A local's guide to AthensMarch 27, 2016

Table of contents 2 of 11

Overview of Ath... Ermou Street - ... Kolonaki Area

Mount Lycabetus Dine & Party Transportation ...

Transportation ... Other means of ...

Basic Tips for your travel 3

Overview of Athens center 4

Ermou Street - Road Map 5

Kolonaki Area 6

Mount Lycabetus 7

Dine & Party 8

Transportation - Metro 9

Transportation - Tram 10

Other means of Transportation 11

Basic Tips for your travel 3 of 11

Dear fellow couchsurfers,

Athens is an amazing place to witness ancient greek history, fall in love in theromantic streets of Plaka, drink lots of Ouzo at a tradiotional rembetika bar inKaprikarea and is only a few miles away from the famous and extremely beautifulgreek islands. But during your stay, there are certain things you have to keep inmind:

1. Athens is a very big city of around 5 million residents. As of such, there are certainareas that are considered high-risk, especially in the night, and should be avoided foryour personal safety. (Areas such as Metaxourgio, Omonoia etc.) You can find moreabout crime in Athens here,

2. The possibility of falling for an overpriced service or scam is real, and you shouldreally try confirm that the price billed is the amount that should be billed in the firstplace. (Especially in taxis)

3. Always use Google maps. It's an everyday tool for the locals, and literally nearlyevery bar/restaurant has its coordinates inside the Gmaps. You can also plan yourjourney with public transporation through the app.

4. If you have any questions or doubts, you can freely ask any Greek you want in theroad and he will gladly assist you. Nearly all Greeks know little bit of English and arealways helpful with tourists, since they are their main source of income.

5. Emergency numbers

100 - Greek Police199 - Fire Brigade14944 - In order to find the nearest hospital that is operational overnight166 - National center for emergencies112 - European emergency number

Please if you face any difficulties or problems during your trip, just drop me a line onmy email: paul@aenstudents.com or on my mobile: +30 69 86 72 0525 and 'll do mybest to assist you.

Enjoy your stay in Greece,

Paul

Overview of Athens center 4 of 11

1. Akropolis & Parthenon

Probably the most well known sight ofAthens, this is not something you want tomiss. Keep in mind that the entrance to themuseum is free if you have a student card, Don't forget to visit Akropolis museum andhave a bite at the museum's restaurant.

2. Psiri

Psiri is a great place if you want to have abite, visit shisha bars or just have a drink andsee the centre of urban culture of Athens.Definetely worth a visit.

3. Thiseio

Thiseio is a majestic place to have a stroll, ithas a flea market that is open also during lateevening hours and along the road you caneither go to one of the majestic cafes situatedthere or choose to visit the Akropolis rock, arock where you have a direct view of theAkropolis and witness an amazing dawn ordusk. Another great option is cine thisio, an openromantic movie theater with a direct view ofthe Parthenon, playing most of the timevintage movies.

4. Monastiraki

Described more thoroughly in the next slide,its famous for its flea market and rooftopcoctail bars.

5. Plaka & Anafiotika

The Plaka is the historical center of Athens.Imagine a small village in the center of a largecosmoplitan city, built on top of ancient cities. Anafiotika which is next to Plaka, is a greatplace to have a few drinks or ouzo whilesitting on the decorated pavement and havinga stroll into one of Athen's most beautiful andromantic places.

6. Syntagma

Syntagma is the central square of the city, andaround 200-300 from the centre near Thiseosstreet you can find the best burger in town(Hot-Hot burger bar) and one of my personalbar favorites: Drunk Sinatra.

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Ermou Street - Road Map 5 of 11

Ermou street is the main shopping lane of thecenter and connects the Syntagma square tothe Piraeus avenue. It passes throughMonastiraki and Thiseio areas,

1. Coffe & Breakfast

There are a number of good coffee shops onAeolou street which is a pedestrian onlystreet, and in Agia Irini Square which is rightbehind the big yellow church on Aeolou. One of my favorites is Mama Roux, arestaurant-bar owned by an American jazzdrummer. They have brunch on Sunday at1pm and live jazz at 5:30. The food is a mix ofAmerican bistro, Mexican, Indian, Asian andMiddle Eastern. They also have excellentcoffee. You can also get some koulouria, which arelike bagels, from carts in the street. They arecheap and relatively healthy.

2. Church of Panaghia Kapnikarea

A classic sight that signifies that you arehalfway to Monastiraki square. A very oldchurch around 1000 years old. Near the church is a caffe called Kapni Kareathat has live rembetika music and lots of ouzo.

3. Monastiraki Square

Here you can find the monastiraki flea marketas well as some of the best coctail rooftopbars in town, such as A for Athens or 360coctail bar. Athens backpackers hostel is also situatedhere, which is extremely inexpensive fortravellers.

4. Avissinias Square

Every Sunday there is a huge flea marketorganized, with lots of stuff to choose from.Also the area has a lot of great cafes you canvisit and have a break.

5. Archaeological sites

For all those history aficionados out there, theancient market of Athens and the Stoa ofAttalos are some places you don't want tomiss. Next to them you can also find theTemple of Hephaestus.

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Kolonaki Area 6 of 11

Kolonaki is the city's most chic neighborhoodand home to much of the country's wealthyand elite. Kolonaki shopping should be atopthe list of things to do in Athens for thosewho have a taste for the finer things in life. Along the streets of Kolonaki, poshdesignershops from both international andGreek designers offer the latest fashions andstyles. If you get a hankering for sushi, orwould like to try a classic Greek dish,Kolonaki’s elegant streets are lined with oneof the best selections for upscale restaurantsin Greece. Cafes and bars are commonplaceas well in Kolonaki, should you need just abrief respite in-between snatching upsomething at Versace and heading over toTsakalof street for some designer shoes.

Nightlife - My personal favorites 4711: An elite club that opens after 23:00,with selective clientele and exclusive decor Bardot: If you are in for a great coctail, thenthats the place you want to visit. Try the"ginger fresh", barman's specialty. Poco al poco: A classical value for money baran restaurant in Kolonaki Area that boastsamazing coctails such as "Below zero"

Mount Lycabetus 7 of 11

If you like the view you are seeing, then youshould consider visiting mount Lycabetus, at277 meters, it is a place that can offeramazing sights, especially in the night. Up in the mountain, you will find rich floraand fauna, the old church of St. George, acafe, a restaurant and the open theater ofLycabetus, where a lot of summer events arehosted, especially ancient drama plays,

How to get there? You can either use the teleferic service (with asmall fee), go by feet from the Kolonaki area(its a little bit far) or use a car through theNorthern entrance. A great way to begin your journey to themountain is to arrive through the metrostation Evangelismos, take a taxi up to theteleferic station (5 minutes by car), take theteleferic and then after you finish walk thestairs down the mountain to see also the richflora of the mountain.

Up in the mountain you will see one ofAthens best restaurants, "Ορίζοντες". It usedto be an extremely expensive restaurant, butnow with less than 30€ per person you canexperience an amazing view accompaniedwith a romantic dinner.

Dine & Party 8 of 11

The view is from one of Athens most exlusivebars, the Galaxy Bar at Hilton Athens Hotel.Voted by Premier traveller magazine as one ofthe top 10 rooftop bars in the world. (fairlyexpensive though)

Syntagma Drunk Sinatra - If you are into jazz, blues andoverall in a vintage mood, then that is theplace to be. One of the best bars in Athens. BABA AU RUM - Another exquisite coctailbar, with the "South Valley" as its trademarkdrink. Falafellas - An alternative food choice,vegetarian approved and completely tasty. HOT HOT Burger bar - the best burger intown, try the "Buffalo Ribeye" and you willnot regret it. Plateia Mavili (near the US Embassy) Λώρας - awesome coctails, I suggest the"Mykonos". ΚΥΡΙΟΣ - an exlusive bar with jazzy to loungemusic and selective clientele. Gazi - Kerameikos CV - Excellent coctails, you should try the"Greek Distiller" MOMIX - One of 2 places in Athens whereyou can get coctails at a solid or even an icecream forms!

Transportation - Metro 9 of 11

Metro working hours: 05:30 - 00:00 Every other day05:30 - 02:00 Friday & Saturday This means that the metro starts from the firstterminal station at 05:30 and the last metrofor the day starts at 00:00 or 02:00respectively.

In Athens, we have 4 types of railtransporation: The green line, which is ISAP or ilektrikos.Starts from Piraeus port and ends up onKifissia. The blue and red lines, which are the metro. The suburban railway, which connects theairport to the blue line and crosses thesuburbs. (the black rail line, after DOUK.PLAKENTIAS it heads for the airport) And we also have the TRAM, it's route isdepicted on the next page and is the slowestform of railway transportation.

The rail transporatation fares are 1,2€ for 70minutes, excluding to and from the airporttransporation which is 8€. You could also buy a 5 day ticket for 10€,which in the long run is much cheaper if youplan to stay longer. All the above prices are half if you have astudent pass or you are over 65.

All the dotted lines are metro lines UNDERconstruction and cannot be used fortransporation. (such as the yellow dotted lineor the blue one)

Transportation - Tram 10 of 11

The fares for the TRAM and the workinghours are exactly the same as with the rest ofthe rail transporation.

The disadvantage of using the TRAM is thatusually it has 20' of waiting time that canreach even 40' in Friday and Saturday. Whereas the metro averanges around 10' ofwaiting time. And apart from that, the TRAM movesextremely slow. On the other side, its great ifyou want a relaxing ride from the centre tothe south of the town. It's air-conditioned andmost of the times it's not cluttered as with therest of the transportation means.

Other means of Transportation 11 of 11

Buses http://www.oasa.gr is the official site tosearch for all greek bus routes. The best way to fnd a suitable bus route isthrough google maps. There are 2 direct bus connections with theairport, the X95 line that connects the airportto the Syntagma square and the X96 line thatconnects the airport to the Piraeus port.

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