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Trip to Athens

How to organize your own tour of Athens?

 

All resorts of Attica are in close proximity to Athens and have good public transport links to Athens. While resting in Attica, you can arrange yourself a very exciting self-guided excursion to Athens whenever you want. In this section, I will give you important practical tips for organizing your self-guided tour of Athens. I will tell you about interesting places and monuments of Ancient Greek culture that are worth adding to your plan for an excursion in Athens. I’ll tell you about the interesting bus tours that are available in Athens. As well as how to get to Athens from each of the resorts of Attica and avoid unpleasant surprises while walking around Athens.

How to start our tour of Athens?

And so you arrived in Athens. If you come to Athens by metro, your starting point for the tour is the central square of Athens, Syntagma Square. Leaving the metro, you will find yourself on a huge square in the upper part of which there is the Parliamentary Palace and a monument to the unknown soldier. Let’s start with this. The changing of the guard at the parliamentary palace and the monument to the unknown soldier is a very interesting ritual that is worth seeing first. The changing of the guard every hour and the changing ritual lasts 15 minutes. so it’s very easy to get on the changing of the guard. And after the completion of the change ritual, you can take a photo with the guard, only you cannot touch him with your hands.

On the way to the Acropolis, the most touristic areas of Athens, Plaka and Monastyraki.

It is only 1.5 km from the Parliamentary Palace to the Acropolis. I advise you to walk. It will be a very exciting walk as you will pass through two of the most touristic areas of Athens, Plaka and Monastyraki. To go from Syntagma to the Acropolis, you can take Yermu Street, which starts at the bottom of the square and ends at Monastyraki Square. Ermou Street is the most popular shopping street in Athens. Shops with popular brands, cozy restaurants and cafes. I hope you don’t forget that your goal is to reach the Acropolis and not get stuck on Ermou !!

We begin to climb the Acropolis

Closer to Monastyraki square, shops will start to become more touristy and buildings more old. Many restaurants and cafes where local barkers will call you. If you travel to Athens in the afternoon, dine at the rooftop restaurant overlooking the Acropolis after visiting the Acropolis. There are a lot of them in the center and the view of the illuminated Acropolis from them is simply amazing. From Monastyraki Square, the road to the Acropolis goes up. In some places you will have to climb the stairs, so I do not recommend visiting the Acropolis at lunchtime. Or early morning or afternoon. But you will not have time to get tired as souvenir shops will distract your attention along the way.

Archea Agora or Ancient Market Square.

There are two paths to the Acropolis from Monastyraki Square, either along the streets of Morastraki and up the stairs or through the Archea Agora archaeological park where there is also a delightful new Acropolis Museum which I also highly recommend you to visit. You pay for the ticket at the entrance to the Archaeological Park of Archea Agora and immediately the entrance to the Acropolis. I want to clarify that whichever path you choose, you definitely will not get lost The Acropolis is always in front of your eyes, it is on a hill.

And here we are at the goal. Acropolis

To visit Athens and not to visit the Acropolis is at least not decent. I will not tell you when it was built, who built it and how it was built. Since on the question of how they built, there is no answer even among scientists. In its present form, the Acropolis was built in the so-called golden age of Pericles, who was the powerful ruler of Athens, in 450 BC. architects Iktin and Kallikrates under the direction of the sculptor Phidias. But that’s not even the point, I advise you to visit the Acropolis to admire its overwhelming beauty and feel the wonderful healing energy of this place. It is not for nothing that the Greeks call the Acropolis the Sacred Rock.

Tickets for the Acropolis and museums can be purchased in advance by internet so as not to waste precious time standing in lines.