We have just returned from a weekend break to Athens, and I thought I’d pass on our tips and tricks in case you were interested in visiting anytime soon. As a reminder we are talking about travelling with allergies to milk, eggs, peanuts, and sesame seeds.
I have to say that Athens was a fantastic destination for a weekend away. There are iconic sites and history is around every corner, plus a vibrancy and buzz that was lovely to experience. There were a lot of tourists but visiting in April was a good choice as the temperature was perfect and I’m sure it gets even busier in the summer months.
We flew British Airways and, as always, we had a good experience with them. Little S told them she has a serious peanut allergy that is also airborne and they took it really seriously, making four separate announcements onboard asking people to refrain from eating any nut based products. Interestingly the crew said to each other ‘we mustn’t serve nuts in the premium area, so perhaps they usually do?
We were also impressed that some allergy friendly options were available onboard such as oat milk with coffee. Also the complimentary snack was a brand of corn snack called The Great British Crunch from Indulge Snacks, that despite being ‘sour cream and onion flavour’ was free from the top 14 allergens and had no may contains either. This was the first time Little S has ever eaten something we didn’t bring ourselves on a flight!
We made a conscious decision not to eat out whilst in Athens as we often find it adds an unnecessary stress and we just wanted to enjoy ourselves. Plus, the complication of not being able to speak or read Greek made us feel less confident in getting our message across. Although, if you were inclined to, most people did speak good English, and most restaurants seem to sell traditional Greek food so there would be plenty of grilled meats or fish to choose from. Sesame was quite prominent in bakery items, so we gave them a wide berth.
Instead of eating out we opted for nice drinks which often came with a bowl of crisps or pitta chips. Little S had to give these a miss due to not knowing the ingredient list, but we coped by taking our own snacks with us.
We rented an Airbnb in quite a residential area (Petralona) which was a great base. It felt safe and very real – like it gave us an insight into how life in Athens would be. In the neighbourhood there were multiple little supermarkets, greengrocers, and artisan food shops.
The small supermarkets were well stocked, and we easily found dairy-free milk, dairy-free margarine, suitable pasta, and crisps. Every shop seemed to sell some form of dairy-free cheese, but we didn’t see any dairy-free yoghurt which was disappointing as I wanted to make homemade tzatziki when we recreated gyros in our Airbnb.
I don’t know about you, but this is what I do – if we see people eating something that looks tempting, I’ll try and recreate it in a way that is safe for us. Because at the end of the day, it’s not nice to feel like you are missing out on anything, from foods, to experiences, to opportunities.
We found some McCain frozen ‘Country style’ potatoes to add to our Gyros and were rather surprised and happy to see a label that specifically said prepared without peanut oil.
As usual we didn’t come across any suitable biscuits, chocolate, or sweet treats. Luckily, we’d bought plenty of all those items as well as lot bread. Similarly to when we visited Lefkada a few years ago, bread without traces of sesame was impossible to find. Although we did find some wraps which Little S could safely eat.
One treasure trove of a shop that we found was Ergon House, a rather wonderful deli/farm shop/restaurant between Monastiraki and Syntagma Square. It was so well stocked and had plenty of English products as well as a good range of gluten-free items and interesting deli style jars and packs. I’d really recommend adding it to your must visit list, we visited twice and spent far too long browsing the shelves!
There was so much to do that we completely filled our couple of days in Athens. Highlights were;
- The Iconic Acropolis and Parthenon – although get there early or late to avoid the crowds
- The Acropolis museum which is home to many of the statutes and is utterly fascinating
- Walking the winding and shady streets around the Acropolis that feel like being on a Greek island
- Shopping and cafes/restaurants in Plaka
- The incredible Panathenaic stadium
- The lovely shady National Gardens – a perfect spot for a homemade picnic
- Great shopping on Ermou
- Drinks with an incredible view of the Parthenon lit up at night
- Generally walking around and soaking up the atmosphere and history
We would have liked to have stopped for a coffee but we weren’t totally confident and worried about the possibility of cross contamination. As I say, we seem to do everything we can to avoid any potential risk whilst on holiday – maybe that’s a bit unadventurous but it makes us feel more comfortable and hopefully it means we can enjoy ourselves holiday to the full.
Despite being a large city, the centre is compact and you can either easily walk between sites/areas or take the very efficient metro system. We did take a fair few Ubers which were both inexpensive and easy to book. So it was easy to get between all the sites and do everything you want in a few days. We didn’t get as far as the coast, but I’ve been told it’s an easy journey and worth the trip.
I’d say Greece isn’t the easiest destination in terms of food allergies (especially milk and sesame) but it is doable if you are prepared, and at the end of the day, Athens is a must visit cultural destination. Pack lots of safe snacks and breads, think of cooking for yourselves rather than eating out, and choose a refreshing drink whilst enjoying the view, rather than an anxiety inducing meal out where you can’t enjoy the moment!
Do message if you want any more in-depth info or tips and I’ll happily pass them on. 🙂
