"Greece - My Favorite Place to Be" a Greece Travel Page by Andrew_W_K

Full of history and culture, beautiful landscapes, the weathers not bad either, Greek cuisine but best of all the people.

I loved Rhodes. Rhodes town is one of the most interesting and atmospheric towns not just in Greece but in the whole of the Med.
Home to the Knights of St John until they were ousted by the Turks in 1522 they left a legacy of castles and fortifications that remain some of the best examples of their type to this day.
Highlights include the Street of Knights where the various countries soldiers were billoted, the Knights castle and the immense city walls.
The streets and alleys of Rhodes are crammed full of shops, bars and restaurants that all seem to stay open well past midnight when during the hieght of the season there is an endless stream of customers. The queues for the taxis are some of the longest I've ever seen.
To escape the hustle and bustle take a boat over to Symi island where the main town is a cool and tranquil release from the excesses of Rhodes. But be warned - the sea always seems choppy on the outward voyage.
Lindos in the south of the island is also worth a visit for the acropolis and the fortifications and the pretty village below. It is also one of the hottest places I have ever been to with boardwalks running all over the beach to stop you burning your feet on the hot sand.
The downside to all this is the sheer volume of we tourists that descend on Rhodes every year. Not just the package holidaymakers but the cruise ships as well. When I was there I saw 3 huge liners all docked at the same time.
Faliraki is also a place I would avoid. By day it's a pleasant enough little resort but is transformed into a hell hole of over drinking, loud youth culture at night.
When I passed through once at midnight I was confronted by someone vomiting in the street, a dead dog in the road, music pumping out of every bar and gangs of young people roaming around.
But aside from the excesses of Faliraki Rhodes is wonderful place to visit.

To be fair Athens is hard work especially in the summer and especially if you have kids in tow. It's a busy capital city whose numbers are swelled by mass tourism in July and August with many people using the city as a stop over en route to the Greek islands or the Peloponnese. A visit to Athens though can be a rewarding experience. The ruins on the Acropolis are some of the most recognisable in the world. The areas of Plaka and Monastiraki are tourist friendly and enjoyable while the area of Kolonaki has a good selection of upmarket shops for those needing retail therepy. While in Kolonaki you should take the funicular railway to the top of Lycabettus hill for superb views over the city. No visitor should miss the changing of the guard at the Greek parliament in Syntagma square where the guards have that strange marching style, skirts, tights and shoes adorned with pom poms. Sounds funny until you see the size of these guys! The national archaeological museum is world class and should not be missed. The gold masks of Mycenea and the treasures from ancient Greece are among the best in the world. Finally a note of caution - although I have met the odd nice one Athenian taxi drivers are generally the grumpiest in the world and will charge what they think they can get away with if not on the meter.