Itinerary · 4 days · 16 places
4 Days in Athens
Four days in Athens on foot: arrival in Plaka, a full day on the Acropolis rock and in its museum, a day by the sea in Piraeus with fish at Mikrolimano, and finally the market and the centre before the flight home.
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Photo: Demetra Ioannidou · Pexels
The route on the map
The plan, day by day
Day 1Arrival in Plaka
Arrival in Athens
Hotel check-in
Plaka lies right beneath the Acropolis rock: narrow lanes with neoclassical façades, and every ancient site within a quarter of an hour's walk.
Anafiotika
On the northern slope of the Acropolis stand two dozen whitewashed Cycladic houses, built against the rock in the 19th century by workers from Naxos and Anafi.
Evening: Monastiraki Square
The square in front of the Pantanassa church is busy until late: street music, souvlaki stalls and the illuminated Parthenon directly above.
Day 2Acropolis & ancient Athens
Acropolis
Through the Propylaea you reach the rock with the Parthenon, the Erechtheion with its Caryatids and the small Temple of Athena Nike.
Acropolis Museum
On the glass top floor, the Parthenon frieze is laid out at full scale, with views through the windows to the temple itself.
Philopappos Hill
A paved path by Dimitris Pikionis leads through pine trees to the Philopappos Monument, from where you see the whole Acropolis from the west.
Temple of Olympian Zeus
Of the original 104 columns of Greece's largest temple, fifteen still stand; a sixteenth has lain beside them like toppled building blocks since a storm in 1852.
Evening: Koukaki
In the evening, the residential district south of the Acropolis fills up along the pedestrianised Drakou street with neighbourhood bars and meze places without tourist menus.
Day 3Piraeus & sea views
Archaeological Museum of Piraeus
Home to the four large bronzes found in 1959 during drainage works on a harbour street, including the Piraeus Apollo.
Zea Marina
The round ancient naval harbour is now a marina; around its edge you can still make out the rock-cut ship sheds of the triremes.
Votsalakia Beach
A narrow pebble beach below Kastella, where the people of Piraeus themselves take a dip between appointments.
Kastella Hill
From the little Profitis Ilias church on the summit you look down over pastel-coloured stepped lanes to the Saronic Gulf and, on clear days, as far as Aegina.
Mikrolimano
The small fishing harbour is ringed by caiques and fish tavernas, with tables set right at the water's edge.
Evening: Akti Themistokleous
In the evening, the coastal road on the Freattyda headland becomes a promenade with views of ferries coming and going and the lights of Salamis.
Day 4Market, centre & departure
Varvakios Central Market
In the cast-iron hall of 1886, meat and fish hang in long rows, with sacks of oregano, olives and mountain tea opposite.
Hadrian's Library
Of the library founded by Emperor Hadrian in AD 132, the west façade with its Corinthian columns still stands in the middle of Monastiraki.
National Garden
Queen Amalia's palace garden behind Parliament is a shady tangle of palm avenues, ponds and fragments of ancient columns.
Departure from Athens
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