Three Days in Athens – Visitors Guide

We will visit Acropolis, Kerameikos, Lycabettus, Plaka, and many other touristic attractions during three full days in Athens. But first, let’s start with a map of the city.

Note: check the first part of our journey to central Greece.

Athens Attractions Map

Here is a shot of touristic map we received in our hotel:

And here is the plan I prepared in Google Maps:

As you can see, the tourist attractions are pretty close to each other, and we did not use any transportation within the city. In other words, we walked.

Note: I covered all Greece basics in my Greece post.

Day 1 – Syntagma Square and Mount Lycabettus

On the morning of the first day, we returned the rental car to Athens. Before renting, I checked the price difference between renting at the airport and returning to the airport versus returning to Athens. Returning to another location was a little more expensive, but if I took three public transport tickets from the airport to Athens city center, it became cheaper to return the car in the city. Moreover, the rental car agency was about 1 km from our hotel, making it convenient as we walked this distance.

When we returned the car and checked into the hotel, it was almost noon. The Acropolis of Athens is probably the most popular tourist attraction, and it is visited by thousands (if not tens of thousands) of people daily. Thus, if you want to visit Acropolis, it is advised to come early or late in the afternoon. Therefore, we left Acropolis for the second day of the trip. And on the first day, we decided to get familiar with the city. And there is no better way to learn about a city than on foot. Visiting a viewpoint is also an excellent way to get familiar with a city. So we did both of those things on the first day.

Monastiraki

Our hotel was within several minutes walk from Monastiraki square. We chose this location since it is close to most tourist attractions. Moreover, there is a metro station at Monastiraki square. You can use the metro to get to other parts of the city or the airport.

Thus, many of our city walks, like this one, started with a visit to Monastiraki square.

Here is Monastiraki with the Acropolis in the background.

As I noted previously, on one of the corners of Monastiraki square, there is a small church called Ekklesia Kimisi Theotokou Mitropoleos. Though there are no signs inside, photography is not allowed there.

We decided to visit one of the best viewpoints in Athens, Mount Lycabettus. And we walked there via Syntagma Square.

Church of Panagia Kapnikarea

On our way, we passed next to the Church of Panagia Kapnikarea. This Greek Orthodox church, also known as Kapnikarea, is one of the oldest churches (built around the 11th century) in Athens.

It is located in the middle of Ermou street, a high-traffic shopping area, at the edge of the Plaka district.

As you can see, there are many people. After several days in small villages, with few people around, it took us some time to get used to the crowds.

Syntagma Square

Syntagma Square is the central square of Athens. The square is named after the Constitution that Otto, the first King of Greece, was obliged to grant after a popular and military uprising on 3 September 1843. It is located in front of the 19th century Old Royal Palace, housing the Greek Parliament since 1934. Syntagma Square is the most important square of modern Athens from both a historical and social point of view, at the heart of commercial activity and Greek politics.

Source: Wikipedia

View of Syntagma Square towards the Old Royal Palace:
We crossed the road towards the Royal Palace, which houses the Greek parliament. You can find the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, which Greek army soldiers guard. The soldiers are dressed in festive uniform and changing of the guard became a touristic attraction.

We did not witness the changing of the guard, but we saw their walk, which is unique as well. And after a fifteen minutes stop, we continued towards Mount Lycabettus.

Mount Lycabettus

Though I read about railway funicular to Mount Lycabettus, I was unsure what altitude is started. The funicular saves you only the last part of the hill (about fifty meters). And most of the climb is done by foot using stairs like in the following photo.

On a hot day like the one we had, the climb was sweaty.

We used Ploutarchou street to climb the mountain, and the funicular is located at the end of that street on the junction Ploutarhou and Aristippou streets.

As you can see from the photo above, the funicular is in a tunnel. Thus there is no view. Moreover, it was pretty expensive (as far as I remember, 7.5 Euro per person) for a two-minute ride. Therefore, if I were alone, I would skip it. But since we traveled with our daughter, and a funicular ride for kids is an attraction by itself, we decided to use it.

On the top of Mount Lycabettus, there is a restaurant, Church of St. George (shown in the next photo) and a small viewing platform.
The views from Lycabettus are stunning.
Looking towards the Acropolis of Athens:
In the photo above, the big square building on the left (with the red crane nearby) is the Greek parliament we visited earlier.

A closeup of the Acropolis of Athens:

The Acropolis is not close, and how good you can see it depends on the weather. To give a reference to photographers, the photo above was made using a 300 mm focal length on a full-frame body.

Restaurants

From Mount Lycabettus, we returned to Monastiraki and searched for a place for dinner. There are many good restaurants in this area. But there are many touristic spots as well. Thus, I would suggest using recommendations and reviews. We used the Google maps app to find the best places around us.

I mentioned costs in my previous post about Greece. Here I will say that prices are similar to other European countries and Athens is more expensive than smaller cities and villages in Greece. The main dish will typically cost 8 – 14 Euro, 4 – 8 Euro for a starter, and several Euros per soft drink. Thus, a typical dinner for us (two adults and one child), consisting of several starters, three main dishes, drinks and sometimes a dessert, would end up costing around 50 Euro.

While walking after dinner, I saw this heart-shaped lamp leading to a restaurant. A simple yet effective way to make people notice you.

Day 2 – Acropolis of Athens and National Archaeological Museum

On the morning of the second day, we headed to the Acropolis. We noticed that many side streets in Athens were covered with graffiti during our visit.

Graffiti

Travelers to Athens cannot help but notice the amount of graffiti in the city. Any surface that can be sprayed upon is covered with a disturbing number of signatures and designs. Beautifully restored neo-classic houses from the late 19th century usually have a few days or weeks before they are covered in graffiti, and owners find themselves in a war that they eventually lose and surrender to the kids.

Source: athensguide.com

Here is one of the alleys:

Acropolis Of Athens

Climbing to the Acropolis:

During our trip, the Acropolis was the most expensive attraction in Greece. The ticket price was 20 Euro per person.

After purchasing entrance tickets, the first site we saw was the Odeon of Herodes Atticus. But first, let’s start with quick background info.

Background Info

The Acropolis of Athens is an ancient citadel located on a rocky outcrop above the city of Athens. It contains the remains of several ancient buildings of great architectural and historical significance, the most famous being the Parthenon. The word Acropolis is from the Greek words ἄκρον (Akron, “highest point, extremity”) and πόλις (polis, “city”). Although the term acropolis is generic, and there are many other acropoleis in Greece, the significance of the Acropolis of Athens is such that it is commonly known as “The Acropolis” without qualification. During ancient times it was also known more properly as Cecropia, after the legendary serpent-man, Cecrops, the first Athenian king.

While there is evidence that the hill was inhabited as far back as the fourth millennium BC, it was Pericles (c. 495 – 429 BC) in the fifth century BC who coordinated the construction of the site’s most important present remains, including the Parthenon, the Propylaia, the Erechtheion and the Temple of Athena Nike. The Parthenon and the other buildings were damaged seriously during the 1687 siege by the Venetians during the Morean War when gunpowder being stored in the Parthenon was hit by a cannonball and exploded.

Source: Wikipedia

Odeon of Herodes Atticus

Odeon of Herodes Atticus got its name after Herodes Atticus, who donated this Odeon to the city of Athens. It was used for musical events and philosophical lectures. And this theater is still used. Frank Sinatra, Luciano Pavarotti, Yanni, Sting, and Elton John are just some of the performers that had their concerts here.

The Odeon has 39 rows of marble seats that host up to 6,000 spectators.

This photo at the Propylaea (monumental gateway) was taken at 10 am, and there were already many people. Also, note that we traveled not during the high season, and during summer, there are probably even more tourists.

Thus, either come early or later in the afternoon.

Parthenon

The Parthenon is a former temple on the Athenian Acropolis, Greece, dedicated to the goddess Athena, whom the people of Athens considered their patron. Construction began in 447 BC when the Athenian Empire was at the peak of its power. It was completed in 438 BC, although decoration of the building continued until 432 BC. It is the most important surviving building of Classical Greece, generally considered the zenith of the Doric order. Its decorative sculptures are considered some of the high points of Greek art.

The Parthenon is regarded as an enduring symbol of Ancient Greece, Athenian democracy, Western civilization, and one of the world’s greatest cultural monuments. To the Athenians who built it, the Parthenon and other Periclean monuments of the Acropolis were seen fundamentally as a celebration of Hellenic victory over the Persian invaders and as a thanksgiving to the gods for that victory. The Greek Ministry of Culture is currently carrying out a program of selective restoration and reconstruction to ensure the stability of the partially ruined structure.

Source: Wikipedia

As you can see, the restorations are still going on, and they will last till 2020.

Views from Acropolis

The Acropolis is located on a flat rock that rises 150 meters above sea level. That makes the Acropolis a historical site and an excellent viewpoint as well. Here are several views from the top.

The modern looking building in the far right of the next photo is the Acropolis Museum.

Parthenon from another side:

And here you can see Hadrian’s Arch with Temple of Olympian Zeus behind it.
Roofs of the Plaka neighborhood:
The mountain to the left is Mount Lycabettus, the viewpoint we visited the day before. And the two floor Royal Palace, the middle is the Greek Parliament.

Erechtheion

The Ionic order building named Erechtheion after Erechtheus, the mythical king of Athens.
Erechtheion from another angle:

In the photo above, you can see the famous porch of the maidens. There are six statues of young women standing on a podium 1.77 meters high. The figures are replicas, and we will see the originals later on in the Acropolis museum.

I should also mention there are explanation signs next to each building in the Acropolis. They offer explanations both in Greek and English. And if you want to hire a private guide, you can do it, near the entrance to the site.

Temple of Athena Nike

We returned to the Propylaea (monumental gateway). One thing I have not shown before is the Temple of Athena Nike. It is located beside the portal.

The Temple of Athena Nike was dedicated to the goddess Athena Nike. Built around 420 BC, the temple is the earliest fully Ionic temple on the Acropolis. It has a prominent position on a steep bastion at the south-west corner of the Acropolis to the right of the entrance, the Propylaea. In contrast to the Acropolis proper, a walled sanctuary entered through the Propylaea, the Victory Sanctuary was open, entered from the Propylaea’s southwest wing, and form a narrow stair on the north. The sheer walls of its bastion were protected on the north, west, and south by the Nike Parapet, named for its frieze of Nikai celebrating victory and sacrificing to their patroness, Athena Nike.

Nike means “victory” in Greek, and Athena was worshipped in this form, representative of being victorious in war. The citizens worshipped the goddess in hopes of a successful outcome in the long Peloponnesian War fought against the Spartans and their allies.

Source: Wikipedia

Our visit to Acropolis lasted about one and a half hours, and we continued to the Acropolis Museum.

Acropolis Museum

The Acropolis Museum is located on top of an ancient site. They elevated the museum, and you can see the place underneath. That is how the entrance to the museum looks.

The Acropolis tickets do not include entrance to the Acropolis museum. Thus, if you want to visit the museum, you will need to buy the tickets for it. The entrance fee was 5 Euro per person.

The museum has two main floors. The lower floor mainly showcases small vessels and jewelry. Photography is not allowed there. And on the upper level, you can mostly find statues and bas-reliefs. Plus, photography is allowed there.

The statues from the Erechtheion:
On the second floor:

Acropolis Museum is not a big one, and in an hour and a half, we were able to cover it. Though not very thoughtfully since we traveled with our daughter, but I guess it is around the average amount of time that people spend there.

After the museum, we continued to the nearby Plaka neighborhood. It is the ideal place for shopping (mostly for souvenirs) and getting something to eat. And we were searching for the later.
Art gallery:

National Archaeological Museum

After lunch, we headed to the National Archaeological Museum. It is located further away from the city center (about 1.5 km from Monastiraki square), but we decided to walk there. And after nearly 20-minute walk we got there.
As you can see from the map, the National Archaeological Museum is housed in a three-floor building, and it covers only about a floor and a half.

Ground Floor

Ceramic ‘frying pan’ from the Early Cycladic period. The spirals represent foaming waves, and if you take a closer view, you will also notice a ship without a sail.

On the third day of the Greece trip, we visited Archaeological Site Mycenae. There are some of the treasures from Grave Circle A.
The original Mask of Agamemnon:
One of my favorite pieces was this bronze statue of a horse and a young jockey.

This statue from 150–140 BC was retrieved from the shipwreck in 1928. The reins from the left hand and a whip from the right arm were lost. This work is known as “Artemision Jokey.”

There is a small garden with sculptures, a cafeteria, and restrooms in the basement. After an ice cream break, cause it is impossible to visit the National Archaeological Museum with a child without some treat, we continued to the first floor.

First Floor

On the first floor, there are two spaces. There is the Thera room, and vases, and minor art collection. We started with the latter.

When looking closer at some vases, you realize they were glued from hundreds of parts. The amount of work to recreate each vessel was enormous.
How many names of different vases do you know? I knew only several. Here is a list of 26 different vessel types.