For the Best Trip to Athens, Get Out of Town

Reprinted from a letter home, February 2006

Athens, it turns out, is really a one-trick pony.

The Acropolis is the star of Athens; beyond that, things fade quickly

There's the Acropolis and its sister site of the national archeological museum,where all the monumental statuary is. That reminded me of Naples, where you have Pompeii and asimilarly crumbling but impressive museum. But after the obvious stuff in Naples you can spend hours and hours wandering around, sitting in cafes, drinking in baroque architecture. Athens is really not a city for wandering. The architecture is horrific: most of the buildings, even in the historic area, seem to beconcrete boxes thrown up in the '50s.

What's left of ancient Athens outside the acropolis is a set of ruined agoras, or fora, that are picturesque but limited. You can appreciate them and take a few photos from the street without feeling the need to wander amongst them. (For great urban ruins, Rome tops this by miles.) The shopping isn't even that enjoyable, because they have an almost Arabic ethos of coming into the street and trying to lure you into the shop with a hard sell if you only pause for amoment to look in a window. I detest that; turned me off of shopping all together.

This all meant that with four and a half days scheduled in Athens we'd pretty much seen what we wanted to in two. The solution is to hire private cab drivers. This is a whole separate economy in Athens. Taxi fares are regulated and relatively cheap. Thus drivers know they can make their best money cutting a flat deal with tourists to drive them for a half or full day. Prices range from euro 120 for a half day to 250 for a full day, the more expensive range also buying a more informed driver with better English.

Private cab drivers represent a whole separate
economy in Athens

It was these these outings that really made the trip,but racked up the costs. We took a half day trip to Cape Sounion, which is the southernmost tip in the state of Athens. A dramatic promontory sticking intothe sea, islands and mountains on view across thewater and a dramatic, ruined temple of Poseidon on topof the hill. We went, as tradition demands, around sunset, when the light is striking. We then stopped for dinner in a seaside cafe.

First of our all day trips was around the Peleponese Penninsula. We started at the ruins of ancient Corinth. A small but charming site on a hilltop with striking views. (Description sums up a lot of Greece, actually). It was chilly with bright blue skies and sun. Great for photos. Corinth is a big place of pilgrimage for the fundamentalist Christians because of its associations with St. Paul. I'm afraid I spent much of the trip contemplating what a spoilsport and culture-wrecker the man was, since most of the beautiful places we saw were left in ruins and abandoned when they were "supressed by the Christians". My heart ached to see exquisite ancient statues ... perhaps some of the finest depictions of the human form ever sculpted ... defaced with crosses carved across foreheads and chins. It made me even more thankful to the Renaissance Italians for making the ancient Greco-Roman world acceptable again. And even more depressed contemplating why so many religions feel the need to destroy in order to grow.

Anyway, from Corinth on to Ancient Mycenae, mythological home of the house of Agamemmnon, Clytemnestra, Iphegenia, et al. In fact, a very early hill fort (contemporary with the height of Egyptian culture) with the impressive Lion gates & beehive tombs, source of all sorts of gold now in the National Museum. From there a brief stop at a pretty seasidetown called Napflio, with a massive Frankish castlelooming above it. Finally to the theatre at Epidavros, considered the finest and best preserved theatre from the Greek world. The acoustics ares pooky. You stand on the marble circle at the middle of the stage and the sound quality changes immediately. It's almost like you're in a padded sound room. Your voice rockets back at you and you can be heard throughout the huge theatre and a little more than a whisper. I climbed to the top ... 50 some-odd rows ... and my mother and I could have a clear conversation in normal tones.

The theatre at Epidavros has some of the most
perfect acoustics in the world

The second day's tour was up into the mountains to visit theancient shrine of Delphi. The Oracle was so powerful throughout the Greek world that everyone agreed this was neutral, protected territory. So while the Greek city states fought and had their ups and downs over hundreds of years, Delphi remained peaceful and had money thrown at it. On the processional route up to the temple and oracle, each city state built a "treasury" to show off what they'd donated to the Oracle. The site is huge and spreads through what must be one of the most beautiful places on earth,climbing up the slopes of the second highest mountain in Greece (Parnassus) with white limestone cliffs looming above it, a valley spreading below and the gulf of Corinth shimmering in the distance. There's also a well preserved theatre and stadium, since both drama and athletics were part of the religious ceremony.

On this day we also saw a dramatic and mystical eastern orthodox monastery. The landscape was thrilling throughout.

So, the major lesson learned from this trip? Four and a half days in Athens is far too much, but the same amount of time spread across the southern part of mainland Greece can deliver a glorious, culture-packed tour. Highly recommended.