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The neighbourhood
Practical, first-hand guides to Athens and Kolonaki — where to eat, how to get in from the airport, the best neighbourhoods and the climb up Lycabettus — from people who actually live here.
For anyone supporting a patient at Evangelismos or the other hospitals on Vasilissis Sofias: visiting hours and phone numbers checked on each hospital's own site, the admission and discharge paperwork, getting there from the airport or the port, free accommodation schemes and how to choose somewhere to stay for days or weeks.
A Kolonaki resident's guide to staying a month in Athens: how the booking and price work, what the apartment needs, and the practical side of daily life, from the weekly shop to the metro pass.
Kolonaki is not one spot but a slope up Lycabettus Hill. A resident of more than ten years on which side to choose for your reason to be in Athens, which hotels sit where, and when an apartment makes more sense.
One night in Athens between a plane and a boat: which port you actually sail from, how long the transfer really takes, which Piraeus gate catches people out, and where to sleep so you make your sailing.
A Kolonaki resident's guide to Lycabettus Hill: the footpath and the funicular, sunset times month by month, where the sun actually goes down, summer fire closures and the open-air theatre.
Yes, Athens is generally safe for visitors. A Kolonaki resident on the real risks: pickpockets on the busiest metro lines, which areas feel different late at night, scams, taxis home, protests, heat and the numbers to call.
A fair, measured comparison of Kolonaki, Plaka and Koukaki: walking times to the Acropolis, metro lines, noise, prices, food, nights out and the downsides of each, including ours.
A Kolonaki resident's month-by-month guide to the best time to visit Athens: real temperature normals, when the sea is warm, when the crowds come, what is on, and how to handle summer heat, fire closures and August.
How many days you need in Athens, and exactly how to spend them: a stop-by-stop plan from a Kolonaki host, with current Acropolis and museum hours, ticket prices and the weekdays that change the plan.
A practical guide to Kolonaki from someone who lives there: the cafés, restaurants and bars locals actually use, the shopping streets, the museums on the doorstep, the walk up Lycabettus, and the everyday practicalities from pharmacies to taxis.
Nine Athens neighbourhoods compared side by side: who each one suits, measured walking times to the Acropolis and the metro, which lines serve it, and what a room there costs in November and in May.
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