3 other ways to expertise Athens

First-time guests to Athens usually flock to the Acropolis the place the long-lasting Parthenon taking centre stage on prime of the hill. Maybe additionally the Acropolis Museum, the Nationwide Archaeological Museum, the Temple of Olympian Zeus and the Historical Agora. However for anybody looking for a unique expertise, listed below are three distinctive methods to discover the town that we lately loved, courtesy of the aptly-named Various Athens.

The Olympic Video games Exercise

In addition to being well-known for its historic historical past, structure, democracy and philopsophy, Athens is synonymous with the Olympics. The town hosted the primary fashionable Olympic Video games in 1896 and has a protracted affiliation with historic and fashionable Olympics. So what higher technique to immerse your self in Athens than by an Olympic-inspired exercise tour with an authorized sports activities coach? On this tour, you’ll uncover the true essence of the Olympics, visiting venues related to actual Olympic occasions alongside the best way. We started this expertise at one of many metropolis’s most lovely neoclassical landmarks, Zappeion Corridor, and the primary fashionable purpose-built Olympic facility.

Right here, we began with a jog across the constructing and some warm-up workout routines, earlier than studying about how the Olympics started, what position the traditional Video games performed in society, how athletes skilled, and what disciplines had been included, because the video games advanced. Our subsequent cease was a nineteenth Century gymnasium close by, the place we tried our hand at a number of the earliest occasions comparable to javelin, shot put and lengthy soar. Do you know the lengthy soar was accomplished from a standing begin, with no run-up?

After which comes the finale – a go to to the Panathenaic Stadium, the one stadium on this planet constructed totally of marble, which hosted the primary fashionable Olympic Video games in 1896. Right here, we had the chance to compete in a race earlier than concluding our tour and exploring the remainder of the stadium at our leisure. Keep in mind, it’s not nearly successful – competing pretty, respecting your opponents, and demonstrating good sportsmanship are all qualities that make a terrific Olympian!

Athens Road Artwork Tour

Artwork isn’t simply restricted to museums, and Athens is a major instance of this. The Greek capital is likely one of the world’s hottest locations for graffiti artists, and road artwork has grow to be an integral a part of its city cloth. Wander across the streets and also you’ll see the whole lot from large, commissioned murals to scratty tags. Store partitions, shutters and even folks’s properties are usually not proof against graffiti. Autos, too, typically fall sufferer to a coat of spray paint!

Our tour with Nikos, himself a graphic designer in addition to a tour information, took us by the historical past of graffiti and the event of Athens’ road artwork scene, one of the crucial vibrant in Europe, spurred on partially by the Greek monetary disaster. We had been led by cool neighbourhoods that assist and showcase road artwork, and we’re instructed the tales between the artists and artworks.

Take Loukanikos, for instance; this stray canine turned an emblem of resistance throughout Athens’ financial disaster. He was usually seen on the entrance line in the course of the metropolis’s riots, and captured the hearts of the Greek public on account of his fearless presence. He was seen as an icon of hope and loyalty by many and has been portrayed although road artwork, with this explicit instance – present in Psirri on the nook of Riga Palamidou and Sarri Streets – serving as a poignant reminder of the social and political turmoil that the town endured.

Different examples we noticed addressed points such because the battle in Ukraine, and a practice crash catastrophe believed to be on account of many years of mismanagement of Greece’s rail trade.

We additionally noticed a number of examples of labor by INO (Apostolos Kyriazis), a road artist extensively identified for portray black and white pictures with a splash of blue . His 90-metre-long model of Leonardo da Vinci’s ‘The Final Supper’ highlights social inequalities as a result of Greek political system.

This different tour is one which’s to not be missed, and a very distinctive technique to discover Athens. It’ll offer you a chance to find cool neighbourhoods and acquire a deeper understanding of the town’s tradition, how folks suppose and a number of the points that they maintain near their hearts.

Scrumptious Athens

They are saying to solely have a light-weight breakfast earlier than this tour; we determined to skip it altogether and definitely didn’t it! Greek meals isn’t solely central to the native tradition, and provides a implausible method to see a unique aspect of Athens, by becoming a member of Greeks in certainly one of their most passionate pastimes… meals! We begin with some Greek classics – spinach pies and baklava – earlier than shifting on to do some tasting of olive oil and Greek espresso, all of the whereas studying about culinary strategies and the significance of provenance.

Our tour additionally takes us by , the bustling Varvakios Market, the largest and hottest fish, meat and vegetable market in the entire of Athens.

And there’s an compulsory cease at ‘Kostas’ for a standard pork souvlaki served with contemporary tomatoes, onions and a sprinkle of paprika, all wrapped in a heat pita. It’s been serving souvlaki since 1950 and is likely one of the locations to go for a real style of Athens road meals.

We might actually have stopped at this level, however there was one final cease on the tour, at a deli for a collection of delicious Greek meze. This tour isn’t simply in regards to the meals, although; it’s a novel technique to expertise everday life in Athens and to see the town in a unique mild.

Disclosure: This submit is sponsored by Various Athens.

Paul Johnson

Paul Johnson is Editor of A Luxurious Journey Weblog and has labored within the journey trade for greater than 30 years. He’s Winner of the Improvements in Journey ‘Finest Journey Influencer’ Award from WIRED journal. Along with different awards, the weblog has additionally been voted “one of many world’s finest journey blogs” and “finest for luxurious” by The Telegraph.