MINI GUIDE
Budget Athens
COMPILED BY LORNA PARKES, WITH CONTRIBUTIONS FROM ALEXIS AVERBUCK. PHOTOGRAPHS: JANE SWEENEY/AWL IMAGES, ADRIENNE PITTS, SLOW IMAGES/GETTY, ED NORTON/LONELY PLANET IMAGES/GETTY, DAVID FRANKLIN/ALAMY, COURTESY OF YES! HOTELSAthens essentials The know-how
FURTHER READING
Lonely Planet’s
Pocket Athens
(£7.99) is a
compact city
guide for
weekenders,
including maps and
reviews by neighbourhood;
also consider packing our
handy Greek Phrasebook &
Dictionary (£4.99). Athens
features on Lonely Planet’s
free Guides app, available
on app stores. The Ministry
of Culture website is a
mine of information on
Athens’ historic
monuments (culture.gr).
Inside Hitler’s Greece
(£14.99; Yale University
Press) by Mark Mazower is
a gripping account of
wartime Athens.SUMMER CINEMA
One of the delights of hot
summer nights in Athens is the
enduring tradition of open-air
cinema, where you can watch
the latest Hollywood or
art-house flick under moonlight.
Many original outdoor cinemas
have been refurbished and are
still operating in gardens and on
rooftops around Athens.
Aigli The city’s most historic
outdoor cinema, in the Zappeio
Gardens, where you can watch
a movie in style with a glass of
wine (aeglizappiou.gr).
Dexameni Held in a peaceful
square in upmarket Kolonaki,
tucked beneath Lykavittos Hill
(Plateia Dexameni).
Cine Paris Nab a seat with
Acropolis views on this rooftop
in Plaka (cineparis.gr).
Thission
In the foothills of
the Acropolis
(cine-thisio.gr).share bathrooms (artgalleryhotel.
gr; 5 Erechtheiou; from £60).
A rooftop terrace, friendly staff
and a good location make Hotel
Phaedra one of Plaka’s better
deals. Though snug, many rooms
have balconies overlooking
a church or the Acropolis
(hotelphaedra.com; 16
Herefondos St; from £60).
In chic Kolonaki overlooking
Lykavittos Hill, Periscope is a
design hotel with industrial décor,
organic toiletries and clever
gadgets sprinkled throughout. Its
fashionable Pbox restaurant adds
to the vibe (yeshotels.gr; 22
Haritos St; from £115).WHERE TO STAY
Art Gallery Hotel is a quaint,
family-run place with original
furniture from the 1960s
decorating the communal areas.
Some rooms are small, but the
upstairs balcony has a bit of an
Acropolis view. Cheaper roomsTRANSPORT
Fly Qatar Airways via Doha from
Singapore or Kuala Lumpur
(from £528; qatarairways.com).
Budget airline Scoot now also
flies direct from Singapore to
Athens (from £197; flyscoot.
com). The modern Eleftherios
Venizelos International Airport
lies 17 miles east of the city, at
Spata. The express bus (£5.20) is
the cheapest way to get into
town, but the metro (£8.70; line
3) is usually quicker. Athens’
extensive network of buses,
metro, trolleybuses and trams is
inexpensive; get maps at tourist
offices or online (oasa.gr). Single
tickets (£1) are valid for 90
minutes; a 24-hour pass is £4.Panoramic photographs of
Athens in a room at PeriscopeTours Shopping Activities Sights Eating Sleepingwr).