48 hours in Athens
A popular cruise port and city with incredible history, food, and culture, Athens is super popular and still relatively affordable euro zone city. What I like best about it is it’s incredible walk-ability with dozens of pedestrian ways closed to vehicles, and easy orientation around the Acropolis which dominates the city and provides a landmark for navigation around the city. We planned a couple of days prior to a Greek Island Cruise, and while you could spend a week (or a lifetime) you can certainly hit the highlights in two, or even better, three or four, days!
First decision is choosing a neighborhood to book your lodging. We did a lot of reading user generated travel content to get ideas about good places to stay. And we used the advice of a trusted travel advisor who has been to Athens for locating a local hotel after our cruise. I find crowd sourced information to be better than using influencers who often are being comped for their recommendations.
Another popular consideration of choosing a hotel is walkability and views of the Acropolis. Because the Acropolis dominates the city center, you’ll notice many places will advertise acropolis views, and they will have views! We also prioritized a quieter neighborhood and walkability as well as proximity to public transportation for the first part of our visit over views, since we didn’t expect to spend a lot of time in our apartment.
That led us to the Thissio neighborhood, just steps from the old Agora and Monastiraki Sq. We had a group of nine and needed 5 bedrooms and our VRBO apartment, AURA (Athens Unique Residential Apartments) at Irkalidon 40 was the perfect spot, with onsite management, laundry and a full kitchen.
Later we stayed on the other side of town, at the Athens Gate Hotel, with gorgeous Acropolis views, and although the neighborhood is much busier and commercial, the peaceful National Gardens and lively Plaka neighborhoods are very close by.
Roman Era Hadrian’s Gate
With lodging settled…our group planned a busy itinerary for the 2 and 1/2 days we had to enjoy Athens! Read on to see the highlights of each neighborhood and our recommendations for guides and tips for touring! I also highly recommend leaving enough time in your days to enjoy cafe culture, possibly take a food tour, and enjoy a dinner at one of the many rooftop restaurants. While they are often more expensive than other cafes, the views and experience are worth the price, but also it’s worth taking time to eat at local places too, especially the popular but simple gyro shops and bakeries.
We will start on the west end and move counter clock wise around the Acropolis to explore each neighborhood we visited.
Monastriraki Square and The Ancient Agora
I was feeling comparisons to Time Square in Monastriaki Sq…the church is the major landmark, but the detailed street art and gritty, colorful shops are unique to Greece.
We spent time exploring the Square, the fruit vendors, the funky shops including the street with Little Kook cafe, just off the square, where over the top holiday decor changes unexpectedly and frequently!
The Acropolis
The Acropolis, means hill, and in Athens, it’s there hill with best preserved temples, including this, the Temple to Nike.
To visit the Acropolis, you’ll need advance tickets, especially during peak times and dates, book them months in advance. Generally aim for early morning tickets to avoid the heat of the day.
It’s not a bad idea to hire a local guide to interpret what you’ll see at the Acropolis. We hired Natalia through Timeless Athens and she did a fantastic job of not only moving us around the sites, but she had very helpful and easy to digest information that made our visit so much richer than if we had toured by ourselves. It’s a good idea to specify to your tour company to match you with a guide whose focus is based on your personal interests, say more on religion or focused more on historical information or art.
Associated with the Acropolis is the Museum of the Acropolis which houses the priceless art and architectural elements in a climate controlled modern museum. These tickets also need to be purchased in advance with a timed entry.
The Acropolis and Parthenon as seen from the Acropolis Museum
National Garden and Temple of Zeus
Acres of well maintained gardens, ponds and exhibitor space as well as museums occupy a spot near the busy Plaka neighborhood.
While the Zues Temple and Formal Botanical Gardens require admission tickets, much of the National gardens are open to the public, with duck ponds, cafes and views of Hadrian's Gate.
Plaka and Ermou Shopping Areas
Busy Ermou St commercial district
Ermou St marks the northern border of the ring around the Acropolis, and its a busy vehicular thoroughfare with wide boulevard and shops and cafes for local people. Nearby, touristy Plaka district has fashionable cafes and tourist shops.
National Archeological Museum
Mask of Agememnon The funeral mask of an Mycenean kings from the Bronze Age.
North of the city center, accessible by the subway, the National Archeological is a national treasure and one of the best collections of the ancient archeology in the world. Much of Greece’s treasures had been plundered during a series of occupations over the centuries, but today, many incredible artifacts are on display. We were very grateful we hired Natalia again for our tour of the museum. She was able to guide us to the “block buster” artifacts, point out a few of her under the radar favorites pieces, maneuver us through the crowds and contextualize centuries of history from Bronze age through ancient Greece, Byzantine, Ottoman and into modern periods. AN alternative to a private guide, is to use Rick Steves excellent audio tours.
Further Afield
The ancient city of Corinth Apollo Temple
For more in Greece; the islands and other areas we visited on our cruise, please see out post here