You could spend a day visiting some of them with your own car or a Nafplion-based guide. We are willing to pay a bit more but I'm not finding that this area extremely friendly to Americans, and it dosen't seem worth it to pick up again for an average hotel!!!! If you only have 1 day in Athens, I suggest you do the full day tour including the Acropolis and Temple of Poseidon. Dennis T. 4 2. With only two days, you won't have much time to check out "the rest of Greece". Athens in general or a particular part of the city? But if time is limited then do dedicate 2 days to visiting Athens, you wonât be disappointed! "Any suggestions on places to stay other than the current?????" ... Rick Steves' Europe Recommended for you. With Rick Steves in Athens. Ancient Agora Social and commercial center of ancient Athens, with a well-preserved temple and an intimate museum. Travel Tranquilo 2,986 views. What small side trips have any of you done to get us to experience the countryside? We spent the first day on all the Acropolis area and a bus tour around the city. READ THE FULL GUIDE. Good luck! Log In. In this vlog I arrive in Athens and spend 2 days exploring the city before hopping on board a ferry to sail overnight to Crete! Athens Greece's capital, featuring the ancient world's most magnificent sight â the Parthenon atop the Acropolis hill â plus excellent museums, an atmospheric old town, the lively Central Market, and funky neighborhoods bursting with avant-garde nightlife. My husband and I are headed to Greece for 2. Two hundred years ago, Athens was just a humble town of about 8,000 huddled at the base of the Acropolis. "I'm not finding that this area extremely friendly to Americans" Which area are you referring to? Wonderful small city with a great old town. The city is constantly growing, moving, spreading and creating and it remains one of my absolute favourites to visit and explore. 2 Days in Athens - Greece | main ancient monuments travel guide HD - Duration: 7:14. Rick Stevesâ Athens City Walking Tour (starts on page 13 in his pocket guide and includes pit stops for visits and photo ops at many popular and several lesser known attractions, including Syntagma Square, Parliament, Church of Agios Eleftherios, and the pedestrian mall on Ermou street) 2. And Janet from Philadelphia will probably be along soon to tell you much more! I would suggest staying in or close to Athens the night before your flight home to make sure you don't miss it. Aside from the port area, you might not find much of interest there? 5 weeks in May 2020. As a tip - both the Acropolis museum and the NAM have free wifi - and it is exceptionally fast - so we both downloaded both the app and the guides while standing in the ticket queue. We have two nights left once we leave Santorini. Probably the best meal we had during our four days in Athens. Hi everyone! This topic has been automatically closed due to a period of inactivity. Once famous for its sprawl, noise, graffiti, and pollution, Athens has been cleaning up its act. There's lots to see in Athens⦠We fly out in 3 days so time is limited! ;-). Acropolis The most important ancient sight in the Western world, where Athenians built their architectural masterpiece, the Parthenon. Hydra is certainly possible as a day trip, although at this time of year it will probably be somewhat "quiet". Thorough city-guidebook-level coverage, including two self-guided city walks and four tours (Acropolis, Ancient Agora, Acropolis Museum, and National Archaeological Museum), plus background on Athens' shopping and nightlife We were sitting on top of Mars Hill enjoying the sunshine, watching people and reading our Rick Steves' Greece guidebooks. Maybe one or two days in the winter when the temp drops to -30 F, and maybe a total of 30 days during the winter when the high temp is below zero F. Cold is the record lows for Minn. and N. Dak. As well as visiting the Acropolis area, the Archeological Museum is well worth a visit! 1 Thank smrgeog . With only two days, you won't have much time to check out "the rest of Greece". We are thinking about getting out of our hotel convient to (Acropolis area)and checking out the rest of Greece. Day 14: Return to Athens, drop off rental car (sleep in Athens) Day 15: Fly home, or continue to Mykonos and/or Santorini by plane or boat. Rick Steves was right! The metro system is clean, fairly efficient, and affordable at 1.4 Euros for a 90-minute ticket. Day 1: Arrive Athens (sleep in Athens) Day 2: Athens (sleep in Athens) Day 3: Athens (sleep in Athens) Day 4: Morning in Athens, afternoon bus to Delphi (sleep in Delphi) It's also relatively close to Athens. Temple of Zeus 3. Just right. We did and loved both! We are in Athens on the front end for two days and plan to hire private tour guide for Athens to make our time efficient. Since we'll have Saturday and Sunday in Athens, we're looking for the best location to stay (trying to keep overall costs down a bit if possible, but also don't want a fleabag place either), and looking for some ideas on where to spend our time. We decided to fly to Greece unexpedtedly for 4 days. It was Kostas from the front desk at the Hotel Attalos. 24:56. That way, you get to mix things up, with both modern and ancient sites. We are in Greece right now and we enjoyed Rick Steves audio guides. We are in Athens on the front end for two days and plan to hire private tour guide for Athens to make our time efficient. Any thoughts/ideas are welcome! The reason why you're not finding "Rick Steves' Greece" is because that isn't the title. Donât worry, you can see a lot during that time. Athens is one of the worldâs most interesting cities, mixing ancient and modern elements with ease. âHello Matt. Acropolis Museum Glassy modern temple for ancient art. Our friends (two couples) stayed at the Athens Gate in June and were very happy with their choice, particularly mentioning the lovely views from the rooftop restaurant. It's a beautiful harbor city with lots of history and atmosphere, and close to ancient sites like Epidavros, Mycenae, and Tyrins. I suggest you start reading and learn about the city. Download the app and take his city walk of Athens or the Ancient Agora. Best Trip by Public Transportation. Syntagma Square. 2 days in Athens is enough time to see the main highlights and attractions of Athens. Further to the post above, we were in Athens last week, and decent walking audio tours seemed very rare. Assuming that the guide takes you to all the places you want to go in Athens, then I'd suggest at least one of those nights in Nafplion, which you can reach by bus or rental car. The below is a mini travel-guide for the island as a companion to this Athens 2 day itinerary. (We stayed at the cheaper Athens Cypria near Syntagma Square to be closer to the museums we were focusing on for our second Athens visit.). To get a well-rounded feeling for what Athens is like, your second day here will give you a chance to explore beyond the ancient center of Athens. In Athens, it seems all roads pass through Syntagma Square. It is true that he prefers other places like Turkey over Greece, though. Shady trees make it a breezy and restful spot. A day trip to Delphi would be nice. Yet in this case, where I had but two days to explore Athens, his book supplied the perfect roadmap for the highlights of the place. Log in to access services associated with Rick Steves Tours or Travel Forum. Do you only have 2 days to spend in Athens, Greece? Good restaurant i A day trip to Corinth is not a bad trip. Not sure if we should head to see some of the country side outside of Athens? You don't need a private guide in Athens to hit the main sites. We went back the following night and were greeted by friendly staff and speedy service. And free! Athens is, of course, impossible to take in within a few days, weeks or even months. Ask smrgeog about Gods' Restaurant. Most advice about Athens, Greece, says that you can see all there is to see in this enormously historic city in one day or two days at the very most. There's lots to see in Athens, aside from Bus tours. Stay in Athens, walk and walk, and get a thorough guide book like Lonely Planet and see items not in your guided tour. ), I've met and like Rick Steves, and have enjoyed a number of his other books. The key places to visit are the Acropolis (including the Parthenon), New Acropolis Museum, Archaelogical Museum, Constitution Square and the changing of the guard and some of the other ancient sites like the Agora and later Roman ruins. Feel free to swap day one and day two if necessary. Roman Agora 4. Any suggestions on places to stay other than the current????? I find him to be a bit reductionist & predictable, however. In Rick Steves Athens & the Peloponnese you'll find in-depth Rick-tested information on:. The other day I was at the apartment in Kypseli answerng e-mail when the phone rang. You will spend 5 nights in Santorini but think Athens is done in 2 days? Matt Barrett's website is filled with good information about what to see in Greece and how to get there. IMO 2 days in Athens is hardly enough. We downloaded the RS App and audioguides of the ancient Agora, the Acropolis and the National Archaeological Museum. We need suggestions for beautiful places to visit??? Hi everyone! You will also visit the Acropolis Museum, do a little shopping, and enjoy the view from one or two rooftop restaurants and bars. Nafplio for sure. You will need headsets. Buy a guidebook. The "Athens & the Peloponnese" map on the foldout map included in Rick Steves Greece and in Rick Steves Pocket Athens has the incorrect scale; it should read "40 Kilometers / 25 Miles." This review is the subjective opinion of a TripAdvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC. Bethany, Could you provide some additional information on your travel plans? 2 days in Athens itinerary. Another good day trip (or you could spend the night there) is the nearby island of Aegina. Apr 6, 2015 - Greece Itinerary: Where to Go in Greece by Rick Steves | ricksteves.com In Two Days in Athens 1. Made it to Greece!! The second day we were in Athens was Orthodox Easter and Pat and I spent the day walking around the city following more of Rick Steves' Athens City Walk. Hydra is certainly possible as a day trip, although at this time of year it will probably be somewhat "quiet". We'll be in Athens for two days at the end of a cruise in early November. So this is how you spend two days in Athens, the perfect mixture of visiting historical monuments, museums, incredible neighborhoods, local markets and quirky murals â all in 2 days. For a short visit, another location you could consider is Nafplio (which was the first capital of Greece), perhaps for an overnight trip. both of which are -60 F. FYI: The record high for Minn. is 114 F set in Moorhead in 1936. Today one out of every three Greeks packs into this city of about four million. ©2020 Rick Steves' Europe, Inc. | Terms of Service | Privacy Policy. The first day focuses on the main sites located around the Acropolis, ancient Greek and Roman sites that are over 2000 years old. Following Rick Steves' Athens City Walk, we checked out a few of the churches in the city center and then we were getting a bit hungry so stopped touring and walked over to Souvlaki Row in the Monastiraki Neighborhood - what an excellent Welcome to Athens experience!! It indeed is in an excellent location. A century and a half ago, Athens was a humble, forgotten city of about 8,000 people. Posted on April 30, 2015 April 30, 2015 by Rick Steves Athens Yesterday and Today Itâs great traveling in Greece during the shoulder season â the days ⦠I'm having a bit of trouble with some of the questions. Throughout the centuries, the city has been looted, burned and conquered, yet still it stands. My husband and I are headed to Greece for 2. While most of the locations outlined in this 2 day Athens itinerary can be reached from each other by foot, youâll likely need to use public transportation at least a few times while in Athens. While it used to turn my hanky black in a day, the air now seems much cleaner. It may not have all the details about travel through the Greek Islands so to make sure you donât miss anything, read the comprehensive travel guide. Aside from the port area, you might not find much of interest there? New driving laws, along with a marvelous subway system, have made the city less congested. 1. Exploring Athens in 2 days is surely not enough, but with good planning, you can see quite a lot. Nearby there is Epidavros - an ancient amphetheater - and Mycenae - an ancient Greek site of the fabled Agamemnon. Day 1 â Explore Athens Also, enjoyed the Temple of Poseidon at Sounion; three island cruise on a ferry (Aegna, Poros and forgot the last island). We are in a 4 star 80 Euro/night hotel that is ok by our standards. 2 Days in Athens Itinerary Day 1 The Heart of Athens. ©2020 Rick Steves' Europe, Inc. | Terms of Service | Privacy Policy. The rest of our trip will be sailing on private charter for 7 nights, Athens to Paros, then five nights in Santorini after the sail trip. It's difficult to make suggestions without knowing what "the current" is? Matt Barrett's website has a lot of information about this island and how to get to it. Today, people pour out of the city's busiest subway station into this café-filled square. This topic has been automatically closed due to a period of inactivity. Arriving Sat early AM and flying out EARLY on Monday (6 AM). Day 2 in Athens. Do you all recommend a boat tour/day trip to Hydra? They recommend visiting the Acropolis, walking through the Plaka, maybe visiting a museum, and then moving on to whatever is next. I don't think Rick Steves can be considered "anti-Greek" since he just published a new guidebook on Greece. Probably best done on a tour. Despite being somewhat quirky, overall they were good, and informative. Inexpensive, easy, and laid back. National Archaeological Museum Begin your second day with a visit to the worldâs finest collection of Greek antiquities. It is called "Rick Steves' Athens and the Peloponnese." 5 weeks in May 2020. I've been told its close??? Rick Steves' Europe Travel Guide | The thriving capital of Greece sprawls out from the foot of its magnificent Acropolis. Athens. There is someone from your site staying at the hotel who asked me for your phone numberâ he said. Athens is a huge city with lots to see beyond the main sights...every corner you turn, IMO. Another option is to go to Delphi - which can be a day trip (there are lots of tour companies that will take you there) or drive up and stay the night. Is well worth a visit to the worldâs most interesting cities, mixing ancient and elements! Speedy Service is a huge city with lots to see beyond the main highlights and attractions of Athens or ancient... Athens for two days, weeks or even months guidebook on Greece there ) the... 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