I am thrilled to be sharing with you that I went on a solo trip to Athens! Solo traveling is one of my favorite things to exist in this life, and I recommend it to anyone and everyone. I usually do hours and hours of research to plan my perfect few days, and this trip was no different! Here is my Athens itinerary of what I did each of the 5 days I was there. I hope this helps you plan your trip to Athens, or inspires you to go yourself!
Arrival/Day One:
My Athens itinerary starts with a very long first day. I personally like to keep my travel and hostel expenses low, so I can do more activities when I am at my destination. This resulted in my red-eye flight getting in the Athens airport at 6am. After getting through passport control, I decided to take the train from the airport into the city center. I followed the train signs and quickly found myself at the station.
The Train
The train ticket was not too difficult to purchase, as you can change the kiosk language into English, and it cost 9 euros for the trip. This part was very simple, but from a quick glance at the signs, I could not figure out which track my train was on. So I did end up asking someone, as I knew it was close to departure time and I did not want to miss it or risk getting on the wrong train.
After about 40 minutes to an hour on the train, I departed at the Monastiraki station and headed to my hostel, YellowSquare Athens. This hostel was a whopping $30 a night for a 4 person dorm room and also included breakfast! I was quite impressed with this hostel – if you are interested in reading more about it, you can check it out here. The hostel lets you drop off your things in a locked closet until check in time at 3pm, so after eating some food I had left over for the plane, and charging up, I was out the door by 10am and out into Athens!
The Academy, Parliament, Changing of the Guards
My first stop of the day was heading over through Syntagma to the National Gardens! On the way I passed a few gorgeous buildings, which I realized was The Academy, the philosophy school that Plato founded. As I continued walking over, I passed the Hellenic Parliament and had another realization that I had just missed the changing of the guards, right in front of the tomb of the unmarked soldier. This was something that was on tons of Athens itinerary lists that I had seen, so I was a bit sad I had missed it!
National Gardens
Just past the Parliament building, I entered the National Gardens. The gardens were much bigger than I thought! With a pond, a small zoo, and a large playground, I enjoyed wandering these trails and discovering all the features inside. It was quite tranquil and a nice peaceful activity to do after a sleepless flight in.
After walking for a while, I sat down at the coffee shop in the middle of the park. I got a yummy freddo cappuccino and relaxed for a bit.
Monuments
With newfound energy from the coffee, I embarked to see some of the nearby monuments. On the way to the Temple of Zeus, I walked by the Zappeion building. It was beautiful, and I appreciated that you could look inside! The inner design and colors were even more interesting than the outside.
As I continued down, I came to the Temple of Zeus and Hadrian’s Arch. I looked at the temple from the outside. I read that previously there was a pass that allowed entry into all historical sites for one price, but that has since been discontinued. Personally, I didn’t feel interested enough in the Temple of Zeus to pay to enter, but it certainly was massive, even from a far, and would be interesting to learn more about.
After the Temple of Zeus, I walked over to the Panathenaic stadium, where the first modern Olympics was held. Again, I got a great view from outside and did not enter. If you are an avid runner, this could be a great place to enter and run a lap around the historic track.
Mount Lycabettus
For some reason, I was dead-set on climbing this mountain on my first day. I thought it would help me fall asleep with the time change, and wake up fully in Eastern European Time. Mount Lycabettus seemed to form a triangle with the locations I had been to in Athens thus far, Syntagma and my hostel, YellowSquare, and it took about 35 minutes to walk there from the stadium.
After the walk, it took about 45 minutes to ascend up the many flights of stairs. The path was paved and easy to follow up, but was quite the workout! The views going up were phenomenal. This mountain is twice the height of the Acropolis, so you can see all of the city from the top. At the summit, there is a quaint church and lookout spots to admire the view from. I did this mid afternoon and enjoyed, but I have heard the views are stunning at sunrise and sunset! It was already busy and crowded at 2pm, so I cannot imagine how it would be during these peak times. While this was a bit more of a workout than anticipated, it was a great experience and one that I would highly recommend putting on your Athens itinerary!
Greek Theater Show
Again, to get me to quickly adjust to the time zone, I decided to book a show for 9pm. This experience was one of a kind. This show featured a traditional men’s only group acting out some of the most popular ancient tragedies and comedies of Greek theater. What was show stopping was the location. From the seating, you can see the acropolis behind the stage and also see the Roman Agora from above. They provided a glass of wine and a blanket, and the show began!
The actors went through scenes from The Odyssey where Odysseus tricks the cyclops, Women in Power from The Republic, Medea, Antigone, and more. This show was phenomenal and easily worth the $32 ticket, which can be purchased at the door or online. I purchased mine through Get Your Guide, but many people bought theirs as they entered.
Day Two
Acropolis
Today I was up bright and early, which wasn’t too difficult with the jetlag, to get to the Acropolis for its opening time slot. I booked the 8am slot and initially aimed to get in line at 7:30 at the south slope entrance. The south entrance supposedly has a shorter line, but a slightly longer walk up to the Acropolis. I ended up being a bit slower than anticipated, so I went to the main entrance and got there at 7:45. There were about 50 people ahead of me and very quickly there were TONS of people behind me. The line moved quickly and suddenly I was power walking around everyone I could to get to the top.
The Acropolis is the top attraction to visit on any Athens itinerary for a reason! I, of course, knew the Acropolis would be amazing, but I was in complete and utter awe! I’m not sure how big I thought it would be, but it was much bigger than I imagined. What really got me was the way the sun hit the building. It was a beautiful gold color with the morning sun. The Erechtheum and the Caryatids also bathed in the golden light, with the waking city as their backdrop.
I knew there was a lot to see at the Acropolis, but the scale of how big everything was shocked me, and how many more ruins there were to stop and admire. I had a fantastic time at the Acropolis, and stayed for 1 and 45 minutes. At this time I headed back to my hostel to have breakfast before my next stop.
Acropolis Museum
I wasn’t sure which order would be best, to see the Acropolis or the Museum first. I went with this order and was happy with my decision. The museum starts with pottery found on the slopes, which gave me a whole new lens to remember my ascent from. Imagining centuries of stores and homes built on the land I ran by without a second thought to see the Acropolis.
Going through the history from creation to destruction of the Acropolis and Athens was very intriguing to learn about. Seeing the original Caraytid’s was super exciting for me, with the spot left open for their missing sister in London. The frieze on the top floor was a beautiful space with cool views up to the Acropolis. Overall, I enjoyed this museum immensely!
Day Three
I started today off slowly. After breakfast I did some long awaited shopping. Lots of shops were closed on Sunday and or Monday, so I went through tons of fun stores looking for souvenirs to purchase. Here are some of my stops
- Karavan Clothing – clothes
- ERE Athens – coffee shop w some shopping
- september – clothing
- Hermina Athens – jewelry
- Hyper Hypo – book store
- A Future Perfect + Friends – souvenirs & trinkets
Marble Sculpting Class
In the afternoon, I had one of my most anticipated experiences, taking a marble sculpting class from third generation sculptors! I found videos online that let me know this class existed, and influenced me to sign up. This marble sculpting class is an AirbBnb experience and is $58. It was so interesting learning about the process these sculptors go through to create gigantic pieces. After sketches of the design are approved, they create the piece out of clay. Once that’s approved, they create a plaster replica using the clay, that they then meticulously measure in order to sculpt the piece of marble.
Learning the process helped me appreciate marble sculptures even more, but what blew my mind was after then trying to sculpt marble myself! After experiencing first hand how difficult it is, I have looked at every sculpture with genuine awe. This class was phenomenal and something I would recommend everyone add to their Athens itinerary!
Day Four
Day Trip to Delphi
One of the things I was most excited for, was a day trip to Delphi. This was what I centered my Athens itinerary around as I was beyond excited to visit. Since I went in what was considered the “off season”, this trip was on sale for $33 per person! I have loved Greek Mythology since I was young, so I have always been interested in going. As a spiritual person, it has felt like a place I need to visit! The tour was all day, starting at 8am, getting back at 6:30/7ish. The day started with a bit of a drive, a bathroom break, more driving, arriving at Delphi, doing a tour of the ruins and the museum, then we have a break for lunch/bathrooms in a nearby ADORABLE town called Anachova, driving part way back, bathroom break, then arriving in Athens.
I thoroughly enjoyed this day. It was action packed and my guide, Marianna, was incredibly knowledgable. I had no clue that the priestesses of Delphi were like the sisterhood from Dune, learning secrets from others confessions to lead the future of the country. Delphi itself was well preserved for how old it is. If you like ruins, (and have a great guide) Delphi will be a fantastic trip for you too. There was so much to explore of the area and going to the museum after was super informative to see what it looked like in its prime!
Anachova suprised me! I did not get the included lunch, instead I wandered around and found even better shopping than I did in all of Athens! In the winter, it’s a ski town, so it is perfectly charming. The bus rides were broken up well with breaks, so the day flew by before I realized it. It was such an amazing day and I was sad for it to end!
Day Five
This morning I spent a bit more slowly. I had breakfast, had to buy a new charger, and went to the post office to send out my postcards! After I wandered some more, memorizing all the places I walked by everyday with a fresh eye, as I wouldn’t see them again tomorrow. I got lunch by the Roman Agora, then headed to my last experience of the trip.
Cape Sounion & The Temple of Poseidon
I chose to end off my Athens itinerary and this my trip while watching the sunset over the water, next to a well preserved acropolis. I felt like it would be the perfect closing scene to a lovely trip. We met at the Halandri Metro Station, which was about 40 minutes away for this half day experience. It was $33 per person, a unbeatable price!
To begin this activity, we drove to the best preserved ancient theater from antiquity. Since it’s so old and a bit out of the way, it doesn’t get many visitors, is free to enter, but also is not protected. This theater was special, as it looked out over the water, a view you don’t get from many theaters. I had a great time exploring this area, before heading over to the Temple of Poseidon.
Then came the end of my Athens itinerary and trip, the Temple of Poseidon. We had time to take photos of the temple from the hill next to it, giving us great views over the water. Then it was time to enter the ruins. Through this tour we got an audio guide to learn about the Temple of Poseidon, before finding a spot to watch the sunset from. The view was great and was a special finish to the trip.
Conclusion
While there are many fantastic Greek islands, the capital is certainly a place you should not miss! I hope that this information will help you create your dream Athens itinerary and have an amazing trip. Have fun, and safe travels!
