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Acropolis and Parthenon with limited walking.

Posted by on

Hello everyone.

In early December our cruise will disembark near Athens. We have 4-5 hours that we can spend in Athens before heading to the airport. We are a group of 4 and two of us probably do not have enough mobility to walk all the way up to the Parthenon. I have read so many things about the handicapped elevator that I don't know what to expect.

My question is: are there places we can go to that will give us nice views and perhaps get us close to the Acropolis? Some walking on even surfaces is fine.

Thanks in advance.

Posted by
11879 posts

There are several restaurant, cafes etc that surround the Acropolis, that offer nice views, especially if the weather cooperates and you can sit outdoors.

Posted by
3397 posts

since you are so limited in both time & mobility, you probably should book a car service that will pick you up right AT the cruise ship & take you into Central Athens, to a cafe with a good Acropolis /Parthenon View, and just wait for you to sit outdoors & have a snack or lunch or whatever, then drive you around to a couple of Views (such as the 1896 Olympic stadium, and thru Syntagma Square by the Parliament (former Kings palace), etc... best to do a little homework on this... and then take you to the airport.

It wont be cheap, but you are very limited, and you also will have luggage -- do you think you can fit all your (BIG) cruise luggage for 4 into a 4 door sedan? Or would it be wise to rent a larger vehicle? Two reliable outfits to check on internet are WELCOME PICKUPS And CITY CAB -- both are car services, although they may use licensed taxi driver as part of their fleets. You canget the cost estimate beforehand and pay via credit card, thus no surprises... and all drivers of these outfits are fluent in English.

Once you've decided on a strategy, we can come to you with specific cafe suggestions -- its best to choose ones that hav e a good view both from outside tables & inside by the windows -- a sunny De cember day could be pleasant outdoors, even 60 deg F... or it can be cold and rainy. Luck of the draw.

Posted by
2326 posts

You did not specify what your 4-5 hours correspond to.

The cruise ship arrival time is not necessarily the time at which you can disembark and take a taxi to go to Athens.

Also be careful, if you pre-book a taxi to indicate the correct terminal. There are two for cruise ships, A and B

It takes about 40 minutes by taxi to reach the center of Athens

And it takes about 1 hour to reach the airport from Athens center.

If you have at least 2 hours outside of these logistical times you could find one of the many rooftop bars or restaurants with a view of the city and the Acropolis, some are covered (and heated if necessary!)

Posted by
4 posts

Thanks for all of the feedback.
Accounting for all of the transit time, we should have a solid 4 hours of available time in Athens. We are also thinking of hiring a car for the entire time as an easy way to manage the luggage and control our schedule. Thanks for those recommendations.

Could anyone recommend a neighborhood or street to find cafe's with good views of the Acropolis?

Thanks again.

Posted by
2326 posts

There are Luggage Storage all over Athens and Piraeus. It costs less than €10 per bag for half a day

Renting a car in Athens is a VERY VERY bad idea!

You will not be able to manage the routes, the heavy traffic of cars, motorcycles, buses. Finding a parking close to the Acropolis will be your challenge of the year.

Returning the rental car in good condition after one or two hours of driving in Athens will be the second challenge

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