Athens or elsewhere for long weekend?

Hi All Need some advice on where to go for a long weekend with my best friend.... We're thinking of going to the eastern side of Europe, possibly Prague, but personally I like the idea of going to Athens, purely for its History, but I think I heard somewhere its a bit rough? Anyone have any advice? Is athens expensive/rough/run down? Or where would you recommend?

My friends went on a Med cruise last year, and Athens was one of the stops, they got off for half an hour and got straight back on the ship, they didn't fancy it at all. I'd have avoided Greece myself, only 3 weeks ago it was mental with all the rioting, but maybe that's all stopped?

I loved Athens for the history but wouldnt reccomend it for a long weekend. Try looking into Pisa,or Dubrovnic (sp) both fantastic cities

Ahhh! thanks Jawl Yeah we're hoping to go at end June, so we might just give Athens a miss so.... Look like it'll be Prague so - but its supposed to be gorgeous, so I dont really mind where we go.

I adore Athens but then again I'm biased as DH is from there and I know it v well. it is a great city for historic sights and shopping, eating, going out etc. we got married there and a lot of our Irish friends came and loved it too. However I would recommend it as a few days stop-over as part of a longer trip to say the Greek Islands or a Med cruise rather than a long weekend. The major worry at the mo in terms of possibly spoiling your holiday is strikes rather than rioting. I know it looks bad on the news but the rioting is v confined when it happens and does not last long and also has been going on for years over various different issues without the media coverage albeit not to the same extent as the one at the beginning of May. Also the strikes and rioting are unlikely to happen much for the summer months as most Athenians head for the mountains/islands to escape the heat. But for peace of mind I would go with Prague - fab city !

[quote="Jawl":3cqzn69s]My friends went on a Med cruise last year, and Athens was one of the stops, they got off for half an hour and got straight back on the ship, they didn't fancy it at all. [/quote:3cqzn69s] I would imagine your friends' boat docked in the port of Piraeus which is a suburb of Athens and doesn't give a great impression if you land there. It's takes 20-25 mins by metro to get to Athens city centre.