Athens, Greece
The Original Overachiever
"We invented democracy, now enjoy our traffic"
Official Coat of Arms
A shield bearing a crumbling marble column rampant, flanked by two mopeds mid-collision, beneath a sun so relentless it has scorched the enamel itself. The motto beneath reads, in Latin for some reason, 'We Were Here First.'
TripAdvisor Review
★★★★☆ 4/5
"The Acropolis at sunset is genuinely one of the most breathtaking things I've ever seen, but getting there involves a hike up marble steps so slippery they should come with a waiver. The city itself is a chaotic sprawl of graffiti, orange trees, and mopeds driven like it's the Battle of Marathon all over again. Found an incredible souvlaki place down a side street in Psiri, then spent forty minutes trying to find a taxi willing to take me back to my hotel. Three thousand years of history and still no functioning taxi app that works reliably."— Barry Fenwick, Solihull
Property Listing
Charming Mediterranean pied-à-terre with UNESCO World Heritage views, walkable to millennia of history and at least four excellent coffee shops! Minor drawbacks include August heat that will actively hunt you down and a resident population of stray cats who consider the balcony theirs now.
Twinned With
Rome — Both cities peaked culturally a couple of millennia ago and have spent every year since arguing about whose ruins are more important.
Supporting Evidence
Athens has an estimated 1,000 archaeological sites, which means roughly every third road-widening project in the city has been delayed for years because someone's mechanical digger found another ancient wall.