Posted on by Marc

Farewell Athens

We spent one month in Athens and enjoyed every minute of it.  It’s a modern, cosmopolitan city with plenty of museums, shops and restaurants.  The food is absolutely fantastic.  The city certainly rivals many of the major capitals of Europe.

After the fall of Rome the city was essentially abandoned.  The modern city was built starting in the 1830s with the reign of King Otto.  So, if you’re interested in the very old or the very new Athens is the place for you.

Here’s our list of must do items for Athens…

  1. Visit the Acropolis and the Museum of the Acropolis.  What else needs to be said?!
  2. Find the Hill of Mars where Saint Paul preached to the ancient Athenians.
  3. Take a stroll through the Ancient Agora.  It’s the birthplace of modern democracy.  Don’t forget to see the Temple of Hephaestus.
  4. See the Roman Agora.  The Temple of the Winds is a very special place.
  5. Pay homage at the Temple of Zeus.  Hadrian’s Arch is at the south end of the park.
  6. Visit the ancient Panathenaic Stadium.  It was used for the first modern Olympic Games in 1896.
  7. You must see The Archeological Museum.  It’s one of the world’s premier museums.
  8. Walk through the large park to the southwest of the Acropolis.  Go on a scavenger hunt and find the Monument of Philopappos (nearby is the best place to photograph the Acropolis), the Prison of Socrates, the Church of Agios Demetrios Loumbardiaris, the Sanctuary of Zeus, The Pnyx and so much more.
  9. Watch the changing of the guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at the Parliament building.  It happens every hour.
  10. Go to the Central Market for fresh fish, meats, cheeses, dried fruits and nuts.
  11. Take a break at Foyrnoi.  All of the pastries are great and for €1.50 you can get a giant cappuccino and a free bottle of water.
  12. Eat at Ambrosia.  They have the best cheese pies.
  13. Try the Arcadia restaurant.  It’s not cheap but the food is great and the portions are huge.
  14. Have lukumades at Lukumades.  Bring your insulin.
  15. Have a meat platter at Miran Deli.  Don’t forget to checkout the deli.
  16. Enjoy some artisanal cheeses at Kostarelos.  They serve food too.
  17. Take a cruise and see three islands in one day: Aegina, Hydra and Poros.
  18. Take a day trip to Delphi, home of the most famous Oracle of ancient times.

(The Acropolis)

4 Replies to “Farewell Athens”

  1. Excellent list. You are the best travelers I know…
    Marc, did you take this photo? It is the best I have seen of the sacred rock and the temples!

    1. Let me tell you, when it comes to Athens it’s hard to pick just a few top items to list. There’s so many wonderful things to see and do. It’s been a lifelong dream to visit and we took our time and saw everything. It was a great experience.

      We take all of the pictures that appear on our web site. That one was taken from the Pnyx near the Sanctuary of Zeus. We changed the first page picture on the website to be a shot we took of the Parthenon from the Hill of the Muses. It’s one of my favorites. Check this out: http://www.ourtripnotes.com.

      Thanks for posting and your kind words.

  2. Wow, this was great. Keep writing this kind of blogs, you will get a lot of people to this blog if you continue doing this. I will be visiting this page more often. thx!

    1. Thanks for your kind words. Hopefully our future articles will continue to entertain and inform.

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