Athens,Greece

Visit Athens, the home of Zeus and Apollo.Europe's culture was cradled in the sunshine of this heartwarming and beautiful land, still the perfect place to blend intellectual pursuits with total relaxation. Homer sang of an island called Crete "in the midst of the wine-dark sea";there four thousand years ago, the Minoans built sumptuous palaces,feasted and honored their gods.Athens eventually picked up the torch. In the 6th century BC , a general-poet named Solon introduced trial by jury.Democracy followed, and thinkers like Socrates,Plato and Aristotle expounded philosophy. In comtemporary Greece, the traveller is surrounded by the monuments of a majestic past,starting at the Parthenon, a 2500 year old marble miracle. Acropolis,soaring above the city, is a model of the most perfect architectural complex in Europe. Below the citadel, in the middle of Athens., the rumble of traffic cannot obliterate the timeless sounds of any Greek village:the click of worry-beads and knitting needles,the murmur of spirited conversation and bouzou'ki music.One must not forget Greek gastronomy ( a word of Greek origin) - the unique tastes of Greece guarantee that you are in for many culinary surprises during your stay in the country.  Contrary to common belief, you will discover that Greek cuisine is not only moussaka, souvlaki and choriatiki salata, but has a wide variety of dishes that can meet the culinary demands of both meat-eaters and vegetarians in an extremely satisfying way.  VyomTravels offers cheap online bargain airfares to Athens from all cities in USA.

Cheap Airfares to Athens (ATH), Greece

Origination airport in US	Prices in USD
San Francisco(SFO) to ATH	$525.00
Los Angeles(LAX) to ATH	$500.00
San Diego(SAN) to ATH	$540.00
Las Vegas(LAS) to ATH	$542.00
Houston(IAH) to ATH	$485.00
Dallas(DFW) to ATH	$455.00
Atlanta(ATL) to ATH	$435.00
Miami(MIA) to ATH	$404.00
Orlando(MCO) to ATH	$475.00
Key West(EYW) to ATH	$494.00
Washington D.C(IAD) to ATH	$455.00
Detroit(DTW) to ATH	$444.00
New York(JFK) to ATH	$342.00
Chicago(ORD) to ATH	$404.00
Seattle(SEA) to ATH	$559.00

Places of Interest

Greece is full of archeaological sites and museums of distinctive prestige and charm,on which all known periods of human history have left their mark. The Acropolis, the Parthenon - a miracle of harmony in marble, the Erechtheion with its six larger than life maidens holding up the roof, Thisi'on - Greece's best preserved Doric temple, the Agora - commerical hub of ancient Athens and birth place of politics and democracy, Olympian Zeus temple,the Theater of Dionysus,the world-renowned Olympic stadium - first used in 330 BC for the Pan-Athenian games are some of the archeaological attractions for travellers interested in the history of Greece , and indeed ancient Europe. For those interested in nature and adventure, Greece offers plenty. The Greek coast has a total length of approximately 16,000 km.  Half of these are on the thousands of Greek islands, while the rest extends along the mainland. What characterises the famous Greek coasts is their unique diversity (beaches stretching over many kilometres, small bays and coves, sandy beaches with dunes, pebbly shores, coastal caves surrounded by steep rocks and with the characteristic dark sand of volcanic soils, coastal wetlands), their clean and transparent waters which have made them renowned all over the world and, for this reason, extremely popular. The Northeastern Agean islands, Crete, the Argo-Saronic islands,Evia, the Sporades ,the Cyclades, the Dodecanese are the 7 major groups of islands in the Agean Sea. These islands are accessible by water, and air transport from Athens. Mt Olympus (Macedonia), known from Greek mythology as the abode of the gods, is the highest mountain in the country, rising at 2,917 m (Μytikas peak).

Athens has a dizzying range of attractions, the only constraint being your purse and duration of your vacation. So enjoy discovering the many splendors of Greece!

• Acropolis
• Acropolis museum
• Parthenon - a vision in marble
• Agora
• Thisi'on (Doric Temple)
• Olympic Stadium
• Pla'ka - oldest section of Athens
• Theater of Dionysus
• Temple of Olympian Zeus
• A'gii Theo'dori ,Kapnikar'ea,Agios Elefthe'rios - Byzantine churches
• Syntagma Square
• Mount Likavitto's - you can see a spectacular panorama of the city from this mountain
• National Archaeological museum -spanning every period of Greek history
• Bena'ki Museum

Around Athens

• Delphi (Delfi') - site of Temple of Apollo ,site of the famous Oracle of Delphi, set against a majestic backdrop of cliffs and gorge
• Kastalian Springs - gushing from rose colored rocks
• Daf'ni (Daphni) - site of the 11th century Byzantine monastery celebrated for its splendid multicolored mosaics
• Poseidon's marble temple in Sou'nion

Currency

• Drachma

Language

• Greek

Transport

Athens,and in fact the whole of Greece is well equipped for air travel, ship , bus and commuter rail services.

• Athens International Airport
• Buses-trolleybuses
• Metro: The Athens metro consists of three lines - Line 1 (the old Athens-Piraeus electric rail service known as ISAP), Line 2 (underground) and Line 3 ( underground) - covering a considerable part of the Attica region. New extensions reaching other parts of the city are expected in the future.
• Tram: The tram network connects the centre of Athens ( Syntagma Square ) to the southern (coastal) suburbs. Boasting state-of-the-art technology and modern vehicle design, it serves the following routes:
  - Athens-Glyfada, running through Nea Smyrni, Paleo Faliro, Alimos, Helliniko.
  - Athens-Peace & Friendship Stadium (Neo Faliro), running through Nea Smyrni and Paleo Faliro and from there branching out along the coastal avenue, and
  - Glyfada-Peace & Friendship Stadium via the coastal avenue and the Faliriko Delta.
• The Suburban Railway (Proastiakos): It accommodates travel to/from Athens and the “Eleftherios Venizelos” Athens International Airport (with seven stops along the line), Athens and Corinth (84 km west of Athens - with seven stops along the line) and Corinth and the “Eleftherios Venizelos” Athens International Airport  (with eleven stops along the line). Upon completion it will connect Piraeus and its port to Athens, the airport and other large urban centres in neighbouring prefectures (Thiva, Chalkida, Loutraki).
• Taxis: All taxis are yellow and equipped with a metre displaying the fare. The driver is obliged to activate the meter upon hire. From 05:00-24:00hrs Tariff 1 applies, while from 24:00-05: 00 hrs Tariff 2 comes into effect.
• Attiki Odos Motorway The Attiki Odos is a cutting-edge motorway in Europe linking the town of Elefsina (located in western Attica) to the “Eleftherios Venizelos” Athens International Airport (Spata, eastern Attica). Part of the Athens peripheral ring road, it circumvents Athens and offers 27 main and secondary interchanges for entrance and exit into /from the capital. To enter the motorway tolls are paid, the fare depending on vehicle category based on height and number of axes.
• Intercity coach service

Quick Lookups

• Athens International airport - Airport call center: (+30) 210 3530000
• Attika metro - 210 5194001/ 210 5194008
• Tram - 210 9978000
• Hellenic Railways - 210 5298739, -40 , 210 5135768, -9