Past POIs - Acropolis [Athens, Greece]

Point of Interest: Acropolis
Location: Athens, Greece
Date of visit: June 2017

If you ever visit Athens, Greece, it will be pretty hard to miss the Acropolis if you are near the city center. It is actually built on what looks like a small mountain/hill and you can see if from everywhere. We were lucky with our hotel rental because it actually had rooftop views of the Acropolis which was very nice.

The Acropolis is included in the multi-site pass and is well worth it since the Acropolis itself is 20 euros and the multi-site pass is just 30 euros. It can be a bit of a hike for those that are not in shape since there is no cable car or assistance with getting up there. You'll have to take the side roads to get to the entrance and then just follow the path and up the stairs like everyone else.

Since it is high up and not covered, I would advise you to visit either in the morning or in the afternoon/evening to avoid the mid-day sun.

Well worth a visit, there is plenty to see up there and the are plagues everywhere telling you what you are seeing (however I tend to not stop and read those for long). Unfortunately when we went, it was under renovation, which seems to be the story of our travels. I am recalling how we got out in Rome to see the pyramid and the entire thing was covered in scaffolding for renovations.

Come back next Friday for another Past Point of Interest!

2017 - Greece Summary (Athens)

Duration: 6 days (2 were for the Meteora tour)

Highlights

Meteora is worth the 2 day tour that we did. While the food was disappointing, seeing the sights in person was fantastic. I have mentioned that it is a bit disappointing when you are in the monasteries since it seems normal, however, that in itself is a feat since it doesn't seem like it is built on the edge of a hill.

Panathenaic Stadium, the world's only marble stadium is a definite must see even if you just want to see it from the outside.

Acropolis, try to make it early in the morning or in the afternoon to avoid the crowds and heat. A must see for anyone who comes.

Central Market, a must for people who like markets. While it is always similar, it is just always interesting for me to see.

Lowlights

Athens in general outside of the tourist area is a bit sad to see. Lots of graffiti and poor people. I knew that they were hit hard with the recession, but this was unexpected for me. While I wouldn't say it was disappointing, it was eye opening for me.

Food Suggestions

Meliltos, suggested by our Visit Athens volunteer and I would suggest it to anyone. It is a bit pricier, but the food was very good.

Thansis, you should stop by for the kebap. I think there are two restaurants next to one another, but I never found out what the difference was.

Tips

Negotiate! It doesn't take anything but a minute to ask for a discounted price. We got 15% off just for asking if they could give us a better price on the 2 day tour which is a sizable amount.

Final Thoughts

Athens has its charms although I feel like I enjoyed Meteora more. Plan accordingly since if you are not interested in ruins or museums, I felt like Athens does not have much to offer.

2017 - Greece - Day 14 [Athens]

Today, we visit the Acropolis.

Athens Center Square Hotel, which is a part of the same group of hotels that Hermes Hotel was part of meant that the breakfast is exactly the same, a bit disappointing, but we will live with it.

Athens Center Square Hotel Breakfast

Athens Center Square Hotel Breakfast

We woke up early to make it to the Acropolis near when they open and we walked there and made it there at 8:30am and we spent two hours there. It is a bit unfortunate that the site is under renovation, but nonetheless, it is still a very impressive site. Well worth visiting, especially since it does cost 20 euros just to visit this one site.

Acropolis

Acropolis

Acropolis

Make sure that you visit the Acropolis either really early (aim to go before 9:00am) or you can try to visit later in the day. Since it is out in the open, it is very hot. Through the two hours, we basically walked the entire site.

Ancient Agora

Ancient Agora

Ancient Agora was next and we got there from the Acropolis in roughly half an hour and spent an hour there (from 11:00am to 12:00pm). We did the two main buildings (Stoa and the Temple of Hephaestus) and wandered around for a bit. Neat site, but you can see a lot of reconstruction which makes you wonder how it would have looked in the past.

Thansis pork souvlaki on the left, kebap on the right

Thansis is where we went for lunch where we ordered the Thansis kebap and pork souvlaki which came out to 21 euros. The food was really good, especially the kebap. Both items were very moist, makes me wonder how they made it.

Hadrian's library was next and we were there for about 20 minutes. There isn't too much to see outside of what you see from behind the gates. It did seem a bit weird that the historical sites are surrounded by wrought iron fencing that you can see through. Why would you pay if you can basically see the entire site outside of it?

Athenkion Halumi cheese

Athenkion grilled vegetables

Due to the heat, we ended up going back to the hotel and resting. When we got up, we went to the Plaka District and wandered around town. We ended up at Athenkion for dinner where we ordered the Halumi cheese, grilled vegetables, moussaka, and meatballs. The starters were very nice, however, the mains were a bit disappointing with an overall cost of 36 euros.

Athenkion Meatballs

Athenkion Moussaka

Athenkion free dessert

Wandered a bit more and went back to the hotel. Tomorrow, we go graffiti hunting and visit some museums.