If you think of Athens as a concrete jungle, think again. Did you know that Athens has some of the best beaches in Greece? Combine your trip to Athens with a bit of sea and sun as well as historical places.
Asteria Sea Side
The well-known Glyfada beach had been deserted since the mid ’80s until it was decided to turn it into the new summer hot spot.
Your first glance, as you come through the white (Caribbean style) wooden gate, assures you that the venture has been a total success.
Asteria Sea Side is the classiest organised beach in Attica. White recliners, white umbrellas, elegant low buildings, changing rooms straight from Miami Beach. Naturally, there is no need for a scrum at the bar to get a drink – waiters scurry to and from the sandy beach (which, by the way, was not always sandy: many tons of white sand were brought in to create its new image, and sand was added to the seabed as well). There are, of course, hot showers, and they have also have lockers for your valuables so you can swim unconcerned.
And then, right in the middle of this elegant tranquillity, there is a super water park in the sea, with imaginative inflatable constructions, providing the best possible proof that children are very welcome at Asteria Sea Side.
There is also a private area on the beach, with its own entrance, around the Balux all-day beach bar. The action here centres around the bar’s swimming pool (settle in on one of the superb wooden canopied colonial beds) from morning till late into the night.
Hit the beach when you are in Athens.
Grand Beach Lagonissi
A picturesque bay with crystal clear waters, and a beach literally covered with beach umbrellas in a variety of colours (red, yellow, blue and white) to avoid any monotonous uniformity. Wooden pathways – so your beach shoes don’t get dusty – and a wonderful bar on a wooden pier jutting out into the sea.
This beach also has a swimming pool, you’ll be able to swim in a swimming pool out in the sea.
The general feeling is that of being on a cruise ship – that’s how well organised everything is.
From the menus attached to the beach umbrellas so that you can order from your recliner without interrupting your sunbathing – to the services provided by the organised SPA on the beach, everything suggests a resort rather than a simple organised beach.
And if having a massage at the beach or eating ciabatta with prosciutto without even having to go and fetch it seem a little over the top, let us point out that the package contains some more Grand Beach Lagonissisolid amenities. For instance, the luxurious changing rooms with hot water showers mean that if you have a business appointment after your swim you can leave dressed to the nines, as if you have just left your bathroom at home.
The water is superb, the bottom is sandy, and if you head out parallel to the rocky promontory you’ll get the feeling you’re on an island in Aegean. While swimming you may come across a small cave – a perfect hideaway for couples in love.
Asteras Beach
Asteras has always been one of the best of the organised beaches, with a strong cosmopolitan flavour. The beautiful water, the fine sand, the floating diving platform and – let’s admit it – the status of the adjacent Asteras hotel have always made it a favourite, even when its admission charge was three times that of other beaches.
However, it is not alone at the top anymore, as the Attica coastline now has beaches with much more advanced services – a fact that does not seem to be discouraging this beach’s die-hard fans from gathering here.
Asteras Vouliagmenis BeachLarge groups of 30somethings cluster around the lone recliner they’ve been able to seize, the more athletically minded (sometimes including genuine sports stars) play racquets and beach volley for hours in the specially designated area next to the ruins of the ancient Temple of Apollo.
From mid-May until September shows its autumnal face, the beach is always busy, and on weekends it’s really too crowded for comfort. Fortunately there’s a notice board outside the entrance that tells you if there are any umbrellas free.
Voula Beach A
The trendy sign in bright pop colours and the poster by the ticket booth advertising various music events are your first indications that Voula Beach A’ is a beach with brio: cheerful, busy and young. Its huge expanse (more than 2 hectares) and broad sands make it more like a fun park than just another beach.
Although families do come, this is a primarily a beach for teenagers. They start with a game that involves dousing each other with water on the grass lawn above the beach until the guard tells them to stop, and then move down to the beach and continue with racquets.
The sea here is not the best: the water is shallow and becomes murky with the slightest wave; but the landscape is pretty, with a picturesque little rocky island in the background. And the facilities are really excellent, surprisingly so for such a heavily used beach. The lawns and flowerbeds are newly planted and well looked after.
There are plenty of recliners and beach umbrellas, and the showers and beach cabanas, while not new, are clean. The best thing of all, however, is the beach shop.
Apart from necessities like sunscreens, there are clever T-shirts and ethnic handbags. Soccer fans are likely to head straight for Attica, one of the best-organised mini soccer centres in the region.
The other uncontested hot spot is the Palmie beach bar (on the far left). Its sun decks offer a feeling of privacy, and its new décor (part Caribbean, part African) is pure summer.
Relax on the beach with a good book and forget the worries.
Voula Beach B
On the edge of the seaside town of Kavouri, the second organised beach in Voula won us over last year with its calm clear waters. Picking our way through construction sites, they are building beautiful beach cabanas that will be let as small cottages for the summer. Another plus point is the ample parking inside the facilities, free of charge. Voula Beach B’ is relatively quiet.
The sea is nice, although the most impressive feature of the beach is also its one defect: the concrete breakwaters that rise out of the sea like surreal islands are by far the best place for sunbathing, but create a somewhat unpleasant sensation, since the seabed around them is muddy. You can, of course, always swim at the other end of the beach.
Varkiza beach
The water is crystal clear, but very shallow, and the seabed is naturally sandy. You can walk and walk and the water will still only reach your waist. But in the end it is worth the effort, because by the time it does become deeper you will be far away from the families that congregate in the shallows. Then you will really enjoy your swim, plus the prospect of the resort town of Varkiza (it’s prettier from the sea) and the sight of the windsurfers, who traditionally gather here.
Agios Kosmas
Microscopic, not especially pretty, and divided by a cape into two smaller bays. But it does have two basic advantages: it is close to Athens and it is well looked after. The self-service bar has a pretty pergola, where you can enjoy your coffee. On the right, there is an expanse of lawn for those who don’t like to lie on the sand.
The beach itself is cleaned daily, as is the sea. And, of course when the summer heat becomes stifling and the crowds surge in, a notice board at the entrance tells you how full the beach is. If you come this far, it is worth combining your swim with a spin at the adjacent go-cart centre (not part of the beach facilities but it is right next door and one of the best in Attica), or, if you have children, a visit to the small inflatable trampoline park just past the beach.
Attiki Akti Vouliagmenis Beach
Vouliagmeni’s erstwhile down-scale beach, once the cheapest on the coast, is no longer either cheap or down-scale. What’s more, it is the only organised beach where all the furniture (recliners, umbrellas) is made of wood and very stylish – although be sure to bring a thick beach towel with you.
The sea here is awesome: deep waters, cold and clear. This beach and the organised Asteras beach (on the opposite side of the promontory) are complementary: when it is windy on one side, on the other it is dead calm. The main buildings near the entrance have had a simple facelift, but awaiting us on the far side of the beach is the super Okeanida self-service restaurant, decorated in style. This beach is a favourite with 20somethings, who overcome the financial barrier of the euro 5 charge for a recliner by taking just one (or at the most two) to be shared by the whole gang.
Although there are special areas set aside for sports behind the line of umbrellas, most people insist on playing on the wet sand at the edge of the sea, inevitably annoying those who simply want to lie back and enjoy the view of small sailing boats flitting back and forth across the bay. What saves the day is simply the fact that the beach is so big that in the end there’s room for everyone.
Generally, although its new look isn’t overly impressive, it wins on points: tasteful wooden furniture, bamboo rubbish bins, clay ashtrays, even the superbly muscled lifeguard on duty in his special tower, combine to create a very positive picture.
This big beach, with its deep and clear waters, is a favourite with 20somethings. It is complementary to the Asteras beach on the opposite side of the promontory. When it is windy on one side, it is dead calm on the other. There is a special area for sports behind the umbrellas.
