Athens Touring and Holiday Guides and Photos.

Athens Holidays and Touring Guide covers information about travelling to Athens, a little on hotels plus visiting and touring round Ancient Athens.

It is probably fair to say that many visitors expect to only stay in Athens for a day or two - perhaps whilst sat waiting for flights out or awaiting ferry connections at either end of an island-hopping holiday - and use the opportunity to do some sightseeing and visit the Temple of Olympian Zeus, Keramikos, Parthenon and The Acropolis as well as other famous ancient sites in the City.

Travelling to Athens. Flights to Athens. Being the capital of Greece, Athens is serviced by many types of airlines - from charter flights through low-cost to "proper" scheduled flights such as BA. The flight time from London Heathrow to Athens international Elefterios Venizelos Airport is around 3 hours 45 minutes. The very modern spacey airport - which was opened in 2001 - is located near Markopoulo and around 30 kms by road from the centre of Athens and around 45 kms from Piraeus.
Getting from the airport to either of those destinations is quite easy - various "X" bus services leave frequently from the Terminal 24 hours a day, or the metro provides non-stop services and of course there are taxis available. Typical taxi cost (at the time of our last visit - so prices will of course have increased) down to the Ferry Terminal area of Piraeus was 35 Euros and the price into the centre of Athens was around 35 Euros. Both these taxi rates increase by around 10 Euros for journeys between midnight and 0500hrs.

By Ferry to Athens. There are several ferry terminals near Athens with the huge port at Piraeus being the busiest - apart from the main route out to any of The Cyclades Islands it is possible to get boats to and from just about any Greek Island (as well as to Italy etc.). Note: there is a superfast ferry providing a service to Kea from Piraeus - this then goes on to Syros etc.). Ferries also leave from Rafina (particularly to the Northern and Eastern Cyclades) and from Lavrio (mainly to Kea) - note Lavrio is around 60kms from the Airport so transferring is quite expensive and the above-mentioned islands can be reached by using Piraeus. Getting information about ferry schedules can be a little difficult - several web-sites give information and let you buy tickets on-line but these only mention confirmed ferry-schedules - often Greek islands have local services perhaps just plying between two or three local islands and these are not published.

Where to Stay in Athens.
There are of course many hotels in Athens - with the most expensive generally within walking distance of the Acropolis - and where prices for a 5 star go anywhere from 130 Euros upwards and although rated 5 star can vary enormously in what you get. 2 and 3 star hotels are obviously way cheaper but you should not expect too much if you only want or are able to pay 40 or so Euros a night. If travelling in or out via Piraeus - which is seamlessly connected to Athens - then perhaps staying down at the port is a consideration however it's not the best place in the world to wander around and you will not get anything very nice to stay in unless you pay well over 80 euros a night (although deals can be had by using the web or perhaps a Greek travel agent).

Eating and Drinking in Athens. Much of the night-life in the city is centred around the Plaka area right in the heart of the old sites - the Acropolis itself is sat up on a small hill and the narrow streets below are lined with drinks bars, cafes and tavernas all offering views - and often charging accordingly. However there are plenty of places to eat where you do not have to pay a fortune for the view if you look around - with a meal for two plus wine easily possible at around 30 euros or so. Similarly with prices in the various bars - it's certainly best not to buy any drink without knowing the price beforehand.

Warning - pickpockets. This quite a problem especially round Plaka, the tourist sites and on the Metro - the answer is not carry anything with you such as passports, credit cards and so on - just take a bit of cash and make sure it's well zipped up somewhere.

What to see in Athens : Touring Athens Ancient Sites. Entrance Tickets: You can buy individual tickets to the various locations which is fine if you only want to go to one or two sites. The alternative is to get a multi-site ticket which on our last visit cost 12 Euros and was valid for 7 days - note that anyone under 18 is allowed in free (according to the ticket office). This allows you to visit seven different places including The Acropolis, the Theatre of Dionysos, Keramikos Cemetery and the Temple of Olympian Zeus. If you are an EEC resident and 65 or over the ticket becomes half price but you obviously need to have proof of your age. Similarly E.U. students are able to visit the sites free of charge but do need a student identity card - students from elsewhere can get the entry ticket for 6 Euros but need to have the same proof. There are several Metro stations to pick from if you are not staying at Plaka - Acropolis Station has Hadrian's Arch and the Temple of Olympian Zeus close by as well as of course the Acropolis itself. If you go to Monastiraki Station its just a short walk down via the Stoa of Attalus and Ancient Agora to then reach the entrance to the Acropolis. Syntagma Station is close to the Parliament which is itself situated within the extensive National Garden.
Note: All of the sites are easy to reach by foot but it can get very hot wandering around after a while - nearly all of the locations have drinking water available from "coolers". It is well worth buying your bottle of water (which you really do need to have) at a supermarket or drinks machine before getting anywhere near the Acropolis since prices demanded there are totally outrageous.

The Acropolis of Athens - The Parthenon, Temple of Athena Nike and Erechtheion. There is only one way into the Acropolis itself and that is on it's western side - and getting up to it involves a fair bit of climbing up steps and walkways. When we visited it one side of the Parthenon was covered in scafolding and also had a huge crane alongside - although there did not seem to be any work actually going on. Additionally other parts of the area were closed off to the public - but you can still get a pretty good idea of what it all must have once looked like. The views of the sprawling city of Athens spread out below are excellent.

Theatre of Herodes Atticus, Stoa of Eumenes and Theatre of Dionysos.
These are located just outside of The Acropolis and can be seen on the way up to the Parthenon. The Theatre of Herodes Atticus is named after it's builder - who was a Roman Consul - and was constructed between 161 and 174 AD in memory of his wife Aspasia Annia Regilla. Originally constructed of wood and earth The Theatre of Dionysos was later re-built by Lykourgos and was the first threatre to be built of stone. The Romans enlarged the theatre so that it could seat 17000 or so people and then used it for their gladiators. 

Ancient Agora (Market Place). The Ancient Agora is situated beneath the walls of the Acropolis. Originally it was a self-contained centre for just about all activity - with shops, temples, libraries, schools, law courts, pottery shops and factories - and the city mint. The only buildings to remain today are the Temple of Hephaisteion (also known as The Temple of Hephaestus and Athena Ergane) which was built around 440 BC and the Stoa of Attalos (which has been re-built and now contains a museum).

The following historical sites to visit are all within the Monastiraki area of Athens - i.e. easily reached by using the Metro. Also in the area are several markets, lots of shops and of course plenty of tavernas and cafes.

Pantanassa Church - Monastiraki - Little Monastery. This beautifully shaped church and monastery gave it's name to this area of Athens. It is located opposite the metro station at Plateia Monastirakiou and was built during the 10th century.


Tsistaraki Mosque.Originally constructed by the Turkish Governor Tsistaraki in 1759 several of the columns from the Temple of Olympian Zeus were crushed to make lime for the brickwork. This was somewhat unpopular as turkish law did not allow the destruction of ancient monuments and ultimately led to his downfall. The mosque was restored in 1981 following an earthquake and now contains the Kyriazopoulos Folk Ceramic Museum.


Hadrian's Library. Located in the same part of Monastiraki as the above two buildings Hadrian's Library was built in 132 AD> The almost square building (it measures 120 metres x 80 metres) was mostly built from limestone although the front/main entrance is of marble as are the columns. The square inside had gardens and a pool and was surrounded by more marble columns.

The Roman Agora.
The Roman Agora became the commercial and administrative centre of Athens after Athens was partially destroyed in 267 AD by the Heruli tribe who were in the pay of the Romans. During Athen's Byzantine period and also when the Ottomans were in occupation workshops, houses and churches were constructed within the Agora - including the domed Fethiye Mosque.

Tower of Winds (or Horologion of Kyrrhestos). Situated within the Roman Agora, the octagonal Tower of Winds is 12 metres high, has a diameter of 8 metres and was built by the astronomer Andronikos. The tower was a combination of weather vane and internal water clock (the water clock was used for time calculations during cloudy days). Each of it's eight sides represents a different wind.



The Fethiye Mosque (Mosque of the Conqueror). The Mosque is beleived to have been built in the late 17th century by the Ottomans.

Keramikos Cemetery. Located a little to the northwest of the Acropolis near to Thiseio Metro station this quite extensive ancient Athens cemetery - it has been a burial ground since at least the 12th century BC - also has a small but very interesting museum (The Oberlander) which contains several statues, various toys which had been discovered in the graves and a lot of pottery. The Sacred Way (Eleusinian) was one of the most ancient roads in Athens - it went from The Acropolis then through the Ancient Agora and Kerameikos and on to Eleusis - a distance of around 20 kilometres - and was used for the procession of the Eleusinian Mysteries. The bed of a small river called The Eridanos still runs through the site - so there are lots of flowers and reeds (plus attendant wildlife) around. The Eridanos starts in the Lykabettos foothills and runs through the The Agora and Roman Baths and on into Kerameikos.

We actually spent nearly two hours looking around whilst there - it was very peaceful at this site as seemingly many tourists don't bother or have the energy to walk to it - their loss.

Temple of Olympian Zeus. Located to the south of the National Gardens in the Plaka area of Athens the Temple of Olympian Zeus is the largest temple in Greece. Originally started by the tyrant Peisistratos the temple took over 600 years to complete - finally being finsihed by the Roman Emporer Hadrian who dedicated it to Zeus. There are only 15 collonades still standing - originally there were 104 of them - however you do get a good idea of just how impressive the original structure would have looked.

Within this site there are quite extensive remains of Roman Baths and also there are still several mosaics to look at as well as the water systems which were built by the Romans to move water around the area.

Just outside of the Temple area is Hadrian's Arch which was constructed between 131 - 132 AD as a triumphal arch in honour of the Roman Emporer Hadrian. Standing 18 metres high and 13.5 metres wide the monument was placed on the road which linked the city with Llissian sanctuaries and marked the boundary between the old and new cities. (During 1778 the arch was converted into a Gate and named Vasilopoula's Gate or Kamaroporta.)

These are just a few other photos from around Athens.

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External Websites of interest:
Athens Tours