Athens travel guide: what to see and where to stay
Athens is loud, dense and baked by the sun, and it has the Parthenon standing on a rock in the middle of it. Give the city three days and it pays you back.
The city at a glance
Almost everything a first visit needs sits in a ring around the Acropolis: Plaka and Monastiraki to the north, Thiseio and the Agora to the west, Koukaki to the south, the Olympieion and the Panathenaic Stadium to the east. You can cover that ring on foot, and the three metro lines fill the gaps.
Two big sights lie outside the ring. The National Archaeological Museum is a metro ride north of the centre, on Patission Street, and Kerameikos, the ancient cemetery, lies north-west of the Agora. Both are worth the detour, but neither fits into a day that already contains the Acropolis.
How many days
- Two days: the Acropolis and its museum on the first, the Agora, the old quarters and an evening on Lycabettus on the second. Tight, but the headline sights are done.
- Three days: the right length. It adds the Olympieion, the Panathenaic Stadium and the National Archaeological Museum without running between them.
- Four days or more: spend one of them outside the city, at Cape Sounion for the sunset or on Aegina, and keep a slow morning for the markets.
A three-day plan
The rock and its museum
Be at the Acropolis gate when it opens at 8 am and walk up before the tour groups arrive. Come down to the Acropolis Museum, which shows what the rock itself no longer holds, and have a long lunch in Koukaki. Spend the afternoon in the Ancient Agora and end in Monastiraki, where the lit Acropolis hangs over the square.
Marble, columns and a hill
Start at the Olympieion, walk to the Panathenaic Stadium through the National Gardens, then lunch in Pangrati where the locals eat. Take the funicular up Lycabettus an hour before sunset.
Museum and day out
Either the National Archaeological Museum with Kerameikos in the afternoon, or a day trip: Sounion if you want sea and sunset, Delphi if you want the oracle and are happy to spend six hours on a coach.
If it rains
Athens does not rain often, but from November to March it can rain on half the days. The good news is that the best indoor sights are among the best in Europe.
- Morning: the Acropolis Museum from 9 am, €20 for adults. Its glass floors look down onto an excavated neighbourhood.
- Afternoon: the National Archaeological Museum, €20. On Tuesdays it only opens at 1 pm, so save it for another day if you can.
- Evening: the Acropolis Museum stays open until 10 pm on Fridays, which makes a wet Friday easy.
- Any time: Kerameikos, €10 for the site and its small museum, is mostly open air but short enough to dash between showers.
Where to stay
- Plaka
- The old quarter right under the Acropolis. Beautiful to wake up in, touristy at lunch, and the streets are stepped, so wheeled suitcases suffer.
- Koukaki
- A residential area south of the Acropolis with good cafés, calmer evenings and the Acropolis metro station and museum close by. A safe first choice.
- Monastiraki and Psyrri
- The liveliest option, with two metro lines, flea-market lanes and bars that run late. Light sleepers should ask for an inner room.
- Syntagma
- The big hotels around the Parliament and the junction of metro lines 2 and 3, handy for the airport metro. Efficient, a little impersonal.
- Pangrati
- A neighbourhood where Athenians actually live, next to the Panathenaic Stadium. Fewer sights on the doorstep, and tavernas that feel less touristy.
- Exarchia
- Students, bookshops and graffiti, a short walk from the National Archaeological Museum. Rougher at the edges than the other areas.