Athens: visiting the capital of Greece

Hello people!

Once again, another trip, again visiting Greece and its capital Athens, this time not the archaeological part in the heart of the city but up high, but in the lower part, where there are interesting and unmissable places.

So let's see Athens, a busy Mediterranean city with a lot of history, monuments, good atmosphere and delicious food. And if you want to see the Acropolis, in my previous post: Athens: the Acropolis, history and monuments in Greece

Syntagma Square

The most famous square in the city is in the centre, it is Syntagma Square, a wonderful name, and in it you will find the National Parliament building and the Monument of the Unknown Soldier, where there are always traditional Greek guards, with a colorful and unique uniform that draws attention, especially the tassels on their shoes.

These soldiers always stand at attention until the time comes for the changing of the guard, which is carried out punctually and which many tourists enjoy almost as a spectacle in a very serious and respectful atmosphere. This change seems like a kind of precise and solemn choreography, where the silence is only broken by the sound of heavy footsteps and some shouts of command. It is curious to see if you are in the area at one of those hours.

And if we turn around, we see Syntagma Square with its fountain and its people strolling, while from there we head to its main streets and see much more...

National Archeological Museum

A recommended visit is the city's archaeological museum, it is very large and contains very interesting pieces. Even on the outside, there are decorative sculptures in a much more modern style that give a good atmosphere to the building and the whole space.

Once inside there is a lot to see, amazing works of art and we almost felt overwhelmed, but above all you have to be quiet, or some attendant might tell you that you can awaken the wrath of the gods. But I don't think that happened and I was able to enjoy this fascinating ancient art, and see many of these sculptures and statues that are thousands of years old.

We now leave this great museum to go to the city centre, we say goodbye to that elegant classic façade to go and enjoy the streets, the atmosphere, other monuments and a Greek dinner. Let's go.

Around downtown: Plaka

The city is nice, we found some green areas with lots of palm trees like those that usually exist in many Mediterranean cities, but in this type of city there is also usually a large municipal market where they sell everything and where lots of people go, there is always a lot of hustle and bustle there as well as fresh food products. But it is interesting to discover these everyday environments.

Afterwards we simply wandered through the streets of the central part of the city, an area called Plaka, where we found more monuments with their inscriptions in Greek, both very old and later Orthodox churches. And in the monumental environment there is also a social atmosphere, people in the late afternoon gather to shop in its shops, then have a drink or dinner, and the terraces of restaurants.

There we enjoyed an excellent and lively popular Greek atmosphere, with flags decorating the place and of course, enjoying a succulent typical Greek dinner, which must begin with the famous salad with feta cheese, a cheese that I adore and as always, but there it tasted better. Delicious Greece!