Athens

[RosscoPCole]

We are taking an Aegean cruise this summer and have a day in Athens. Two musts for our family are the Panathenaic Stadium and the Acropolis. Looking at the tours offered by the cruise line we cannot visit both, annoying. Does anyone have recommendations for how we can do both of these places either with a tour guide or by ourselves?

[miniman]

When we were in Athens on a cruise, Mrs Miniman had read up on all the options and discovered that you could get to the sights via a short walk and metro ride, and that you should avoid the taxi touts at the port.

One 50 minute slog in the heat, a crowded metro ride, traipsing round the sights, another metro trip and a further 50 minutes trek later, we bumped into another couple who had paid €100 at the port to be chauffeured round all the key sights in an air conditioned Merc.

[InitialDave]

You can walk between them, they're only about a mile apart, and you'll walk right past the Olympian Zeus temple and the Arch of Hadrian.

I'd get a ride to one, then walk to the other, and get a ride back.

Maybe start at the Acropolis, so you're going downhill.

Edited by InitialDave on Wednesday 2nd July 21:07

[stevethegreek]

Get the Metro to Acropoli -https://maps.app.goo.gl/9CFBSS4RPi35wYjDA

Everything is pretty much within walking distance from there. If you have time, visit the Acropolis Museum, well worth it

[WyrleyD]

Get the earliest entry time possible at the Acropolis as it can get very crowded and hot (we went October and it was still very hot up there then) and when we left the queues were huge, we used Get Your Guide to book tickets with the optional Audio add-on. As others have said it's an easy walk to other sites.

[Mark-ri571]

Just get the open top bus from the cruise terminal and then you can get on and off at all the sights you wish to see.

[some bloke]

I'd consider the air conditioned Merc tbh - I was there last week and it was 35c at 9.30. We went out for an hours walk up Philopappos Hill next to our hotel and over towards the Parthenon. We went back to the hotel and sat in the rooftop pool for an hour after that. It was brutal, with a hot wind as well.

[thisnameistaken]

We did just this last year. We took a taxi to the acropolis then walked around taking in the stadium and eventually walking back to port.

[RosscoPCole]

Thanks for the replies. I think we will get a taxi from the port to the Acropolis, then walk to the stadium, the Monument of the Unknown Soldier and Plaka. Are taxis easy to find in the city to get back to the port?

[some bloke]

It seemed like there were loads of cabs all around the city.

[InitialDave]

The changing of the guard is every hour, if you want to time your route to coincidence with that.

[Mark-ri571]

If you go on the Metro be on the look out for pick pockets. We got on the Metro and were obviously targeted as tourists. Two smartly dressed women and a man. They tried diversionary tactics . One of the women dipped into my wife s bag. They must have been disappointed with only extracting a map of Athens

[Gilmore]

I've used this company plenty of times.

This seems to fit the bill?

https://www.ventureashore.com/excursion/region-eur...

Just need to ask about the cost etc.