Since we have a 6am flight to return home after a 14 day cruise, my wife and I will be staying the night before at the Sofitel Hotel at the Athens airport in April. The cruise includes a visit to Athens before the cruise so going back to Athens for the day would not be necessary although enjoyable. Are there any destinations "nearby" the airport that would take less than the 45 minute taxi ride to Athens that would be worth a visit? By the time we disembark and shuttle to the Sofitel we probably will only have an afternoon and early evening available to do anything. 6am comes mighty early! I realize there may not be very good suggestions and just staying at the Sofitel is a fine backup plan. Thanks for any ideas...
None at all.
You take a bus or taxi to Rafina for a meal on the Aegean Sea.
Take a taxi and spend the afternoon and evening in Artemis. It is a small town by the sea, about 15 minutes from the airport. It won't be Oia in Santorini but there is a beach, a marina and grill or seafood restaurants for dinner and it will be better than an evening and a meal at the Sofitel.
There is a taxi rank about 300 meters south of the port. Or you ask the restaurant/bar to call a taxi to return to the Sofitel.
https://maps.app.goo.gl/7vHt6MauiRvamZC57
There is also Rafina a little further north, but you had already asked here, two years ago, for a hotel to stay near the airport, you had been recommended the Avra Hotel in Rafina. Apparently you don't like Rafina and prefer the Sofitel at the airport
From where you now want to escape... :-))
Thanks for the nearby suggestions. Will research. Good catch on that Rafina suggestion - it was probably more than two years ago because that trip actually got cancelled due to the pandemic. This trip is a redo - finally - and the flight at 6am is actuall a few hours earlier than when we had planned on staying in Rafina.