Dining or shopping in Athens
 

We will be in Athens in a couple of weeks. Is there any can't miss dining or shopping (non-clothing) that we should look out for? I think we have the museums pretty well planned. We will be with our 9 and 12 year old sons, if that makes any difference and staying at the Grande Bretagne. This will be our first trip to Athens and we are looking forward to unique experiences. Thanks for any help.

It's been 17 years since my wife and I were in Athens but the area behind the Acropolis is wonderful. The area is called the Plaka and is a small area of narrow alleys and lanes that hold everything imaginable for sale. I remember stumbling across a Gyro shop that was only 36 inches wide. Only sold food through a window and the food was fantastic.
I would like to tell you more places in Athens but we were on our honeymoon and spent most our of time at the beach or at the hotel. Plus we were in the military and not the most welcome folks.

We just went for our first time in February. Ate many, many gyros from the walk-up at Bairaktaris near the Monastiraki metro. €1.50/each and great. We ate dinner 1 night there too, where I ate more gyros and my boyfriend got this great lamb smothered in a yoghurt sauce. (From the outside, the place might seem a bit touristy, but it seemed that a fair numbers of locals ate there. We got the lamb dish as the 2 women at the next table had it and it looked fantastic, and it was.)

For shopping, I would recommend riding the tram Syntagma to Glyfada (make sure you catch the right line.) On the way to Glyfada, you will see a lot of beach and coast, and then once you are in Glyfada, this tram goes along a fairly dense shopping street. A lot of clothes, but a lot of other stuff too and the view on the tram is nice. And if you have been walking all day, the ride on the tram will give your feet a rest for a bit. This is a good evening trip if you catch one of the evenings where stores are open later.

On the way back from Glyfada to Athens, get off the tram at Mousson (on the return, this is the first stop immediately after the tram turns from the coastline and back inland towards Athens.) Get off the tram, and walk 1 block North (in the direction that the tram you just got off is continuing) towards the church. At the end of the block you will find a french patisserie that is really good and cheap. If they have the chocolate filled eclairs, get those. The shiny chocolate dome was one of the most intense chocolate things we have ever eaten. The fruit covered tarts are a nice balance between the other chocolate items. Then get back on the tram and take your treats back to the hotel. Each item is no more than €2, so we would get a couple of different things and cut everything in half. I know, French pastries in Greece... But they really were good and cheap. Totally worth it.

BillJ