Greece. Part 1. Athens and the island of Ios. Oct, 2022

Greece has always felt like a fairytale country to me — whitewashed buildings, blue rooftops, turquoise waters, picturesque streets, olive groves, and delicious food. Everything is just as beautiful and fascinating as the history of Ancient Greece itself. And we were lucky enough to visit this magical country. On this trip, we explored Athens as well as three islands 

We were never fans of organized tours, as they tend to limit freedom of movement and choice of places. But this time, we actually went on an organized tour. However, it wasn’t a typical one — it was arranged in a way that suited us perfectly.

The package (from Air Canada) included flights, transfers, ferries, hotels, breakfasts, and a guided tour of Athens. Everything else was up to us, and as usual, we planned our time exactly the way we wanted.

Since early to mid-October is considered the end of the tourist season in Greece, the price of the tour was very reasonable. The weather was also ideal for traveling — a pleasant 20–23°C. However, it was no longer beach season, and swimming in the sea or pools felt quite cold. On the bright side, we avoided the huge crowds that Greece’s most famous destinations are known for.

A little twist of the trip was that we only learned the names of our hotels a few days before departure. But we were able to choose the hotel category in advance — from standard to luxury.

Day 1. Athens

We arrive in Athens, the capital of Greece, and check into the Athenaeum Smart Hotel. It’s a modern and beautiful hotel, about a 20-minute walk from the Old Town and the Acropolis.

Perhaps I’ll mention another hotel later that we really loved. But it’s hard to recommend just one hotel in Greece, since there are so many in Athens and on the islands. The best approach is simply to choose a convenient location. The same goes for restaurants — there are just so many of them! But the good news is that everything is delicious. Honestly, we didn’t have a single bad meal in Greece.

So, a quick bite to eat — the classic Greek salad. During our almost two weeks in Greece, we never got tired of it, and we ordered it every single day

Now it’s time for a little walk. Along the way, there are plenty of cafés offering traditional Greek sweets 

We reach the Old Town and find ourselves in the Plaka district. This is where the Acropolis is located, along with countless narrow streets filled with restaurants, cafés, shops, and souvenir stores. I absolutely love these kinds of authentic places 

Souvenir shops — my favorite stores, with my favorite olives 

Cozy tavernas and a motorcyclist cat, casually strolling around on its own. Later on, we would see many more cats like this just roaming freely 

This cozy taverna is located right at the foot of the Acropolis. And then came the gelato… probably the most delicious ice cream we have ever tried in our lives was in Greece 

Day 2. Athens

Good morning. A tour bus with a guide was waiting for us. The Greek guide was very happy to hear Russian, as she had studied at Moscow. In just half a day, we saw all the main landmarks of the city.

Our first stop was the Panathenaic Stadium. This is where the tradition of the Olympic flame handover was born. The stadium was rebuilt on the site of an ancient one, and the first modern Olympic Games were held here in 1936

And here we are approaching the Acropolis. This is the Theatre of Dionysus. It is considered one of the oldest theatres in the world. The acoustics here are said to be excellent, and you can occasionally experience this yourself by attending one of the concerts held here 

An olive tree. We saw many such trees everywhere. And now we are already on the hill with numerous temples and sculptures 

The Acropolis and the view of the city from the observation deck 

Then we went to the New Acropolis Museum. It is dedicated to the archaeological excavations at the site of the Acropolis 

We continue our walk and arrive in the Monastiraki district. This is a central square. Right on the square there is a small market. We couldn’t resist buying this grapes — they were extremely tasty and incredibly cheap 

Almost all food in Greece was about twice as cheap as in Canada. But the euro is also low these days… And here we arrived at a café we really wanted to visit — Little Kook. Usually, the café and its surroundings are decorated in an “Alice in Wonderland” theme, but since Halloween was approaching, the whole concept had changed 

Cooling down with some ice cream. I can’t stop saying how incredibly delicious it is in Greece! Literally everywhere. But many people recommended this café in particular — Da Vinci. Our favorites were lemon ice cream and mango sorbet 

Just walking, heading toward the city’s main square — Syntagma. And the pigeons are real! 

And here we are at Syntagma Square, in front of the Parliament, where the ceremonial changing of the guard takes place every hour. A large crowd always gathers to watch this spectacle. The soldiers — the Evzones of the Presidential Guard — are over 187 cm tall, dressed in ceremonial uniforms with shoes featuring pom-poms. Each shoe weighs about one kilogram 

The spectacle is unforgettable and, to be honest, a little bit funny. In the video I sped the process up two times 

We walked a lot more and ate very well (on the plate is taramosalata — a salty Greek appetizer made from fish roe) 

We noticed how difficult parking is in Athens. Driving a car in Athens is something I would not recommend to anyone. There are many narrow streets, and taxi drivers drive like crazy. Interestingly, pedestrians have to adapt to car traffic, not the other way around as in Canada. Drivers rarely stop, even at pedestrian crossings.

Public transport — the metro and buses — run strictly on schedule, but taxis are in especially high demand. Uber doesn’t really exist there. Or rather, it does, but it is tied to the same local taxi system.

And then evening came. This is the Arch of Hadrian. It was built in 131 BC. It’s not hard to guess that it was constructed in honor of the Roman Emperor Hadrian, whose favorite city was Athens

The next day we set off on our island-hopping journey. I’ll talk about the islands next time, but for now I’ll jump ahead 10 days and return to Athens.

Day 11. Athens Continued 

We spent another half day there and then stayed overnight before heading home. One of the plans was to climb the highest hill — Lycabettus. Well, “climb” is a bit of an exaggeration. The hill is actually quite high (263 m above sea level), and you need a funicular to get up.

We arrived about an hour before sunset and sat at a café at the very top

A snack — tzatziki and pita 

Наверху довольно ветренно, но так красиво! 

And here is the sunset. In the distance on the right, the Acropolis can be seen 

After going down by funicular, we decided to walk back to the Old Town. I know Athens is not to everyone’s taste. Many describe it as a dirty city with homeless people and pickpockets. Maybe we were just lucky — we didn’t encounter any of that, even though we walked a lot.

Instead, we came across quite a few sex shops and entertainment venues. The Greeks definitely have a sense of humor

We head back again to the Plaka district and refuel with coffee. By the way, cappuccino in Greece is also excellent 

We pass through the square with the church and continue into the narrow streets filled with souvenir shops and all kinds of other good 

It’s already late. We’re back at the hotel, admiring the view of the Acropolis 

In the morning, we will fly back to Toronto. But this is only a small part of our journey, because between arriving in Athens and leaving from Athens, we visited three wonderful islands! Let’s start with the island of Ios

There are more than 1,000 islands in Greece. Only a few hundred are inhabited, and just about half of those have more than 100 residents. Many islands are only open during the tourist season, and when the cold weather arrives, locals move back to the mainland.

Of course, most tourists visit the most popular islands. It was hard for us to choose, but since it was our first time in Greece, we went with a standard package of three islands. We’ll start with Ios.

So, we leave Athens and head to the port, where our ferry is waiting. There will be many ferries on this trip, as it’s the only way to travel between the islands. The ferries are large, comfortable, and run strictly on schedule. Everything in Greece seemed to run on schedule — I’m not sure if it was the tour company organizing our transfers and tickets, but we were surprised by how punctual everything was.

Ferry tickets need to be booked in advance, and it’s important to carefully check the route, as it’s best to have as few stops as possible between destinations. However, the ferry usually stops at several islands along the way. Our crossings between the three islands ranged from 40 minutes to 6 hours

Day 3. Ios Island

Not a single island attracts as much youth as Ios. It is rightly considered the most party-oriented island in Greece. In the summer, it is full of young people, with countless bars and clubs and music everywhere. Since our trip took place at the end of the season, most of the youth had already left, and the island had turned into a peaceful and quiet place.

We check into our hotel. It’s a complex of small cottage-style houses. In front of the entrance there is a pomegranate tree, as well as a beautiful swimming pool. Pools are found in almost every hotel on the islands

The hotel is located right by the sea. Golden sand and the crystal-clear waters of the Aegean Sea. Mylopotas Beach is considered the best beach on the island 

Nearby there are several excellent restaurants with beautiful views of the sea 

In the evening, a real Greek wedding was taking place in one of these restaurants. The music and celebrations continued until 5 a.m.

Day 4. Ios

And at the hotel, we had this little cutie. We really love pets. They didn’t bother us at all, and each one of them got their share of affection

And these ATVs are one of the most popular means of transportation on the islands. They are designed for one or two people 

We head out to the road where the bus schedule is posted. Once again, Greek punctuality — the buses run strictly on schedule! A one-way ticket costs 1.60 euros and is bought directly from the driver. We head to the town of Chora, the island’s capital. And we find ourselves in a Greek fairytale — narrow streets, whitewashed facades, bright doors, shutters and window frames, fragrant flowers, and occasionally — laundry hanging out to dry 

At sunset, we head up to the island’s landmark — the windmills 

The weather is so pleasant that we decide to walk back to the hotel. We enjoy the views 

Day 5. Bye-bye Ios. Hello Santorini

Today in Ios we have an easy schedule. We take the bus to the port and recharge with cappuccino

And taking it all in, we admire this beauty. We climb the steps up the hill, where at the top stands the whitewashed Church of Agia Irini 

2 nights and 3 days were quite enough to explore the island of Ios. We sail on... 

Part 2 of our journey to the islands of Santorini and Paros can be found here