Greece

Things do to in and around Athens

In 2017 I went to Athens for two weeks and I never felt bored. On this list I will tell what we did each day.

Day 1: Of course I first went to the Acropolis. The pantheon on top you can see from almost everywhere in the city and its amazing. I think because of the history, everyone should see this once in their life. If you are a European student like me, the entrance is free. After you took enough photos, you walk to the Areopagus hill to have another nice view of the Pantheon. Then it´s time for some food, around the Acropolis there are enough nice places to eat something, maybe some gyros?

Day 2: Now you have visited the Acropolis, you can visit the Acropolis museum. Not only because it´s very interesting, but also because it can be bloody warm in Athens. I most liked the fact that there are windows everywhere in the museum, so while getting more information about the history, you can always look outside and see the Pantheon. And also here you will have free admission if you are a European student. After you are done in the museum, you can take a walk through the Plaka. This is an neighbourhood where you can buy mostly touristic stuff and where are lots of restaurants. I think it was cosy. You can also walk a little further to the arch of Hadrian, this is an Roman arch.

Day 3: On the third day we bought tickets for the hop on, hop off bus. These tickets you could use two days and they drive in Athens, Piraeus and to the beaches. Today we only went to some places in Athens. First we went to the Panathenaic Stadium. This stadium is very old and the only stadium made of marble. We didn’t go in, because we thought we had a nice clear view from the outside. And after this we took the bus and drove around the city. We stopped at Monastiraki square to visit the markets. This is my favourite square in Athens, because it´s cosy, you have a nice view of the Pantheon and I like markets. Walking around on this square you will see historic objects, like Hadrian’s Library. For this you can also buy tickets to go inside, but because we could see it clearly from the outside, we didn’t do that. When you walk around Monastiraki, you need to eat some ice cream, because it’s probably hot and I mean, just look at the photo.

Day 4: We still had the tickets from the hop on hop off bus and that meant we could go to Piraeus with the bus. Don’t sit on top of the bus on this trip, because it’s very windy when its driving on the high way. In Piraeus you can take a free train to drive around the city and it´s fun to do and explore.
On our way back to Athens we stopped close to the parliament. Around 8pm the guards changed, which was pretty funny to see, because the guard s wear funny clothes and lift their legs high up when they walk (see the photo). The park is close by and that’s why we went here before we went home. It’s a very big park and peaceful to walk.   

Day 5: Beachday! This day we went to Vouliagmeni beach to swim. On internet we had seen some very pretty photos, but when we got on the place we thought we had to be, it was a very rocky beach. We were strong and went swimming, even though the beach hurt our feet, there were Sea urchins at the end and it was steep as soon as we stepped in. Getting out of the sea was difficult because of the sea urchins that were everywhere. We were done here very quick, as you may understand. When we got home, we found out we had to walk a little further for the beach we wanted to go. Do you have stories like these?

Day 6: Resting day, we did nothing else but chilling and eating at our apartment. And of course we made plans for the rest of the vacation.

Day 7: We took the train to Chalkida. This place is 2,5 hours by train, but definitely worth it. It´s only 7 euros per person. In Chalkida we walked around to explore, ate and walk slowly, because it was very hot. There´s a castle and beach here if you want to do more.

Day 8: Discovering more of Athens, by going up the Lycabettus Hill. Theres a cable car going up, but you can also hike. We were here around 2 pm, so I thought there would be more people, while the view from up here is absolutely stunning! You can see everything in Athens, even the Acropolis. Because there were no people, we had the best place to sit and chilled for around an hour with the best view. Also the fries here… amazing!

Day 9: Beachday 2! This time at a beach a little closer to Athens. This beach was better as the previous one, but there were still lots of rocks in the sea. I sadly forgot the name of it.

Day 10: More exploring in Piraeus, because we were looking for cheap tickets for a boat to an island. We walked around here and wanted to go inside a church, but I was wearing shorts, so that was forbidden. After eating at a small and weird restaurant, we went home, with the tickets for the boat!

Day 11: I heavily recommend to go with the boat to an island, the views from the boat were absolutely stunning. After 2 hours sailing we arrived at Poros. I think this was my favourite day of the vacation. Poros is aaamaaazing! It´s a bit traditional, but also touristic. Theres a clock tower on top of the island and there was no-one, while the view was again phenomenal.  We walked around the island and I loved it. Go here, when you are around Athens!

Day 12, 13 and 14: The last few days we didn’t do anything special. We went to the Plaka and Monastiraki again to buy things for home and one day we went to the beach. Finally a good beach with soft sand, and the name is kalamaki beach. Of course because of this, the whole beach was filled with people, but we didn’t mind, because we finally could swim nicely.

This is everything we did in and around Athens. Do you think there are more things to do in Athens? And what do you think of our plans? Tell me in a comment