The Acropolis has towered over Athens for 2,500 years. 

The Acropolis has towered over Athens for 2,500 years. 
© Shutterstock

Long Weekend in Athens: The Best Tips

Few cities have a history and cultural identity like Athens. But the Greek metropolis also has plenty of vibrant energy even in the cooler months, plus some great contemporary bars and restaurants.

Friday

City stroll and a snack in the lively Cookoovaya. We visit the most famous restaurant in Athens, Spondi, in the evening.

At first glance, Athens is not a particularly beautiful city – and not just since the devastating forest fires that raged last summer. Metropolises such as Rome and Paris present themselves as fashionable, chic and vibrant. Athens is different; it is wild, rough and edgy but it has a very special charm that only becomes apparent when you immerse yourself in the city. Aside from cultural monuments like the Acropolis, Athens has a great museum scene. There are exciting bars in every conceivable corner, some of which are truly outstanding.

Lately, the city has experienced many crises – and miraculously survived them all. The restaurant scene had already changed significantly before the Covid-19 pandemic. For years Greek cuisine had the reputation of being rather rustic and simple. That has long since changed. A new generation of young Greek chefs are challenging the status quo. Establishments such as the Funky Gourmet were regarded as the epitome of new and innovative Greek cuisine. It had two Michelin stars, but sadly closed during the pandemic. The Cookoovaya near the Hilton Hotel, on the other hand, survived the crisis and is ideal for lunch. The vibrant restaurant was founded in 2014 by five highly ambitious chefs. With playful ease, they provide modern and relaxed cuisine, the likes of which did not exist in the city a decade or so ago. In the evening, head to Spondi, it is a worthy and contemporary alternative to the Funky Gourmet. Spondi restaurant, with two Michelin stars and chef Angelos Lantos, is probably the most famous dining room in the city. The elite has been meeting here for decades, indulging in grandiose creations.

Saturday

After a sightseeing tour, we have lunch at the restaurant in the New Hotel, one of the more unusual places in Athens in terms of design.

The number of historical sites and monuments in Athens is gigantic. First and foremost is the Acropolis – the landmark of the Greek capital. Also worth seeing is the world-famous Tower of the Winds (an ancient Greek clock erected around 100-50 BC), the Panagia Gorgoepikoos Church, the Panathenaic Stadium (the only stadium in the world to be built entirely from marble) and the National Archaeological Museum. More than 5,000 years of the city's history can be felt in many places, but Athens is also a bizarre interface between the ancient and the modern. This can be seen, for example, in the New Hotel, an architectural synthesis of the arts the like of which are few and far between.

The New Hotel was opened by the Cypriot art collector Dakis Joannou, who made his money as a building contractor. On entering the hotel for the first time it feels as if you're in a stylish dream world: chairs that look like plant goblets, washbasins that erupt out of the floor like molars. The view over the city is also spectacular. That's why we recommend a visit to the hotel restaurant, even if you're not a resident. The New Taste restaurant is open to all and offers refreshingly modern cuisine. If you request to have your dishes served on the seventh floor, you will enjoy a 360-degree view over Athens.

For the evening, we recommend Hytra restaurant on the sixth floor of the Onassis Cultural Centre with a sophisticated bar and a view of Syngrou Avenue, with the Acropolis in the background. Hytra has a Michelin star – here, fabulously good products are prepared in a modern, creative way. Chef Tasos Mantis is one of the new kitchen stars in Athens, he is shy and rarely comes out of his kitchen, yet he is considered a sensitive genius.

Sunday

For lunch a visit to the seafood classic Varoulko, in the evening to the ultra-modern Aleria. Then off to one of the city's fabulous bars such as the Baba au Rum.

There are two must-see museums in Athens: the Acropolis Museum, redesigned in 2009 by Parisian architect Bernard Tschumi, which has been floating on stilts above the ancient Byzantine ruins ever since. And the Benaki Museum – this is akin to seven museums, as one encounters practically the entire Greek culture from antiquity to the present day, a true paean of Aegean pride.

At lunchtime, we take a trip to the Piraeus district and reserve a table in the restaurant Varoulko, a dignified, long-established luxury restaurant facing the sea. Lefteris Lazarou's cuisine was awarded a Michelin star for the first time in 2002 – the first ever awarded to a restaurant in Greece.

In the afternoon, we walk to Kolonaki, which is a district famed for its cafés and boutique shops. For the evening we have booked a table at Aleria, located in a somewhat gloomy area of Athens, but inside it is dignified and architecturally extravagant. Chef Gikas Xenakis is a passionate advocate of modern Greek cuisine, which is at its best here.

If you don't visit one of the countless bars in Athens, it's your own fault. One of the most famous in the city is the Baba au Rum by Thanos Prunarus, who specialises in rum and has an incredible collection. It is 14th in the list of the 50 best bars in the world. In fourth place, is The Clumsies bar, a longstanding institution. Some of the best bartenders in Europe work here, the drinks and cocktails are exceptional and it is always vibrant, especially when up to 300 people crowd into the place.


Hotels
Four Seasons Astir Palace Hotel*****
Luxurious five-star hotel in a fantastic location on a peninsula by the sea, a 30-minute drive from the centre of Athens.
40 Apollonos, Vouliagmeni 166 71 Athens
+30 21 0890 1000
fourseasons.com/athens

Restaurants
New Taste
Stylish restaurant with roof terrace in the New Hotel. Spectacular view, exceptional ambience and modern Mediterranean cuisine. Reservations can be made by non-guests. Best Sunday brunch in town.
16 Filellinon, 105 57 Athens
+30 21 0327 3170
yeshotels.gr

Herbert Hacker
Herbert Hacker
Author
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