Marathon Lake, Attica, Greece

5Basem Q 5:00 PM Feb 24, 2020

Airlines director
Very very nice area . Beautiful green view .large dam .there is a nice cafe same location. Worth to visit

5tarasandy 5:00 PM Aug 24, 2018

Slightly off the beaten track.
Decided to take a visitor to this artificial lake (reservoir) which served as the main water supply to Athens until the end of the 50's. The dam was built mid to end of the 20's, by an American company, to meet the increased demand for water following the large numbers of refugees who arrived from Asia Minor in the decade or so before. It is a gravity dam constructed of Pendelikon Marble, the same as the Parthenon (though of course not polished up & shiny!). The standoffs one would see between cars from opposite directions on the single lane road over the dam have now stopped with the intstallation of traffics lights. Unfortunately access to the pumping area at the bottom of the valley, adorned with a copy of the Athenian Treasury to be found in Delphi, is now not allowed for fear of terrorist activity. However, there is the Fragma (Dam) Cafe where one can sit & drink a coffee or enjoy a bite to eat & the beautiful view. Comments have been made about the prices but yesterday an iced expresso coffee cost 3.80 euro, which is quite acceptable. After, continue to the start of the Marathon Race, the Marathon Musuem, tombs to those fallen in the Battle of Marathon against the Persians, a small, new Olympic musuem, & then the long Schinias, sandy beach which offers organised areas with loungers & umbrellas if you want. The drawback is that you will need to have a car as this is some perhaps 35-45 km from central Athens with, as far as I know, no suitable public transport. However, if you do all or some of the sites I've mentioned afterwards it makes a really good day out, even for children.