climate, the city is inundated with pollution. The streets are always packed with vehicles emitting toxic gases, a far cry from the other peaceful Greek islands. Nevertheless it tries to maintain its charm with its rich heritage and modernity jostling for space.
The hosting of Olympics 2004 saw a major revamping of infrastructures, transport facilitation, makeover of the city’s heritage bringing relief and pride to the residents and visitors. Athens experiences a Mediterranean climate with the sun shining most of the time with not much rainfall. During summer, the nights are cooler due to seasonal winds called Meltemi and the mountain regions have lesser temperatures. The winters are pleasant and not harsh in lowland areas but the mountains are laden with snow.
The Athenians are social people fond of eating, drinking and merry making. This nature of theirs is characterized by the various eating and drinking joints which are open through the night. There are cafes where you can grab a bite any time of the night. The nightlife here is pulsating with life till dawn, be it weekdays or weekends. The ever so famous Greek cuisine is incomplete without the mention of Souvlaki and Moussaka.
Transport is aplenty with strict adherence to schedule. The modes of transport ranges from buses to trolleys devoid of pollution, trams, railway systems connecting to two metro lines. There are catarmarans making a dash for the Greek islands every now and then. The Tourist Police is a section of the Greek Police Force to facilitate the movement of visitors with well trained staff well versed in foreign languages.
Accommodation is not a problem as there are hotels to suit all types of pockets. Athens does not have large shopping malls or stores. They have small shops run by families but they sell all sorts of souvenirs. However, the museums and galleries make up for the absence of these shopping malls.
Athens Tourist Guide has taken special efforts to ensure that you stay safe in the city. Though it is comparatively a safe city, yet it is advisable to take precautions. However, there have been reports of stray incidents of pick-pocketing. You are advised to not venture in areas from Omonoia Square to Karaiskaki Square during the night. The National Gardens and the Piraeus are also places to be avoided. Due to an unorganized traffic it is advisable to take caution while crossing streets. There are demonstrations every other day. So try and stay put in your hotels if you do not want to get caught in mob arresting.
