Athens Travel Guide
We decided to anchor our honeymoon in Greece with Athens at the start and end of our trip. The buffer in between long flights and jet lag was worth it! We felt that a few days was enough to see what we wanted to in Athens. Plus, gave us a chance to relax before having to rush to catch other flights or ferries. This Athens travel guide will share suggestions for places to eat, where to stay, what to do, and our full itinerary!
Where to stay:
- Titania: Centrally located hotel nearby attractions such as Plaka and The Acropolis!
- Airbnb: We almost went with an airbnb instead of hotel due to the large amount of becuatiful airbnbs in the area.
Where to eat:
- Olive Garden: Best rooftop restaurant view in Athens! The sun sets opposite of the Acropolis so you can see both incredible views in the evening.
- Klepsidra Cafe: Adorable cafe offering delicious cuisine and a spectacular vantage point from the hillside.
What to do:
- Wander the city
- Visit the oldest house in Athens
- Visit the Acropolis and get the seven sites combo ticket
- Check out the Acropolis Museum
How to get around:
- Transfers: Welcome Pickups
- Metro/Bus: Athens is well connected via public transit and there are deals on passes for tourists!
- Uber: Uber IS available in Athens and was such a life saver if we needed a quick ride in a pinch.
- Walk: Our hotel location allowed us to walk almost anywhere! While is does get quite steep near the Acropolis, the surrounding areas have shallower inclines.
- Ferry: Ferry Hopper
Itinerary:
We arrived in Athens after our long haul flight. First, we checked in at Titania, ate yummy food and then decided to walk it off! While we were exploring in Plaka, we discovered the oldest house in Athens. If you are going to do the Acropolis at opening in the morning, be sure to go to bed early!
We had planned to do the Acropolis this day, but I wasn’t feeling well that day so my other half checked it out and saw a bunch of sites. In the evening we wandered to Plaka for food, the oldest house in Athens, and checked out the lively markets at dusk.
The next morning we headed out to Santorini to do the islands part of our trip. Check out my travel guides for Santorini and Mykonos! Keep reading for the last few days of our trip in Athens.
After finishing up our time in Mykonos we arrived back in Athens to stay at Titania for the end of our trip. This was our last full day of the honeymoon so we got up early, grabbed complimentary breakfast on the roof of our hotel, and then hopped in an Uber for a quick ride to the south entrance of the Acropolis.
We heard this was the entrance to go to to avoid the crowds at the main entrance. To our delightful surprise there were only about 6-7 people in front of us as we arrived right before opening time. We quickly made it through the line to buy our ticket. At the booth I discovered that I was able to get a discount because I was under 25 years old. At the time of this post, the discount was available to anyone under 25 and from anywhere in the world. All you had to do was show some form of ID.
Tickets are inexpensive to begin with but I just couldn’t believe that I was going to see the Acropolis for only 10 Euros!
We decided to go at an enthusiastic pace up the Agora in order to beat any other crowd that may appear. There are many signs and stops on the way up to see various sites or take a rest but we wanted to save that for the end. I believe that the path from the south entrance is less steep than the main entrance. The grade was gradual and the path was wide and comfortable for stopping. I had read it could be very slippery, especially when rainy, but I didn’t have any issues with slipperiness. Just something to be aware of!
With that being said, we made it to the foot of the steps in about 15 minutes. We were one of the FIRST people there. It was the most incredible experience. We basically had the place to ourselves for a while and the morning light was fantastic. After about 30 minutes there were plenty of people on site.
We spent about 2 hours within the acropolis in total and then we headed straight into the Acropolis Museum at the base. The museum was also fairly empty compared to how I would normally expect it to be so we were in luck once again. We never had to wait to read a plaque or move to an area we wanted to see.
We enjoyed one last hotel breakfast in the morning and then checked out. Welcome Pickups transferred us from our hotel to the airport. Once at the airport we had an 11 hour flight ahead of us to the U.S. and then a small layover before our final flight home.
We LOVED our time in Greece and can’t wait to go back some day. Don’t forget to check out my travel guides for the rest of our trip in Santorini and Mykonos. Our full Greece honeymoon guide can be found here!
