I’m sure I was not the only one who grew up loving Percy Jackson and Greek mythology. I always imagined stepping foot on Mount Olympus where the Gods were said to live. Well, that is until I realized they didn’t actually live on the mountain itself but rather a cloud above that. I guess the next best thing would be to go to Athens! Standing atop the Acropolis by the Parthenon and seeing that one temple that always popped up as a Windows screensaver was a more realistic dream I had. Come 2022 and it looked like this dream was going to become a reality! We were in the city for less than 2 days, but we still managed to pack in everything one would hope to see on their first Athens adventure.
Our stop in Athens was the latter part of a longer trip in Greece and North Macedonia. We were in northern Greece at the time and took a train from Thessaloniki (Greece’s second largest city) to Athens. On the high speed train it took about 4 hours, which is amazing considering we just traveled the entire length of Greece from top to bottom! Our first thing to do once we were in Athens was figure out the metro system. In comparison to Rome, the stations were bright, pretty clean, and easy to navigate. I have to say I was not expecting this so it was a nice surprise!
Once we had checked into our hotel, we were ready to go out for the evening. On our way to the center of the city, we found ourselves walking behind several uniformed personnel on their way to the monument to the Unknown Soldier. We followed them down the street and watched the changing of the guard, or the Greek equivalent. Unlike the changing of the guard at Arlington in the United States, this ceremony seemed to be in extreme slow motion. The guards slowly extended their legs one at a time at snail speed (a flamingo might be helpful to picture in this scenario) and did this repeatedly for over 10 minutes as they marched to different spots around the monument until the new group of men had replaced the previous group. It was a very interesting event to watch, that’s for sure.
From here we walked down Mitropoleos street, the place to go if you want to do some shopping. Because we were too hungry to want to do any sort of shopping, we took a left off of this street and grabbed dinner at a casual restaurant with great service and a fantastic greek salad. After dinner we wandered around the cobblestone-lined streets of Plaka. This is one of the cutre areas in Athens, and is known for its cluster of local shops, restaurants, and nightlife. On our way back to our hotel, we also came across Hadrian’s Arch. I guess that’s what one expects when they visit cities like Athens or Rome, you can’t make it far without running into some sort of ancient structure!
The following day was jam-packed! While it ended up being a great day, our morning got off on the wrong foot, literally. Here’s a recount of the less than ideal start we had to our full day in Athens.
Other than rooftop bars and restaurants, climbing atop some of the city’s hills is a great way to get a view of the Acropolis from afar. We were told that just a short walk from our hotel was one of these hills, so we headed out late in the morning, confident we knew exactly where we were going. That is until we weren’t. We soon found ourselves on a very long and steep climb through some non-touristy neighborhoods until we reached- what did we reach? There was a cafe, and then… the supposed viewpoint was another twenty minute walk in the opposite direction. At this point we were quite drained from the trek and realized this could not have been the hill we were told was so popular and close by. There was not another tourist (let alone a person) in sight! However, we had made it this far, so we thought we might as well make the final push up to the top to see what we see. Well, we didn’t see much, except for several other hills closer to the city center which we pointed out likely consisted of the hill we were supposed to go up. What a chore!
Lesson learned, do your research ahead of time. After looking into it more (and simply just studying google maps for a few minutes), I realized that we completely started walking in the wrong direction when we started our journey in the morning. There are so many great places to view the Acropolis! Areopagus Hill frequently came up as one of the best places to get a picture worthy view of the Acropolis. Furthermore, unless you’re really into hiking, it might be in your best interest to just skip the hill and go find a nice cafe with a good view 🙂
By the time we made it down from the wrong mountain, it was already early afternoon. We took the metro to the Acropolis and grabbed a bite to eat before we made the trek up to the top.
After our lunch we went and bought tickets for the Acropolis. Yet another mistake we made was getting to the Acropolis and having to wait in a healthy line to buy tickets. If you can, buy your tickets for the Acropolis ahead of time. Whether you do this online or at an in-person vendor, it will save you a good chunk of time versus if you buy your tickets at the base of the Acropolis itself.
As we made our way up to the Acropolis, we passed many ancient sites along the way such as the Theater of Dionysus. It is certainly not a boring walk up! The excitement inside me to reach the top was growing every step I took. We knew we had made it once we walked through the Beulé Gate, and noticed a drastic pick up in the wind. I couldn’t believe I was here! It felt unreal, as this was always one of those places I had imagined visiting and actually standing here next to the Parthenon was unforgettable!
After we were on top of the Acropolis for over an hour, we hiked back down the hill and went to the Agora in the center of Athens. In ancient times, this was a space for public assemblies and events to take place. You’ll find remnants of all sorts of temples and monuments in this area, along with the Temple of Hephaestus and reconstructed Stoa. Today you’ll find a museum inside the traditional colonnaded Stoa, whereas back in the day it was a sort of multipurpose building where one might find local artisan galleries set up or religious events happening. Overall, the Agora is another nice place to explore in Athens that one would not want to miss!
The day flew by and pretty soon it was time for dinner. We found a casual restaurant right off Monastiraki Square with fantastic views of the Acropolis! I was very excited to try Moussaka for the first time, a traditional Greek dish consisting of baked eggplant, potatoes, and ground meat topped with bechamel sauce and cheese. The view made it taste even better! We stayed here so long that we ended up getting a coffee and chocolate lava cake to enjoy the nighttime views of the Acropolis.
I barely scratched the surface of Athens this time around! I’m excited that there is still so much more to explore here next time I visit. Until then, I couldn’t be happier with how this wild experience in Athens turned out. The Gods would be proud!