Day Trip out of Athens

If you are willing to take a short ferry ride then the nearby Greek Island of Aegina may be a good option.

It has everything one would want in a Greek Island and it's a short and inexpensive round trip cost.

Leave in the morning, wander around the main town or elsewhere, spend a few hours then leave late afternoon and you'll still have time for a night out in Athens.

Thanks Tommy.

Consider taking the bus to Nafplio. Its a lovely seaside town that feels as if it were an island since it is right on the sea shore. It has a lovely olds town central core plus two Venetian era fortresses to explore. Its a 2 hour commute with buses departing the central bus station hourly for most of the day.
Here is Nafplio
Nafplio https://www.flickr.com/photos/stanbr54/albums/72157632094108982

Thanks stanbr

you have some good suggestions, another is Delphi as well as the Temple of Sounion south of the city.

Also, Cornith and the Corinth Canal.

Thanks geovagriffith

People have suggested a number of good options but given you have to pick only one, and you are aiming for a true Greek experience, I’d opt for Aegina. Nafplio would be a good second choice. It’s a beautiful town with a local feel but Aegina has the boat ride and a surprisingly island feel considering how close it is to Athens. The others are great sites if you want a site.

Any would be fine though.

Alan

Here's a very informative photo- sequence of a June day-visit to Aegina -- http://www.flickr.com/photos/36264706@N03/sets/72157621604646139/detail/ as it shows, there's plenty to see... interesting port town, a stunning temple on a high hill, beaches, etc. At the Port you can either rent a car for the day, do a combo of bus plus taxi. If it's good weather, there is now rental of E-bikes... with pedals but motor-assist.. the roads are good, and if you're a cyclist, this is an option.

You don't say WHEN this visit is... In summer be aware that this is a favorite quick getaway for Athenians, so weekends could be crowded - best days to visit are M-F. if it's after mid-May, you can even have a quick dip at a beach, as I did. Aegina is mainly greek residents, many of whom commute daily to work in Athens ... so the back-streets of the port town are shops for locals... fun to browse groceries, houseware stores, to see Greek products. At sundowner time, have an adult beverage at a portside cafe -- it's llikely that around you, you'll only hear greek spoken.

One important thing -- as photos show, a big part of the enjoyment is the 1-hr ferry trip ... with "conventional" ferry you can sit out on deck, enjoy seascape - huge freighters, cruise ships, 3-mast schooner, sleek motorboats etc. But if you instead book a hydrofoil u r stuck inside, salt-rimed windows, no view. To be sure of open-deck ferry, check any ticket agency near your hotel, & buy a ticket for the right ferry -- currently there's a conventional ferry at 8:30 am, then not untiil noonish -- they can be more frequent in warm months. Also check return timetable; you get an open-deck one-way u could do hydrofoil the other way if it suits your schedule better.

Its VERY Easy to get to Pireaus ... the Green Line Metro from Monastiraki station takes 30 mins, (v efficient, but do be aware of pickpockets if its crowded) or have your hotel get a taxi (cost = €22-25? from Central athens) to that Port. Good to arrive Pireaus at least 30 mins before departure, to have time to find gate and to board -- of course there's a cafe on board for coffee, pastry. If you choose Aegina for your "day away" I hope you'll enjoy it as much as I have!

Thanks Alan and Janet