Spata

Spata is mostly a residential town (about 10.000 people) and in many ways as a suburb of Athens, which lies 20km to the west. Athens International Airport is situated on Spata grounds and sometimes referred to as Spata Airport. The town is also home to one of the largest zoos in Greece: Attica Zoological Park.

Get in

The E94 highway, known as Attiki Odos, passes by town at less than a kilometre. Take exit 18 for Spata.

Most visitors will be coming here for the zoo. To get there by public transport, take a metro to Doukisis Plakentias Station in Athens. From there, take bus 319, which runs every 35 minutes.

See

• 1 Attica Zoological Park, At Yalou, ☏ +30 210 6634725. Daily from 9.00 to sunset. The large, privately owned zoo started off as a bird park in 2000, and is still among the top ten largest bird parks in the world. Over the years, it grew into a more diverse zoo and now houses over 400 species, including monkeys, lions and tigers, white rhinos and giraffes. There's also an extensive reptile collection. A delphinium was opened in 2010, although it is criticized by animal welfare groups. €15/11 for adults/children, children under 3 have free entry.  

Sleep

Spata itself is mostly a residential town and as the airport is only a short drive from Athens itself, most visitors don't spend the night here, but head to the capital or east to the port town of Artemida.

Mid-range

• 1 Peri's Hotel, ☏ +30 2294 083763. This place is not located in Spata proper, but rather in the village of Artemis, a ten minute drive from the airport's northern gates. 

Splurge

• 2 Sofitel Athens Airport, ☏ +30 210 3544000, fax: +30 210 3544444, H3167@sofitel.com. Check-in: 15:00, check-out: 11:00. The only hotel on the grounds of Athens Airport, nestled between the terminal and the airport's railway/metro station. Fits the conservative rather than modern definition of luxury, but does the job very well, garnering positive reviews. Rooms on upper floor offer access to Club Millessime, an executive lounge with the usual features. If you have the time to have a breakfast, rates for executive club floor rooms, including breakfast, often aren't higher than if you pay for breakfast on top of the regular room rate. €200. (updated May 2015)

Go next

Athens is the obvious major destination next door, but the sea side town of Artemida can be a pleasant alternative.