I spent Easter this year in Athens – another city trip by myself, something I like to do now and then. My outbound flight was not at the best time unfortunately, meaning that I arrived at 2.30 am at the hotel and fell directly into my hotel bed. After a very short sleep I woke up early to go visit Acropolis before the hordes of tourists would be there. And it was definitely worth it: not many people and a magnificent morning atmosphere – perfect for taking pictures.
I strolled around between the old ruins on the Acropolis Hill and watched Athens waking up slowly and rising out of the morning mist.Super pretty! The Acropolis itself is great as well, but in comparison to other ruins I have seen, not stunning. What makes it special are mainly the setting on the rocky hill in the middle of the old town and the views in all directions.
Waking up early was SO worth it! Slowly but surely more and more tourists were coming up the hill while I made my way down to visit the other ruins on the foot of the Acropolis hill. I especially liked the Odeon of Herodes Atticus, which is very well preserved.
At the front side of the hill I then discovered the little alleys of Anafiotika and strolled around there for a bit, before passing by the restaurants of Plaka to the Roman Agora. This rather small site of ruins actually could have been viewed from the „outside“ – but since I had bought one global ticket for all ruins of Athens, I of course went onto the terrain as well. In hindsight I have to say that it wasn’t really worth getting this ticket – even if you want to see ALL sites „from the inside“, the calculation doesn’t really work out in favour of the global ticket. The only plus: You never have to stand in line! 😉
I was far more impressed by the Ancient Agora which I visited afterwards. The terrain is much bigger and the ruins are much better preserved. Here, it is worth going inside! The most beautiful is the Temple of Haistos which looks a bit like the Partheon, but in comparison to its more famous sibling is not under restoration. The Agora Museum was also quite interesting to visit.
Since I wasn’t sure which ruin sites would be open on Easter Monday (everything was going to be closed on Sunday), I had to hurry up a bit to see as much as possible on Saturday. I was already quite exhausted when I arrived at Kerameikos – and then not even that impressed. The site was closed already, but again you can see everything from the outside anyways and well – there wasn’t really thaaat much left of the ruins 😉 Actually I liked the way there and back better, than Kerameikos itself! On the way I passed by a couple of stores selling antiques respectively junk and some cool street art.
Re-energized by a typical sesame loop I made my way to the National Gardens, because the Olympieion was unfortunately also already closed. What was luckily still open was the Panathinaiko Stadium, the stadium where very first modern Olympic Games took place. I must admit being here was quite overwhelming – the stadium was just so huge and I found it pretty amazing that it held sports competitions so long ago already!
Next day I first went to the Greek parliament to watch the changing of the guards – quite a touristy thing but fun to watch since the guards have to wear super funny shoes 😉
Afterwards, it was time for some sports – I climbed up Lykavittos Hill, from which you have an amazing view all the way to the sea! The Acropolis sits in the middle of the city like on a throne – to its left and right a sea of houses… Before going to Athens I often heard from people that the city only consists of houses and that there is no green. When I was in the historic center, I really did not get that impression – however from up here I did… But somehow still a cool view!!
I then walked a bit around the hip quarter of Exarhia with all its graffiti. Unfortunately it was a bit dead since it was Easter Sunday, on other days apparently you can expect to see some cool shops and bars! I did however find a nice cafe for a little Easter breakfast, and after relaxing for a bit I passed by the National Museum which was unfortunately closed. From Omonia square I took the metro to the harbour town Piraeus which was a spontaneous decision since pretty much everything else was closed. It ended up being a nice short excursion from Athens, since I somehow always like harbour towns and this one even had a couple of nice churches in addition to the boats.
Since I still wanted to climb Filopappou Hill back in Athens, I didn’t have time for a short trip to one of the islands 😉 Next time! So – back to Athens, next hill to climb! I must say, I definitely did enough sports while in Athens… But – once again it was really worth it and I would recommend to any visitor to Athens to climb both of the hills since you always have different views. On Filopappou Hill you are closer to Acropolis and you can see until the ocean…
The last day actually was only half a day anymore and the good weather said goodbye as well unfortunately. This did work out quite according to my program though. I quickly went to the Olympieion first which luckily was open and wandered around the terrain a little. Again – you pretty much see everything already from the outside – but probably you’re able to take better pictures when you do go inside and pay the entrance fee 😉
Afterwards I had planned to visit the Acropolis Museum. You could spend hours, or even days in here! For me though, at one point all sculptures and stone heads started looking the same 😉 The museum is set up really nicely and is a cool mix between (very) old and new – especially from the outside where the modern building stands in contrast to the ruins located partly below it.
After a couple of interesting hours I went for a last walk around Athens – into the direction of the university and the national library, passing by many graffiti.
I will remember Athens as a great city – a nice mix between Southern European culture and vegetation, old ruins and a cool urban lifestyle the way you imagine it! Guys – go to Athens! 🙂 Here are some more pictures.
Just Booked A Trip 
Wieder einer deiner netten und so hübsch bebilderten Reiseberichte!
Danke fürs Mitreisen lassen!
LG Manfred
Wieder einer deiner netten und so hübsch bebilderten Reiseberichte!
Danke fürs Mitreisen lassen!
LG Manfred
Danke, freut mich wenn der Bericht gefällt! 🙂