After Crete and Rhodes, I wanted to visit the Athens region. I wanted to visit Athens but also relax in one of the resorts near Athens. Famous resorts and suburbs of Athens are Glyfada, Paleo Faliro, Alimos, Elliniko, Vouliagmeni. I liked Vouliagmeni first, because of the sandy beach and the lake, but I decided on a place closer to Athens. I chose Glyfada.

Glyfada is located 15km from the centre of Athens. You can get to Glyfada by city bus, metro or tram. The best way to get there is by tram, as it runs through the southern part of Athens and along the coast. From the centre of Athens, take tram number 6 (T6) from Syntagma Square, get off at Eden station and change to tram number 7 (T7) which takes you to the coast and the centre of Glyfada. The journey takes between 45 minutes and an hour. The price of a 90-minute ticket is 1.40 euros.

I chose a hotel located at the beginning of Glyfada, the 5-star Glyfada Riviera Hotel. The hotel is small with smaller rooms but a large bathroom and terrace. It is very clean and in the room you will find, in addition to towels and bathrobes, a coffee machine and tea kettle.

There are 3 beaches in Glyfada, between the hotel and the city center. The most beautiful is the beach that you can reach directly from the hotel and is called Glyfada Beach. The beach is sandy and pebbled.

There are a large number of restaurants and cafes in the center of Glyfada. Lunch can cost you 3 euros if you buy a gyro or 50 euros if you have lunch in one of the best restaurants. One of these restaurants is To Elliniko (https://toelliniko.com/) which offers traditional Greek cuisine. Here you can order fresh fish or fish of the day, with a Greek salad it will cost you about 70 euros for two persons. The restaurant also sells traditional Greek specialties, feta cheese, jams and marmalades, wine and olive oil. If you want to listen to bouzouki and maybe dance, I recommend checking out the Ladofanaro restaurant (https://www.ladofanaro.gr/en/). In Glyfada you really have restaurants of various cuisines, for example, in addition to Greek, Turkish and Italian, there is also Lebanese.

Every restaurant offers a Greek salad. Greek salad is a mix of fresh vegetables such as tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers and red onions, olives and a large piece of feta cheese. All of this is seasoned with olive oil and oregano.

On Thursdays, there is a market in Glyfada on Lazaraki Street. The market sells fresh fruit and vegetables, cheese, olive oil, honey, spices, local products, souvenirs and clothes. Locals will tell you to buy thyme honey, as it is the only real Greek honey, although they also offer mandarin honey or flower honey. If you want to buy traditional Greek products and don’t have time to go to the market, stop by Chalkiadakis, a shop that sells products from Crete. You can buy Greek wine there.

I would also recommend Apollonion Bakery (https://apollonion-bakery.gr/en/) for breakfast or brunch on the weekends. It is nicely decorated and offers a wide selection of Greek pastries, breads, sandwiches, cakes and coffee. It is also located on Lazaraki Street.

Lazaraki Street is the central street in Glyfada, where, in addition to cafes and restaurants, there are also a large number of clothing stores of famous brands such as Zara, HM, Mango, Pull & Bear, Marks & Spencer, Massimo Dutti, Tommy Hilfiger, Super Dry etc. Vouliagmenis Avenue divides the upper and lower parts of Glyfada. Glyfada is also home to Poetry Street, which runs from the center of Glyfada to the coast, where verses by famous Greek poets are displayed on the street and benches.

In Glyfada, in addition to hotels, you can also choose private accommodation in numerous buildings in the wider city center. These are mostly four-story buildings with large terraces. The terrace extends the entire length of the apartment and you can enjoy it until the early morning hours. Even if you have good company, the nights are pleasant and warm without wind and the view extends to nearby buildings and roof terraces.

You can get to Athens by local bus, tram or metro. You will need a taxi to get to the metro as the metro station is outside the city centre. The local bus is the cheapest option but the most uncomfortable. The best option is the tram. From Glyfada take tram number 7 (T7) to Eden station, from where you can take tram number 6 (T6) to Syntagma Square in the centre of Athens.

If you are going on a day trip to Athens, you can visit the Acropolis, Plaka and the city center. For the Acropolis, I would recommend buying tickets in advance, online, as the ticket line is long and the temperatures are over 40 degrees in the middle of the day.

Plaka is the historic part of the city and one of the oldest areas in Athens, located at the foot of the Acropolis. Plaka is characterized by narrow cobblestone streets, a lively atmosphere and a mix of neoclassical literature and Byzantine churches. In Plaka, you can have lunch in one of the many Greek taverns and buy souvenirs in one of the many souvenir shops. The central pedestrian street in Athens is called Ermou, it is 1.5 km long and connects the Kerameikos archaeological site with Syntagma Square through Monastiraki, Psiri and Thiseio. In the middle of the street is the church of Panagia Kapnikarea.

On the opposite side of the Acropolis is Lycabettus Hill, from which you can see the Acropolis and the whole of Athens. The best time to climb Lycabettus Hill is before sunset and watch the sunset over the Acropolis and Athens from there. The sunset is beautiful and the Acropolis and other famous places are illuminated, which also gives a special light effect.

Athens is also beautiful at night if you have the opportunity to drive through the streets and walk the streets in the center.