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I lived in Northern Europe for 35 years. I got married there and my kids are still there, but there’s just no life after 4 or 5 o’clock. Everyone just stays in, watching TV or playing board games, waiting for the next work day to start. It’s a cycle that repeats forever. You watch time pass before your eyes, and suddenly 30 years have gone by and you realize you haven’t actually lived.

In Greece, it’s different. We enjoy life every day—out at cafes and small taverns with friends, socializing. We don’t go to psychologists when we have a problem; we grab our friends and head to the nearest tavern. By eating, drinking, and talking it out with family and friends, we find our answers. As I tell my German and Danish friends: It’s better to die alive than to live like the dead.

My favourite thing is watching people realise that Athens is a huge city and not some village

As an Athenian, I began to love my city after travelling abroad to much more beautiful in terms of architecrure cities in Europe. Athens is not an easy place. It is chaotic inedeed nad gray and dirty, but it is soooo...alive. Like Berlin or Rome. You have so many things to do. Art exhibits, theatre, music concerts(especially in the summer), cinema, street dance groups, in which you re free to participate, wine festivals, fantastic food, beer bars, walks in the parks, bicycling, roller blading, water sports and swimming. Have in mind that Greeks consider Athens as the grater area and not just the municipality. So I grew up in Ambelokipoi, but would go at Vouliagmeni or Rafina swimming, for drinks at Psiri, for dinner at Chalandri, for coffee at Nea Smyrni, for ice cream at Glyfada, shopping at Ermou Street, hiking at Penteli Mountain or Ymittos, clubbing at Peristeri, etc. Since the early 90'as we would say lets go to Plaka and Monastiraki to see the tourists or buy leather sandals. Still it is one of the most beautiful areas in Athens. But you should take the green metro line and go for a glass of wine at Kifissia or go to the the mezedopoleia at Petralona at least once. In my opinion if you want to learn how locals live, you need at least 7-8 days in Athens. But it is an expensive city, espacially for us

the whole country and the people rock. love from the USA.

Wait until you discover northern Greece. Snowy mountains, picturesque villages, ski resorts and so much more.

Thank you for this excellent video. I have lived all over the world for work and spent two years living in Athens and commuting to Syros quite a bit. It was two of the best years of my life and it was the people that made it so.

Greek guy from Thessaloniki here, Athens can be gritty and edgy and occasionally flat out bleak but it's also undoubtedly cool and, at times, magical.  It most definitely has character and needs to be explored slowly, preferably with a local. There's a never-ending list of things you can do in the city, museums to visit, bars / cafes to discover and some of the best street art I've seen. Wonderful people as well, always enjoy my time there.

PS. You're definitely on track.

I am a Greek living outside of Greece for half a century. Long time, so I can now say that I have a kind of helicopter view of Athens. It is a city of contrasts, where beautiful is beautiful and ugly is ugly. Parts of greater Athens look like Switzerland, other parts look like Cairo. Some parts are incredibly atmospheric, others just sterile. Above all, it is an urban place, a city with an urban vibe and an urban soul, which can render your stay memorable. Btw, this video is great, David has captured something essential here.

Born and raised in Athens. I used to love certain areas as a youngster in the 00's such as Monastiraki, Thiseio, Plaka, Piraeus etc and also nag about Omonia, Viktoria etc like all locals do.

I hadn't appreciated my hometown to the fullest until I spent 15 years so far, abroad.

After experiencing all the loneliness and "robotic" lifestyle, I crave my beautiful Athens more than ever before.

Its charm, its vibrancy, its endless opportunities for fun/learning/experiencing things, its humanity, even its sometimes chaotic rythm where things seem to be a mess but they always somehow just get done.

I know Greeks (including many Athenians) that'll read my comment will be surprised by me calling Athens a "humane city" because they say that in comparison to Thessaloniki and the rest of Greece, Athenians are the least "invested" in getting out of their way for others and are more "posh" and indifferent.

Trust me though, only if you live abroad you realise that yes, Athens IS much more humane & genuine than most cities in the world!

In small daily ways that one can experience spontaneously, like a bus stopping and waiting for you cause the driver saw you running to catch it, like a bypasser who will take the time to show you how to go where you asked instructions for, like a restaurant who will offer you a glass of water for free if you're thirsty without requiring you to eat there etc.
For Greeks these things are minor and "obvious". That's how humane we are.
Well wait until you ask for a glass of water abroad and even if you're dying they won't give you unless you pay..

Living abroad made me also truly appreciate the Greek health care system. Another point that Greeks might find weird cause while living there we all think the system is trash, mainly due to the overcrowded hospitals.

But trust me again: health care in western and northern Europe (and from what I hear, in other corners of the world as well) is non existent unfortunately and the Greek doctors/nurses/lab staff, I came to realise, are some of the BEST.

Despite the practical struggles they face, 90% of the time give you a freaking diagnosis and treatment.
Good luck finding what you're suffering from and getting healing (and not just pain killers) in less than minimum of a five years waiting, when living abroad..

Fun fact: I've missed SO much the....TAXI in Athens! 😅 I know, I know 🙌, you all must be thinking that I've lost it, hahaha (Athenians are grumpy about their taxi drivers) but hear me out and think about it: you just lift your arm, stop a taxi and can go ANYWHERE you want for a reasonable price AND have a chat with the, more often than not, talkative taxi drivers, if you wish to 😄

Here, you can only pre order a taxi and have to pay a fortune. Completely stuck if you don't have a car or always depended on public transportation schedules.
Please show some appreciation for our Athenian taxis & never take this luxury for granted 😊

And the cliche of course (well cliche are cliche for a reason), I missed the food and the quality of it (fruits & vegetables, fish, olive oil etc) as well as the tyropitadika (designated shops for morning savory & sweet pastries, coffee, juices etc or a part of bakeries).

AND OF COURSE the other cliche, Athens' WONDERFUL mild climate and blue, sunny sky 😍

No monsoons, no grey sky, no months of darkness and snow, no dessert Hell, no weird disease transmitting insects (just mosquitos & occasionally cockroaches in certain places during summer, eww, but easy to get measures for not having any).

Aaahhhh... My beautiful Athens... I've missed you so much... 😢❤

Thank you for seeing Athens for what it really is. I am born, raised here and before I began travelling I always said I'll leave Athens for good. And then, every time i was away, I couldn't wait to come back. Not to the familiarity, I never cared for any comfort zones etc. But I was missing its SINCERITY, the contrast, even in pace, the culture, the aura. There's something about the aura of Athens that I now know I can never find anywhere else. So, I chose to stay here, even when everyone else was eager to leave (with the crisis). I remain here and I'll love it forever

I worked remote in Athens for a month.   I went everywhere, from the touristy areas all the way out to the far reaches of the city.   I loved it.  The people were friendly, the city is definitely edgy, loud, and chaotic.  But that is what made it charming to me.   Personally, as a guy, I have zero interest in going to Santorini like all the other American tourists do.     I find the American women that I have met back home, who have visited Athens, tend to think the city is ugly and dirty, and I just think it's because they thought every square inch of Greece is like these Islands they show in the tourist marketing.    But when I've met another guy like me who was been to Athens, they think it's cool.

Doing that review is by definition,  a thing for us Athenians to be proud of. As a mail employee, I visit multiple neighbourhoods of that city, and indeed there are incredibly diverse. I wish for my fellow countyman and the ones in power, to show the application that this city deserves. Thank you for taking the time to do this.

Love  Athens From the city center, to the Athens Riviera coast to Piraeus right up to the ritzy hills suburbs this place has everything. been here 5 times and about to go again.

Those who truly know Athens understand how vibrant and multifaceted the city is. Its many neighborhoods, each with a distinct identity, often reveal a visual charm that surpasses the city center. Areas such as Kifissia and Glyfada, among others, showcase a more refined and aesthetically pleasing side of Athens. The city’s café, bar, and restaurant culture is not only exceptional but arguably among the best in the world. Athens is a city of contrasts and constant surprises, defined by its warmth, hospitality, and an unmistakable sense of life that rewards those willing to explore beyond Plaka and the Acropolis.

When you said that you didn’t get to the water, I think I said Oh no! out loud!! I wonder how many other people did? This year will be my 12th summer in Greece, and honestly I enjoyed Athens more back in the earlier years. It has gotten crazy crowded even in May, June, and September.
I do go to the islands, well, the exact same island every year, after time in Athens. One of my most favorite parts of going is the people. Things have seemed progressively tougher on locals over the years. For tourism being a big part of the economy, I’m not seeing how the onslaught of more people is helping yet. I find locals some of the most hardworking good-hearted people I’ve ever known, despite the economy. ❤❤❤

We explored Santorini and Mykonos first and then we moved on with our trip to leave out of Athens however we were shocked that Athens had so much to offer and we couldn’t be happier that our flight was canceled and we got to spend an extra night in Athens. It is one of the most memorable places I’ve ever been and I would love to go back and spend several days there again.

I love Athens . go twice a year ( Married to a Greek too - Lucky me ) Yes, It's mad and crazy - and I'm from East London . Always felts safe there and the people are so friendly - Agree with  asking for the bill LOL

im not Greek, i became Greek. went to Greek University. i love Greece with a passion. ofc i speak perfectly Greek. in Greece you must to speak to the people, to go to church Sunday or at least some Sundays, you must go to taverna to eat sometimes,  eating evening on the veranda, have a basil plant, go once a week to laiki , spanakotiropita kai pita gyro once a week, olive oil and lemon juice and feta everywhere, my back dark and my butt white till December and every Easter at the village. shorts and tops and hats. AND THAT LIGHT.I lived in many cities in Europe but i never felt this feeling in the morning, opening the window is like opening your soul . Is pure joy.

We pretty much stayed in and near the large center of the city.  We did venture outside of the typical Plaka and Monastiraki areas…..we did really enjoy Koukaki, which seemed less touristy.   I assume the less English you see, the more local the area is.  Yes, gritty, but charming gritty.  I think our experience was a little different from most other Americans we know personally and saw while out and about.   I spent time learning the language in the year leading up to our trip.  Nowhere close to fluent, but definitely more than  “Kalimera” and “geia sou”…..I could ask for directions, order full meals, make easy conversation with hotel staff, etc.  On June 1, the hotel staff was pleasantly surprised when I wished them “kalo mina”.  Can’t be sure, but I think this effort gave us a little extra service across the board.  

Athens has a cool vibe.  We will be back in 2027 and plan to take on more of the beach area……yes, I still practice my Greek and trying to learn how to read it now!