What should I avoid in Athens?

The stretch of Adrianou Street between Monastiraki Square and the Roman Agora is where Athens makes its money from first-timers. You'll recognize it by the men standing outside each restaurant with laminated photo menus, calling you over. Moussaka here runs €18-22 for a lukewarm tray portion that tastes reheated. Walk 8 minutes north into Psyrri and the same dish costs €9 at Klimataria on Plateon Street, where the kitchen has been open since the 1920s and the smell of slow-braised lamb and cinnamon carries to the sidewalk. Ta Karamanlidika near the Varvakios Central Market does pastourma and meze for €10-12 a plate in a room that smells like cured meat and sharp cheese, with whole sausage links hanging from hooks above the counter. That said, not every Plaka restaurant is a trap. Scholarchio on Tripodon Street has been serving since the 1930s, and the grilled octopus, charred and tender with a squeeze of lemon, is worth the €14.

Taxis from Eleftherios Venizelos airport tend to be the first mistake. Drivers at the arrivals rank quote €50-70 as a flat fare to central Athens. The metered fare to Syntagma Square is around €40, and Metro Line 3 covers the same 27km route in 40 minutes for €9. The metro station is inside the airport terminal, one floor below arrivals. Worth noting that the taxi scam has a second layer. Some drivers will tell you your hotel is closed, or the neighborhood is dangerous, and offer to take you to a "better" place where they collect a commission. This seems to happen most around Omonia and Exarchia. If a driver tells you your confirmed hotel is closed, call the hotel from the car. Beyond the airport, Athens taxis are generally reliable on the meter, though the night rate (tariff 2, midnight to 5am) is double. Rideshare apps like Uber and BEAT currently operate in Athens and show the fare upfront, which tends to run €2-3 less than a street hail.

From mid-June through August, Athens sits under a heat dome that pushes afternoon temperatures past 38°C. The Acropolis has no shade. None. The Pentelic marble underfoot radiates stored heat back at you, and by noon the exposed hilltop feels closer to 45°C. The €20 entry ticket (€30 for the combined-sites pass) doesn't include water, and the single kiosk near the Propylaea sells 500ml bottles for €3. Go at the 8am opening or after 5pm. The light is better for the Parthenon at those hours anyway, a warm amber instead of the flat midday wash. Mind you, the heat isn't limited to the Acropolis. The concrete sidewalks around Omonia and the Ermou Street shopping corridor trap heat and bounce it back. If you're walking between sites in July, the shaded path through the National Garden between Syntagma and the Panathenaic Stadium (built in 328 BC, rebuilt in marble in 1896 for the first modern Olympics) is 5-7°C cooler than Vasilissis Amalias Avenue running parallel.

Near Monastiraki Square and along Ermou Street, you might encounter people trying to tie a braided bracelet on your wrist while talking fast. The pitch is that it's free, a gift. Then they ask for €5-10. Pull your hand back and keep walking. A similar routine happens around Syntagma with clipboard petitions for vague charities. Sign and they'll ask for a "donation" of €20. The Acropolis-view rooftop bars along Mitropoleos and Adrianou charge €16-22 for a gin and tonic you'd pay €8 for at any bar in Psyrri or Koukaki. The view is identical from Filopappou Hill, which is free and has a better angle on the Parthenon's west facade at sunset. One more thing to skip. Street vendors near the Acropolis metro station sell "ancient Greek coins" for €10-30. They're modern reproductions, and even if they were real, exporting antiquities from Greece carries a prison sentence under Law 3028/2002. The reproductions aren't even good. They feel light and tinny, nothing like the heavy bronze of an actual Athenian tetradrachm.