It’s been many years since Athens and greater Greece experienced the Hellenic Dynasty, but today the city celebrates its ancient history with the annual Hellenic Festival.

The festival, now in its 51st year, offers four months of events, from May through September. The line-up of this year’s Epidaurus Festival runs the gamut from professional stagings of plays like Oedipus and Euripides to performances by renowned artists like ballet dancer Mikhail Baryshnikov. Many events do require tickets, which range in price from €2-40. But, installations, exhibits, and some theater workshops are free and open to the public. A few, like the theater workshop on Greek tragedies, require reservations in advance.

For more information, visit the Hellenic Festival’s web site.

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We like fancy costumes. Bonus if that costume has pompoms and tassels. Major bonus points if said costume requires a snazzy red hat.

So, it’s no secret then that we love to watch the changing of the Evzone Guard in Athens’ Syntagma Square. The elite Evzones make up an infantry unit stationed in Athens and meant to guard the presidential mansion and the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. Some people refer to them simply as the “Presidential Guard“.

Every Sunday at 11 a.m., the changing of the guard, considered by tourists and locals alike to be the best free show in Athens, kicks off (literally; check out those pompom’d feet!) at the camp of the Evzones behind Parliament and travels down Vasilissis Sofias Avenue before reaching the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. For a brief period, traffic is even blocked on Vasilissis Sofias Avenue so the Evzone guards can strut their stuff in safety.

The changing involves high kicks, military stunts, and stoic faces. Seriously. Evzones are trained to tune out the paparazzi-like tourists who beg to take their photo alongside them. If you really want your photo taken with one of them, stand in an orderly line just below the steps in Syntagma Square. Onlookers are allowed up one-at-a-time for photos opps.

And, here’s a fun fact: The Evzones wear shoes that are carefully hand-made from hard red leather. Each sole has up to 60 nails in it!

For more fun facts, check out this great post by a “bootsnall” user.

Join us again tomorrow, Cheapos, for another free tip. Next stop on our Grand Tour? Barcelona!

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Some items of note that flashed across our screen this week…

Cheap eats in Roma

It turns out we’re not the only ones blogging this week about cheap eats in Rome (read our post). Budget Travel’s blog is talking up cheap lunches in the Eternal City. Erica Firpo writes from Rome that we should say “Basta! to pasta” and reach for something a little less filling for lunch. She recommends picking up some triangular tramezzino. We’ll take two.

From Stansted for £4?

Checking in with “Less Than a Shoestring,” poetloverrebelspy has landed in London and is full of Cheapo-advice. First off, book that coach trip from Stansted into the city early, and use either easyBus or Terravision. On easyBus it’s possible to snag a seat (booked in advance) for as low as £4.25 each way!

Furthermore, we’re reminded that the Tate Modern and Tate Britain are not only free, but they offer free guided tours. Join in!

Dinner in London for £5

Meanwhile, Olivia from “High Culture on a Low Budget” is thinking London budgets, too. In this week’s installment of “Ask a Local“, she asks Mike from London where he would find dinner for £5 and £10. (Hint: The Best Turkish Kebab or an Amy Winehouse haunt.) Nice job with this series, Olivia!

Athens in 36 hours

Sunday preview: The New York Times takes us along for “36 hours in Athens.” We’re impressed by how much Joanna Kakissis can fit into a day and a half, including museum hopping, brunch taking, ruin walking, sunset strolling, restaurant sampling, bar hopping… But we have some better ideas for affordable hotels in Athens.

And, regarding our “Name that celebrity” quiz on Wednesday: We still can’t figure out who she is. Stay tuned for the answer and our winner.

Happy Friday, Cheapos! Should we all just head to Athens for the weekend?

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Photo by Kaymaria Daskarolis

When you have decided to leave the clubs in Psirri in the wee hours of the morning and are hungry—but not so hungry that you feel able to consume one of Kosta’s delicious crepes from Picasso di Crepa—consider going by the bakery at 23 Karaiskaki Street and picking up a freshly-baked, warm, scrumptious koulouri. The koulouria made by the bakery at 23 Karaiskaki are distributed to koulouri stands throughout Athens.

A koulouri is a wreath-shaped piece of slightly-sweet bread with sesame seeds all over it. (We suggested them long ago as Syntagma Square pigeon feed.) People in Greece love koulouri so much that the snack is sold on corners throughout the city every morning, typically disappearing by mid-day.

If a mid-morning koulouri from a kiosk is tasty, a post-clubbing koulouri straight out of the oven is a little slice of heaven.

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Photo courtesy of Kaymaria Daskarolis

Now, when most Greeks and tourists alike are beginning to flock to the clubs and bars dotting the Athenian coastline, is the perfect time to explore many of the bars and clubs packing Athens’s city center. You will find outdoor tables and chairs at many of them, more room to move about, and lower prices on drinks and cover charges than can be found in most beach-side spots.

One spot we particularly enjoy due to its funky East Asian décor, friendly service, and reasonable drink prices is Kasbah, located in the northern Athenian neighborhood of Ambelokipi (Alexi Pavli 35B across from the Panormou metro station, +30-210-692-7447). We especially like going to the Kasbah on Sunday nights, when we get to watch and listen to playful and jovial DJ E-Mill (a.k.a. Emilio).

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Photo courtesy of Kaymaria Daskarolis

After a night of dancing in Psiri, leaving the clubs at 4.30 a.m. or later, most folks are hun-gry. Fortunately for all Kostas, a friendly, hard-working man with exquisite crepe-making skills, keeps his shop Picasso di Crepa (Taki Street 19 in Psiri, +30-210-324-7686) open until around 7 a.m. on Sundays through Thursdays and until about 11 a.m. on Fridays and Saturdays.

Oh the crepes, the crepes. They are the perfect post-club delight. Our current favorite is a savory crepe stuffed with cheese, tomatoes, and olives. Savory crepes cost between €4 and €6.50 depending on the filling, and judging by the ones we’ve tried so far they are worth every cent. Sweet crepes can be yours for between €3 and €5.50. Expect company at Picasso di Crepa no matter what time you find yourself there—Kosta’s divine crepes are no secret to locals.

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Photo by atomh

Thank goodness DJ Cam did not pursue business studies as a young buck. If he had, a club packed with Greek trip-hop fans would not be getting their groove on this Friday, June 1 (2007) in Athens’s own One Happy Cloud (Aristofanous 12, Psiri, +30-210-3222-256).

Yes, that’s right, you jazz-hip-hop-abstract-trip-hop-acoustic-electronica-instrumental-beat-loving music fans: thanks to Noiz Productions, French maestro DJ Cam will be performing live at Psiri’s intimate hot spot, One Happy Cloud. If you attend, you’ll expect to be shoulder-to-shoulder with about 200 Greek folks, but no more than that. One Happy Cloud is a small joint, perfect for hearing some of the world’s greatest DJs perform live. If you don’t get there early (we suggest by 11 p.m., although he may not hit the decks until midnight), you’ll surely miss your chance.

And trust us, One Happy Cloud is the perfect venue to check out DJ Cam if you want to be close enough to him to feel the steam evaporating from his skin and hear his remixes and original rhythms deep into your sleep hours later. Yes indeed, Greece-trodding international music lovers, the bar is appropriately named: while you’re there and long after you leave, you’ll be happy.

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Photo by HowieHunger

Sometimes Athens in the summertime can get so gosh darn hot that even walking at a leisurely pace can sound like a bad idea. If, due to the heat or you’re simply feeling lazy and you want to check out the sights without walking or driving, consider the “Happy Train.” People riding it usually do look pretty happy.

The folks who run Happy Train must have some kind of hook-up with the city government. You’ll be sitting at a café in Thisseio marveling at the view of the Ancient Agora, Temple of Hephaestus, and Acropolis, when chug-a-chug-a-chug, along comes the Happy Train, rolling right in front of you in the five feet of space usually reserved for pedestrians.

The Happy Train takes passengers on a 40-minute ride through the heart of Athens, beginning at Plateia Monastiraki and rolling past the aforementioned and other ancient sites. If you decide to ride, you’ll pay €3 per child and €5 per adult for the convenience.

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Photo by djmadison41

Now, you can fly direct from the land of Homer to the land of Joyce—and on a budget no less.

Beginning on June 5, 2007, Aer Lingus will be running a new service between Athens and Dublin. Flights can be booked on the Aer Lingus site for travel up through October 27 of this year (2007).

Flights are currently available on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays. The price range, however, is large. We recommend booking as far in advance as possible for the best rates. We found one-way flights starting at €29 and topping out at €195, before taxes.

Prior to the establishment of this route, travelers had to transfer when flying between Athens and Dublin, wasting precious travel time in layovers.

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Photo by Kaymaria Daskarolis

One of the best ways to see great art for free in Athens is to do a gallery walk. You can walk from gallery to gallery checking out some of the best Greek and international art without paying an entrance fee.

One of our faves is Titanium, the Yiayiannos Gallery (Vasilissis Konstantinou Street 44, phone: +30-210-7297-644, fax: +30-210-7251-063), located opposite the infamous Truman Statue. It is open Tuesday through Friday from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m., and Saturday and Sunday, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.

The Titanium Yiayiannos Gallery exhibits incredibly innovative art (of various media) by both local and international artists. Recently, the gallery hosted an exhibit of the Swiss artist Sandy Kopitopoulos (see above) that left us in awe.

Through June 2, 2007, the thought-provoking paintings of Haralampos Katsatsidis will be on display.

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