While many visitors to Greece are coming for the beautiful beaches and laidback lifestyle of the Greek islands, nearly all first-time visitors will spend at least a day or two in Athens. A city with roots that date back thousands of years, Athens is dripping with history, and ruins from the Classical period are scattered everywhere throughout the city. Modern Athens has a reputation for being a bit, well, grungy—not as pristine as many other European cities. I completely disagree! Athens had its own kind of charm and a lively atmosphere. There are endless options for good food, and the people we met were some of the friendliest we have encountered in our travels. Maybe it was just because we were traveling in May of 2021, when Greece was first reopening for tourism, but everywhere we went, locals kept saying, “We are so happy to have tourists coming again!”
We arrived in Athens very late at night, or perhaps I should say very early since it was technically after midnight. But we only had two days to explore Athens before rushing off to the islands, so we made the most of our time despite the jet lag.
Day One: Historic Athens
Our first day in Athens was devoted completely to seeing the city’s historic sites. We started bright and early at the Acropolis, the most iconic site in Athens. I had seen pictures online of how busy this place can get, so after just a few hours of sleep, we woke up early, and walked to the Acropolis to be there right when it opened.
Speaking of walking, Athens is an extremely walkable city. We were staying a little bit outside the historic center, and still walked everywhere we went, although there is public transportation available as well.
Anyway, it definitely paid off to be at the Acropolis early. We basically had the place to ourselves! The other benefit to getting on the go early is that Greece gets hot, like really hot. Like, I live in the desert, and I still thought it was hot. Exploring in the morning was definitely the best way to avoid the heat.
The Acropolis is the number one thing to see in Athens, no question. If you only visit one archaeological site, it will probably be this one. The Parthenon, the large temple to Athena at the top of the hill, is the most famous building at the site. The Parthenon, along with most of the buildings, was constructed in the fifth century BC, making it one of the oldest places I’ve ever visited. Unfortunately, after surviving basically intact for centuries and being used as a temple to Athena, a Christian church, and a mosque, the Parthenon was badly damaged by an explosion in 1687 when it was used to store gunpowder, which I can’t believe anyone ever thought was a good idea.
Along with the Parthenon, the Erechtheion is another of the more famous buildings at the Acropolis. This temple is dedicated to both Athena and Poseidon, and is known for the “Porch of the Maidens,” where six statues of female figures stand in place of columns. We learned that the statues currently at the site are replicas, the originals having been moved to the Acropolis Museum for preservation. Apparently, due to pollution and acid rain, the marble statues at the Acropolis and other ancient sites have eroded more in the past 100 years than in the rest of their 2,500-year history combined!
I was surprised by just how much there was to see at the Acropolis, and we spent several hours exploring the various ancient sites dotted around the hill. Our next stop was a short one—Areopagus Hill, just outside the entrance of the Acropolis. This hill has a great view of the Parthenon, and for fans of biblical history, it was also the location of one of the apostle Paul’s sermons.
Our next stop was the Ancient Agora, which in antiquity, was the center of Athenian society. This was where people did business, debated, worshipped, and enjoyed life. Once, a road ran through the Agora and up to the Acropolis. Now, most of the buildings are in ruins, but the temple of Hephaestus is still in good condition, and the Stoa of Attalos has been completely reconstructed and now houses a small, but very nice museum.
If you plan on visiting more than one archaeological site in Athens, (basically, if you plan to go anywhere besides the Acropolis,) it is worth getting the combo ticket, which gets you into pretty much all of the ancient sites. The Acropolis and the Ancient Agora are definitely both worth a visit on their own, but many of the others are relatively small, and you can honestly see most of the ruins without actually entering the site. However, we decided to get the combo ticket and visited most of the spots included, and were really happy we made that choice. It was definitely worth it to get up close to the various ancient ruins, especially if, like me, you love history! You can get the combo ticket at the entrance of any of the included sites.
After a gigantic Greek lunch at O Thanasis, we made quick stops at the Roman Agora and Hadrian’s Library, where we were literally the only ones at the site. While traveling during the pandemic had its fair share of struggles, having these amazing places all to ourselves was worth it. We kept saying over and over, “I can’t believe we are the only ones here!”
By now, it was around 3:00 in the afternoon, and having done a lot of exploring on only a few hours of sleep, we decided to go back to our Airbnb to rest a little before dinner. Well, in the end, we fell asleep by about 4:00 and didn’t wake up until the next morning. Whoops! It was actually probably good that we got some good sleep so we were ready for the many long, busy days in Greece in front of us.
Day Two: Greek Food and Modern Athens
The next morning, we started our day with a food tour. Food tours are one of my favorite ways to see a city, and this one was a good one. We booked a tour with Athens Walking Tours, which included lots of tasty stops and a visit to the local market. I love all types of Mediterranean food, so of course, this food tour was a winner. Greek food is generally a little heavy on the meat compared to how I usually eat, but it was so tasty! Our food tour was a great way to sample lots of local flavors and learn about what dishes we should keep our eyes out for during the rest of the trip.
With bellies bulging, we walked to our next stop, the Panathenaic Stadium, where the first modern Olympic Games were held in 1896. As a runner and big fan of the Olympics, this was Ben’s favorite stop in Athens. He ran around the track and took pictures on the winners’ podium while I got more than enough of a workout climbing the stadium seats. There is also a museum where you can see many of the Olympic torches and posters from past games. It was really neat!
On our way back to the historic center, we stopped at the Temple of Olympian Zeus, which was also included in the combo ticket. It is good for five days, which is great if you can only take so many ancient ruins in one day.
Our next stop was Lycabettus Hill, which we hiked up for incredible views of the city below. It was crazy hot, and I’m not gonna lie, the hike was a little bit more difficult than I anticipated it would be, but the views were worth it! I’m pretty sure there’s a cable car if you want to see the views without the walk, but we didn’t ever see it, so I’m not sure exactly where it is.
Finally, we finished up day two just wandering around the Plaka neighborhood, which is full of cute cafes, shops, and colorful streets. We were thoroughly worn out when we finally made it back to our Airbnb.
While there are lots of other things to see and do in Athens, we agreed that two days was enough time to hit most of the major highlights. This is one of the most historic cities in the world, and we felt very lucky to get to experience it during a time when there were not many other tourists. But our Greek vacation did not end in Athens, and next up, we saw the Greek islands in the best possible way, a catamaran cruise around the Cyclades!
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