Athens

[Derbyshire Man]

Advertisement (gone after registration)

Anyone got any hints and tips on taking a couple of M bodies and lenses to Athens and coming back home with them! I hear that pick pocketing/bag snatching is rife and considering maybe taking a Fuji or two instead. Which would be a shame!

[Advertisement]

The Leica Q3 is available for pre-order at B&H Photo Video and Adorama

[Smudgerer]

1 hour ago, Derbyshire Man said:

Anyone got any hints and tips on taking a couple of M bodies and lenses to Athens and coming back home with them! I hear that pick pocketing/bag snatching is rife and considering maybe taking a Fuji or two instead. Which would be a shame!

This sadly is true`............A documentary crew that was working a friend's project in early December had gear snatched whilst they were filming in a street, TWICE! They lost +25K of camera and sound accessories in a blink of an eye, well two blinks.

I'd just take one camera, make it look shoddy with bits of tape, take just one lens if you can and keep that kit around your neck at all times, a nice bag an expensive one, is way too easy to grab and run off with. Anything "bling" is a magnet for trouble and the last thing you need when traveling is a 24hr angst about losing gear, or anything else.

[roydonian]

All big cities popular with tourists have their share of pickpockets, bag snatchers, and other forms of low life, and I was robbed of my wallet in Rome about a decade ago.

I was in Athens for a week in November 2023, and had a trouble-free holiday.

The only precautions that I took were those I'd take in any city – to always carry my camera and bag with the strap across my body, and never just on the shoulder. My wallet was carried in a small bag under my jacket and with its strap across the body.

Based on my experience, I'd say that the advice in the following website seems realistic.

https://athenstouristguide.com/is-athens-safe-for-tourists-to-visit/

[spydrxx]

Although it has been several years, I spent about a week in Athens shooting. Long ago I learned to keep my camera strapped like a bandoleer across my chest, no big honking lenses, but rather one discreet one, and don't spend too much time in typical tourist traps. I kept my wallet strapped beneath my trousers with only a few banknotes in my pocket. And lastly, didn't dress like a flashy tourist but purchased some local clothes to more closely blend in. It worked well, I got some great shots in the local market (the big indoor fish and meat market) as well as the outdoor produce markets, as well as the feral animals roaming the city. Most of all, soak up the wealth of history and delightful foods...be respectful of local customs and you will have a great and successful time.

[roydonian]

How did you manage to tackle a "swimsuit catalogue in the streets" without drawing attention to what you were doing? I've been to Athens many times, but have never seen anyone dressed in a swimsuit!

A lawyer writing in another Leica forum some years ago pointed out that a common feature of many of the criminals he found himself defending what they were not very bright. So they were not looking for cameras displaying the red dot that some photographers were trying to conceal. Nor were they able to recognise Billingham and other brands of high-quality photo bags. What they wanted to steal was something that could be easily 'fenced' in order get ready cash.

Assuming that the lawyer was correct, big black cameras conspicuously displaying the name 'Canon' or 'Nikon' and fitted with big and potentially expensive lenses are probably a better target for thieves, I suspect. We can recognise Leicas, but most people can't. A client I once worked for berated me for taking photos with "that old Russian clunker' (an M2 with the dual-range Summicron).

Spydrxx's comments about clothing are very valid. One hint I was given a couple of decades ago was to 'dress down' when visiting the touristic area of a foreign city - to wear the jacket, shirt, trousers, and shoes that you normally wear when going to work or walking the dog. While this will not convince a thief that you are a local, he might conclude that you are not particularly well-off financially, so not a lucrative target.

Visual appearance does affect how you are categorised. Several decades ago I used to come regularly to Athens for a trade show. My favourite hotel was close to the central market area and very close to a 'red-light' area. Walking through the market crowd dressed in a business suit, I noticed that people were reacting to me. But one year, I didn't have time to get my hair cut, so had it cut in Athens. Next day, no-one reacted to my presence – I can only assume that my haircut in whay was then the current Greek style (very short sideburns if my memory is correct) had made me look more like a local.

[LocalHero1953]

Athens has a fabulous flea market

[Derbyshire Man]

Advertisement (gone after registration)

On 1/18/2025 at 3:36 PM, roydonian said:

How did you manage to tackle a "swimsuit catalogue in the streets" without drawing attention to what you were doing? I've been to Athens many times, but have never seen anyone dressed in a swimsuit!

A lawyer writing in another Leica forum some years ago pointed out that a common feature of many of the criminals he found himself defending what they were not very bright. So they were not looking for cameras displaying the red dot that some photographers were trying to conceal. Nor were they able to recognise Billingham and other brands of high-quality photo bags. What they wanted to steal was something that could be easily 'fenced' in order get ready cash.

Assuming that the lawyer was correct, big black cameras conspicuously displaying the name 'Canon' or 'Nikon' and fitted with big and potentially expensive lenses are probably a better target for thieves, I suspect. We can recognise Leicas, but most people can't. A client I once worked for berated me for taking photos with "that old Russian clunker' (an M2 with the dual-range Summicron).

Spydrxx's comments about clothing are very valid. One hint I was given a couple of decades ago was to 'dress down' when visiting the touristic area of a foreign city - to wear the jacket, shirt, trousers, and shoes that you normally wear when going to work or walking the dog. While this will not convince a thief that you are a local, he might conclude that you are not particularly well-off financially, so not a lucrative target.

Visual appearance does affect how you are categorised. Several decades ago I used to come regularly to Athens for a trade show. My favourite hotel was close to the central market area and very close to a 'red-light' area. Walking through the market crowd dressed in a business suit, I noticed that people were reacting to me. But one year, I didn't have time to get my hair cut, so had it cut in Athens. Next day, no-one reacted to my presence – I can only assume that my haircut in whay was then the current Greek style (very short sideburns if my memory is correct) had made me look more like a local.

 

 

Great anecdotes!

[Derbyshire Man]

Thanks everyone, I've been in some very sketchy places with cameras in my time and think I'm pretty good at keeping as under the radar as possible and using my sixth sense for danger. I learnt about the impact of clothing one year when I booked a trek in Nepal for 10 days. The guide was furious once he found out what I did, he said he'd charged me the base rate rather than the wealthy tourist rate. I asked him why and he said 'you were wearing scruffy shorts and t-shirt'. Obviously I saw him and the porter right in the end but it was an early lesson in 'apparel oft proclaims the man'.

I'm not easily frit while realising that theft can happen to anyone. I just wanted to check that if it happened and I told the story here 100% of people didn't say you were crazy for taking anything with you at all!

 

[NigelG]

Sorry - I just don't get this fear when travelling.

I don't think about an M camera as a "valuable" but just as a camera - and it's insured.

I don't change what I'm wearing (!) or tape over the logos on my Ms...why would I ? - most opportunistic thieves are going to target the tourists with their Canikon SLRs and honking zooms as they can sell them on quickly. Nobody cares about some old bloke shooting an M even if their lens is £5k.

Anyway my wife will be carrying a handbag that costs a lot more than an M + Lux/Apo (and wearing a ring that's many times that.)

The only time I didn't take a pair of Ms was on a trip to Moscow when everyone said "Oooh it's scary" and I still regret it (though you did have to be screened for  weapons at the entrance to our hotel opposite the Kremlin - unless you got "the nod" and went round the side..)

 

 

 

 

[Derbyshire Man]

That was my feeling, they're insured and I'd be more hacked off all week not having the gear I love using than claiming when I get back!

[Derbyshire Man]

Subscribing

[andybarton]

We had the One Challenge in Athens a couple of years ago and everyone had a great time. We certainly did.

We walked through the city centre day and night and it was no more “sketchy” than anywhere else in my experience. There’s one square (Monastiraki) that might be best to avoid, especially at night, though. You can “spot” the pick-pocket spotters hanging around the edge of the square, looking for suitable tourists.

IIRC, @Sandokan was staying near there (although he’s not the reason for the sketchiness 😊)
 

[Sandokan]

I went twice, once to scout it and once for the Challenge. I did stay near Monasatiriki and enjoyed the area very much. Full of life and noise with lively bars and good food (we ate our Challenge Saturday dinner near there. I walked everywhere. As for cameras ... I had about 30Kg of camera equipment and tripod. A Sinar 4x5 which I took to the Acropolis and set it up there as well as some of the other sites. I think nobody in their right mind would try to steal that as I would just wait for them to get out of breath and take it back. I also had my SL, M10 Monochrom and Q on those trips. 

I never felt threatened and made friends with a local photographer who borrowed my Q for the Challenge (and returned it). The only time I felt ripped off was in a restaurant where I paid about €20 for two Ouzos ... but they were good ouzo. I would say Athens is one of the safer cities I have been to. 

[roydonian]

The occasional tout was my only problem in Monastiraki during a visit to Athens last year, but an area that you should most definitely avoid is Omonia Square and its immediate surroundings. Back in the 1970s this was OK to visit (I used a hotel only a few blocks away), but the most obvious clue that the area has badly  deteriorated is that some hotels there now have security staff positioned outside the door – something I didn't see in any other part of the city centre. The presence of what are obviously drug addicts in the immediate area around Omonia  was blatantly obvious – I was only in the area for about five minutes last year before deciding to leave, but in that short time saw drugs being injected.

[Derbyshire Man]

19 hours ago, Sandokan said:

I went twice, once to scout it and once for the Challenge. I did stay near Monasatiriki and enjoyed the area very much. Full of life and noise with lively bars and good food (we ate our Challenge Saturday dinner near there. I walked everywhere. As for cameras ... I had about 30Kg of camera equipment and tripod. A Sinar 4x5 which I took to the Acropolis and set it up there as well as some of the other sites. I think nobody in their right mind would try to steal that as I would just wait for them to get out of breath and take it back. I also had my SL, M10 Monochrom and Q on those trips. 

I never felt threatened and made friends with a local photographer who borrowed my Q for the Challenge (and returned it). The only time I felt ripped off was in a restaurant where I paid about €20 for two Ouzos ... but they were good ouzo. I would say Athens is one of the safer cities I have been to. 

That's interesting, just packing now and weighing up M11P/D/M and brace yourself X100vi, although every time I've taken the latter and a Leica I can't bear to take it out instead. Just thought it might be easier for evenings and slightly more unknown/dodgy surroundings. Having said that, unless you know an M11D is pretty stealth. All of mine have bits of tape on the too!

[Derbyshire Man]

Out of interest, was there much to take pictures of after dark? That's where I find the M11M really shines. Otherwise the flexibility of the P/D is going to win.

[roydonian]

I had several after-dark sessions during my last visit. A lot of the archaeological  sites are floodlit at night, and many of the streets and alleys in the oldest area are worth exploring. I did a 'Venice by night' article for the 'Viewfinder' magazine, and have roughed out an 'Athens by night' text, but have yet to finalise it...

[RobW0]

I was in Athens in late November and in other parts of Greece and Albania over a two week period. I had my M11-D and Q3 with me and did not feel unsafe at any time. While in Athens I did a lot of walking around, ,mostly with my M11-D. The crowds were not as bad as during peak season but still a lot of people. 

 

The Acropolis is well lit at night and can present some nice shots from the right location. 

Edited January 24 by RobW0

[Advertisement]

Hallo,

Look here: Interesting Leica gear

[Derbyshire Man]

Thanks gents, I really appreciate the responses. 

[Dan Bachmann]

When we had the Leica One Challenge in Athens, there was only one theft I was aware of. One of the participants had his mobile phone stolen. His M camera was in view the whole time.

I had an M with me and never was concerned with it. The vibe at night on the route back to our hotel changed dramatically - it was the only time I naturally became extra observant making sure my wife felt comfortable (she was fine) and my camera was discrete on my side.

At the Acropolis with long queues I thought some people around the queue were looking like they are waiting for someone. Then I'd see them circle around scanning the queue and reappear. They didn't look like tourists - perhaps they were local freelance guides, who knows?  I believe you can avoid the long queue and vultures by arriving early in the day.