I travel a lot for my work but the best trips still are the vacation trips that I have with my wife. That is when we are free to do what we want without worrying about possible schedule change.
Why Greece?
Our recent leisure trip was in Greece . We chose to visit Greece because it is essentially the birth place of western civilization with thousands of years of history. Although I had visited Athens once before as a kid I wanted to visit there again at an older age now that I can better appreciate different cultures. Also Greece was a convenient location to visit from Dubai where I happened to be training just before my vacation. My last day of training was October 29th and we flew to Athens on 30th.
I made a travel plan before our trip and found out this was really not the best time to travel to Greece because it was the beginning of winter season and many ferries to the islands stopped running on November 1st. Also many attractions started closing earlier and some places even closed down for the winter in November. We decided to visit the country anyway; we would just stay on the mainland instead of visiting any islands this time.
Road Trip in Greece
The plan was to first see Athens, then rent a car and do a road trip. Our trip would cover the following places:
- Athens
- Ancient Corinth
- Nafplio
- Costa Navarino
- Ancient Olympia
- Meteora
- Delphi
- Arachova
This post covers our stay in Athens, and I will cover the other locations in future posts. I will introduce top attractions and things to do in each location. This is the longest post in the series since Athens has so many attractions for visitors. We chose all the destinations based on TripAdvisor and other travel website reviews. Instead of visiting dozens of websites for your trip planning, you can read my recommended attractions for each destination; we have done the research for you!
Athens
It was about four hour flight from Dubai to Athens. From Athens airport we took the metro to the downtown. I paid 18 euros for two tickets. Single ticket price would have been 10 euros. Our hotel was next to the Syntagma Square metro station in the heart of downtown so taking the metro was convenient. Cost of taxi would have been around 35 – 40 euros,
In Athens we stayed in the King George SPG Luxury Collection Hotel. It is an expensive hotel, but for us it was basically free. I used my points for free nights as I explained in my post “Corporate Pilot’s Guide to Hotel Benefits“. We initially stayed in Athens for three nights, so we had two full days for sightseeing and exploring the city. After our road trip around Greece we came back to Athens for one night and stayed in Hilton Athens hotel in a different location.
With such a short time in such a historical city we decided that a sightseeing tour bus would be a good way to see all the main tourist attractions. There was a City Sightseeing Hop-On-Hop-Off bus stop just next to the King George Hotel, so we purchased two day tickets for the tour.
Top 10 Places to Visit in Athens
Here is a list of my to ten places to visit in Athens based on three days of exploring the city; two days initially and one day after our road trip. They are not ranked from best to worst; just in a convenient order to visit them if you take the City Sightseeing bus.
1. The Acropolis Museum
As we took the sightseeing bus our first stop was the Acropolis Museum. The museum was founded to exhibit all the significant findings from the Acropolis hill and its foothills. The Museum is located in a historic district just 300 meters south of the Acropolis. It was well worth the 5 euro entrance fee to see all the ancient sculptures and learn about the Greek history. It is a great starting point to visit the city’s archeological sites and then climbing up to the Acropolis.
Statues in the Acropolis Museum, Athens
2. The Acropolis and Parthenon
From the Acropolis Museum we followed a footpath to the base of the Acropolis hill. There was a ticket booth where we bought tickets to visit the archeological sites. With the same tickets we could visit several sites around the city and not just the Acropolis. Although the hill looks steep the walk up wasn’t too tough. There were several 5th century BC temple ruins and amphitheaters to see on the way up.
Among many historical temples the main building to see on top of the Acropolis is, of course, the Parthenon, which is considered as a symbol of Athenian democracy and the western civilization. It is one of the greatest cultural monuments in the world and the reason many people visit Athens.
The Parthenon
The Acropolis Hill, Ancient Citadel, dominates the view in Athens.
3. Philopappos Hill
Next to the Acropolis there is another hill called the Philopappos Hill. While waiting for a next bus we decided to climb up the hill. From there you can have great views of Acropolis and the whole city of Athens. It was a short, maybe 15 minute, hike and won’t cost you anything.
Philopappos Hill Athens provides beautiful views of the city.
4. Temple of Zeus
After walking down from the Acropolis continued our bus tour. We got off at a station next to the Temple of Zeus. This temple was built in 6th century BC and was dedicate to Zeus, the god of sky and thunder. It used to be the largest temple in Greece but now only 16 of the original 104 columns remain. Although you can see the columns from outside from the street or even by looking down from the Acropolis, it is worth going in to the site and see them close and personal. It was very impressive to walk in the shade of these magnificent columns that are 17 meters (55.5 feet) tall and 2 meters (6.5 feet) diameter.
Temple of Zeus in Athens looks more impressive when you stand next to it. Pictures don’t do it justice.
View of Temple of Zeus in Athens from the Acropolis Hill. Only 16 massive columns are still standing.
Run fatso! Run! Running a lap at the Phanathenaic Stadium helped me connect with my inner Olympian =)
5. Panathenaic Stadium
From the Temple of Zeus we walked to the nearby Panathenaic Stadium. This beautiful stadium is one of the main historic attractions of Athens and it is the only stadium in the world to built entirely of marble. The stadium has a long history and it hosted the opening and closing ceremonies of the first modern Olympics in 1869. It is currently used for many events such as being the finishing point of the annual Athens classic marathon. This is also the last place in Greece where the Olympic flame travels from the starting point in Ancient Olympia. Once the flame arrives the Panathenaic Stadium the flame handover ceremony to the host nation takes place here.
There is a small entrance fee to the stadium and you get an audio guide in several languages that explains the history of the stadium. At first we almost skipped going in because you can see it form the outside, but then decided to pay the fee anyway. It was well worth it and would recommend it to anyone. It is truly amazing as the whole structure is made of marble. When you sit down on one of the empty benches and listen to the history of the stadium you can truly imagine the ancient competitions taking place. The is also a small Olympic flame museum inside that you can visit.
All marble Panathenaic Stadium.
6. National Archeological Museum
We continued our bus tour around the city learning about the different districts in Athens. Our next stop was the National Archeological Museum. Greece is full of great museums and this was one of our top two that we wanted to visit. This museum was actually more interesting to us than the Acropolis Museum because the exhibitions here showed the long evolution of ancient Greek and included artifacts from all around Greek.
Statue at the National Archaeological Museum of Athens
Water fountain at Syntagma Square in Athens and the Hellenic Parliament building.
7. Syntagma Square and the Hellenic Parliament
After a long day of sightseeing we took the bus again and got off near our hotel at the Syntagma Square. The public square itself is an impressive sight at night when the water fountain lights up. Opposite to the square there the Hellenic Parliament building that used to a be a 19th century palace for King Otto. There is a changing of the guards every hour in front of the parliament building. We went to see the changing of the guard ceremony on our second day in Athens. It was interesting to see, although seemed quite ridiculous (no offence intended to the Greeks).
Changing of Guards in Athens Parliament Building
8. Mikrolimano Harbor
On our second day we had had enough of the museums, but we still had tickets for the city sightseeing bus. The bus route had four lines but two of the lines, that would have taken us to different beaches, had already been closed for the winter. There was one line left that we hadn’t tried, so we took the bus. The route took us to a port city of Piraeus, which is located within the Athens urban area. On the way there were bus stops to a planetarium and municipal theater, but we got off at the Mikrolimano Harbor. The harbor itself was full of boats and it was surrounded by restaurants. We wandered to great restaurant called Istioploikos. The service was excellent and the food was good. Recommend stopping by if you are in the area!
Lunch at Mikrolimano Harbor in Pireus, just outside Athens.
9. Mount Lycabettus
On our last day in Greece after our road trip we stayed in a different hotel, the Hilton Athens hotel. The hotel is located next to the Mount Lycabettus. Climbing up took us about 20 minutes. On the top there is a small church and a restaurant. The restaurant had excellent views and seemed to a have a decent menu. We were in a bit of a hurry, so we didn’t stay long. I would recommend climbing up there just for the views and maybe for an afternoon coffee if you are in the area.
Mount Lycabettus offers great views of the city of Athens.
10. Ermou Street and Church of Kapnikarea
On middle of Ermou Street, which is a busy shopping street, there is a little Church of Kapnikarea. It seems very out of place, but I’m glad we stopped to take a look inside. It is a lovely 11th century church with beautiful wall paintings and peaceful altar inside.
Ermou Street is a typical city center shopping street with many modern clothing stores. As tourists it didn’t offer us much to see but from that street you can wander to different restaurant areas and other walking streets full of souvenirs.
Church of Kapnikarea in Ermnou Street in Athens, Greece.
Conclusion
Visiting Athens is a cultural vacations at it’s best. The city is full of historical archeological sites and museums, and the ancient Greeks have played a significant role of shaping the western civilization. It was humbling to learn how people lived thousands of years ago see the actual location. I would recommend everyone to visit Athens at least once in a lifetime.
You can’t go wrong by visiting the ten attractions I listed here on your Athens vacation. There are many more places to see in the city but if you only have couple days then this guide should give some good advice.
In my next “Destination Greece” post I will talk about our experience visiting the Ancient Corinth.
Thanks for reading!
∼Funky Traveler Vesa
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