Duration of Stay: 3-4 Days
Adventure
Arriving in Electra Palace Hotel
No longer surrounded by water, Athens is a city so you probably want to choose lodging based on convenience. 10 minutes walk from the Acropolis, 5 minutes from the city center, and right in the middle of Old Town Plaka–Electra Palace was the perfect location. If you get the suites on the top floor, you can have balcony seating in front of a beautiful view of the Acropolis. Enjoy a rooftop dinner at their restaurant & jump into their rooftop pool after a hot day of traveling. 😊
Visiting Acropolis of Athens
Yes the main attraction towering over the great city of Athens. Hundreds of people will be visiting this cluster of ruins every day, so here are some general tips. a) Either go early 9am or later 5pm during the day to avoid some crowds and the heat. b) Avoid the long lines and go to the side entrance & buy a combo ticket for Acropolis and other archaeology sites. c) Please do NOT wear sandals or heals to avoid tripping on the steep marble steps (don’t wanna embarrass yourself in front of big groups of people)
Theatre of Dionysus
Upon the first hill, you’ll see the first theatre every built dedicated to Dionysus, the god of plays and wine and fun times. As you sit in this theatre, it totally hit me that all the Greek plays I studied in school were probably performed right here since sixth century B.C. Too. Amazing.
Odeon of Herodes Atticus
On the next slope, you’ll see an even bigger stone theatre, built in 161 AD, destroyed by the Heruli in 267 AD (you’ll start to see the pattern of most structures being destroyed some way or the other in Athens), and renovated in 1950. Incredible performers to this day play here–can you imagine how incredible it would be to listen to music being surrounded by thousands and thousands years of history?
Propylaea
Climb the stairs to the entrance of Acropolis (finally here!!!)
Parthenon
Bow down to the one of the world’s greatest monuments and symbols of Ancient Greek. This former temple is dedicated to Athena–the patron of Athens. Athens Athena get it? You can see the amount of respect the city has for this goddess of wisdom, courage, warfare, strength and everything awesome (yes female power), as you see the temple overlooking every corner of the city.
Temple of Athena and Nike
Next to it is a smaller temple dedicated to Nike, the goddess of victory.
Strolling through Ancient Agora
Walk back down to north of Acropolis, and find the Roman Agora & Hadrian’s Library–more ruins reminding of Athen’s ancient lifestyle. The Ancient Agora will be the biggest and most impressive, as it was an enormous marketplace for gathering place. Remember how you learned Athenian democracy in history class? This is where people gathered to vote. Remember how Athena was goddess of strength and intelligence? People believed in taking care of the body and the mind, so this is where people come to work out and rejuvenate in rec centers.
The soul, like the body, accepts by practice whatever habit one wishes it to contact – Socrates
Admiring the National Archaeological Museum
If you talk to any locals, they will most likely say this place is a must do. More so than the Acropolis Museum, the collection is honestly world-class and contains the richest collection of Greek antiquity dating waaaay back in the ancient B.C. times. I was so shook seeing evidence of pieces with Linear A & Linear B, one of the earliest forms of writing on Aegan islands and still undecipherable to this day. Linear B actually looks like Chinese characters do you see them? Crazy how this may have affected Chinese language to this day.
Wandering around the Plaka
Walk around this super cute neighborhood, buy some cute art and souvenirs, and enjoy the good vibes. Great place for people-watching, one of my favorite activities hehe
Blending with locals in a Greeking.me private food tour
Why would you not want to enjoy great food whilst learning about culture, history, and lifestyle of the city and walking off some of the calories you’ve been gaining? You’ll get to learn about the Ancient Greek, French, and the Turkish (after the destruction of Asia minor, refugees came to Greece) influences in Athen’s daily cuisines. My favorites were the classic Lukumades with honey and cinnamon and the creamy perfection of Rizogalo (rice pudding). My favorites will always be desserts. Hands down.
Shopping on Ermou Street
Running right across the heart of Athens is a line of high-end shops and familiar brands such as Forever 21, Zara, American Eagle Outfitters, etc. because how can a trip not include a quick shopping spree?
Visiting Acropolis Museum
Enjoy a quick visit back to Acropolis entrance where the contemporary setup of this 2003-built museum will starkly contrast the ancient findings on top of one of the world’s most important archaeological sites.
Food
Electra Roof Garden Restaurant
With a perfect view of the Acropolis lit up at night, a rooftop dinner here is definitely worth it, even if you’re not staying at the hotel. So make a reservation and enjoy the best lamb that my hard-to-please dad has tasted on this trip.
Geros Tou Mouria
Under vines of grape leaves on top of a scenic hill at the Plaka, this place deserves the-best-vibes-of-this-trip award. Staff was so friendly, atmosphere was perfect, and food was traditional.This place has over 90 years of history, and you’ll even get to enjoy live music if you come later in the evening.
Attic Moon
Walking around Athens, you’ll frequently find Chinese on signs on top of shops and restaurant. After not having an Asian meal in a week, my family was desperate for some good traditional Chinese food and this place definitely met our expectations.
Chillbox
Like I said in my last post, I would never not include dessert so I’m living up to that promise! After shopping on Ermou, take a break with some ice cream or frozen greek yogurt in this super cute pink store. P.S. the Cookie flavor yogurt is de-li-cious.
Culture
So. Much. History.
What’s so great about coming to Athens is that unlike Santorini, whether you are in the cities’ many museums, the ancient ruins, or just walking in the city, you are constantly reminded of Greece’s long history. I read about it history books, but I don’t think I could really feel it until I was there.
Homer, Pythagoras, Socrates, Plato, Alexander the Great. Bronze Age, Persian War, becoming part of Roman Empire, then part of Byzantium Empire, and then Ottoman Empire. It reminds you of why Greek history was key to today’s math and theorems, faith and Western philosophic thought, our democracy and so much more.
Archaeological Hub
I mean, it’s pretty obvious why Athens would be the world center for archaeological research. Museums, national archaeological institutions, specialized libraries and laboratories, international scholars are all prominent parts of the city.
Olympic Games
In case you forgot (which I honestly did until I arrived yikes), Athens is pretty important for the Olympics. They hosted the first ever modern Olympics in 1896. As we were in the cab to our hotel, the driver pointed out to us that a certain main road we were on is actually the road of the marathon, which was a major event held right here for the first time in international competition. So. Cool.
In 2004, Olympics was hosted here at its birthplace again, so a lot of modern infrastructure was built–new & wide roads and freeways and underground train systems.
Night Life
Okay well, I was with my family, so I didn’t get to party it up sigh. But if I were ever be back with my friends, I would definitely go out to enjoy Athen’s funky and buzzing night life and dance with some grapefruit-flavored cocktails in hand. So here’s an imaginary picture of me partying with my friends in Athens.
Little Helpful Details
- Currency: Euro
- Tipping: No explicit rules, but most people leave 10%
- Electric Outlets: Europlug Type C (need adaptors for USA electronics)
- Language: Everyone I met spoke English very well
- Keep your bag close to you in crowded places
- Have cash with you because some stores won’t accept card
- If you haven’t had Greek-style coffee yet, get it. My mouth is still watering just thinking about it.
- And here’s shoutout to the fam for traveling with me:
FACs of Life 