Athens itinerary in 4 days
Hotel
Athens:
♥♥♥♥
This hotel is perfectly located near everything you would want to see and do. Very close to the Plaka district, the Acropolis and Syntagma Square. The rooms are nicely renovated, comfortable and there is an extensive buffet breakfast. One of the highlights of this hotel is the rooftop garden. It has the best views of the Acropolis in the city. Breakfast is served up there but you can go anytime - drinks for sunset or dinner.
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Greece has been on my bucket list for as long as I can remember. I'm not quite sure why it took me so long to get there but I'm glad I finally had the opportunity. We chose to visit Athens and Crete on this holiday.
We are city people and wanted to spend a decent amount of time in Athens, the Greek capital. So much history and we love a good Mediterranean city. Athens is so colourful, lively and everywhere you look there are antiquities.
Day 1
Noteworthy Restaurants
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Liondi Restaurant. Located in the Plaka, this restaurant is known for its traditional Greek food. We went there for lunch on our first day and had to try the moussaka and some dips. It was all delicious.
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Taverna Tou Psirri. We accidentally happened upon this restaurant in the trendy Psirri neighbourhood. They have a nice, quiet patio in the back. The food was good and they have a large menu.
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O Gyros Pou Gyrevis. Our tour guide brought us here for a delicious take-out lunch. The Gyros were the best we had in Greece. Highly recommend eating here after a tour of the Acropolis!
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ArtFiix Café. If you're looking for an afternoon pick-me-up stop by this cool café for an iced coffee and yummy sweet treat. It is a lovely art centre on a side street.
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Geros Tou. Situated at the top of the steps on a small street in Plaka, this restaurant had delicious fish and lamb dishes. It has a very pretty patio on a street filled with flowers and nice view down to the main area of Plaka.
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La Boheme. It took us a while to find this restaurant as it's in a neighbourhood close to the main area that's just starting to gentrify. They have a nice patio out on the street and the food is good but I would only recommend this restaurant if you're looking for something outside of the main tourist area.
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Ergon House Agora Restaurant. This was one of the best restaurants we ate at in Athens and we didn't realize how close it was to our hotel! I highly recommend it for delicious Greek food with a modern twist. They have a market with organic and fresh produce in the storefront during the day with a take out counter. At night it turns into a beautiful restaurant. Highly recommend.
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Afternoon
We arrived and checked into our hotel, Electra Metropolis Athens. This hotel is perfectly located near everything you would want to see and do. Very close to the Plaka district, the Acropolis and Syntagma Square. The rooms are nicely renovated, comfortable and there is an extensive buffet breakfast. One of the highlights of this hotel is the rooftop garden. It has the best views of the Acropolis in the city. Breakfast is served up there but you can go anytime - drinks for sunset or dinner.
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After settling into our room, we went for a walk through the colourful Plaka neighbourhood. While very touristy, it is also very colourful, bustling and is at the foot of the Acropolis. Our destination was Liondi Restaurant for lunch. I had read about their delicious food and it really did hit the spot after a long flight. We tried the moussaka, salads and several dips.
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After lunch we walked over to the National Gardens. This beautifully landscaped park near the Hellenic Parliament building and the Presidential Mansion is very peaceful and an oasis in a busy city. We watched the changing of guards in front of the Monument to the Unknown Soldier. This is an interesting and unusual service which takes place every 60 minutes. I recommend trying to stop by to watch it. Every Sunday the full and bigger ceremony takes place at 11 am.
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From the gardens we made our way back to our hotel passing archeological sites and some interesting street art.
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Evening
This evening for dinner we headed to the Psirri neighbourhood. This hopping area has narrow streets filled with restaurants, bars and live music. We ate dinner in the back garden of Taverna Tou Psirri which was lovely.
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After dinner we headed back to the rooftop of our hotel to catch some beautiful views of the Acropolis at night.
Guides and Tours
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Athens City Highlights Tour. We booked a walking tour with Panos Papageorgopoulos through Tours By Locals. Panos spent the day with us and took us to the Acropolis, Acropolis Museum, the Ancient Greek Agora, the old town of Plaka, the Temple of Zeus and the roman ruins in Monastiraki. It was a fascinating tour. Panos is extremely knowledgeable and kept us engaged throughout.
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Ultimate Food Tasting Tour. We were the only ones on this tour. The food samples were delicious and we learnt a lot about the cuisine of Greece. We felt that our guide might have not been feeling great that day because she didn't quite have the energy that other food tour guides have.
Day 2
Favourite Museums
Not only is Athens filled with ancient archeological sites throughout the city, it also has several impressive museums and art galleries. We only visited a few but there are many to choose from depending on your interests. They're a great way to spend a couple of hours.
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Basil and Elise Goulandris Foundation. This modern and contemporary art museum displays the private collection owned by shipowner Basil Goulandris and his wife, Elise. The beautiful gallery was opened in 2019 and is just a perfect size without being overwhelming. It contains art by many of the greatest European impressionists, as well as modern and contemporary Greek artists. I highly recommend a visit to this gallery.
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The National Gallery This gallery is dedicated to modern Greek art from the post-Byzantine era to contemporary artists. It is a newly built gallery which opened in 2021. Definitely worth a visit if you love art.
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Acropolis Museum. This excellent museum, which opened in 2009, only houses archeological artifacts related to the Acropolis. It is situated in a perfect location and mirrors the Acropolis. The views are beautiful and the building itself is gorgeous. It is one of the most important museums in the world. I highly recommend a visit if you are in Athens.
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Morning
This morning following breakfast we met our guide, Panos Papageorgopoulos, at our hotel for a full day walking tour. Panos spent the day with us and took us to the Acropolis, Acropolis Museum, the Ancient Greek Agora, the old town of Plaka, the Temple of Zeus and the roman ruins in Monastiraki. It was a fascinating and interesting day. Panos is extremely knowledgeable and kept us engaged throughout.
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One of the highlights of our tour was the Acropolis Museum which helped us understand the history of the Acropolis. It was great to have Panos take us through the museum and show us the highlights. This museum, which opened in 2009, only houses archeological artifacts related to the Acropolis. It is situated in a perfect location and mirrors the Acropolis. The views are beautiful and the building itself is gorgeous. It is one of the most important museums in the world. I highly recommend a visit if you are in Athens.
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We stopped for lunch at O Gyros Pou Gyrevis, a small take-out spot which had the best gyros of our trip! This is a perfect spot after a tour of the Acropolis!
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After our tour, we were craving a coffee and sweet treat. We wandered the small streets in Plaka and found a cute cafè not far from the Ancient Agora, called ArtFix Cafè.
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We then headed back to the hotel for a rest before dinner.
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Evening
This evening we had reservations at Geros Tou Moria Restaurant. Situated at the top of the steps on a small street in Plaka, this restaurant had delicious fish and lamb dishes. It has a very pretty patio on a street filled with bright, pink bougainvillea flowers and nice views down to the main area of Plaka.
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After dinner we had tickets to a concert at the Odeon of Herodes Atticus. This ancient Roman Theatre is located just below the Acropolis. The building was built in AD 161 and renovated in 1950. It is quite spectacular to watch a concert there in the evening when it is all lit up.
Day 3
Morning
Today we wanted to explore some of the art galleries in Athens and walk through some of the less touristy neighbourhoods. After breakfast we headed to the National Gardens and walked through them to the Basil and Elise Goulandris Foundation modern art museum. This modern and contemporary art museum displays the private collection owned by shipowner Basil Goulandris and his wife, Elise. The beautiful gallery was opened in 2019 and is just a perfect size without being overwhelming. It contains art by many of the greatest European Impressionists, as well as modern and contemporary Greek artists. I highly recommend a visit to this gallery.
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From there we continued our walk through several residential neighbourhoods toward the new National Gallery of Greece. This large gallery is dedicated to modern Greek art from the post-Byzantine era to contemporary artists. It is a newly built gallery which opened in 2021. Definitely a must visit if you love art.
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Afternoon
After the art galleries we were hungry. We headed to the Kolonaki neighbourhood not too far from the National Gallery. This residential neighbourhood has elegant homes and some high end stores. The streets are filled with restaurants and cafès. We stopped for a light lunch of salad and sandwiches at a neighbourhood restaurant.
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We then wandered through the neighbourhood making our way back to the hotel.
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Evening
For beautiful views of the the sunset over Athens we made our way to Lycabettus Hill, located north of Kolonaki. This was a very pleasant walk through local neighbourhoods. There is a funicular which takes you to the top of the hill, where you will find a restaurant serving food and drinks, as well as big crowds gathering to watch the sunset. We found ourselves a spot with a view and waited. Once the sun was setting it was beautiful. There are views of the Acropolis as well as the Mediterranean coast beyond.
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Once the sun set we decided to walk down instead of waiting in line for the funicular. It was an easy walk down the hill.
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For dinner we had a reservation at La Boheme restaurant. This small, local restaurant is outside of the tourist area and was a little hard to find. But once we found it, we were glad because the food was very good.
Day 4
Morning
We always love to do a food tour in most cities we go. I booked a food tour with Athens Food on Foot. We were the only ones on the tour which was fine (although we usually enjoy having others on these tours as it makes it more lively). Anna, our guide, took us through several neighbourhoods stopping in various cafès, bakeries, markets and restaurants. The food samplings were delicious and she explained the history of the establishments as well as the food we were sampling. Unfortunately we didn't find Anna as animated or fun as some of our other food tour guides. Perhaps she wasn't feeling well that day. But overall we're glad we did it because we tasted lots of delicious food and were nice and full till dinner!
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Afternoon
We decided get out of the centre of the city and head to the beach and port area of Athens this afternoon. We took the subway to Piraeus Port and took a taxi to a nice marina that Anna recommended. This was a lovely and quiet way to spend the afternoon. We walked along the boardwalk, did some people watching and sat down for a drink in the late afternoon by the water.
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We took the subway back to Omonia Square, one of the main squares in the city and walked back to our hotel from there.
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Evening
For our last evening we made reservations Ergon House Agora Restaurant. This was one of the best restaurants we ate at in Athens and we didn't realize how close it was to our hotel! I highly recommend it for delicious Greek food with a modern twist. They have a market with organic and fresh produce in the storefront during the day with a take out counter. At night it turns into a beautiful restaurant. Highly recommend.
Day 5
Morning
This morning after breakfast we departed our hotel and headed to the airport for a flight to the island of Crete.
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