Find cheap flights to Athens (ATH), Greece

The cradle of modern civilisation, Athens’ many temples and monuments, its busy marketplaces, sun-soaked restaurant-lined squares and antiquity-stuffed museums mean there’s enough to keep you busy here for weeks. Number one on anyone’s list is the dramatic Parthenon at the Acropolis. Its one of the most perfect buildings ever created and it’s still not fully understood how the ancient Greeks achieved it. At night, it’s especially magical – there are also regular summer sound and light shows at the acropolis. The National Archaeological Museum is actually one of the best museums in the world, while no day is complete as a tourist in Athens without a midday snifter in an ouzerie or an evening meal in the lovely old Plaka area of the city. You can use Travelzoo’s SuperSearch to find cheap flights to Athens.

It takes around three hours to fly from the UK to Athens but if you want to fly there from any of the regional airports it’s likely you will have a stopover, often in London. However, you can fly direct from Manchester. Fly from London Heathrow and Gatwick in the south.

Flights from London Heathrow to Athens
Flights from London Gatwick to Athens
Flights from Manchester to Athens

Easyjet serves Athens which means you can get a cheap flight to the city and then on to the islands via a boat from Piraeus from either London Gatwick or Manchester. Olympic Airlines serves the city from both London Heathrow and London Gatwick and British Airways also flies to Athens from London Heathrow. Viking Hellas offers an alternative to Easyjet from Manchester.

Take a walk through the Agora-Athens Central Market to see how Athenians shop. The raucous, riotous marketplace can be deafening with stall holders shouting about their wares but you won’t find fresher food anywhere in town. The market leads into Athens’ Chinatown and the shopping district Eolou Street. If shopping’s your bag, do not miss Monastiraki Square’s flea market where everything from bootleg DVDs to fur coats are on sale. With the ever constant sound of buskers as a soundtrack, it’s easy to while away an afternoon pottering around the jewellery shops, old vinyl record stores and quirky fashions. Just a few minutes walk from Monastiraki is Psiri, the centre of Athens’ nightlife scene, stacked with restaurants, bars, clubs, art galleries and theatres. Head there after sundown when Athenians young and old sit outside chewing the fat along with their soupia.
An hour away but well worth it, take the drive out to the Temple of Poseidon which sits on a hill overlooking the ocean on the Attiki Peninsula. It inspired the likes of Lord Byron to carve his name into it, such is its hypnotic beauty, and sunsets here are breathtaking.