Top Places To Visit In Athens, Greece

Last updated on 29 December 2024

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Looking for places to visit in Athens?

Taking a trip to Greece? Looking for places to visit in Athens? I got you!

But first, let me tell you a story.

I was 16 years old when I started Classical Studies at high school. It was only offered to the Year 13 students (form 7/last year in school), but they had allowed those of us in the new below to join the class. It was that class and my wonderful teacher that started my love of Ancient history, and particularly my fascination with all things Greece. One of my best friends also took that class with me, and our joint love of Alexander the Great saw us planning our trip to Athens in 2013.

It was my friend’s first time overseas, other than England, our base at the time, and I had never been to Greece before. We had a lot of questions from people before we left. “Is Greece dangerous for tourists?”, “Is it safe to travel to Athens?”, “Is Athens cheap to visit?” .. and tonnes more. Granted, when we went there were riots happening in Athens around the time we were there, so the questions were warranted.

But to err on the safe side, we booked a 4-star hotel that provided us breakfast and dinner (so we didn’t have to be out at night), which was close to all the places to visit. We stayed in Athens for 5 days, 6 nights. Because we didn’t get out of the capital at all, we grew to know it quite well and walked around a lot of the central areas.

There are lots of things to do in Athens, some paid, some free. If you’re heading to the Greek capital, or you’d like to in the future, here are some of the famous places to visit in Athens, Greece, especially if you’re only there for a short time.

Visit Athens Acropolis and Parthenon

The most obvious and most well-known aspect of Athens is the Parthenon. Built in 438 BC, the temple is the most important surviving part of Ancient Greece, and even today you can take a visit to the Acropolis.

From the west, it’s a steep but short walk up to the visitor’s entrance, where you can pay €12 (approx. $20NZD/$13US/£10) and walk with the crowds up to the top. There are several buildings, all of which have been preserved as well as they are able.

When is the best time to visit the Acropolis?

We took a walk up there just on opening (8am) on a Saturday, and while there were quite a few people at that time of the day already, there were a lot more on the Acropolis by about 9am/9:30am. I suggest that you visit in the early morning, as soon as you can, because even at that hour of the day it was very hot (July), and the people start flocking. I don’t know what it’s like during the week, but it may be worth checking out during the week.

When is the Acropolis in Athens open?

8am – 5pm (until 7:30pm in Summer)

The Theatre of Dionysus

If you’re a theatre kid like my friend and I were (well, at least, we worked in the theatre and absolutely loved it), then a visit to the Theatre of Dionysus is a must. The Green playwrights like Aristophanes were one of our favourite parts of Classical Studies in school, so to be able to visit a place that was so well used for plays in Ancient times was a wonder. It’s hard to believe places like this still exist.

There’s not much there, just the amphitheatre, and when we were there they were working on repairs. It’s free to visit, you can just walk up to it and check it out. It’s on the southeast side of the Acropolis, and if you’re walking down from the Acropolis, it’s on the way to the Acropolis Museum.

The Acropolis Museum in Athens

On the other side of the Acropolis (obviously dependent on what side you walk up first – it’s situated on the southeast side), you can find the Acropolis Museum, where over 4,000 pieces from the Acropolis are kept and displayed.

The building itself is an incredible structure, made of glass, steel and concrete. That in itself is amazing, let alone the priceless monuments and statues displayed inside it.

General admission is €5 (approx. $8NZD/$5USD/£4) , and it’s well worth the trip. While a lot of the websites and guides have it listed before the Parthenon and the Acropolis, I actually found it so amazing to go after we had visited the Acropolis. Seeing all the huge structures on the hill, and then seeing all the things that would have been up there was a great order to do things in, however, it’s completely up to you.

Temple of Olympian Zeus

Only pillars remain of the Template of Zeus, but even these structures are monstrous and loom over the busy streets surrounding the green space.

Unfortunately, not all the pillars have stood the test of time, and a few have fallen over. But you still feel incredibly small as you stand in front of and besides these great stone pillars. You can find the Template of Zeus just off one of the main roads running to the east of the Acropolis, and it’s well worth visiting. Check out this website for more information, including all the details about the template.

National Garden in Athens

If you’re sick of looking at architecture, take a break in the National Gardens. If you’re visiting Athens in the summer then you’ll appreciate the shade of the trees. As well as sweeping gardens and long walkways edge with trees, the park sits beside the Greek Parliament (to the north) and Zappeio Hall (to the south) which was built for the first modern Olympic Games in the 1880s.

“The National Garden was created between 1838 and 1840 by order of Queen Amalia, the first queen of Greece. The German agronomist Frederick Schmidt was responsible for planting this garden. He imported more than 500 plant species from Greece and around the world, including many tropical plants. Unfortunately, with the passage of time, some of these plants didn’t survive the Mediterranean climate, but those who have survived, create a lovely environment to relax.” – Greeka

National Archaeological Museum of Athens

On the very first day we were in Athens, we decided to head to the National Archaeological Museum. It was in the opposite direction to many of the other places we wanted to visit, so it was good to do it on the first day.

One of the greatest museums in the world with the richest collection of Greek artefacts from neolithic to classical times … with the 11,000 items on permanent display comprising just half of the museum’s holdings. – This Is Athens website

This was the part of our trip to Athens that were really buzzing about; we could see the actual items that we’d only seen in our Classical Studies textbooks in school, and while the bust of Alexander The Great was ironically back in London (where we’d come from) it was so much geeky fun to wander through the halls of the National Archaeological Museum and see all the artefacts that we’d studied.

Whether you’re into Ancient Greek history or not, it’s a wonderful museum to spend the morning or afternoon in. And it’s just 6€ (November 1st – March 31st) or 12€ (April 1st – October 31st) to get in. You can also grab a special three-day Museum pass, which will get you into the National Archaeological Museum, Epigraphic Museum, Numismatic Museum and Byzantine and Christian Museum of Athens, for just 15€.

Cemetery of Keramikos

It may sound a little morbid to head to a cemetery for an afternoon, but the Keramikos (also spelt Kerameikos) was very interesting to wander around. There is so much history in just a small part of the city that you can’t help but wonder about their lives, and who they were, what they did in their day-to-day lives.

While we hadn’t specifically planned on taking a look (and we actually took a wrong turn the first time we tried to find it and had to go back later), we read in a travel guide that it was a really interesting place. In the cemetery there’s a building with some artefacts in it too (where aren’t there artefacts in Athens?!), so that was a nice find also!

“As well as monumental graves, look for the statues of a rather terrifying bull, sirens, a horseman and various human figures. You’ll also find ancient jugs, perfume bottles, plates and urns excavated from the tombs housed in the Oberlander Museum. A section of the defensive walls built by Themistocles in the fifth century BC runs through the site.” – Keramikos Cemtery website

The Markets and Shops

One of my favourite things about heading to Athens were the shops. In the centre of the city, near the base of the Acropolis, are little streets full of tiny shops that sell everything from the usual touristy tack, to beautiful instruments, Greek art, jewellery, and more. It was a great evening when we wandered through the shops, buying gifts for people back home, and soaking up the atmosphere.

On Saturday evening there were stalls out on one of the main streets, with people selling handmade jewellery, which we both bought some of. So beautiful. Highly recommend taking a wander around the markets and seeing what you can find.

While there are many places to visit in Athens, Greece, these are just some of the spots that we hit up while we were there. There’s so much more to explore, so if you’re going to Athens, make a list!

Have you been on a visit to Athens? Or a trip to Greece? Tell me about it in the comments! Would love to hear about it!