John Ovans

Some personal lore: I was lucky enough to live in the Mediterranean for a good chunk of my twenties. It was all dry heat, golden light and weekends at the beach. Whenever London would get particularly wet and miserable, I’d yearn for that life where I felt like I was on holiday all the time.  Over a decade later, I moved to Athens hoping to recapture some of that carefree, sun-drenched magic. Greece, after all, is the land synonymous with holidays. I imagined Aegean breezes, street-corner souvlaki, long afternoons gorging on baked feta with honey, ouzo and raki, living siga siga – slowly, slowly, the national motto – under the constant vigil of the magical Acropolis. A life of never ending summer. Except global warming means that peak summer actually is pretty unbearable in a city like Athens – this summer even saw temperatures of up to 43C throughout Greece. So I ended up going for the autumn and winter instead. And I’m mighty glad I did.  🏘️ RECOMMENDED: The best neighbourhoods to stay in Athens Top tips for visiting Athens in winter The first thing to point out is that Athenian ‘winter’ is somewhat of a different experience to back home, and the city never goes into full hibernation mode. On a good winter day you might get up to the high teens, or even low‑20s on rare extra sunny occasions. So if you’re planning a winter visit, then sitting and eating and out in the squares should absolutely be on your list – even on sunny days in January and February, the buzzing tourist

Athens – the cradle of Western civilisation, home of the Sacred Rock, famed for its monuments, a cultural centre of the world. But it’s Greece, and sometimes you just want beach, baby. And who can blame you? The city is beside the Aegean sea, with turquoise waters and blissful sands to be enjoyed in under 25 minutes from the city centre – and some of this is accessible by public transport too. Many sun-seekers head to the beaches found along the suburbs of the southeastern coast, recently renamed the Athens Riviera – running from Glyfada down to Varkiza, with Voula, Vari, and Vouliagmeni along the way amongst others. You might also decide to explore the series of beaches that punctuate the eastern side of the peninsula, or even day-trip to a nearby island from the port of Piraeus. They all offer something different, from cafés to spa treatments to bare stretches of nothing but beach (bring snacks!). Here are the best beaches near Athens. How to get to the Riviera  This is the location of six of the beaches on our list. A taxi directly from downtown to the Athens Riviera costs between €20 and €30 each way and takes between 20 minutes to the nearest beach when there’s no traffic to 90 minutes coming back from the farthest location if you happen to hit rush hour. The Athens metro will get you some of the way, but not all of it – but you can always get the bus or taxi from the last stop at Ellinikón if you want to go further down the coast. You can also take the tram from Syntagm

Ticking off the main tourist attractions on a city break is all well and good, but it’s only when you veer off down a side street or stumble across a leafy avenue that you really get a glimpse of a city’s true character. Streets are the heart of local life; they’re where communities come together, where new local businesses become go-to staples and where urbanites go out, hang out and have fun.  So what are the world’s coolest streets worth a stroll right now? To find the answer, we reached out to our global team of local expert editors and contributors, who each made a case for the coolest street in their city. We then narrowed down the selection to create a definitive ranking of the best avenues, thoroughfares, backstreets and boulevards on the planet. And so you have it: the coolest streets in the world’s best cities. Over the last few years, street life has gone through something of an evolution. Outdoor drinking and dining, at one point a temporary measure, has become a staple on many of the streets on our hotlist; only bolstered by green initiatives like pedestrianisation and low-traffic avenues. In other words, these streets have become much more walkable and pleasant places to spend our time. On every street on this list, there are bold, creative new ventures in food, drink, nightlife and culture: from listening bars to repurposed heritage buildings, these streets are where you’ll find a city’s most exciting cultural trends. Ready for a wander?  RECOMMENDED: 🏘️ The w