We stayed five nights in early August 2023 in a superior double room with balcony at Sweet Home Hotel ($195 /night) including breakfast. All we can say is that Greek Goddess energy rules! The women running this hotel — Afroditii, Dena, and Sophie are each sparkling gems! Talk about good feng shui. From the moment we walked in we knew it was for us. The location is beyond great for tourists and yet on a quiet side street and overall ultra quiet and ultra comfortable. If you’re going to Athens this property is rated 9.3 on booking.com. And I’m trying to figure out what the .7 they didn’t get could possibly be. One of the nicest big city hotels we’ve stayed in. Rooms are small as they are throughout Europe without going over $300 /night. But there’s value for money here and the breakfast alone is a standout element. It really is like a sweet home. At least it was for us for five nights in the peak of tourist season in August. And we loved our experience in Athens as much as Madrid, Bordeaux or Rome.

The city is a gem. You could skip the (a bit anticlimactic) Acropolis and the crowds there and do the Ancient Agora of Athens instead! Feel free to eat around. In addition to Greek food, we found really good Indian, Chinese and Mexican food. It doesn’t take much to escape the tourist core, even on foot, to experience this important and vibrant city of over three million.