We arrived in Athens from Dubrovnik late at night and got a taxi from the airport to our Airbnb. It was dark and we couldn’t see much of the city on that drive in but once we arrived in our apartment and opened the blinds, there was the Acropolis all lit up and perfectly framed in the window. I was sure I took a picture out of our window but now I can’t find it. I have a wonderful memory of looking out at the Acropolis while falling asleep that first night.
To be honest, Athens, or Greece for that matter wasn’t selected for this trip because it was a place we had always dreamed of visiting. It was more about finding a place in Europe where it would still be warm in October and would be affordable. Athens definitely hit that mark. We had an exceptionally nice, spacious, and central apartment for $40/night and despite it being October, it was sunny and over 30C every day.
Going in with low expectations, our minds were blown. Greece is so much more than an inexpensive place to enjoy some nice weather. I really hope these posts from Greece are able to convey how beautiful and interesting Greece is as well as how warm and welcoming the people are.
The most surprising thing about Athens for us was how the ruins were all within the city. We could walk everywhere from our apartment (and we did…no buses or taxis needed) to see all the main archaeological sites. They are mixed in with the more modern city. Newer buildings surround all the old ruins so you could feel the heartbeat of the modern city while standing in front of 2000+ year old ruins. This was in sharp contrast to Dubrovnik where we felt like the old city was well preserved but was no longer a functioning city – it was an expensive museum for tourists. In Athens, the ruins are part of the modern city and very affordable to visit. We bought a pass to visit 9 different sites in the city (including the Acropolis) for about $60 for all of us (kids are free for all attractions in Athens it seems). In Dubrovnik, it was going to cost us almost $100 just to walk the city walls.
The Acropolis was so much more impressive to see in person than I had imagined. We had been studying the history a bit with the kids. Standing in front of the ruins really brought those history lessons to life. We got there early in the morning (9am…early for us) and the crowds were starting to build. What we hadn’t realized when we bought our pass for the tourist sites was that all the sites had free admission that weekend. Not so upset about the $60 but I’m quite sure the crowds would have been easier to handle on a day where the admission wasn’t free.
We went to the Acropolis museum after visiting the Acropolis. It might have been better to do it the other way around because we learned a lot about the Acropolis at the museum. We hadn’t realized that many of the original statues and carvings have been removed from the Acropolis and are now housed at the museum. We also saw a really interesting exhibit on how the Acropolis has been restored since the mid 1900’s. It was interesting because it was told from the perspective of the craftsmen that have been doing the work.
When we were at the Acropolis, we spotted another temple in the distance that we thought looked interesting to visit since it was very well preserved. We did a bit of research and found that it was the Temple of Hephaestus, and it remains standing largely as built in 450 BC. From the 7th century until 1834, it served as a Greek Orthodox church. It has stayed in such good condition because it was in continuous use for almost 2500 years!!
The Ancient Agora (where the Temple of Hephaestus is located) has many interesting ruins. One of the buildings, the Stoa of Attalos, was restored in the 1950’s by the American School of Classical Studies. It was really interesting to see one of the buildings in a condition that it would have been in after original construction. It housed a great museum that had many of the over 160,000 items that they have unearthed on the site dating from the Neolithic times to the 19th century.
We stayed at the Agora until the sun started getting low in the sky. We spotted a nearby hill where a lot of people were congregating, presumably to watch the sunset. We were in a race against the sun to get up there before sunset and we made it. It was crowded, but worth it.
The next night we climbed up to the highest place in Athens, Lykavittos Hill. It was also really crowded but the views made it worthwhile.
The kids were generally pretty patient with visiting so many archaeological sites and museums but there were times they got bored. It was very hot, and they don’t yet have a good appreciation of the history. We tried to teach them along the way, and I’m sure they’ll leave with a much greater appreciation. We were lucky that when they got bored, for the most part they kept themselves occupied so Brett and I could steal a bit more time to look around
In between visiting the sites, we walked a lot around Athens. I’m not sure how many miles we logged but there was a good 8-10 hours of walking each day. By the end of the week, we were starting to really get our bearings. Athens is such a fun city. So alive, so vibrant, and so many sights to take in.
On the last day of our Athens visit, we promised the kids a surprise. A reward for all their patience while visiting all the historical sites. We took them to the Little Kook café in the heart of Athens. It is a themed café – decorated for whichever holiday is closest. We were there for their Halloween theme. It did not disappoint. Nor did their food. Ronan got crepes covered in cinnamon, sugar and whipped cream. Riley and Iain got pancakes; Riley’s with strawberry frosting, Iain’s with Oreo frosting. I’ll always remember Iain sitting cross-legged eating his pancakes when he said ‘This is the life’. Where did he even learn that?
This was a long post but it barely scratched the surface of our Athens visit. We packed a lot into that week. We are sad to leave but excited to visit the islands.
Onward to Paros!