In the (small) footsteps of Steve Coogan & Rob Brydon
My ‘Trip’ begins in Athens, a great place for a long weekend. A vibrant city with an easy 50 minute transfer from the airport on the Blue Line Metro. In Ep 4 Steve & Rob were staying at the 5 star Hotel Grande Bretagne on Syntagma Square, and a short scene was filmed on the 8th floor of the Roof Terrace bar, overlooking the Acropolis.
We were staying only a 5 minute walk away at the centrally located Nine Athens Hotel, within walking distance of all the main sites, and close to Monastiraki square in Plaka, Athens oldest neighbourhood. Lunch was a Greek classic – meat kebabs, roast potatoes and salad at Miandros billed as the ‘best restaurant in Athens’ according to Trip Advisor and just round the corner from Monastiraki square. Breakfast was served with a French twist in a Laduree tea room based in the hotel – croissants, omelettes and Greek Yoghurt were all so tasty and fresh.
Steve and Rob head off to see the Ancient Agora of Greece, what was once the central public space and main marketplace in ancient Athens, a 20 minute walk from our hotel.
Visiting the Acropolis ‘the high city’ is obviously a popular tourist attraction and it’s advised to go early or late in peak season to avoid the heat of the day and the cruise ship tours. It costs 40 euros to get in and is an uphill walk but you can get a taxi to the entrance if you have mobility issues.
If you’ve not seen it on the way up, you can walk back down through Anafiotika – a tiny white washed village which is good place for photo’s with lots of cats, it is still residential so signs telling you to respect the residents.
From here you are walking distance to the Plaka steps for something to eat and a great place to people watch as tourists continuosly mooch up and down the steps, past the restaurant hawkers, enticing you in for business.
A great place to get a view of the city and surrounding area, is to take the funicular up to the summit of Lycabettus Hill. Don’t bother to fight for a window seat as the entire 5 minute journey is in a tunnel and you can choose to walk back down if you want to save money or get some exercise.
HYDRA – Lots of choices of ferry times to take the two hour journey across to Hydra, the former home of singer, songwriter & poet Leonard Cohen and the base for Episode 5 of The Trip. Restaurants and shops cradle the picturesque harbour and there is the novelty of a mule ride up to your hotel as there are no cars on the island. Linen shirts and dresses adorn the shopfronts but everything is quite expensive and the shop keepers can be lacking in patience and friendliness. We stayed at Hydroussa Hotel Hydra which is just a few steps from the harbour so we really didn’t miss having a car and handy to sample the amazing ice cream at The Cool Mule.
There aren’t really any beaches in walking distance from the harbour but there are popular swimming spots close by and you can take a water taxi to a beach which is roughly a ten minute ride, costing around 10 euros. Steve Coogan showed off his diving skills at one of the local swimming spots.
Singer, songwriter & Poet Leonard Cohen made his home on Hydra and even though his home appears on Google Maps, its really not easy to find. It took me three attempts, climbing up above the town and a kindly Greek lady pointing me in the right direction.
Leonard apparently liked to visit the Xeria Elia Taverna and I can see why, I would go back to Hydra just to eat here.
Athens Riviera was our last destination and didn’t feature in The Trip but I did want to have a look round the Four Seasons Astir Palace hotel set on 75 acres, with multiple pool areas overlooking the sea. You have to be a guest to enter but I booked for lunch at the beachside Taverna so that I could see for myself. Also worth visiting is Vouliagmeni lake, but you cannot access the lake area without paying.
TV Travel Tales 