My Week in Athens… Jul 5

I should state for the record that I do not own a car in Athens. I use cars often enough (rentals, generous friends) – but normally I use public transport, taxis and my own two feet.

So I had another friend in town this week (note to self: time to open a b&b). He was en route to the islands, and stopped in to check out Athens… After a day around the city-centre, he decided to check out the beaches of Athens – I told him this was a good idea, since he’s not the type to stare at ancient artifacts for very long… (!)

But without a car, he was obliged to use the services of the Athens public transportation network. This made him cringe – but I reassured him that the only challenge in this scenario would be the time required to make it from Kifissia to the paralia.

He jumped on the Green line all the way to Neo Faliro, then took a tram across the waterfront to Kalamaki beach – not a glam spot, but more than adequate for a day in the city. He tells me this took him just over an hour. And so he spent his easy afternoon in the sun, with a bite of lunch and a coffee – not so bad! And all of that (including air conditioning!) for the €1.40 public transport fare. Not a bad deal.

Car-free in Athens – oh yes, it’s possible…!

Until next week,

Jack

In this weekly space, keep up with ‘Jack’ as he navigates daily life in Athens… Anecdotes, stories, hits & misses, the good, the bad and, well, the rest…