Ultimate Guide to Athens, Greece in 1 Day | Tips & Itinerary
Oh, Athens. You have my heart. While I thought it would be the islands that I would love the most, I think Athens really stole the show. It has so much to offer and so much history. It’s so crazy to be in the middle of a booming city then looking up and seeing the most famous archaelogical sites that everyone learns about in school or in church.
We had planned to spend almost 2 days exploring both in and around Athens, but once we arrived, our plans changed. Our original plans included renting a car from the airport and driving to nearby Delphi right away that afternoon to explore its vast archaeological site, head back to our hotel for a quick dip in the rooftop pool (scroll down for pictures), then drive to Cape Sounion – home of the Temple of Poseidon – to watch the sunset over the Mediterranean. Sounds great, right?
Well, if you have more time to dedicate to exploring the numerous amounts of cities/towns both near Athens and in the rest of the country, please do it and tell me all about it – Sparta, Corinth, Thessaloniki – there is so much to explore on the mainland.
Arriving in Athens
Again, our plans quickly changed when we stepped off the ferry and into our hired car. We used “Welcome Pickups,” and it was an easy way to ensure that you will have a ride and that you will pay a specific amount of money no matter what. On our ride to the airport where we were to pick up a car, we were talking to our driver about our plans. His first reaction was that we should definitely not try to drive to Athens since the city is so big and driving in it takes a lot of practice.
We were unsure at this point, because we had already had a couple of hiccups in regards to needing an international license and risking not having one while in Mykonos and Santorini. We debated it on our drive, and ultimately, we decided we would be okay changing our plans and just spending more time in the city instead of risking driving without an international license and facing the craziness of driving in the city.
This ended up being the perfect change in our itinerary, because it meant we were able to spend more time at our rooftop pool at the hotel. After getting an Uber from the airport to the hotel, we checked in, changed, and headed up to the pool we had seen in all the pictures beforehand. Our hotel, Hotel Dorian, wasn’t technically in the best part of town, but that just meant that we needed to be safe and not walk around it at night.
When we got up to the pool, there were only a few people there, and even though the water was freezing, the sun was shining so bright and we were able to relax in the sun, read, and look out over the vast views of the city that went on for miles.
The rooftop also has a bar and restaurant, so when we were done at the pool, we went to the bar and had cocktails while looking out at the Parthenon and Mount Lycabettus. Getting to relax was much needed after so much traveling and exploring the islands that we decided why not just eat at the rooftop restaurant for dinner? So we showered, got dressed up a little nicer, and had a delicious Greek meal. We had planned out our whole schedule to include all the sights the next day, so it was an early bedtime that night.
The next morning, we got a free continental breakfast at the hotel, and got ready to walk through the city. We decided we could easily walk around the city to get everywhere, and we knew that would be a great way to see the different side streets and sights without worrying about finding a driver.
Helpful Tip:
To gain access to all of the sites on this list that require entrance fees (plus more not on this list!) definitely purchase the “Acropolis and Archaeological Sites of the Historical Center of Athens” ticket. You can download the tickets to your phones and easily enter the sites without the lines as well as not worry about keeping the money on you or wondering how much you will need. It not only saves money, but it also gives you a map of where each place is on the list: Acropolis and Slopes, Ancient Agora, Roman Agora, Hadrian’s Library, Olympieion, Kerameikos, and Aristotle’s School!
STOP 1: Areopagus Hill & Acropolis & Parthenon
It’s the most popular attraction in the city, so I would definitely recommend making this your first stop to beat as much of the crowds as you can. We walked from our hotel, and it didn’t feel too scary in the daylight, and the walk wasn’t too bad. Just be warned, the walk starts to get an incline, since it is on a massive hill.
We first stopped at Areopagus Hill. I’m not a history buff, but this was the place where many sermons and speeches were given to the people of Athens, specifically where the Apostle Paul gave a famous sermon. It gave beautiful views over the city while also showing off the Acropolis.
We then made our way to the Acropolis. To clarify, the Parthenon is located within the Acropolis. It also holds many different historical buildings, but the Parthenon is by far the most well-known. While walking up with hundreds of other tourists, you walk through paved walkways under ancient buildings. It’s a crazy phenomenon, but it definitely feels like taking a step back in time once you look closely at the details on the stones and the towering pillars above you.
Spend as long as you want admiring the ancient buildings and reading the explanations on the signs, but don’t forget there is so much more within the city that begs to be seen.
STOP 2: Deaf Man’s Cave & Filopappou Hill & Pynx
The next stop was another hill nearby. Located in a park that boasts greenery and nature, while walking up you stop at Deaf Man’s Cave – where you will see the little holes in the rocks with metal cage doors in the middle of this park. It is said to be a prison where Socrates was held, but you will just have to check it out for yourself while making your walk through the park.
Pnyx is known to be an ancient assembly spot, and Filopappou Hill has a monument at the top and if you walk farther down, you can see sweeping views of Athens and even see the sea. We also saw some cute little turtles walking around on the hill. As long as you walk up the hill and around the top, you can hit each area and get views from all directions.
STOP 3: Lunch!
Make sure you don’t forget to eat! You will be doing a lot of walking in the morning, so stop off at any cafe to get something to drink and find some traditional Greek food. I recommend finding a local spot so you can support the people of Athens! Close to Filopappou Hill, we stopped at a souvenir spot, then we needed WiFi to get an Uber, so we popped into a cute cafe called “Karyatides.” Not only did it have WiFi, the owner of the cafe helped us from start to finish by recommending and explaining the food they had and making sure we had a great time there. I ended up getting my favorite – spinach and feta pie.
After lunch, we took an Uber back to our hotel, where we relaxed at the pool before heading back out for the rest of the day!
STOP 4: Syntagma Square & National Garden
Syntagma Square is just the central square in Athens – there wasn’t much going on there when we arrived, but there were some street performers and a lot of busy people walking through or talking with friends. This was a good spot to be dropped off by our Uber so that we were in a good place to walk to the rest of the spots from there. While the beginning of the day was spent in the southwest side of Athens, the rest of the day will be in the eastern/northern part of Athens.
After walking through Syntagma Square, we entered into the National Garden. There are many trails throughout the garden, and you can stroll leisurely through and admire the different bridges and plant-lined walkways.
STOP 5: Temple of Olympian Zeus & Hadrian’s Arch
This site is one that requires an entrance fee, which is included in the pass I talked about at the beginning of this post! Scan your phone and get access to the ruins of the temple dedicated to Zeus. There are a few different sections of ruins around the site that made up different parts of ancient Athens – walk through it all and read about a time that used to be.
Right next to this is Hadrian’s Arch. It is a big arch located right off a busy street. It is also called the Gate of Hadrian. When you look through it from the side of the Temple of Olympian Zeus, you will notice that you can see sites on the western side, and if you are on the side from the street, you can see that it looks like an entrance to the eastern sites of Athens.
STOP 6: Roman Forum & Tower of the Winds
Make your way through Plaka (and scope out your potential options for dinner later) and walk to the Roman Forum and Tower of the Winds. You don’t need to spend much time here, but these are ancient ruins of a commercial center in Athens. In that time, it was a sort of new marketplace, and one of the main things to see is the Tower of the Winds. Stop by here to read about it and start to appreciate how the city has kept it’s history preserved throughout time.
STOP 7: Ancient Agora
This was one of my favorite places from the afternoon. This requires a good chunk of time and can also be accessed using the pre-booked pass to be able to quickly go through the entrance. I would definitely spend more time here than the other places in the afternoon. There is so much to see. It is a large area in the city that is filled with ancient ruins and also a museum.
This is where I truly felt like I was walking through an ancient city. You walk through old meeting areas, schools, and marketplaces. In the museum, you can walk through and see a full replica of what it used to be, and you can read about the history of the entire place.
We spent a long time here, just taking our time and admiring the structures and the history of the place. We could even picture ourselves back in time strolling through the area and being a part of that culture. There is even an old church!
STOP 8: Athen’s Flea Market & Monastiraki Square
Next up, head out of the Ancient Agora and through the Flea Market and to Monastiraki Square. Just be aware of your surroundings and your belongings, because this area is very crowded with a lot of noises. It’s easy to get caught up in everything, so just be safe! This is a good place to walk through the shops and local markets. It’s also a good place to people watch.
In this area, we wanted gelato so we stopped at DaVinci Gelato (like we did in Mykonos) again to try out some more flavors and hold us over until dinner. That was where we realized our true love for this creamy goodness. We continued walking around for a little bit then headed to our next stop.
STOP 9: Hadrian’s Library
The last ruins we stopped at was Hadrian’s Library – which is, well, ruins of a library and cultural area. You can also use your pass to get into this archaeological site – so walk right in and walk past the massive walls and the archways. Use your head to picture the ruins as they used to be.
STOP 10: Plaka
Last, but definitely not least, we headed back to Plaka to buy our souvenirs and get dinner. This district is definitely touristy, but it is still worth visiting. It is full of shops and restaurants. We had already scoped out the place we wanted to eat at, but we wanted to get souvenir shopping out of the way so we could relax at dinner. We stopped in multiple shops and got some postcards, shot glasses, cards, jewelry, and mementos – just your typical souvenirs. We enjoyed walking through the different shops and getting to talk to the shop owners also!
After that, we ate at “Erato Restaurant Plaka,” where we enjoyed our last Greek meal of the trip. My mom and I obviously got the gyro plate and the souvlaki so we could split it and eat from each other’s plates. It was delicious, and we spent the rest of the evening talking about our favorite parts of the day and our best memories from all of Greece before taking an Uber back to the hotel.
Sadly, our time in Greece had come to an end. We loved Athens, and we loved Greece, but the next morning, it was time to head back to the airport. Bright and early, we would be on a flight back to London for one day before our trip would truly come to an end and we would have to go back to the States and back to work.
