New Lonely Planet Athens Guide
Encounter the Greek Capital City with Excellent Pocket Guidebook
Jan 25, 2009
Athens is a fast-changing city these days, and guidebooks have to keep pace with new restaurants, smart new boutique hotels, new and renovated museums, and an ever-expanding public transport system. Till now Lonely Planet's Best of Athens has been one of the most on-the-ball guides for a visitor to pack in the luggage. But 2009 sees a new Athens title in Lonely Planet's excellent pocket-sized Encounter series. It's written by the same author who produced Best of Athens, Victoria Kyriakopoulos, and it's a winner.
The Author
Victoria Kyriakopoulos is from Melbourne, Australia, and first visited Athens in 1988. She went back in 2000, intending to stay for a year, but ended up living in the city for four years. During that period she edited the Greek cultural magazine, Odyssey, and watched the city prepare for the 2004 Olympic Games. She revisits Greece and Athens regularly, and has also worked on the Lonely Planet guides to Greece and to Crete.
Athens Encounter
It's clear from the new book that the author has kept up her Athens contacts and her knowledge of the city. All the latest hotels and restaurants are covered, sometimes at the expense of some of the old favorites, which are still there but are regularly covered in every other guide to Athens.
The Athens Encounter guide also pushes back the boundaries and includes newly-developing parts of the city, like Gazi and Rouf. It's no longer just the old heart of the city that visitors need to see - some of the best Athenian experiences are now to be found further out.
Acropolis Museum
The opening of the new Acropolis Museum looks set to be one of the most stunning events in the city in the last few years. Its opening has been subject to a series of delays, though (this is Greece, after all), and it was still not open when the author wrote her book. There is, however, a comprehensive description of the museum's features, and an interview with the Curator, Alexandros Mantis, who gave the author a sneak preview of the building and its outstanding displays.
Athenian Voices
The Encounter guidebook format includes interviews with local residents, providing readers with a broader view of the destination. It has become a guidebook cliché to say 'this is where the locals eat,' when of course the locals eat everywhere, from the Big Mac to Michelin-starred gourmet temples. In Encounter Athens, readers discover where particular locals do eat, or drink, or relax. In these pages we meet not only the Curator at the Acropolis Museum but also:
- Star chef Christoforos Peskias of 48 The Restaurant, described by Kyriakopoulos as "the closest thing to Greek haute cuisine"
- Nektarios Pappas, the founder of the Vinyl Microstore music shop and the VM internet radio station
- Maria Panagiotopoulou, the publicist for the annual Athens Festival
The Bottom Line
Athens Encounter squeezes an amazing amount into its 200 pages, and at the back there is also a comprehensive and clear pull-out street map of the city. In Athens a good street map is vital for the visitor, as some of the best things to see and places to eat and drink are hidden down side streets, and not always signposted.
There are probably as many hotel, restaurant, nightlife, and shopping listings as in a book that's twice the size, but the listings in Encounter Athens are shorter and punchier. The main attractions do all have lengthy write-ups, over one or two pages, so the important information isn't skimped. The only omission is a section on hotels. The book limits itself to a 2-page overview of Athens accommodation, and a few recommendations. If you want help choosing and booking an Athens hotel, you'll need to buy a bigger guidebook.
Finally, the author is a good writer. One phrase in her introduction, This is Athens, sums up the city perfectly. Athens, she writes, is "equal measures of grunge and grace."
Practical Information
Athens Encounter is published by Lonely Planet at £6.99 in the UK and $11.99 in the USA.
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