What do you love or hate about Athens?

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What do you love or hate about Athens?

by George » Mon Oct 23, 2006 7:19 am

Love:
The people
The hectic roads
The stray dogs
The food
The overall atmosphere and charm of the place

Hate:
The beggars

...and that's about it

How about you?
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by kzar99 » Tue Oct 24, 2006 1:10 pm

Love the variety of options a large city has to offer.
Love the anonymity in the crowd.
Love the fact that mountain and sea are easily accesible from almost everywhere in Athens
Love the fact that everyone in Greece wants to live in Athens

Hate the long distances and traffic of Athens (major problem in my opinion)
Hate pollution (got to find a solution fast :) )
Hate the fact that we gradually lost the feeling of "neighborhoud".
Hate the fast lifestyle we must attend by living in a large city.
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by travelmaniac02 » Wed Jul 11, 2007 12:10 pm

i love the terrific sights in Athens! I also admire the food!
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by iloveleros » Thu Jul 12, 2007 10:12 pm

Love the city atmosphere
Hate the beggars
Love the Metro
Hate the prices compared to the rest of Greece (apart from the kebab restaurant in Monastiraki)
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by alexis » Mon Jul 16, 2007 3:22 pm

Love:
- The ambiance
- The people running to their daily task
- The cafe (always crowded anytime of the day). Wondering if people work..
- The night scene of Plaka, Thissio, Psiri, Gazi, Kolonaki
- Ermou shopping street
- Lycabettus hill and the amazing views from there.
- The taxi drivers, their music on the radion and their discussions
- The fact that you can go easily to sea areas like Piraeus

Hate
- Not enough green
- Too much cars
- Too much pollution
- No environmental conscience
- Lack of profesionalism (but that is also the charm of it)
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by doone » Mon May 19, 2008 1:02 am

Love:
-the friendly people
-the cafes and restaurants especially the pastry shops :D.
-that there is so much history to be found in and out of the museums even in The Metro (which is great too).
-the fact that some people still take siesta (is there a greek word for that?), although it means adjusting to shops closing in the afternoon everytime I visit.
-the occasional whiff of jasmine and the pretty flowers everyone has on their balconies.
-seeing water dishes put out for the stray dogs and cats.

Don't like:
-the amount of pollution, both air and noise, all the honking cars and the vendors driving around with megaphones.
-the number of cars and how everyone parks wherever they can (astounded me on my first visit.)
-the traffic makes it hard to be a pedestrian and the taxis confound me.
-the graffiti makes me sad.
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What I love and hate about Athens

by jensplace » Mon Jun 16, 2008 12:34 am

I love walking the streets and watching the people from Constitution Square...Ermou St..Monastiraki..plaka
I love taking the small lift to Lykabytos and then walking the terrace steps down to Plaka
I love the aroma of the flowers mixed with the Psistaria (grills) and hearing the music coming from the open restaurants.
I love Kifissia to Stamata area where the forest meets the city

I hate the polution and the traffic that goes with a big city
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by zdzichu » Wed Nov 19, 2008 12:57 pm

I hate it that Athens are losing their ancient charm. I took some pictures there and most of them look like this one here: http://www.odyssei.com/travel-gallery/106605.html so it looks more like a shanty town in Kenya than a centre of old cultures....But I srill love the food and wine. :) Greek wine is really delicious.
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by Angelicoula » Mon Aug 31, 2009 4:57 pm

I actually love everything about Athens, I can't think of disadvantegs! :D
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by travelniki » Wed Oct 28, 2009 1:16 pm

I agree, it's hard to think of things I don't like about athens. I guess I would say I don't like the traffic and pollution, but I love the people, the pace of life, and even the chaos of the city!
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Re: What do you love or hate about Athens?

by snagydra » Mon Jun 21, 2010 2:10 pm

I like the same things as many others have mentioned, but I feel most comfortable and safe mixing with the ordinary people of Athens. They are friendly, passionate and charitable beyond belief. Take a ride on a suburban tram from Syntagma to Paleo Faliro and back to see and meet some real Athenians (remember to validate your ticket before boarding to avoid a fine).

Greek people are 97% of the same religion and willingly share what they have, with their less fortunate citizens. You can see the stress it causes them to refuse the "professional beggars". That is why the immigrant beggars will eventually destroy the Greek culture. The European Union should do much more to accomodate the immigrants in other countries before they overwhelm and destroy beautiful Greece.

For other tourists reading this, add Keramikos to your must-see list and a day-trip to the Argosaronic islands.
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Re: What do you love or hate about Athens?

by kethrine » Sat Nov 20, 2010 9:30 am

What do I love about Athens. The weather It might get very very hot in July and August but we have sunshine almost every day of the year. I love going out for coffee and drinks with friends. There are so many nice places in central athens where you can park of for hours and have a great time. We have great places where you can eat out cheaply and taste amazing food.
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Re: What do you love or hate about Athens?

by redbeardtravels » Sat Nov 27, 2010 2:50 pm

LOVED
Such a modern, clean airport and metro system

Easy to find our ferry at the busy harbour

Cheap to travel around town on the lovely metro (€15 for 3 days)

Seeing the spotlights on the Acropolis from our hotel window

Walking around the classical sites away from the crowds at Flilopapou Hill, Anafiotika and Kerameikos

Sampling and buying olives at the market

Having a chance to see inside the Old Cathedral

Seeing so many things in the Archaeology Museum I only knew from books and lectures at university - and being able to take photos!

ENDURED (not going to say 'hate')

The grime, graffiti, scaffolding, empty buildings, broken pavements, non-existent street lighting in places and rip-off restaurants selling bland food

Plus it was too hard to find somewhere nice for breakfast LOL
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Re: What do you love or hate about Athens?

by emilyk » Tue May 24, 2011 5:33 pm

I love Athens and everything about it, especially the food!

I don't hate anything but a bit more greenery would nice! :-)
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Re: What do you love or hate about Athens?

by mia222 » Tue Oct 11, 2011 11:35 am

love the summer and the sunshine
love the great food
love the music love the people :)
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Re: What do you love or hate about Athens?

by yrduba » Fri Jan 27, 2012 4:45 pm

Athens is still a nice place for shopping, walking in a certain number of places, going at bars or restaurants.
BUT Athens has become dangerous, criminality has raised dramatically, especially on the metro where groups of people try to "explore" your pockets.
Personnaly this happened to me, and many greeks now travel with a copy of their passeports or ID, because of that. The terrible thing is the absence of police! And when they are present, they do not move!
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