Attica

The Greek National Tourism Organisation describes the Athens Riviera as the Saronic Gulf coast from the southern suburbs of Athens to Cape Sounio, a coast that begins about 16 km south of the city (typically a 30 to 40 minute drive away). We begin with Glyfada, which was the ancient deme of Aixone and is now a busy town of shops and restaurants, with a marina and an 18-hole golf club, while a tram line runs along the seafront. Just to the north, the redevelopment of the former Ellinikon airport began in July 2020. The tourism organisation's own guide even rules on the coffee: a proper frappé is made with Nescafé and drunk through a straw.

Voula comes next, and the tourism organisation calls it home to two beaches and the Riviera's biggest beach clubs. Vouliagmeni has beaches and, five minutes' walk from the town centre, Lake Vouliagmeni, which fills a collapsed cave with brackish water that stays warm all year (it has been used as a spa since the late nineteenth century and is a protected natural monument). Varkiza, the last of the suburbs, has coves below the coastal road, a mix of free and organised beaches, and tavernas by the sea. Three of our Athens guides cover this end of the coast in more detail: Glyfada, Voula, Vouliagmeni and Varkiza and Elliniko and Argyroupoli.

Beyond Varkiza the coast road goes on through Lagonisi and Saronida to Anavyssos, and the towns along it are smaller, although in Anavyssos the population roughly triples in summer, so August and February here may as well be two different places. Lagonisi and Anavyssos are also among the driest spots on the Greek mainland (Anavyssos gets about 290 mm of rain a year). Lagos Luxury Villa stands in Lagonisi, a 400 metre walk from the nearest beach, and it has five bedrooms and room for up to 10 guests, as well as a 50 sq m pool in landscaped gardens.

Anavyssos is evidently old ground: the Kroisos Kouros (a marble statue of a young warrior made around 530 BC) comes from a burial mound there and is now in the National Archaeological Museum in Athens.

The road ends at Cape Sounio (the southern tip of Attica, about 70 km from Athens), with the sea on three sides. The Temple of Poseidon was built in the middle of the fifth century BC, in the years of the Parthenon, on the site of an older temple, and some of its Doric columns still stand about 60 m above the water. A name carved into one of them is said to be Lord Byron's, although there is no direct evidence that he made it. Many visitors come for the sunset, and it may be wise to check the Ministry of Culture's website for opening hours and tickets before you go.

Villa Sounio, our home on the Pounta Zeza hilltop, has four bedrooms and a pool. Its garden looks over the bay as well as the coast and mountains of Lavreotiki.

Lavrio (about 8 km north of the cape in a straight line) lies where the ancient Laurion silver mines were worked, and their silver helped to pay for the Athenian fleet. The town has an archaeological museum as well as a mineralogical museum.

The Athens tram runs along the seafront through Glyfada and ends at Voula (at the Asklipieio Voulas stop), and beyond Voula the choice is the car or the bus. KTEL Attikis runs a bus from Athens along the coast road to Sounio, with stops that include Varkiza, Lagonisi, Saronida and Anavyssos, although you may want to check the operator's site for the current route and timetable before relying on it. A car, nevertheless, is likely to make the southern half of the coast much easier.

Summer is hot and dry: at Elliniko, on the coast just north of Glyfada, the long-term average daytime high is about 32 °C in July and August and about 23 °C in October, and the average January night is 7 °C (Hellenic National Meteorological Service averages, 1955 to 2010; averages for 1991 to 2020 run about a degree higher in summer). Lake Vouliagmeni stays warm through the winter and thus works outside the summer too, while Anavyssos fills up in summer, so spring and autumn may suit anyone who wants the coast with fewer people around.