Athens

I went to Athens for 3 days by flying from Milan for €10.

The main symbol of Athens is situated on a hill. It’s the Acropolis.

The Acropolis from Filopappos Hill

Parthenon

Parthenon closer

Even in November there are crowds of tourists here.

Flag of Greece

Women's rights

Forklift

While walking the streets of Athens the Acropolis sometimes pops into view. Life revolves around it.

I can see it

Athens has a very peculiar vibe. It feels free, chaotic, alive, real, young, creative.

Parking lot

Street art is everywhere.

Streets

As well as posters regarding anything imaginable.

Posters

The streets of Athens are like the library of Babel: they contain every combination of words and every idea that could be expressed.

Any poster you like

Any colour you like

So much

Some of the streets feel ghetto. But honestly I would call only a few of them actually dodgy.

The ghetto barber

Street corner

Church

Orthodox

There are several hills in Athens, some say seven. Actually there’s a whole list of cities claimed to be built on seven hills. The highest one in Athens is the Lycabettus hill.

Walking up the top

Reaching the top of the hill I noticed two things. Firstly, Athens doesn’t have any high buildings. The reaon for this are building regulations, that don’t allow buildings to be over 12 floors (27m), so as to not block the view toward the Parthenon. This is one of the reasons why Athens doesn’t feel like a big city or the capital.

Endless low level concrete

Secondly, the city stretches all the way to the sea. Why not go there tomorrow?

Notice the Acropolis

Church on top of Lycabettus

Another interesting thing in Athens is the abundance of police. They chill in groups at almost every corner. Sometimes you see police with riot gear for no apparent reason.