Athens city break: hedonism with a dash of history – The Times

Zeuss daughter Persephone, the bringer of spring growth, is clearly up from the underworld. Its April in Athens and the city, often dismissed as concrete-plain, is spattered with natures colours bursting out of the earth. The pink blossom of Judas trees spreads like rashes against a cloudless blue sky. Geraniums on window sills and balconies are as bright as their terracotta pots. Either side of the steep path leading to the Parthenon, poppies flutter in faint breezes, delicate and blood-red. Add a clutch of new design hotels as well as some clever people shaking up the cocktail scene, and for my money its this springs city-break star, a much needed jolt to the senses after the drudgery of recent times.

All across town, swarms of brilliant-yellow taxis flit past idle weekenders savouring the bitter hit of iced freddo coffees at pavement cafs. Everyones in shades, leaning back, facing the days rays like sunflowers. After dark, en route to a downtown bar, I turn an alley corner and inhale the sweetest aroma: emitted by bitter-orange trees, it could be bottled and sold by Herms or Bulgari.

Athens needs green, and with a narrow trunk and a massive canopy these trees dont invade the street, says Constantine, a friend of a friend Ive borrowed for the weekend, who loves this season. Theyre perfect for the old city ways, which were only built wide enough for horses and carts.

The rooftop lounge at the Gatsby Athens

Now theyre built for bar-hopping, a key Athenian pursuit and one of the reasons Im in town hedonism with a dash of history. In the late-night warm air we drink at a table outside Blue Bird, near Cathedral Square. It lines up with a couple of other great nocturnal neighbours, Kiki de Grce and Ipitou the Bar. You could spend a whole evening drifting between the three in this atmospheric corner of town, bordering Syntagma and Plaka.

Over a maxi-weekend Ill fall headlong for Kalimeres, in the graffitied district of Psiri. Its all high stools and busy chatter outside the premises: a revamped art deco building thats alluringly South Beach Miami with its fairy lights and streamline-moderne curves. Then theres Birdman, the clamoured-for Japanese pub and grill where you sit under burners eating gyozas, necking Greek red. Last call? Definitely Baba Au Rum, with Peggy Lee and Latino soul on the turntable, tiki-flowery paper on the walls and rum negronis among the avant-garde cocktails on the menu. Final last call? The Dude Bar weirdly anarchic with its industrial playlist and worker bee Alex at the counter, still rattling up margaritas at 4am.

For now, alfresco carousing comes in handy citywide, you still have to don a facemask to step inside anywhere or use transport. Its only three weeks since people were obliged to wear them on the streets, Constantine recalls. The mood feels upbeat, from restaurants to bars to bedding down. Among hotel arrivals, Moxy Athens City and Lighthouse Athens (see panel, overleaf) are helping to revive Omonia Square, the heart of the city, gone to seed in places. Athens Flair is opening its doors early this summer in a neoclassical property in upmarket Kolonaki. Want minimalist-affordable? Sound out Vasi, in the gritty district of Psiri.

A suite at the Gatsby Athens

I stay at the Gatsby Athens, a new spot on a discreet street in Syntagma. The lobby-bar is a riot of faux flowers, toy rabbits almost as big as me, and lots of dangling egg ornaments the Greeks dont do the build-up to Easter by half. If the name Gatsby suggests the 1920s, the building is actually from the 1930s. It was a police holding facility.

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Youd never know this as a guest. Its a boutique beauty. There are swathes of terrazzo flooring, flecked like nougat. Bathrooms even in entry-level rooms are impressive spaces, with smart, simple brass taps and harlequin tiling in shades of salmon pink or sea-off-Santorini.

Throughout from the ground-floor bar and dining area, via the open-air rooftop lounge with its fine Parthenon views, to the sprawling Gatsby Party Suite the look is sumptuously art deco. Or possibly art Greco. Think golden-age Joan Crawfords dressing room: pouffe-like footstools, giant winged headboards, globe lamps descending bedside, and retro rattan furniture on the terrace of your Bubbly Suite (ask for 501). Settle in and watch the goings-on of neighbours, Rear Window-style.

Thoughtfully, there are elegant full-length wall mirrors in which to check your look before venturing out. If by night, this should start with a very now, very Greek mojito mastiche, created by Christos in the hotel bar. Its a winner with a twist, based on 30 per cent mastic liqueur from the island of Chios. If its morning, there are generous pancake or smashed avocado on toast breakfasts to prepare you for city exploration. The location is prime in the right shoes (Nike?), youll find key sights and neighbourhoods close by and easily conquerable, so you can mix ancient and modern without breaking a sweat.

Varvakios Market in Athens

ALAMY

An exception is the climb to the Parthenon the 5th-century BC temple to the goddess Athena; ribcage-white and afloat, dream-like, high on the Acropolis. The sweatiness of our morning ascent is unanticipated after a leisurely wander there, along the shopping strip Ermou. Athens is made for flneurs, and en route we duck into the fridge-cool darkness of the 11th-century Panagia Kapnikarea church in Monastiraki. With its peeling Byzantine wall art, and light shafting in from punched windows high in the cupola, its a perfect Athens moment.

After recovering from the climb, there are more at the Acropolis, where Greek school parties have turned out en masse, sketching excitedly, reminding you, in your seventh decade, how thrilling the ancient world Athens, Rome, Cairo was for your own young mind, and frankly still is. The hulking Doric and Ionic columns, as giant as redwoods, render the domestic neoclassical knock-offs of later western centuries paltry by comparison.

Cocktails at avant-garde Baba Au Rum

History ticked off for the day, its lunch hour in Athens itll be a long, leisurely one. Ideally at somewhere such as To Potami, which does meze sharing plates in the eccentric, must-visit peoples republic of Koukaki, just beyond the southern slopes of the Acropolis. What a great district, home to a workers collective restaurant or two; and what a fine place to laze. With Foo Fighters and the Killers on the playlist, its alt-Athens at its finest. People read books rather than iPhones, taking notes, and its OK, possibly expected, to have purple hair.

But its a hot afternoon, making chilled dishes the obvious choice. Which leads us to Hasapika, a new startup in the old central Varvakios Market, run by three friends, Marios, Spiros and Giannis, who love travel and eating. The food is Japanese-Peruvian (including a tongue-tingling ceviche), prepared by Filipino and Bangladeshi chefs, using the freshest red mullet, salmon, sea bass and tuna. Its an unshowy place, and the three guys look like grunge guitarists with their long locks.

It was in the contract you wanna work here, you gotta have long hair, says Giannis, tongue in cheek. And theres something about this Athens moment funny, alternative, slightly anarchic thats appealingly new-Greek. Bring on spring 2023.

Nick Redman was a guest of the Gatsby Athens, which has B&B doubles from 150 (gatsbyathens.com). For expert-led city tours with a local, try Alternative Athens (alternativeathens.com); food and drink guiding can be arranged with the city insiders Culinary Backstreets (culinarybackstreets.com). Fly to Athens with British Airways or Wizz Air

A room at Moxy Athens City

By Isabelle Kliger

Moxy Hotels is Marriotts playful and affordable brand, and its latest outpost is in the heart of Athens over the road from Omonia metro station. The urban design and bold artworks certainly contrast with the ancient city: the 201 rooms, above, are compact but equipped with walk-in showers, LED lighting and ergonomic chairs. Bar Moxy, which doubles as the check-in desk, offers self-service food and drink 24/7.Details Room-only doubles from 83 (marriott.com)

A room at Xenodocheio Milos

Athenss most glamorous opening of the year is not just easy on the eye, it has the culinary kudos to match. This is the first foray into hotels for the Greek chef Costas Spiliadis, best known for his swanky Estiatorio Milos restaurants that attract deep-pocketed seafood lovers from around the globe. Apart from the excellent restaurant, the hotel has 43 guest rooms with high ceilings, wooden floors and marble bathrooms, as well as fine views over Mount Lycabettus.Details Room-only doubles from 265 (xenodocheiomilos.com)

A room at Lighthouse Athens

If partying from dusk till dawn is your vibe, look no further than white-hot new Lighthouse Athens. Ultra-contemporary and centrally located in Omonia Square, this sleekly designed hotel features two restaurants, a nightclub and a buzzy rooftop bar all supporting the ethos of work hard, play harder. Not a party animal? From June youll be able to pamper yourself in the wellness centre and spa, before watching the sun set over the Greek capital from the plunge pool on the roof.Details B&B doubles from 120 (brownhotels.com)

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Athens city break: hedonism with a dash of history - The Times