Athens T-shirts

If your impression of Athens was formed back in the 20th century, when the city had become  a smoggy concrete jungle, it's time to have another look. The smog is gone, buildings across the city have gotten facelifts, and Athens is meeting the challenges of the 21st century with a renewed sense of style.

The magic of Athens happens out in the streets, at ground level... where the variety of cafés, restaurants and interesting shops is mindboggling. A delightful mix of chic and grit happens around every corner, so it's exciting to explore the city's center on foot. The main sites of interest are within a short distance of each other.

For a broader taste of Athens streetlife, visitors should head off to some of the other neighborhoods situated just outside the center, such as Exarchia by day or Gazi at night. The former is a colorful neighborhood of students and working class Athenians that's known as a hotbed of political activism, while Gazi is a district of bars, restaurants, and clubs that rocks late into the night. Grab a coffee in the Thissio neighborhood with it's endless outdoor tables lit by candlelight and smiling faces. Athens really rocks at night, long after Paris is tucked into bed.

To say that Athens has had its had ups and downs throughout history is a cosmic understatement. Currently, Athens is experiencing a tremendous upswing. An astounding transformation has swept over Athens and continues to remake the city.

Of course people are aware that something happened as a result of the Olympics, but many who haven't visited in a decade or more would be amazed at the improvements that continue to be made.

During the 1800's, when modern Athens took shape, it was conceived and built as an elegant new capital with boulevards, parks and neoclassical buildings. Unfortunately it strained at the seams during the 20th century, when the population exchange with Turkey brought a million Greeks from Asia Minor, many of whom headed to Athens and needed housing.

A frenzied concrete building blitz destroyed countless neoclassical buildings and caused overcrowding and a notorious pollution problem. Occupying a basin near the sea, somewhat similar to Los Angeles, smog would settle in and hover over the city. Something had to be done, and it was.

Throughout the 90's, aggressive measures were enacted, including driving restrictions, diesel fuel additives, incentives for buying cars with anti-polllution technology, a new fleet of electric buses, the construction of a brand new subway, new highways that relieved some of the congestion on local streets, the planting of hundreds of thousands of trees all around the city, and the pedestrianization of countless streets throughout the city that form a connecting network.

You can walk among all the ancient sites via a gigantic network of pedestrian streets that tie together and form the largest archeological park in Europe. Industries have been moved out of the city center. People are taking metro transit to a destination and then walking around. There's a new tram that will take you all the way to the beach suburb of Glyfada, through interesting neighborhoods, in less than an hour...where a turquoise sea awaits.

Neoclassical buildings are being restored all over town. Athens now has a crop of new boutique hotels that are on a par with any in the West, catering to a stylish young clientele. A new airport connected to the center by train makes long taxi rides into town a thing of the past. There are new parks, plazas have been beautified, and the legendary nightlife of Athens is more vibrant than ever.

Pretty much everyone speaks some English except the older folks. The people who work in stores and restaurants often speak a third or fourth language like German, French, or Italian as well.

Traditionally, tourists visiting Greece spent only a brief layover in Athens before heading to the islands. The Acropolis, Plaka, and a museum or two were the basic routine...but now people are noticing the new face Athens is presenting to the world. They're tempted to stay a bit longer... and explore all the soul this ol' dame has to offer.