Just across the river and over the Rip Van Winkle Bridge from the trendy city of Hudson, Athens is a picturesque waterfront village of stunning architecture and winding alleyways. Set on the western banks of the Hudson River in Greene County, the town is 30 minutes from Albany, 2 hours from New York City, 3 hours from Boston, and 20 minutes to the Catskill ski resorts of Hunter and Windham. While other towns along the Hudson Valley become increasingly overdeveloped, Athens remains a sleepy, rare riverfront jewel. Boasting two historic districts, including Brick Row - 1800s row houses built for railroad workers in the freight line known as the "White Elephant Railroad" because of its short life span - as well as more than 300 buildings on the National and State Historic Registers, Athens is a place where homebuyers can still find gorgeous old homes for reasonable prices, a quiet pace of life, and a genuinely relaxed and authentically eclectic atmosphere.

In 1665 a simple tract of land was bought by three Dutch settlers from five natives. By 1684 it had become known as Loonenburgh, when Jan Van Loon owned most of the current village. In 1794, a handful of speculators, which included some Livingston family members, bought the upper village, hired a French architect, and laid out ambitious plans for a new city called Esperanza - Spanish for "hope" - a dream city meant to rival the recently booming city of Hudson and one day become capital of New York State. Unfortunately, the investors fell on hard times and lost their holdings on the land. A thriving village developed there nonetheless, and in 1805 the upper village of Esperanza and the lower village of Loonenburgh were incorporated into the single village of Athens. Esperanza's grand hopes may have failed to materialize more than 200 years ago, but Athens today is on its was to putting itself prominently on the map - not as the originally self-conceived state capital, but as a unique historic and scenic destination for visitors and artists alike.

The heart of the village is at the corner of Washington Street and Second Street. "It's the main intersection of town and it doesn't even have a stoplight," jokes Sam Sebren, a painter who lives with his partner, Ron Puhalski, in one of Athens's original buildings, an 1805 structure right on Washington with exceptional river views. "One of the nice things about living here is that it's such a small community and such a friendly atmosphere, and eventually you run into everybody."

Playing hoops at the village green

Sebren and Puhalski moved to Athens from New York City in 1999 and have watched the revitalization of the village spike in the last two years - new buyers coming in and restoring old historic homes and buildings. A Historic Code regulating the village's historic structures was recently passed. Athens also has a Revolving Restoration Loans Fund, which enables property owners to get low-interest loans at rates of 3 percent or lower to restore building facades. A Waterfront Advisory Committee and an Athens Community Comprehensive Plan Committee have also been established to take active roles in shaping the future of Athens.

"People are taking more pride in their properties," says Andrea Smallwood, a former New Yorker who began weekending in Athens in 1988 and moved here full-time in 1997. Smallwood is a real estate broker at RealtyUSA and also serves as deputy mayor. "We've seen a lot more assessed valuation on homes, which is helping the municipality with its budget."