The internet seems to have a love/hate relationship with the Greek capital city of Athens. I came across many of the same complaints during my trip research: it’s dirty, everything is super crowded, or it just isn’t safe to visit. Maybe it’s because of my experience living in Philadelphia and the New York City metro area, but I think these complaints are (for the most part) an exaggeration. Like with most cities, more people generally means more trash and certain neighborhoods aren’t quite as nice as others. Personally, I don’t think Athens was any worse than the other large cities I’ve been to!
Rather than visiting Athens during the peak summer tourist season, we opted to go in the fall instead (the end of September/beginning of October to be exact). Shoulder seasons like the spring and fall tend to mean less crowds, cheaper hotel prices, and it doesn’t get swelteringly hot like it does in the summer. It was in the low to mid 70’s for the duration our trip.
This trip was extra special, because it was a girls’ trip for my mom’s birthday! It was her first time traveling outside of the United States (besides an afternoon in Canada, which I don’t really count…). It was also my sister’s first international trip in over a decade, and the first I’d gone on without my husband. We spent three days in Athens before jumping on a plane to Santorini for the second half of the week.
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Getting Around
Athens International Airport
If you’re arriving from abroad, it’s most likely you’ll be flying into Athens International Airport. Often abbreviated to AIA, it’s the largest international airport in Greece and the main hub of Aegean Airlines as well as many smaller Greek airlines. It is located a little over 20 miles southeast of the city center.
Some larger hotels may have a shuttle, but most people either take public transportation or a taxi from the airport into the city. Taxis can be expensive, so I’d definitely recommend taking the train. The Metro Line 3 station is located on the Departures level and can be accessed via a bridge connected to the main terminal. It’s a fairly quick and easy 5 minute walk! Since we don’t read or speak Greek, we were a little unsure if we were getting on the right train, but luckily the airport is the end of the line so any departing train will take you into Athens proper! The airport train runs every 36 minutes and the journey takes about 40 minutes. You can find more information on airport transfers on their website.
Public Transportation
While Athens is a pretty walkable city, there may be times you’ll want or need to take public transportation. We only utilized the metro ourselves, but there are a number of bus and tram routes throughout the city as well. You can find a breakdown below:
- Metro Lines:
- Green Line (Line 1): Kifisia – Piraeus. This line runs from North Athens to the Port of Piraeus, where you can catch a ferry to the islands.
- Red Line (Line 2): Anthoupoli – Helliniko. This line runs from West Athens through the center of the city to South Athens. If you’re looking to visit one of Athens’ beaches, you can take this train all the way to Helliniko and hop on a bus from there.
- Blue Line (Line 3): Dimotiko Theatro – Doukissis Plakentias/Airport. This line connects the port to the airport, while stopping at a total of 27 stations. You can use this line to get to many popular stops including Monastiraki and Syntagma.
- Line 4 is currently under construction, but when finished (expected between 2029-2030) this U-shaped line will run from Alsos Veikou to Goudi.
- Bus Routes:
- If the area you want to visit isn’t accessible via the metro, there’s a good chance one of the hundreds of bus routes in Athens can get you there! You can search for different routes and find timetables here.
- Tram Lines:
- There are two tram lines, which are popular for those looking to visit the various Athenian beaches, including Glyfada, Kalamaki, and Voula.
- Line T6: Syntagma – Pikrodafni.
- Line T7: Asklipieio Voulas – Agia Triada.
The same ticket can be used for all metro lines, buses, and trams, except for the airport train which must be purchased separately. To get around this, you can purchase the 3-day tourist ticket which includes a round-trip ride to and from the airport. You can buy a physical ticket at a kiosk or ticket office inside most stations, or digitally via the Ath.ena Card app. Make sure to validate your ticket before getting on the bus or train, as there are large fines if you’re found without one. Be aware that besides the Express Airport bus lines, public transit in Athens doesn’t run 24/7. Most routes don’t run past midnight, so be sure to double check before you go out for the night!
Current ticket prices can be found here!
Ports & Ferries
If you’re planning on doing some island hopping, most people take a ferry out of the main port, Piraeus. Trains to the port run every 5-10 minutes from Athens and the ride takes about 20-25 minutes. While you can reach most of the islands from Piraeus, there are also two other ports in the area that are further from the city center, Rafina (east) and Lavrio (south). So be sure and double check you’re headed to the correct port! Ferry trips generally take multiple hours and can get pretty packed during the peak summer tourist months. I don’t have experience with the ferries, as it was surprisingly cheaper (and obviously faster) at the time we visited to just hop on a plane. But Greeka has a pretty great guide to Athens’ ports and ferries if you’re looking for more information!
Athens Attractions
National Garden
Nestled in the center of the city is the National Garden, which is a MASSIVE nearly 40 acre public park full of trees, lakes, and benches that looked perfect for relaxing with a book. This was a great place to wander around while we waited to check into our room. I wish I’d been able to explore a little more, as we only really saw just a fraction of it! If you have some free time, there is a small zoo and botanical museum on the grounds as well. While I enjoyed just wandering around, the garden is often included on guided city tours as well.
Acropolis
This UNESCO World Heritage site is often what people picture when they think of Greece. If you’re anything like me, before visiting Athens you may have thought the Acropolis and Parthenon were two separate sites/attractions. In reality, the Acropolis is the hilled citadel on which the Parthenon temple resides! You’ll also find the remains of other buildings like the Theatre of Dionysus here as well.
When visiting the Acropolis, I have two main pieces of advice:
- #1 – Make sure to buy your tickets online well in advance. Buying them the day of could mean waiting in a pretty long line and then possibly having to wait hours for your time slot. And that’s if there are even any still available! We made the rookie mistake of waiting until the day before to buy ours. Since we went in the “off-season” (beginning of October) we figured it wouldn’t be as busy, but the earliest timeslot available was at noon.
- #2 – The earlier in the day you go the better. This is especially important with the summer heat and crowds. Considering how crowded it was when we went in the fall, I can’t even imagine how bad it gets during the busy summer months. In 2023 Greece actually instituted a daily limit of just 20,000 visitors a day and they close the site down when temperatures get too hot.
Acropolis Museum
The building that houses the Acropolis Museum is a modern beauty on its own. Inside you’ll find artifacts from the Acropolis, which you can see from the museum’s wall to ceiling windows. Before you leave the museum grounds, make sure to head underneath the museum. Here you’ll see the excavations of an ancient Athenian neighborhood. You can find my more in-depth guide to the museum here.
You’ll probably notice some empty spaces throughout the museum where pieces are missing. Many of these ‘missing’ pieces, including the Parthenon Marble and one of the Caryatids: The Daughters of Athens, can be found in the British Museum.
I highly recommend buying your tickets online and getting to the museum as soon as it opens (9 am). As you can see from some of my pictures, it was almost like we had the place to ourselves! It was refreshing to be able to go at our own pace and not have to weave in and out of people. We stopped at the café for breakfast, and by the time we left the crowds inside had at least tripled.
Archaeological Sites
It seemed like everywhere you turned there was an archaeological site to see. Many of them you had to pay to go inside, but to be honest I don’t think it was necessary. You get a pretty good view just walking down the street! Some of my favorites were the Ancient Agora (Roman Forum) , Hadrian’s Library, and the Temple of Olympian Zeus. But if you do want to go inside, you can find tickets to most of the archaeological sites through the Hellenic Heritage website.
Additional Ideas
We unfortunately didn’t get a chance to go to the top of Mount Lycabettus – but I’ve heard great things! Plan to take the cable car to the top and then walk back down, from what I understand the walk up is very steep and can be difficult for some people. This is on the top of my list for next time.
We were also able to walk the Mnisikleous Street Stairs in the Plaka neighborhood, which are a struggle if you haven’t prepped! Or if you like shopping, spend some time wandering through Old Town and the Monastiraki Flea Market.
Are you a fan of the Olympics? Then after visiting the National Garden make sure to head over to the Panathenaic Stadium which was the site of the first modern Olympic games in 1896! It is said to be the only stadium in the world that is made entirely out of marble.
Looking for more to do in Athens, Greece?
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Food and Drinks
Similar to Italy, service in Greek restaurants is much slower and more relaxed compared to in the United States. With that in mind: stick to street foods like souvlaki and gyros for a quick lunch while site-seeing, and save sit-down meals for dinner when you have more time to relax and enjoy the food and company.
Where We Ate
Tazza Bistro & Wine Bar – Angle des rues Pentelis 9 & Petraki 5.
We stopped into Tazza for a small lunch/appetizers on our first day after hours of walking around, while we waited to check into our hotel. The décor is very fun and quirky, as were some of the cheeses on our charcuterie board. (There was a black cheese that tasted oddly citrusy….)
Το λοκάλι – Sarri 44.
Dinner on night one was in the garden of this tavern known as To Lokali in English. This restaurant is located in the Psyri neighborhood, which seemed like the place to be at night considering how lively the streets were. The menu had a mix of traditional Greek and Mediterranean options, as well as fun cocktails. My sister’s drink came with a skewer of candied popcorn!
Coco’s – Kidathineon 26.
Looking for a little treat? Make a pitstop here for ice cream or sorbet. I got myself some delicious stratchatella on an Oreo cookie coated waffle cone.
Acropolis Museum Café – Acropolis Museum, Dionysiou Areopagitou 15.
CIEL Athens Restaurant – Mitropoleos 2.
We had breakfast at two different spots during our trip: on the rooftop of our hotel as well as while visiting the Acropolis museum. Both spots have outdoor seating with wonderful views of the city. The breakfast menu at the hotel catered more toward the tourists staying there, while the museum café serves traditional Greek fare.
Kuzina – Adrianou 9.
This rooftop restaurant has an amazing view of the Acropolis and the Temple of Hephaestus. They only have 2 seatings a night on the rooftop tarazza (at 7pm and 10pm), so be sure to make a reservation if that’s where you want to be. This restaurant is unique in that it also has an art gallery on the second floor. Each guest was given an individual tablet with the menu on it, which I thought was pretty neat! They’ve been listed on the Michelin Guide for years, and I can see why.
Brettos Bar – Kidathineon 41.
I’m a sucker for distilleries, especially ones with great photo ops. So of course we stopped by Brettos for a couple of drinks. This is the oldest distillery in Athens, where they’ve made ouzo along with other spirits and liqueurs since 1909. If you’ve never had ouzo before, it reminds me of black licorice. Which to be honest I don’t normally like, but I was pleasantly surprised! So much so that after my ouzo and limoncello cocktail I ordered a glass of straight ouzo to sip on. They ship all over the world, which makes it easier to bring a bit of Greece home without worrying about airline carry-on restrictions or chancing a bottle breaking in your checked bag.
Aleria – Megalou Alexandrou 57.
We splurged on our last night in Athens and went all out for my mom’s birthday dinner with a 6 course meal and wine pairing at Aleria. I didn’t realize how far outside of the busy city center it was or I probably would have called a cab instead of walking. Thankfully the restaurant will happily call one for you at the end of the meal! The food was amazing, but it was the attention to detail from the staff that really put things over the top.
(The meal took over 3 hours, and in 2023 cost over $400 for 3 people. I know this kind of place isn’t for everyone, but for a special occasion I felt like it was totally worth it.)
On the List for Next Time
To Kafeneio – Epicharmou 1 – Plaka.
This cozy traditional Greek tavern serves authentic regional staples at reasonable prices.
The Clumsies – Praxitelous 30.
Multi-room bar serving unique cocktails and classic pub dishes.
Myller Coffee Shop – Katsikogianni 9.
Traditional Greek coffee served in a contemporary, airy space with plenty of outdoor seating.
The Bar in Front of the Bar / Rumble in the Jungle – Petraki 1.
Two bars in one space! In front is the Bar in Front of the Bar is a casual street-side bar, while Rumble in the Jungle is a speakeasy found behind it.
Little Kook – 17 Karaiskaki.
A fairytale inspired café known for its elaborate decorations. We didn’t have a chance to stop in, but walked by while it was decorated for Halloween.
Where to Stay
There are many neighborhoods to choose from when planning to visit Athens. Monastiraki and Plaka are in the middle of everything, very busy and touristy – making them perfect for anyone visiting for the first time. Nearby Syntagma and Psiri are popular as well, for culture and nightlife respectively. You can’t go wrong with any of them, it really just depends on your personal preference!
Hotel Highlight: Ciel Athens Living
Mnisikleous 2 – Monastiraki.
⭐ 3 – Star Hotel
View on: Booking.com or Expedia.com
It’s located in the Monastiraki neighborhood, right by the Holy Metropolitan Church of the Annunciation to the Virgin Mary (we could see it from the window!). The church bells seemed like they were constantly ringing, so keep that in mind if you’re a light sleeper. The location is amazing, as you have easy access to so many of Athens’ attractions and restaurants. They’re group friendly, with the option for a room with three single beds. There are a couple downsides thought: the elevator is small and slow, and sometimes there was no one at the desk and no way to call anyone. There wasn’t an option to check in early, but we were able to store our bags at the desk until our room was ready. Unfortunately it completely slipped my mind to actually take any photos of the hotel!
Additional Hotels to Consider
While I haven’t stayed in any of these hotels yet myself, they’re all highly rated ones that I’d consider for when I visit Athens again in the future!
Hotel Adonis Athens – Plaka – Kodrou 3.
This newly renovated hotel has amazing views of the Acropolis from the rooftop.
Gatsby Athens – Syntagma – Lekka 18.
Boutique hotel with a rooftop bar and popular Mediterranean restaurant, Geco.
The Artist Athens – Psiri – Kalamida 7.
A modern, urban boutique hotel with a ground floor lounge and rooftop bar and restaurant.
No post about Greece is complete without a cat photo!
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