We will be visiting Athens on our cruise in April. We do not arrive until Wednesday April 20th at 11:00 am and our ship departs at 7:00 pm on the same day. We will be taking a transfer from our ship that will drop us off at Syntagma Square where we will have five ours to explore on our own. Where is the closest place to purchase our combo tickets from this location? Is there any possibility that all of the tickets could be sold out for that day by the time we get there since we apparently can't purchase these tickets before leaving home? One last question; how hot will it be at the end of April? Thank you very much for your help.
Posted by
Formerly Athens
72 posts
I assume you are looking to buy the tickets that allow you entrance to the Acropolis, Agora, Kerameikos, Temple of Olympian Zeus, etc. If so, they are available at any of the entrances to the acropolis which is a short walk from Syntagma Square. If I were you I would start the day at the Acropolis/Agora and visit the other sites as your time allows. I don't believe that ticket sales per day are limited so you don't need to worry about tickets selling out. Also, I would guess the temps to be in the upper 60's or lower 70's during your visit. Have a great day in Athens!
Posted by
Brighton, UK
1421 posts
Russell The nearest place is the ticket office for the Theatre of Dionysis opposite the new Acropolis Museum. From the top of Syntagma walk down Vasilisis Amaliasis, the big road running alongside the national gardens, and turn right into Dionisiou Areopagitou which is just after Hadrian's Arch. Carry on down here and the entrance is on your right. This walk would take me between 5 and 10 minutes. You can then walk through the Theatre of Dionysis site and exit at the top entrance which is just under the Acropolis. natively you can look at the Theatre and then take the north path round the Acropolis ie the path that runs to your right as you view the Acropolis from the Theatre. This has only recently been opened up and there are a number of interesting little nooks along it. Alan who is off to Athens for two weeks on Saturday and counting the minutes!
Posted by
Denver, CO, USA
1611 posts
One thing to keep in mind - the closing times for all of the sites was 3 pm. This was in early January. It seemed like this was due to the austerity measures imposed due to the economic crisis. I had the impression this was a permanent change - but please do check closer to when you go.
Posted by
Fontainebleau, France
893 posts
In response to the closing times: When I was there in Feb, everything closed early. But AFAIK, this is because it was off-season. According to this site, the hours change in April: http://www.athensinfoguide.com/open.htm Russell - you can save yourself a lot of money by getting to Athens from the port yourself. I'm assuming you'll be docking in Piraeus? If so, you exit the port, cross the street and take a bus towards the Metro. It's 1,40€ for a metro ticket. Takes about 45 minutes total with bus and metro.