【Travel】Athens .::In 1 day::.

Greek alphabets, so familiar yet so…lost on me.

To be honest, Athens was never on my bucket list. We really only decided to make a stop here because we had to change flights here en route Santorini, and Mike suggested that we might as well stay a day here. At first I was a bit hesitant because it meant we had to sacrifice a day in Santorini (my dream destination!), but then I wanted to add a city to our trip too, so we did. And I’m so glad that we did!

We had the. best. beef. souvlaki. ever. in Athens (click [here] to see my Athens food notes), and also had a very different Greek experience than what we had on the Greek islands (the islands were absolutely beautiful but, of course, did not have as many food choices than the capital).

Video Highlight

Here’s a 30-second video highlight capturing our Athens quick trip >>Theater of Dionysos, the Propylaea, the Parthenon, The Erechtheion, the flag of Greece, Athens metro, Thanasis (ouzo, stuffed tomato, beef souvlaki, pita, Greek salad, Syntagma Square.

The Itinerary

Day 1 (afternoon flight in): The Acropolis, The Acropolis Museum, Monastiraki Flea Market, Dinner at Souvlaki street.

Day 2 (evening flight out): Ermou Street/Plaka shopping, lunch at Plaka, Ancient Agora.

The 12€ Attractions Ticket

We bought the 12€ ticket at the entrance of the Acropolis, the ticket covers admission to the Acropolis, Ancient Agora, Theater of Dionysos, Karameikos Cemetery, Roman Forum, Tower of the Winds and Temple of Olympian Zeus.

Allow at least 2 hours for the Acropolis and 1 hour for the Ancient Agora. Apart from these two sites, all of the other sites didn’t take us long to see as there was, unfortunately, not much of a muchness left to see.

All of these sites are located close to each other on foot or by metro, and can easily be done in one day.

The Acropolis

It’s quite a trek from the base of the Acropolis to the top. There were lots of ancient boulder and ruins scattered alongside the path, patiently waiting for the archaeologists to make sense of them.

Back in the ancient times, pilgrims had to trek from the bottom of the hill to the very top to worship their Gods too.

As soon as we walked through the Propylaea (the grand entrance arches), we saw the Parthenon (or what remains of it) – the grand temple dedicated to the goddess Athena.

The west end of the Parthenon. Unfortunately, there will almost always be a crane in the background because some sort of restoration work is always ongoing at the Parthenon.

Ruins and boulders scattered around, waiting to be pieced together – this is the world’s most difficult 3D puzzle!

Next to the Parthenon, stands the Erechtheion – a temple dedicated to both Athena and Poseidon, The main feature is the six faithful “Porch of the Maidens” caryatid (i.e. supporting columns in female shape).

Interesting fact: 4 of the real Porch of the Maidens are now in the Acropolis Museum (the other 2 in London and France). A lot of the “treasures” of the Acropolis are actually in other parts of the world (mostly England) but not Greece! How sad that Greece has such a rich history but only has so little to keep.

The Acropolis from afar. Can you spot the flag of Greece?

Lost? Look for signs pointing to the Acropolis and find your bearing.

The Acropolis Museum

What they call the “new” Acropolis Museum was completed in 2007 and is now indeed a first class museum. The top level of the Museum was deliberately built at a angle so it faces the Acropolis – neat!

It’s located conveniently close to the Acropolis and is definitely a must-do in Athens.

Tickets only cost 5€ each so there are no excuses.

The interior is tastefully decorated.

The terrace cafe overlooking the Acropolis serves light meal and coffee. We had a quick bite here and it was quite a unique experience eating and seeing the Acropolis sitting on the hills right next to you.

The Ancient Agora

“Agora” means “open space markets” in Ancient Greek.

We followed Rick Steve’s 30-minutes audio guide and tried to imagine the past glory of this place as a busy marketplace in the 6th century…and it was not an easy task. Athens does not have much to show off the world compared to Rome, despite its ancient history.

Syntagma Square

“Syntagma” means “constitution” in Greek. It holds great historical value and is nowadays the meeting point of political gatherings and protests, and even riots. The Parliament is immediately across the street, up the stairs.

The Changing of the Guard takes place every hour during the day, and a ceremonial Changing of Guard happens at 11am each Sunday. During the change, spectators are welcomed at a distance in silence. Once the two guards are in their position, everyone is allowed to go up and take photos with them! Just don’t salute them or talk to them.

We overheard from a tour guide that in Greece, they also pick the tall guys to be guards. It’s also a challenge to march with the goose step on the slippery marble floor!

Monastiraki Flea Market

You can find lots of random things at the Monastiraki Flea Market. Having been to many Asian markets in the past, we didn’t really see anything special and we spent less than 5 minutes in there. But if you’re after some souvenirs, it’s a good place to start. The flea market is right next to the Monastiraki metro station and the entrance is just between the station and the 360 building as shown in the above photo.

I actually had more interest in the fruit stalls in front of the station than the flea market itself. Big, juicy and sweet strawberries for 1.5€ a kilo! We heard that the locals buy their fruit to-go here so it’s not a tourists ripped-off.