athens vs. peloponnese?

I am not a Greece travel expert, but after reading the forum, the best advice givers will want to know your interests, likes/dislikes, etc.

Well, 3-4 days is hardly enough to be fair to yourselves (as i’m Sure you will hear repeatedly). You will probably fly in and out of Athens, so you might as well see some of it, perhaps give it all your time if you’re big on cities, museums, and archaeological sites. For my preferences, be sure to see the Agora and the Nat. Archaeological museum. But Athens is not Greece. If you get to the Peloponese, Nafplio is a good base. Renting a car out of Athens will help,you make good use of your time. Naf is good for day trips to Epidavros, Mycenae, and the villages where Greece comes alive. Really boils down to personal preferences. I could spend days in most small Greek villages that no one has heard of. In any case, I hope it whets your interest and you plan to come back for at least a couple of weeks.

kate, when u ask about a super-brief trip, it is VERY hard to give advice beyond "enjoy Athens" when you omit key facts such as • What date/time of day do you arrive, and ditto re departure date/time • Are u coming/leaving via air or coming off a cruise or other ship? • are u from N. America or Europe or where? (People living closer to Greece may plan frequent re-visits). • what do you mean by "best places"??? R U beach fangirls, or ruins-lovers? See what we mean?

From the short amount of time you have and the very short amount of info you provided my best advice is to base yourself in Athens and do one day trip elsewhere. If you want an island experience then Aegina would be ideal. You can leave in the morning, spend several hours wandering around and return late afternoon/early evening and still have a night out in Athens.

Athens deserves at least 3 days to really get a feel for the city and all the wonderful sites to explore.

LC, thanks for your response thou. well, to make it specific we are fond of place where they can preserve history, art and nature.. but we prefer museums and architectures rather than beautiful sea..

hi Janet, thank for your response. well, actually we're from jeddah saudi arabia. i admit that it's really hard to plan an itenerary from that very short period of time. our trip plan dates will be on august 19-22 wherein 19 afernoon or evening is the day of arrival and 22 morning or afternoon the day of departure. we didn't book a ticket yet and a hotel because those vacation dates may have changes (as per hajj vacation) and, we really like ancient times, as we all know that greece really preserve their history. we are fond also of arts and architecture and foods.

tommyk5, thanks for your reponse. that's what also in my mind to just stay in athens. because i think it's very tiring and maybe impossible to hop in other island or city within that short travel period, right? well, what are tourist spots in athens u can recommend? and aegina is that just near in athens? how can we get there? thank you..

With only two real days, I think it's Athens for sure. In addition to the more obvious sights, I can recommend the Cycladic Art Museum.

Arcooke, thank for your sharing your insights and experience. well, we are really fond of history, architecture, arts, nature. but we won't like staying in beaches..
*we have 3-4 days vacation including days of arrival and departure. so i guess, it's just 2 days where we can really have wanderlust in athens. or is it possible to see Peloponnese?
*how about Agora and the Nat, those are just within Athens?
*Epidavros and Mycenae those are places/cities in Peloponnese?
*and what do u mean by Athens is not Greece?
thank you for your upcoming response.. 😊
i'm really new in travelling that's why i want to gather ideas and insights about the places i am going to. 😊

acraven, thanks for your response. 😊 yeah, as i can see it's just really 2 days of wanderlust. better to stick around Athens right? and do u know any other tourist spots in Athens? we also love foods,, any restaurants to recommend? and i'll make it sure to add Cycladic Art Museum on our list.. thank you. 😊

Is this the only time you can come? August is hot and two days is not very much time for the trouble of traveling to Athens. I looked up how long it takes to fly to Athens and according to the internet, it is 3 hours and 35 minutes. It is not all day certainly but wonder if there is a time when you have a few more days at least.

Beth

We can make all kinds of recommendations but at some point you'll need to start doing research. Lots of web sites and guide books, especially for Athens:

Check out this website for Athens:
http://www.athensguide.com/

Just stay in Athens and enjoy!--
Acropolis
Acropolis Museum
National Arch Museum
many other ancient sites walking around
Plaka for kitsch/shopping
another museum or two based on your particular interests and that should be enough to cover your time there

Your best bet is to buy the multi site pass. It gives you access to the most important sites. Plan you visit around these sites. We went to the Acropolis in the early morning and bought that pass. We got into the Acropolis at opening and had it to ourselves and a couple hundred other people. Tour buses arrive an hour later and suddenly there were thousands of people. Time to leave. Walk down from the Acropolis to the Monestraki and Plaka area. There are several ancient sites there in including the Roman Agora the Ancient Agora, Hadrian Library, temple of Zeus and Kerameikos Cemetry. Except for Kerameikos all are in close proximity of each other.

Morning and in the evening would be the best time to visit as it is cooler. When it gets hot that is a good time to visit the museums. Acropolis museum is close to the acropolis and takes a good hour or so. The National Archeological museum is about a half hour walk from the center and will take you at least 4 hours to visit.

You might want to wander to the Central market as well. You certainly are going to have a hard time doing all of this in the time you have.
Athens http://www.flickr.com/photos/stanbr54/sets/72157632121475515/

Hi!!!

The top places you should visit if you have only 2 days in Athens are:
The Acropolis, The National Archaeological Museum, Plaka, Monastiraki Flea Market, The Temple of Poseidon at Sounion!

If you manage to see all of the above, then you can start some day-trips from Athens. An option would be to get to the Saronic Islands. Aegina is the closest island to Athens as you can go there in only 45 minutes by ferry. In the same way, you can also reach Poros and Hydra in about 1,5 hour. It is impressive that you can find heaven on earth so close to Athens...

Another nice place is the Natural Park of Parnitha. It is a protected area in the north-western side of Athens with great variety of flora and fauna. It is the highest mountain of Attica that includes historical monuments (the Summer Palace of the former royal family of Greece), interesting hiking paths and shelters, where the mountaineers can relax and eat lunch. You might meet numerous deer around the mountain. Parnitha is located 20 km from Athens Center, and you can go there by bus. From the bus terminal, you can take then the cable car, which leads to a casino as well to a nice area to walk and start hiking.

If you have the time to get to the Peloponnese, then you should go to Nafplion. Nafplion is the most beautiful town in Argolis, in eastern Peloponnese. It is ideal for a day trip since it will take you only 1,5 hour to get there by public road transport. The medieval atmosphere, the nostalgic aura of the Old Town with the narrow paved streets, the cobblestone promenade, the fish taverns by the sea and the cosmopolitanism of this small city make Nafplion one of the most popular towns in southern Greece. Palamidi Fortress is a gem- day or night (!!!) . You can also find some beautiful beaches nearby. If you get near Nafplion it would be nice to check out the archaeological site Mycenae and the Ancient Theater of Epidavros.