The most romantic souls out there are already excited with the advent of autumn. They are looking for simpler activities and hangouts with a nice and warm atmosphere that will beautify their days and nights in the city. Revitalizing walks in nature, a mug of hot chocolate, a mood for going to concerts, theatrical performances and interesting visual exhibitions are some of the reasons that put us in the autumn mood. This is also a great season to hang out with friends and try all the Greek delicacies that are hidden out there.
In the autumn we want to seek an easy living, so gather all your good will and try to follow several events that will give you the opportunity to go out and make you worship the months that are going to come… Autumn is the best season to visit Athens because the temperature is lower, so it will allow you to go around the Ancient ruins and the museums without feeling hot and tired. Also, you can find budget accommodation both in hotels and hostels around the city. You might even be able to bargain for a better price since you will have more choices.
The Streets of Athens
The city of Athens is bustling with life this autumn. From the summer cinemas and the bars to the various dining restaurants and the squares, Athens gives a new meaning to city life every day. Its streets have plenty of secrets for you to explore. The summer might have left behind beautiful memories but also an intense mood for fun without an end… There are some neighbourhoods of the centre that are constantly becoming more popular, with bars and cafes filled from early in the morning until the first morning hours and not just during the weekend, but on daily basis as well. Hidden in the atmospheric Archades of the centre, the well-known all-day hikes of Athens bring out an unprecedented intimacy and warmth, making us feel like we live in our own universe.
There are plenty of bars in the centre of the city that stand out for their aesthetics and are ideal choices for your autumn beverages. The nostalgic atmosphere, strictly Greek music – with artistic, popular, traditional tunes- and homemade appetizers will leave you with the best impressions. In Drakos pedestrian street in Koukaki, you will find modern cafes that combine Greek tradition with a friendly atmosphere and a relaxed philosophy that makes it easy to hang around. When it comes to cheap drinks and delicious appetizers, our favourite choices would be in the area of Egaleo.
If you decide to explore the narrow streets that encircle the crossing of Iera Odos and Thivon, you will discover that there is also a pedestrian street that is full of life at any time of the day. Most of its “mezedopolia” (taverns that offer appetizers) have the word “raki” as their title, Agia Lavra Street has been a trademark for the night outs in the area of Egaleo, thus a reference point for the western suburbs, where they like to put their tables out of the glass windows and are waiting from the sunset until dawn for those big groups that, as usual, order many portions of Greek delicacies.
Another interesting neighbourhood is Pangrati. It may have been one of the largest and most populous districts in Athens, but what has happened in recent years has no precedent! At Barnabas Square, you can find people of all ages hanging out – young people to grandparents. You have a choice between several “mezedopolia” (you got that right, every night is a “meze” night, we love appetizers), countless bars and cafes. Even if you take a ride on your own for a drink you will definitely get an uplifting mood. If you walk a bit further, you will find Plastira Square. This is one of the most crowded places in Athens, and in the Scout Square (Plateia Proskopon), as the locals used to call it, you can stay out from morning till night and you will not get bored for even a minute.
Seek the Greek nature
The best way to feel beautiful during an autumn weekend is a short getaway. You do not have to head to distant mountains. You can, for example, take a walk with the company or your family at Sygrou Forest, on Kifissias Avenue, at the borders of the municipalities of Amaroussion, Kifissia and Melissia. The unique forest of the Attica basin is a landscape of special natural beauty, in which archaeological findings have also been discovered. Here you can enjoy your time pleasantly by hiking, doing an outdoor aerobic workout, jogging, cycling or even strolling with your pet. Parnitha is also a good choice for an excursion so close but so far away from Athens at the same time.
Leaving behind the city’s concrete walls and highways and only 30 km from its centre, you can enjoy a wonderful walk in nature and join organized hikes. On the eastern slopes of Parnitha there is also a “surprise”. We are referring to Lake Beletsi. It is an artificial lake that was created around 1972-1975, while the Ippokrateos State of Afidnes is situated around it. To reach this beautiful place you take the exit to Afidnes, continue until you pass the town and head towards the chapel of Agia Triada (take a stop to enjoy the monumental view of the Attica basin). From there signs will take you to your destination.
Do you still think you have to go far to find a forest in Athens? Think no more, go check out Hymettus mountain. This place is set about half a mile away from the centre of Athens. A walk through the bike trails running through the lush slopes of Hymettus will make you change your mind. The smell of wet soil paths will make you forget that you are just a few minutes from the busy metropolis of Athens. A marvellous view from every possible angle makes the cityscape background the perfect contrast to the natural environment. Necessary stops along the route are the famous Kesariani Monastery, built on the ruins of the ancient temple of Demeter, whose columns still stand in its courtyard, the ruined Frangomonastero and the Byzantine Tower of Anthousa.
On the hill of Haidari, near the Daphni Monastery, the Diomedic Garden is the largest, most beautiful and impressive (mostly unknown to the general public) botanical garden of Eastern Europe. It is also the only botanical garden in the world that has a “historic department” that hosts plants that refer to historical texts – such as the narthex, Ferula communis, where according to mythology Prometheus hid the fire to carry it to people or the conium, Conium maculatum, which killed Socrates – and the only botanical garden of 1,860 acres of which coexist with natural forest vegetation with cultivated plants and flowers.
Otherwise known as Syngrou Park or Syngrou Park. What does the name mean, though? The beloved oasis of the inhabitants of the Northern Suburbs is a regular forest surrounded by pine trees, olive groves, almond trees and orchards, which at this time are fragrant in autumn. The grass paths that run through them almost cause long-haul hikes, and if you have kids, note the existence of the well-cared playground. Apart from nature, the Syngrou Forest presents a special architectural interest: the unique Orthodox Neo-Gothic church in Greece, that of St. Andreas, is hidden behind its dense vegetation, as well as the mansion designed by Ernesto Tsiller, the mansion of the Syngrou family. Both monuments have been designated as preservable.
The Greek National Garden
Key Advantage: You do not even have to drive. The subway leaves you right outside one of the greenest, more serene and disregarded Athenian oases. Large and green, the former King’s Garden, the inspiration of Amalia and the creation of the German gardener Friedrich Schmidt, stretches over 155 acres – or 285, if we add the acres of Zappeio Garden right next to it- and hosts a mini zoo, a children’s playground, two ponds, and a caf, in the shade of the trees. The most beautiful sight, however, is the paved paths, which pass beneath tremendous tree trunks and green clearings on each side, where families and groups lay their picnic blankets. Little green parrots flying around add to the magical scenery.
Seven hundred acres of pine trees await for you at Filopappou Hill in the centre of Athens. Pebbled paths ideal for exploration, wooden bridges, plus the sightseeing offered by the creations of Dimitris Pikionis that decorate it and the impressive monument of Gaios Julius Antiochus Philopappou that gave it his name. If these are not enough reasons to climb up the paved alleys – or the Petralona periphery, for those who love driving – add the best, by far, view of the Acropolis and of Athens. If you come prepared with a picnic basket and tablecloths to lay on the ground, you will be laying under the shade of the hills. If you follow the famous paved path, which starts in your right hand you will descend from the adjacent Pnyx hill on the “back” side of Thissio, in order to catch a table at some of the famous taverns around the area. A walk around Plaka is the best way to finish your day. Plaka is the most remarkable neighbourhood of Athens giving a glimpse into the city’s past.
Autumn in Athens without the arts is impossible.
This autumn in Herodion, the audience will have the opportunity to enjoy musical, theatrical and dance performances, always with respect to this place of cultural heritage. A rich artistic program with concerts by famous artists – such as Bryan Ferry and Tolis Voskopoulos, and possibly Antonis Remos with Eros Ramazzotti – separate theatre performances and a lot of dancing, will be the centre of attention at the Herodion in September and October. You might also be interested in the Athens International Film Festival – Premiere Nights, which return for the 24th year to its established autumn appointment from 19th to 30th September, presenting a total of 114 feature films, 67 shorts and 3 Competitions. New creators, long-awaited premieres, glamorous guests, frantic parties and the best movies of the year at the 24th Premiere Nights.
the Burger Festival
Another interesting event is the Burger Festival. It will be hosted at the Trains Old Depot in Gazi, Athens, where such gastronomic events have been successfully organized in the past with the attendance of thousands of visitors. If you are into the arts one place you have to visit is the Technopolis of the City of Athens. It is housed in the old industrial gas station of Athens, an unusual mechanical landmark, transformed into the most vibrant multi-purpose culture centre in the heart of the city, open and available to all, with over 1,000,000 visitors each year. The venues of Technopolis promote the artistic expressions, growth, entrepreneurship and progress. Interested in inventive and creative methods as well as long-term learning, engineering heritage and open awareness of social issues, while guaranteeing its sustainability. The audience that loves going to the theatre awaits to enjoy the performances of the new season. The autumn brings it many and very interesting visual exhibitions for art lovers.
Discover The Hidden Treasures of Athens
You have to take a stroll around one of the most beautiful districts of Athens, in the shadow of the Acropolis, Anafiotika. A walk in the northeast of the Acropolis, at the border with Plaka, you will find a neighbourhood as forgotten in time, with Cycladic colour and Aegean air. Bougainvillea trees and whitewashed cubic houses dug into the hollows of the sacred rock, cats lying on the cobbled streets and enjoying the after summer breeze.
This tiny and charming district was created in the middle of the 19th century when workers from the island of Anafi began to arrive in Athens in order to work as builders for the rebuilding of the city and the creation of Otto’s palaces. Ιf you wonder why they chose the Acropolis, it is said that these famous craftsmen chose it because the rock reminded them of their homeland, the mesmerizing island of Anafi. So bit by bit, this neighbourhood started to take shape, having a strong resemblance to the Cycladic architecture. Their craftsmanship was so great, which you can still notice today that all the settlement, the houses, the courtyards and the alleys are built and carved in the recesses and ridges of the rocks.
After the Disaster of Asia Minor, the neighbourhood’s residents changed, as the population of the refugees from Asia Minor were added to this district. But it was not just this change that happened over the years. A decision by the Ministry of Culture in the 1970s to expropriate and redevelop the area under the Acropolis – to open the “ancient walk” – has led to the destruction of a large part of the neighbourhood by the demolition of twenty houses. Today, there are 45 houses that are normally inhabited in Anafiotika – another fifteen are being used by the Archaeological Service – which, together with the neoclassical buildings of Plaka, maintain a living part of the urban tradition of Athens.
Plaka has plenty of accommodation choices, so if you are looking for a hotel in the centre of Athens this is the place to be. Every important site in the area will be a few minutes walk from your hotel room. You can’t go wrong with this one.
Martin Wynn
Priya
