Top Five Romantic Spots in Athens

With my girlfriend Mollie visiting for only a week from Boston, I wanted to show her as many of Athens' classic sites and hidden treasures as possible. Greece is one of the most romantic countries on the globe and now that I finally had someone to appreciate it with, I wasn’t going to waste a minute. The weather cooperated with a week of sun and heat, a nice departure for Mollie from November in Boston.

So where are the top five romantic spots in/around Athens? My picks (in no particular order) are:

1) Bretto’s- a tiny bar in the heart of touristy Plaka, Bretto’s can be found in nearly every guidebook to the city. Despite its solidly “discovered” status, no one walks by Bretto’s door without an “oooh” or “ahhh.” Against the back wall are shelves of brightly colored bottles lit from behind. Another wall houses giant wooden barrels full of Bretto’s handcrafted spirits. Mollie and I had shared glasses of rakomelo, a traditional drink made from Greek raki boiled in honey and spices, and Greek retsina wine.

2) Lykavitos hill at nighttime- With a prime location next to the center of town, the view over Athens and of the floodlit Acropolis cannot be beat.

Lykavittos during the day

3) Temple of Poseidon at Cape Sounion- About an hour and a half outside Athens, the temple is one of Greece’s best-preserved sites and sits on an impressive peninsula where you can look out over the sea. Another big plus is that the bus ride along the coast is incredibly scenic (make sure you sit on the right side of the bus). While I liked the site the second time around, honestly, I enjoyed the bus ride even more.

4) Biking along the coast of Aegina- I know this isn’t exactly a “spot” per se, but when you combine a laid-back island feel with easy accessibility from Athens and a gorgeous coastline, it can’t get much better than that. We stopped at this shady green patch to have a snack and look out at the perfectly clear water.

5) Any little Greek taverna – all these neighborhood restaurants have delicious food and a cozy atmosphere. They’re the perfect place for to kick back and have a great conversation at the end of a long day of sightseeing. A little krasi (wine) and a little feta saganaki (grilled feta)…perfect.