Athens

Some culture and sun in November

By Michael Wilson

November 23^rd, 2016

In November, London is cold and it is wet, so we decided to visit a city which not only had loads to do but had a healthy dose of sunshine. Athens was our destination and the weather was glorious!

Acropolis museum

Athens is known for it's ancient history and the ruins that come with that. And while this dominates the city, there's a beautifully modern break in the architecture of the gorgeous Acropolis museum. The concrete and glass lines create some beautiful shapes, which make the building really stand out.

Acropolis and Parthenon

From pretty much anywhere in Athens, it's impossible to miss the imposing figure of the Acropolis hill and the Parthenon which sits atop it. This is the iconic symbol of Athens so it was first on the list of places to explore. There's so much history to take in as you stroll up the hill and the views all around Athens provide a beautiful backdrop.

Walking through the streets of Athens is constantly interesting. There's a huge amount of graffiti to feast your eyes on and the buildings vary in style. Some buildings look like they're about to fall down, while others glisten in the sunshine. It's a beautiful city to get lost in.

Academy of Athens

We jumped on an open top bus tour to get our bearings. As the bus passed through the area where the Academy of Athens lives we both instantly noted we'd want to be back here to explore further. Along with the Academy, there's the National Library of Greece and Saint Dionysius Cathedral, which are all spectacular in their own right.

Panathenaic Stadium

The Olympic games are synonymous with Greece and the Panathenaic stadium was the site of the first modern olympic games in 1896. The track has long straights and very tight turns, which make the stadium a different shape to most athletics tracks.

Temple of Olympian Zeus

Next stop was the Temple of Olympian Zeus, which started construction in 6th century BC. The columns are really impressive even the one that was toppled by a storm in the 1980's gives an extra insight into how they were constructed.

If you're ever in need of some November sun and put Athens high on the list of places to consider. There's so much history to discover, the loads of great bars and restaurants to enjoy and the weather was lovely the whole time we were there. Shorts and t-shirt for the win!