Athens Essentials
Before leaving the airport, every tourist should buy two things: transportation passes and a turbo pass.
The turbo passes let the holder have free or reduced entries to certain museums and historical sites. Some of the turbo passes give you access to use the public transit system in Athens City, but we didn’t buy those because they offered more than what we were looking for and we were only staying for two days. Since we weren’t staying so long, we opted for the ‘mini turbo pass’. It offers free and reduced entries to the sites we were interested in visiting and our Airbnb was within walking distance to more or less everything we wanted to see.
Contrary to what I had heard about the public transport systems in Greece, the metros in Athens were very good. There’s a regional train taking passengers from the airport to the the main metro station in Athens city. Athens is a really big city so I would definitely recommend opting for a transport pass when staying for more than a couple days. Here’s everything you need to know about getting around Athens.
Where to stay in Athens
First-timers are recommended to choose accomodations in the city center, within walking distance to the Acropolis, Agora, and the museums. Athens is a city bursting at the seams with history and staying in the heart of the city allows you to soak it all in.
Here are a few options for where to stay.
- Monastiraki
Also known as the historical neighborhood, Monastiraki offers many shopping venues and a massive flea market. - Psirri
This is the nightlife neighborhood. Airbnb prices are generally cheaper in this area and you’ll never have to look far for food and drinks. - Plaka
The oldest neighborhood in Athens, boasting beautiful architecture. Most of it is pedestrian and densely packed with shops and restaurants. - Makriyanni
Upscale neighborhood home to the Acropolis. It tends to be quieter than other parts of the city center.
Those were the neighborhoods I considered while I was planning the trip. Athens is a huge city and there are many other areas to consider. Check out this article for more information on where to stay in Athens.
Our first Airbnb was a room above a bar in Psirri (the nightlife district, 10/10 would recommend). Honestly, it was the cheapest we could find in the center of Athens (23 euros a night). When travelling to Greece, the best thing to do is avoid peak tourist season (July and August). We went in September so the weather was starting to cool down (it was hot, but not sweltering hot), the locals were in school or working, and most of the tourists were gone. I was all the more thankful for this in our Airbnb because there was no air conditioning. Luckily there were fans in the room but if it had been hotter, we would have broiled.
Reminder: Most places in Europe don’t have AC, so if you’re travelling in the hotest months, that’s definitely something to double check.
No matter where you choose to stay, you’re sure to see ruins and history left and right!
Our arrival in Athens
We arrived early evening so there wasn’t much time for sight seeing and we moved straight into dinner. The food in Greece is amazing. So much so that I wrote an entire article about it here. I got the impression that their diet is pretty meat based and on our first night, we opted for a taverna near our Airbnb. We ordered a pork shank that was cooked in a clay pot with potatoes, an appetizer (eggplant salad paste), and a bottle of Crete wine. The entire meal came out to 40 euros for two people — that should give you a good indication of Greek prices.
The nightlife was great in Psyri. We barhopped for a couple hours and soon realized we were in the right neighborhood to do so. Low hanging colored lights lit up the alleyways, illuminating all sorts of different bars.
Athens in a day
We tried to do all our sight-seeing in one day, which proved as challenging as it sounds. Here’s a breakdown of our schedule:
- 7:30 Breakfast near the Airbnb with a view of the Acropolis. The portions were always much bigger than what we were expecting and everything was delicious.
- 8h30: Acropolis (included in turbo pass): Such long lines, so much sun, so high up. We realized too late that our pass only included line skipping for the Acropolis. To get the actual ticket, we needed to go to the office in Athens city and get it before getting into the Acropolis. The views were still amazing.
- Our next stop was the New Museum of Acropolis. Not only did the turbo pass cover the entry fee, but it also allowed us to skip the lines. The design of the museum was greatly inspired by the actual Acropolis. While laying out the foundation for the building, the construction company realized that there were remains under the land they were supposed to be building on! The museum therefore has a glass floor at the entrance, showing off the remains underneath.
- Lunch. The first typical Greek meal we had, setting the tone for the days to come.
- Next stop: The Agora. We had actually passed it on our way to the Acropolis that morning.
- 3pm: National Archaeology Museum
- 4:30pm: Temple of Olympian Zeus
- 5:30pm: National Gardens, right next to the Temple of Olympian Zeus. There’s a small zoo and a beautiful café in the gardens where we stopped for a well deserved rest and coffee.
And there you have it, the most condensed 1 day Athens itinerary. At the end of the day, we walked down the main shopping road, heading back to Monastiraki before eating dinner and going out.
The following day, our ferry left the port at 6:45am, so we wanted to arrive at the port at 6 (at which point we regretted having gone out the night before). The metros were already running at that hour but if your hotel isn’t close to the a station where the metro 1 (green line) runs, taxis cost around 15 euros from the center of Athens (they might charge more if it’s the middle of the night).
Our trip continues in Koufonisia! Click here to read all about it.