Greece: Athens & the Peloponnese Guidebook
Guidebook corrections:
Please note: The following corrections were submitted by readers and have not yet been confirmed by Rick. Check updates from Rick for the latest.
The restaurant Floga in Oia does not exist. Santorini basically closes after the 25th of October. Many shops are only open when the cruise ships are in port, 4-6 hours per day.
Robert Teagardin in Vashon, WA USA 10/28/2011
The city walk map in Hydra was incorrect. The name of the street where you walk by the second bell tower to get to Votsi square is not Lignou. It believe it is Votsi, but I'm not sure, but you don't get to Lignou street until you've walked back several hundred feet away from the harbor. It is also a little confusing to call that area the far side of the harbor. That suggests the far side from where you started. It would be better to say the innermost point of the harbor.
Jerry Mills in toledo, oh USA 09/29/2011
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Cheryl Weir in Vancouver, WA USA 08/19/2011
We got lost following your directions from Kalamata to Kardamyli. Thank goodness for GPS. You should
Jan Grantham in Redding, CA USA 07/26/2011
Yes, for the Athens City Walk. I loved doing this tour in 3 parts. It would be really helpful if the street names you had on your map matched the actual Greek name. This caused abit of guessing. The part 3 map needs work especially after viewing the Lykavittos Hill and then dead ending with a very narrow pathway between homes that was unmarked and rather scary for 2 gals alone. We hoped we were in the right place, but the map needs clearer drawings. This whole section around the Tower of the Winds needs work. We found our way and ended up on aiolou (not spelled the Greek way on the signs) from there it was great. Parts 1 and 2 were much easier to follow, but adding the actual Greek spellings would make this a whole lot easier for folks trying to find the right streets. The english version was not evident on most signs. Some of the names were close to English so we hoped we were right. I love the work you do in Europe. I had great success with your walking tour of downtown Rome a few years ago. I saw a man sitting on the sidewalk pondering your book in the Plaka in Athens. I said to him "you have a great book" and he agreed saying he had seen so many people carrying Rick Steves around with them!! Keep up the fantastic work. I am a huge fan and hope one day to travel with your small groups. I would love to do the Cinque Terre.
Brenda Compton in Kingston, On Canada 06/23/2011
ATHENS' ORIENTATION: 1) page 62 – Odeon of Herodes Atticus is all blocked off with chain fence, can peer thru fence at places. 2) page 63 – Theater of Dionysus is closed, no access allowed. ACROPOLIS TOUR: 1) year round hours are now curtailed due to poor economy, 8-5 ANCIENT AGORA TOUR: 1) year round hours are now 8:30-3, due to economy. EATING IN ATHENS: 1) page 174 – Sholarhio Ouzeri Kouklis: Meal deals start at 14EU, and 3-6EU/plate. DELPHI: 1) page 201 - Archeological site is now 8:30 – 3 all year round – permanent sign at gate. 2) page 213 – Stadium: no longer able to go inside, all roped off, now can only look over it from the one end. OLYMPIA: 1) page 308 - archeological site hours are now permanently 8:30-3. 2) page 316 – Temple of Zeus is no longer available to tour, roped off permanently SLEEPING IN ATHENS: 1) page 168 - Hotel Tony: 70 EU for standard double room. 3) page 221 – Hotel Leto: The parking situation is like San Francisco, find a parking spot & don't move! We were there in the “low” season, early April, & considering the narrow one-way streets & the difficulty finding parking, I can't imagine how it works in the summer. Our room had a balcony w/2 hard iron seats & a table & a direct view of the street & buildings behind the hotel. Craning our necks, we could see the mountains, but the 3rd floor balconies are better.
Kip Freytag in Shingle Springs, CA USA 06/06/2011
The guided tour of the National Archeological Museum in Athens is spectacular, but leaves out one exhibit that many would consider to be must-see: The Antikythera mechanism.
This device is a remarkable ancient mechanical computer that was discovered in the same shipwreck that many of the museum's bronze statues come from. It was used to make astronomical calculations and was centuries ahead of its time.
Unfortunately, the guidebook doesn't mention it and I didn't realize the mechanism was in the museum until we got back to the U.S. (Though that does create one more reason for a return trip to Greece...)
JM in Lawrence, KS USA 12/13/2010
Pegasus Tours no longer operates daily trips from Tolo to Hydra (in August 2010, trips were offered on T, Th and Sa.)
The laundromat near the Plaka is closed and is now a purse store (very sad, they were wonderful during past visits) - Athens Studios is the only laundry option now.
The locations of the numbers for Athens Studios and Ouzeri Scholario on Athens Maps are confusing - they lead the reader to believe the establishments are on adjacent streets.
Bronwyn in Seattle, WA USA 09/03/2010
Hi Rick! Just got back from Greece and have a few corrections for you from your "Athens & The Peloponnese" guide book. I was there from 04/18/2010 to 05/03/2010. All of the major attractions (The Acropolis, The Ancient Agora, The Roman Forum, The Library of Hadrian, and The Temple of Olympian Zeus) close at 15:00 hours. Also in your guided walk of Nafplion several corrections need to be made. The first being that there is an incorrect picture of The Church of St. Mary Above All Saints in your book. The second, To Enotio Puppet Workshop could not be found on the street shown. On this street in the location where the number representing where the puppet shop should be the addresses are only in the teens (no #40). The third, when you turn left at #12 (The Worry Bead Shop) you come to a newly installed would gate that is never opened and does not allow any passage (must proceed to next street).
Mark in Bloomington, MN USA 05/07/2010
It seems the hours for the Acropolis are shorter in the winter. Fortunately, we went early enough in the day.
Angie USA 01/02/2010
The meal deal price on page 174 for Sholarhio Ouzeri Kouklis is incorrect. Now 14 Euro per person.
Miyuki and James in Los Angeles, CA USA 11/18/2009
Rather than try to deal with metro and bus to get from Pireaus to Bus Station A in Athens I took a taxi. Only 15 minutes and only 8 euros. That made it possible to take the 6:55am ferry from Hydra and still easily make the 9:30 am bus to Olympia.
Davy Davis in Denver, CO USA 10/09/2009
Dear Rick Steves
I was in Italy and Greece for two weeks using your guidebooks and audio guides and had a great time. The information was helpful and I wanted to say thank you. Although my real token of thanks was that I purchased a 2nd guide book.
I also have a suggestion for Athens. I had a hard time finding the Liossian stop on bus #024 (used to get to Delphi). I would suggest putting the word Liossian in Greek letters in your book as the bus routes are only in Greek. Moreover, it appeared to me on the way back that the Metro stop where Green and Red intersect farther from the city center is actually closer to Liossian (via bus #024) than the Syntagma stop. Now as I said I was having a hard time with the directions so it might be that I was just lost and your directions are better, but the other folks I talked to thought the other stop was closer.
And the New Acropolis museum is beautiful, only costs 1 Euro for the rest of the year and might even merit a 3 triangles rating.
Regards,
jacob in Cincinnati, oh USA 09/15/2009
Hop In tours was horrible for Athens. We booked a 4 hour tour, and received a poorly-done 2 hour tour. Many things which were promised on the website (i.e. Archaeological museum of Athens) were not covered. There was no traffic on Sunday, so we got to the Acropolis with lots of time. The guide, George, gave us a little talk at the top of the Acropolis and wanted us to explore 'on our own' x 1 hour. At the top of the hill, he announced that the tour would end there, and if you wanted a ride back to the hotel, to meet at the bottom of the hill for the bus. We were not staying at a hotel in Athens, and had to go all the way back down the hill to get our backpack from the bus, then climb back up the hill to the Acropolis / Agora. We were hoping for guidance in seeing the Acropolis and Athens. Instead, we met up with another group reading the Rick Steves Athens book on the top of the hill. Hop In advertised that they have hotel pickups, but didn't pick us up from the Piraeus port. Would not recommend this tour group to anyone.
Gloria Hasler in Palmdale, CA USA 08/27/2009
Not exactly corrections, but comments. On the original DVD that features Athens there is a 1 min segment on the bucket (discount) shops off Syntagma square. I could find no references in the guide book. What happened to them?
Wayne watson in Nevaca City, CA USA 08/09/2009
We tried to go to the laundromat you suggest in Athens but was told by the nearby restaurateur that they had closed a few months earlier.
Janet Schaffel in Potomac, MD United States 07/26/2009