Recently in Athens Category

After you've visited the Acropolis and the Agora in Athens and stood in awe of these ancient wonders, you might yearn for a more in-depth look at the contributions of Greek culture throughout the ages. An afternoon in the impressive National Archaeological Museum of Athens will provide just the grounding you need to begin to comprehend the amazing influence the Greeks have had on the ancient and modern worlds. The largest museum in Greece, the National Museum is itself a piece of history, having occupied the same building since 1889.

A recent renovation, which added some much-needed air conditioning, makes the museum a top-tier attraction in Athens today, and visitors can browse extensive galleries dedicated to such themes as prehistoric art, sculpture, metalworks, and Greek art from the Hellenistic period (323 B.C. - 31 B.C.). Notable works include a statue of a boy jockey riding his steed (pictured), which was recovered from a shipwreck near Artemisium. Dating to around 220 B.C., the work illustrates the country's great history of competitive sport, as the jockey would likely have competed in equestrian events at Olympia. Early concepts of beauty and sexuality are also explored in works such as a representation of Venus, Eros, and Pan, in which the beautiful Venus repels the advances of the grotesque Pan.

Greece itself is a place of unending beauty and history at every turn, and guests at the 130-year-old Hotel Grande Bretagne - a member of Starwood's Luxury Collection - or any of Starwood's Athens properties will enjoy a trip through thousands of years of human history in this influential Greek capital.

[image via greeklandscapes.com]

In Athens, Gazi is a bit of an eccentricity. The former working-class 'hood was once home to Athens' gasworks and factories. Now it is the center of the Athenian art scene. Gazi and several other neighborhoods to the northwest of the Acropolis and the Hotel Grande Bretagne—Metaxourgeio, Kerameikos and Rouf, are now the go-to place in Greece for cutting edge art, achitecture, nightlife and dining. Gazarte (pictured) is a combination lounge/bar/restaurant/cultural venue that attracts a mix of artists and financial types; there are artistic destinations like Bios and bars like Mayo as well. The New York Times recommends the nightclubs of Iera Odos and the former gasworks—now a cultural center called the Technopolis. Finally, if it's possible to get tired of Greek food, this is the place to go. The neighborhood is filled with Chinese, Polish, Syrian and Albanian restaurants courtesy of the large local immigrant community.

Starwood recently acquired three five-star hotels on the coast of Greece thanks to an agreement with Greek hotel firm Astir Palace Vouliagmeni. The Astir Palace, a 75 acre luxury resort that includes three private beaches, three hotels and 76 bungalows, will be split into three properties. The 123-room Arion Hotel and the 76 bungalows have been rebranded as the Arion Resort & Spa, a Luxury Collection Resort and the Nafsika Hotel has become The Westin Athens since July 2006. Additionally extensive renovations has been desided to apply on the former Aphrodite Hotel - which has become the W Athens, Greece's first W Hotel.

Astir Palace is located in the heart of the elite area of Athens Riviera, Vouliagmeni. This privileged location offers to guests the pleasure of spending precious days and nights by the sea, with the possibility of visiting Athens' historical sites and the Cape Sounion. The complex's prime location, only half an our drive from the city, is convenient for reaching the cosmopolitan city centre of Athens, enjoying all the privileges services of a modern city and its cultural heritage (Acropolis, Olympic stadium, etc.), the exclusive shopping district and elite shopping spot of Glyfada.

Interested in historic hotels? Located in Athens, Greece, one of the world's most famous cities, the Grande Bretagne Hotel is a relatively recent addition to Starwood's Luxury Collection, requiring an 82 million Euro investment in reconstruction to create a state-of-the-art five star hotel. The Grande Bretagne opened its' doors in 1874, and through the intervening 134 years has survived various changes of ownership, disasters, two World Wars and one civil war. Currently the hotel features 290 rooms and 31 suites, newly refurbished and redecorated in keeping with the Grande Bretagne’s traditional style. The rooms and facilities are connected by modern networks and the rest of the 21st Century accoutrements expected from a contemporary deluxe hotel. Have a look at the full history here.

Athens itself, home of the historic Parthenon and Acropolis, is currently a growing European city that is the center of economic, cultural and political life in Greece, though it has been a vital metropolitan area since at least 500 BCE. In antiquity, Athens was a renowned center of learning that housed Plato's Academy and Aristotle's Lyceum, and is considered to have been the "cradle of Western civilization."