Helena is a wonderful host that really cares for your stay to be the best possible. And she'll give you a good introduction to the neighbourhood. Whatever you read or have heard about Exarchia, we had a great time, and it's a neighbourhood where you soon feel that people know and care about eachother, and you are met with smiles and recognition. It's also a neighbourhood teeming with cafés, bars and restaurants with a good athmosphere all over, every day of the week.
We arranged for Helena to meet us at the airport, which gave us, and her, a great opportunity to get a know one another a bit more. I went there with my boyfriend who knows Exarchia from a previous stay not long ago, and wanted to return.
Helenas apartment is great and really has everything you need. It's spacious, and has a charming flowery veranda with a great view up on Lycabettus Hill - it became my favourite spot for my morning cup of coffee. (There's a smaller veranda from the kitchen towards the backyard as well, with evening sun... a bit too narrow to sit down, but all the same charming). We were only two people, so we felt priviliged with that much space. Also the fact that the entrance is on the corner of some of the livlier streets in the area felt safe, and at the same time you feel more like beeing a part of everyday life, which is something me and my boyfriend seek when we travel.
Helena works just round the corner (she works on one of the resataurants/take-away kitchens linked to the well known restaurant Rozalia in the same street - highly recommended!!), and made it clear that she was available at any time for questions or whatever we needed, and we also had contact several times during our stay. She also let us meet some of her neighbours in the same building, this was a truly nice experience. And even though the apartment is so close to restaurants and cafés (literally only a few floors up), it's quiet up in the apartment.
I cannot but recommend on the highest note Helena and her apartment in Exarchia for your stay in Athens, especially if you want to get a feel of Athens outside the most touristy places (though you meet people from all over the world in Exarchia), but still with the urban vibe, and with a great choice of bars and restaurants. Or if you want to just stroll around in narrow streets and do 'people-gazing'. And it's close to everything, as Omonia underground-station is just a 5-10 min. walk away. Me and boyfriend could not have found a better place for our stay, and we travel a lot.