I'll be in Athens for just a day next month. I've never been there before and I wonder if the Hop On Hop Off Bus would be a good way to see the major sites. Does anyone have any experience with it in Athens? Thanks very much.
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Philadelphia, PA, USA
3401 posts
The Hop-on Hop Off bus (18€) will get you around to some sites you might not go to otherwise, like the Old Olympic Stadium. However, a LOT of the major sites are not really accessible by bus... pedestrian-only walkways... so it can only get you "near". AND, because of the street system in Athens, there's a lot of backtracking and you spend a LOT of time stuck in traffic and staring at boring storefronts. I took a similar ride on an Ho-Ho Athens Public Transit sightseeing bus with same itinerary, just to research it, and my feeling; no. Not like Ho-HO in London or paris, because of the location of landmarks/sites. I recommend instead that you look at Athenswalkingtours.com (€29) [INVALID] their main tour Covers the Syntagma Square area, walking over to Acropolis & up on it to Parthenon... 9:30-1pm I think... then walk down, go through the Agora below the Acropolis, then go to Acropolis Museum, have lunch on its terrace and then go thru the museum. Afterwards, then walk over to see Temple of Zeus, and stroll Plaka neighborhood. Here's a simplified map of Central Athens http://www.cretetravel.com/Athens/Athens_mini_guide/Athens_map.htm which is easy to use (print in color on Legal). That's about all you have time to see, before going back to your cruise ship [INVALID] I'm guessing that's where you will be coming from, since we get these 1-day inquiries mainly from cruisers. Enjoy your day... and come back to Greece someday when you have more time!