Acropolis now: Is Athens as bad as I have been hearing?

Simon Calder answers your questions on the best way to see the Greek capital and how to beat engineering works over Christmas

An 8am start at the Acropolis means having the ruins – and views – largely to yourself (Getty/iStock)

Q Is Athens as dreadful as l’m hearing? I’m potentially going to be there for a quick overnight. I’m essentially looking to see the ruins, eat some gyros, and leave.

Adam H

A I don’t know who you have been hearing from – unless it was a voice from the 20th century, before Athens was comprehensively rejuvenated for the 2004 Olympics.

From a raucous, traffic-choked city beset by smog, the centre of the Greek capital has blossomed into a largely relaxed and engaging metropolis. Much of the centre is pedestrianised, and the excellent Metro system – which includes a link from the airport – makes wider exploration easy.

Your main challenge, I predict, will be to fit the most rewarding experiences into a short visit. On the evening you arrive, explore the bars and restaurants in the maze of streets that make up the Psiri and Thissio districts. They are immediately north and west of the city centre, respectively. You might want to stay in one of these areas, and you will certainly dine well.

Make the fixed point of your time in Athens an 8am start at the Acropolis – the “high city”, created nearly 2,500 years ago. The hill dominates the centre and in turn is crowned by the Parthenon. First thing in the morning you will have the ruins, and some superb views over the city, largely to yourself. Descend to the Acropolis Museum to expand your historic horizons still further.

Explore the souk-like lanes of the Plaka, and if the weather is fine make a complete circuit of the hillside below the Acropolis. Otherwise, the area around the Central Market is the ideal hunting ground for good-value gyros and other Greek delights during the day.

Still an hour or two left? I recommend a visit to the Panathenaic Stadium, which hosted the first modern Olympics in 1896, and the ruins of the adjacent Temple of Athena. Then head for the airport, which itself has a small exhibition of cultural highlights before your flight.

Engineering work will disrupt train travel from the Lake District around Christmas (Getty/iStock)

Q My husband, our two daughters and me live in London but are spending Christmas in the Lake District. Reaching Windermere on Christmas Eve by train doesn’t seem to be a problem, but returning on 27 December certainly does due to engineering work. Can you suggest a way around it that doesn’t involve rail-replacement buses? We hope to leave mid-morning.

Megan D

A Once again, festive Network Rail engineering work will disrupt the plans of many families over Christmas and New Year. The infrastructure operator says it plans line closures to affect as few passengers as possible. Unfortunately, commuters’ gains are your loss. Normally Windermere to London involves a short hop on Northern to Oxenholme (the station on the West Coast Main Line closest to Kendal and the Lakes), followed by an Avanti West Coast express. Total journey time as short as 3h15m.

No trains will run on Christmas Day and Boxing Day, as usual. When services resume on 27 December, the line between Rugby and Milton Keynes Central will be closed. The minimum journey time I can find on the rail planner for a journey from Windermere to London Euston is 5h07m, and that involves the dreaded rail-replacement bus.

I propose a two-change alternative that will take slightly longer but will prove much more relaxed. Leave Windermere at 10.08am, and travel to Manchester Oxford Road. It is a same-platform connection; you hop off on platform 4, wait 15 minutes and catch an East Midlands train to Sheffield, arriving 1.08pm. The 24-minute connection gives you time to visit the Sheffield Tap: a pub and microbrewery occupying the Victorian former waiting rooms. A swift 2h04m journey takes you to the world’s most beautiful railway station, London St Pancras International. Total journey: a largely stress-free 5h28m.

Another possible option: Windermere to Manchester Piccadilly, then a CrossCountry to Banbury – where there is another simple same-platform connection to London Marylebone, taking 5h37m. All these options should cost the same as a standard Windermere-London off-peak ticket. Finally, I looked at taking a direct train from Windermere to Manchester airport and a British Airways flight from there – but the air fares are extreme and the timings don’t work well.

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