Hey, guys! Welcome to Greece. James here, a travel blogger. In today’s blog, we’re talking about best things to do in Athens. Alright, I’ve divided this video into 4 sections: 1. the archaeological sites, 2. the museums, 3. overall sightseeing and 4. The activities you can engage in.
Best Archaeological sites
Let’s start with the archaeological sites. There are 7 of them, viewed properly, obviously. But also the Ancient Agora, the Roman Agora, Hadrian’s Library, the Temple of Zeus, Get on the Gross, and Aristotle’s License. Now, in my opinion, you only need to do 2 of those, the Acropolis ones, of course, and the Ancient Agora. Why is that? Two reasons. Those two are by far the largest sites, but even more importantly, they have by far the best-preserved temples and monuments. Just for you to understand what I mean by that, this is the symbol of the Phasis in the Ancient Agora, and this is what you get to see in the Roman Agora. Seeing a difference? So yeah, unless you’re a massive history nerd, after visiting the Acropolis and the Ancient Agora, going around the 5 other archaeological sites won’t impress you that much.
Now, I won’t go into details on the Acropolis archaeological site in this blog, as the operating maid has a separate blog for that. If you haven’t read it yet, you should. But let me tell you a few things about the Ancient Agora. It’s a very big site, and I love how green and peaceful it is. Walking around the whole site, you’ll see the Stoa of Attalos, which is a long building entirely rebuilt in the 50s. Inside of it, you’ll find a small museum with all the artifacts that were found there during the excavations. And the other highlight, of course, is the Temple of Hephaestus, which is the best-preserved ancient temple of all of Greece. So, it’s a pretty good deal. The site is open from 8 to 8 and costs €10 per person, and that also includes the museum. Or you can buy the combo ticket for around €35, and that includes all 7 archaeological sites for duration of 5 days. And as a reminder, the ticket for the Acropolis site is around €20 to €25, which is the same price as the combo ticket. So if I were you, I’d get the combo ticket. That way, if after doing the Acropolis and the Ancient Agora you still want to go for a third one, you won’t have to pay anything extra. And as I explained in my Acropolis video, there can be very long lines to buy your ticket in person at the entrance of the site, so make sure you buy your tickets online.
Best Museums
It’s alright, let’s talk about the museums now. The two most famous museums in Athens are the Acropolis Museum and the National Archaeological Museum. And even though the Acropolis Museum gets way more visitors due to its proximity to the Acropolis, the National Archaeological Museum is nicer. Let me tell you why. While the Acropolis Museum features the best findings of the Acropolis hill and only there, the National Museum compiles artifacts that have been found all over Greece. So, the National Museum has a much better pool of statues to choose from. As a result, while in the Acropolis Museum, you’ll find severely damaged pieces, like this one, at the National Museum, everything looks pristine because they had access to so many more sculptures than the Acropolis Museum. The National Museum also has a few very famous pieces like the mask called Agamemnon, the Horse and the Jockey, and the bronze statue of Poseidon.
But as always, there’s a drawback: it isn’t quite tourist-friendly to visit the National Archaeological Museum. That’s the location. The Acropolis Museum is next to the actual Acropolis, while the National Museum is about 20 minutes away on foot and kind of out of the center. So, I guess it really depends on how much time you have and how much you’re ready to walk. If you have enough time in Athens and you don’t mind, go to the National Archaeological Museum. If not, no worries, the Acropolis Museum will still be the highlight. By the way, the highlight of the Acropolis Museum is this: the sixth Caryatid that used to support the Erechtheion Temple. Actually, you always see 5 of them because the sixth is now in the British Museum, but yeah, that’s another story.
Price-wise, the National Museum is €12 per person, the Acropolis Museum is around €20, and you can get something called the Athens Pass, which includes all 7 archaeological sites and the Acropolis Museum, for around €50.
The Different Packages
So, as a quick recap, either you pay separately for each, and here are the prices, or you get the combo ticket, which includes all 7 archaeological sites for around €35, or you get the Athens Pass, which covers the 7 architectural sites plus the Acropolis Museum, and this is around €50. Don’t try to find a package that includes the National Archaeological Museum; it doesn’t exist.
Alright, I’ll talk about the opening hours of the museums for a second. It’s usually from 8 to 8 from April to October and 8 to 4 from November to March. But from year to year, this can vary. Check the description boards down below for the most up-to-date information. That would mainly be there. And of course, try to visit the museums in the middle of the day, just because that’s when it’s too hot to be outside anyway.
Sightseeing: Plaka and Anafiotika
Alright, let’s talk about sightseeing now. First, there’s the Plaka neighborhood, which looks like this: cute narrow alleys full of stairs with restaurants and bars. Then, just next to Plaka, there’s a very small neighborhood called Anafiotika. This is an old neighborhood that was initially built 200 years ago by islanders coming from the Cyclades. That’s why you’ll see all these white houses, very similar to those in Santorini or Mykonos.
Changing of the presidential Guard ceremony
There’s the Changing of the Guard ceremony, so you must wear… It lasts around 15 minutes, and it happens on the hour, 24/7, day and night. Now, be careful, I recorded this in March, so there are not many tourists left in high season, and it’s yet super packed. So, a tip for you is to go rather in the evening, around 9 PM, 10 PM, or 7 PM. Plus, that way, you avoid staying in the sun for half an hour, sweating like a pig. Oh, and please don’t clap at the end, like so many tourists do. This ceremony is to honor all of the Greeks that have died throughout the millennia in order to defend Greece’s sovereignty. So, for them, it’s a very solemn and deep moment, so we are not Clapping, right?
The Areopagus
The next point is this tiny rock called the Areopagus. It’s located just in front of the main entrance of the Acropolis archaeological site. Yet, many people miss it because it’s not that obvious. The trick is to climb these stairs when you see them. Once at the top, you will see this beautiful view of the city, and to the right, you will also have this gorgeous view of the Acropolis. Everyone loves this spot.
The Varvakios Central Market
Next to the Varvakios Central Market, it’s the largest fish and meat market in town, and it’s a pretty unique place, in my opinion. Just keep in mind that it closes every day at 3:30 PM and is closed on Sundays. By the way, all around this market are the best restaurants and street food places of Athens, but more of that in the future blog.
The Panathenaic Stadium
There’s the Panathenaic Stadium located here, which looks really beautiful. Really beautiful, it’s not 3 though. You have to pay €10 per person, and this ticket cannot be bought online. You have to buy it in person.
Lycabettus Hill
If now, let’s talk about the works or heights you can go to in Athens, which offer nice viewpoints. I’ll start with the two ones I recommend, and then I will tell you which one I do not recommend, which is the National Guard advised me crazy that’s so many of you think that this is a must-do of Athens while it really isn’t. Alright, so my first recommendation is Lycabettus Hill, located just next to the Acropolis. It’s a very peaceful place full of olive trees, and if you go all the way to the top of the hill, you’ll have gorgeous panoramic views not just of the city but also of the Acropolis. I’ll leave the GPS coordinates for it down below of these viewpoints, and don’t worry, it’s only a 15-20 minute walk to reach that spot, so it’s not really that tiring.
Filopappou Hill
And this is Filopappou. There’s another great spot with an even better view, but it’s also much more tiring, and that’s Lycabettus Hill. Look at the view you have from up there! You can see everything all the way to the sea. It’s a very unique spot, and there’s also a cafe up there. It’s a little touristy, but I mean, with that view, who cares?
To go up there, you can take a cable car. It’s €10 per person for a round-trip, or you could only take the cable car up and then walk down. In this case, the one-way ticket will cost you €18. But be careful, the cable car doesn’t start from the very bottom of the hill; you first need to walk 20 minutes from sea level. And as you can see, it’s not exactly a flat and easy walk. Of course, if you want to avoid this, you can always have a taxi driver drop you off at the cable car station.
Now, I’ll be careful. Many tourists at this point get lost. If you’re going to take the cable car up and then walk back down the stairs, they’re a bit hard to find. So, look, here we are at the top, at the famous viewpoint. And if you look back, see there on the right, those stairs going down? That’s where you want to go. Anywhere else, you’ll get lost.
Now, if you want to skip the cable car entirely and walk the stairs both ways for some good exercise, go ahead. Secondly, this is the trailhead here. I’ll leave the GPS coordinates down below.
So yeah, in my opinion, you should do one of those two: either Filopappou or Lycabettus. If you like a physical challenge and you have enough free time, do Lycabettus. If you’re only in town for 1 or 2 days, then just take a photograph of it; it’s way less time and energy-consuming, right?
The National Guarden
I know we’ll talk about the National Guarden it’s located just next to square even that’s why people think it’s a must do plus the name National Garden sounds so serious and prestigious but no look this is what the National Garden looks like just an average spark really and no viewpoints whatsoever so yeah I’m begging you to put philopapu and liquivette’s higher on your list than the National Guard please write one big cup.
So that’s the best things in my point of view you can do in Athens. If you guys enjoy it feel free to comment below also if you have another suggestion feel free to tell me. If you want more travel tips, especially budget travel tips around the world, subscribe to our website for free so you will not miss any important tips and tricks. Thank you for reading.
