I will be in Athens for one day and am looking for suggestions on the best things to do given my short stay. I will be arriving via a cruise ship early morning and departing in the evening on the same day. Any ideas on what I should see? Is it possible to do Temple of Poseidon, Temple of Olympian Zeus, Acropolis and old Olympic Stadium in a day?
Hiring a private car or doing an excursion is one option, but I am looking to save money and just explore on my own.
Faisal
It's not possible to do the Temple of Poseidon, which is on Cape Sounio, at least an hour from Athens even by car.
The others are possible. From Piraeus get the metro to Monastiraki. The metro runs very frequently and the journey takes 20 minutes. All of the sites you mention, plus the Ancient Agora and the two theatres on the side of the Acropolis, are all within walking distance.
This map gives an idea of how they fit together.
http://www.chem.uoa.gr/location/athensMap/athensmap.htm
Alan
Alan - that is most helpful. Thank you so much!!!
I would do the Parthenon, the new archeological museum (right below the Parthenon), Temple of Olympian Zeus, changing of the guard at Syntagma Sq if you time it right on the hour, and some wandering through the Plaka area. This would all be fairly centrally located. The Olympic Stadium is a little farther away.
I second Janis's suggestion, but we also hit the olympic stadium on our swing through - syntagma, olympic stadium, acropolis, new acropolis museum, etc...
Enjoy your trip!
Thank you everyone! I really appreciate it.
No visit to Athens is complete without going to the top of the Likabetta hill. DON'T climb UP -- use the lift!!
If the smog is not TOO bad, from the top you can see the whole city and out as far as Piraeus.
Roger
Whatever you visit, be sure you have lots of cash. My husband and I had a problem with our ATM card when we first arrived in Athens and couldn't get any cash until the bank straightened it out. It took two days and we didn't get to visit any of the sights we went to see because they all demand cash only. That was very frustrating.
Wow - ok good to know about the cash situation.
