Erasmus Experience in Athens, Greece by cécile

Why did you choose to go to Athens, Greece?

I applied all over Europe to do an internship in a public hospital. Athens first gave me an answer, and what answer ! The hospital was so happy to welcome an Erasmus student, to help me find a role in the team, they were genuinely kind to me from the very beginning of our exchanges. When I noticed this enthusiasm I decided to go there, for me it was priceless to be welcomed that way !

How long is the scholarship? How much money do you receive to help you with living costs?

I stayed for 10 weeks in Athens, for a nursingcare internship. My scolarship was about 1 700 euros.

What is the student lifestyle like in Athens?

Athens is very lively. A lot of local and Erasmus students are hanging out every single day of the Week (also because the warm season runs until november so you can enjoy outdoor tables and terraces). It's also easy to find a lot of cultural events (concerts, exhibitions, or events for national bank holidays) where you can meet people or join students thanks to different groups and pages on Facebook.
Whatever you like to do you'll find what suits you bet, wether you like to take part in organised trip with universities and other Erasmus students, or you like to discover and meet people on your own.

Would you recommend the city and the University of Athens to other students?

I would definitely recommend Athens as a destination for en Erasmus + programme.

What is the food like?

Thanks to the weather, a lot of fruits and vegetables are both fresh and cheap, available in the numerous street market you can find all over the city, almost every day of the Week.
Street food and restaurant are also quite cheap and tasty most of the time. You can eat almost all day long, almost everywhere.
What I tasted and liked (but there's a lot of others specialities you can taste) :

pitas (pita gyros is the mosth famous one, with pork), souvlakis, spanakopita, cheese pie, moussaka, fresh fish, greek salad (cucumber, olives, salad, feta, herbs, onions), fava, tzatziki

sugar snack, or breakfast : greek yoghurt, souvlaki, baklava, bougatsa, pasteli

what to drink: greek coffee (ellinikos), iced coffee, retsina wine, ouzo, mastika

If you're vegan or vegetarian, you can find vegan street food quite easily.

Greek cuisine is quite influenced by Turkish habits and traditions.

Did it cost you to find your accommodation in Athens?

I looked for an accomodation on erasmusu and facebook.
Then I found a website of french expatriates in Athens (I'm french), where I found a lot of ads about things to give, to exchanges, and accommodations. A girl had ask for an accomodation few months ago, so I decided to contact her because she was supposed to be in Athens at the time I was looking for my accomodation. So I asked her if she was happy in her flat, the place, the rent, when she was leaving and if the landldy had already found someone to replace her when the room will be free. Luckily, she told me she was leaving one Week before I was planning to arrive.
So she gave me the landlady's e-mail as I could directly apply to take the room. So I treated directly with the landlady.
My rent was 250 euros for a single room in a colocation. Then it was 300 for a double room. It was a little bit more expensive than my friend's rents (that were more about 200 euros)

How much does it cost to live in Athens?

It's cheaper than approximately anwhere else in Europe, but you spend more money discovering places and hanging out.
So I spent about 3 000 euros for 3 months :
250 euros/month to eat (meals, snacks, restaurants), 43 euros for 3 months for transportations, 300 euros/month for the rent, and the rest for cultural events, trips (islands, Thessaloniki, Cap Sounio), and parties (dance, drinks)

Is the language easy to get to grips with? Are there language courses available at the University?

It's quite difficult to learn greek language. But the greek people is really aware that it's the only one to speak that language in the world so they all speak, more or less, English.

What's the easiest or most economical way to travel to Athens from your city?

the plane (I live in the South of France, I traveled from Montpellier)

Where would you recommend to go on a night out in Athens?

I would recommend to go to Kerameikos if you like clubs and dancing (both techno or pop music).
If you're more into fancy bars you should definitely hang out around Syntagma.
If you like rock, punk or would like to listen to traditional greek music, and if you like more alternative places, probably Exarcheia area could suit you.

And for eating? Can you recommend some good restaurants in Athens?

I liked every single place where I ate so… just go on and try !

What good cultural sites are there to visit?

Athens :
Benaki Museum
Acropolis (site and museum)
Exarcheia
a lot of paintings and photographs exhibition places
National Garden
Monasteraki
A lot of byzantines churches downtown
ancient agora
National Museum of Contemporary Art
Archeological museum

In other places : Temple at Cape Sounio + a lot of temples, churches, monasteries and traditional architecture in the Islands

Is there any other advice that you could give to students going to Athens in the future?

Be careful when you cross the road, pedestrians aren't priority.
If you like rock music you really should look for concerts planned during the time you'll be in Athens, a lot of really great artists (doom, stoner, psychedelic and metal especially).
I especially loved and connected with Exarcheia area. It's an anarchist area with a proper history and society.