Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Guinness and a distinctively Irish-Greek craic. Good food
too, from sandwiches to steaks to Irish stew.
Open all day,
till late.
Vincenzo
Yiannitsopoúlou 1, Platía Espéridhon,
Glyfádha
T
210 89 41 310.
Good, reasonably priced
Italian fare, including excellent pizzas (€6-10) from a
wood oven.
Lunch & dinner daily.
taverna. Fish is expensive and so is Vouliagméni; by those
standards €50-60 for a fish or lobster main course is
reasonable value. Waterfront tables are very heavily in
demand; booking essential.
Lunch & dinner daily.
Ì
Island
Limanakia Vouliagménis; km27 on Athens-
Soúnio road between Vouliagméni and Várkiza
T
210
965 3563.
Beautiful bar/restaurant/club with a
breathtaking clifftop setting; very chic and not as expensive
as you might expect at €15-25 for a main course. Modern
Mediterranean food and a sushi lounge. Booking is
essential, especially at weekends.
May-Oct 9.30pm-late
(club from 11pm).
1
VOULIAGMÉNI
Akti
Possidhónos 6, Vouliagméni
T
210 896 0448.
On
the main road just beyond the Vouliagméni peninsula, with
waterfront tables and great views, this is a top-class fish
Cape Soúnio
Aktí Souníou
-
Cape Soúnio
- the southern tip of Attica some 70km from the city
centre, is one of the most imposing spots in Greece, for centuries a landmark for boats
sailing between Pireás and the islands, and an equally dramatic vantage point from
which to look out over the Aegean. On its tip stands the fifth-century BC Temple of
Poseidon, built in the time of Pericles as part of a major sanctuary to the sea god.
Below the promontory are several
coves
- the most sheltered a five-minute walk east
from the car park and site entrance. The main Soúnio
beach, a short distance to the
north, is more crowded, but has a couple of tavernas at the far end.
The Temple of Poseidon
Daily 9.30am-sunset • €4
he
Temple of Poseidon
owes much of its fame to Lord Byron, who visited in 1810,
carved his name on the nearest pillar (an unfortunate and much-copied precedent,
which means the temple is now roped off) and immortalized the place in verse:
Place me on Sunium's marbled steep,
Where nothing, save the waves and I,
May hear our mutual murmurs sweep;
There, swan-like, let me sing and die:
A land of slaves shall ne'er be mine -
Dash down yon cup of Samian wine!
from
Don Juan
In summer, at least, there is little hope of silent solitude, unless you slip into the site
before the tour groups arrive or after they've left. But the setting is still wonderful - on
a clear day, the view takes in the islands of Kéa, Kýthnos and Sérifos to the southeast,
Égina and the Peloponnese to the west - and the temple is as evocative a ruin as any in
Greece. Doric in style, it was probably built by the architect of the Hephaisteion in the
Athens Agora. That it is so admired and visited is in part due to its position, but also
perhaps to its picturesque state of ruin.
The rest of the site is of more academic interest. There are remains of a fortification
wall around the sanctuary; a
propylaion
(entrance hall) and
stoa
; and cuttings for two
shipsheds. To the north are the foundations of a small
Temple of Athena
.
GETTING AROUND
CAPE SOÚNIO
By bus
Orange KTEL Attikis buses leave from the
Mavrommatéon terminal (p.95). For Soúnio via the coast
(€5.20, roughly 2hr) they depart every hour on the half-
hour from 6.30am to 5.30pm; there's also a more central
(but in summer, very busy) stop 10min later on Filellínon,
south of Sýndagma (corner of Xenofóndos). Returns are
hourly from 8am to 9pm. On the less attractive but
marginally cheaper inland route via Lávrio (see p.96) there
are half-hourly departures from 5.45am to 6.45pm, slightly
less frequently to Lávrio from then until 10.30pm (one an
