Ladee's Travels: Athens (Greece)

Monday, May 21, 2012

Athens (Greece) - Transportation

5/21/2012 - I think that would be easy to move around Athens and see all of the sights on your own. I talked about this with my friend Lisa F. and she agreed. She has spent a few days in Athens on her own while waiting to connect with friends. She said that she was never concerned for her safety and was able to get to the museums and spots that she wanted to see easily.

The ground level trams zip around throughout the city.

The kiosks are always available for souvenirs, maps, post cards, sunglasses, and even hats. Knowing this, I would not feel that I needed to pack multiple bottles and snacks and carry a large backpack with me while I toured. One would need to consider the extra weight vs a slightly increased price (perhaps) at the kiosks. The national park is in the background.

This is another entrance to the park, with the large “event” kiosk displaying information about major happenings. These large circular displays always remind me of Paris, because that is where I first saw them. I will need to research the origin and history.

Here is another example of a kiosk with drinks and snacks.

I saw at least two different companies providing double decker tour bus services in a “hop on hop off” fashion. If I stayed in Athens for a few days, I would compare the two and see if there was a price difference. They looked full, so the service must be worth it. This one is red and distinctive. Notice in this photo that the bus and car are traveling at one speed and the motorcycle is zipping along.

Here is the other Hop On Hop Off double decker bus company, very different with a brilliant yellow color. I saw a lot of taxis, so this is another way to get around the city. And, again, the motorcycles are zipping along.

Perhaps if you were low on cash you could bargain for a ride with a local worker.

Ok, I need to talk about this. In Phoenix, the news sometimes has stories about passenger cars colliding with the metro cars. We do have large signs that say “Do not drive on the tracks”. This picture makes me crazy because the cars are driving on the track!! Don’t they know that this can cause real issues? I couldn’t figure out why these cars were on the metro track.

I zoomed up on the street sign. I know that the street signs should make things clearer, and that the graphics used are universal. I am NOT sure that I would see this sign, metro tracks, traffic…and know what to do. So, long story short, I am not planning to drive in Athens and will just remain happy with my role as a passenger.

The street is routed around an ancient gateway of some sort. As we turned left (after driving on the rails while I silently freaked out), you could see the gateway from the front. This is the entrance to [NAME].

We had a closer view of the Temple of the Olympian Zeus that we saw on an earlier post. It’s good to note that a wall surrounds the area. You need to make sure to get off of the metro or bus near an entrance.