"Athens - the once and future capital of... " a Athens Travel Page by Ruai

Athens is a name to conjure with, one whose past is much better known than its present. The Athens Olympics has perhaps changed that but I think the worlds perception of the city is still locked in a time 2400 years ago when the city gave birth to a strand of the civilisation that is now dominant in the western world and bequeathed ideas of democracy and individualism that have echoed through the years.

Rather more prosaically, for many now middle-aged Europeans, Athens was a dirty and not very pleasant place they spent a day or two in while waiting for a ferry to the Greek Islands in the 70s and early 80s.

In some ways the city has had to live down both legacies and has made a mightly effort to do so in the last few years, not least in the form of the Olympics and the vast public works which have remade the city's transport networks.

If you want to find the ancient city (and being honest, almost all tourists do), you'll find it all around you in the city centre. Asides from the famous Acropolis, there are many other ancient sites scattered about and just visiting them all could take you a couple of days.

The Archaeological Museum is wonderful and shouldn't be missed. Asides from the classical and Roman remains, there are many medievel churchs and a few rather neglected Turkish remains (After independence, there was a great deal of 'cleaning up' of ancient monuments and sites). The most recognizably part of town is the old village of Plaka, which is now mostly restored and in Summer is a seething mass of sunburned tourists. However, out of season, you can appreciate just how pretty this part of town is. Its also very important in what it tells you about modern Athens.

The reality of Athens is that the city you now see has grown up since 1832 and substantially since 1922. Before 1832, Athens was no more than a small provincial town of the Ottoman Empire. When newly independent Greece made it its capital, it was born at least partially out of a desire to associate the new state with past glories. But the new state was poor and it took a very long time to build the city up. Some of the finest buildings of the late 19th century were built by the Greeks of the diaspora such as the Zappio brothers who build a lovely pavilion for exhibitions and gave the Zappio gardens surrounding it to the city.

While it took a long time for the city to grow, it almost doubled in population in a short time with the catastrophic end of the war in Asia minor in 1922. Refugees streamed in and the city would never be the same again. Since that time, planned development has never returned and the city has now hit over 4.5 million inhabitants and sprawls across a huge area, inevitably destroying parts of the ancient landscape as it grows.

The modern city has many centres, the importance of which changes depending on the time of year. In Summer, the coast is king and all nightlife switchs there. In winter, it varies dependeing on whats trendy. The population and the reality that all Greek life is centered on Athens gives the city a tremendous vitality. Its nightlife never stops and its restaurants are continually mutating, trying to ensure they stay hot with the in-crowd. But away from all that, there are many nice, peaceful neighbourhoods with local tavernas, local outdoor cinemas in summer and a sense of life that is unchanging in the face of the modern world. This, for me, is the appeal of Athens. Of course its has the touristy stuff, but it also has something for everyone and an ability to appeal no matter what your mood or taste.