Greece

Athens

Greece has been a bucket list location for many an avid traveler over the years. With its history in the city of Athens, the jaw dropping sunsets on the isles, and the numerous breathtaking beaches… it’s hard not to swoon over the place. Everyone recommends spots like Mykonos, Santorini, Crete, etc. and people who have visited are passionate about where to visit and stay. Folks seem to have a variety of opinions, but are aligned on one thing: you only need one day in Athens.

Perfect. Because we landed in The capital with about 36 hours to see “all the things”, taste the food and take in the culture of Greece’s largest city (pop. of 5 million).

We touched down at 10:30am local time and hustled to the hotel for a quick turnaround to make the most of our day. The Grand Hyatt Athens was refurbished about three years ago and is a total oasis near the City Center. The team was fantastic and made us feel right at home as we checked-in. For those reward travelers, we used our “free night” stay with Hyatt and they went above and beyond to upgrade us as loyal Explorist members. We’d highly recommend it to any traveling to Athens, especially if you don’t mind being a bit removed (20 min walk) from the City Center.

Speaking of which, the City Center was our first stop… for coffee. We snagged some freshly made espresso and Americanos and started looking for a yummy gyro shop. There are so many worthy locations in that area, so we just popped into one off the beaten path that was filled with locals. The pita bread, meat and hummus was the fuel we needed for our walk up to the Acropolis.

Local street art in Pláka
Local street art in Pláka

Despite the heat, it was a stunning hike up the worn stone steps of Greece’s Pláka neighborhood. We climbed and climbed until we reached the ticket office and snagged a 5-day/combo pass to visit some of Athens’ top historic locations. From there, we continued to the Acropolis Museum which houses ancient artifacts from the nearby Parthenon. Highly recommend the experience. Not only are the artifacts and ancient sculpture stunning, but the beautiful itself is stunning. Floor to ceiling glass windows adorn the entire complex and it makes for incredible views of the bustling metropolis outside.

We chose Dionysus Zonars for dinner. The massive outdoor patio is filled with trees and flowers and boasts a beautiful view of the Acropolis in the distance. It’s a two story restaurant with enough space for all of Athens (ok.. no really, but it’s huge and is a well oiled

Dinner with a view

machine). And the wait staff was incredible – helpful, opinionated (in a good way) and we’ll versed when it comes to their wine list. We opted for grilled octopus, Greek salad (this was so insanely good – the fresh tomato/cucumber/feta and olive ratio was perfection!), fresh fish and black orzo pasta. We also went with a local white wine that our waiter recommended, Dialogos. We capped off the meal with some limoncello and left the restaurant fatter, much happier and completely satisfied! Our last stop was at the #33 bar in the world, Baba Au Rum, for a night cap.

Fresh feast at Dionysus

Day two started bright and early. We arrived at the Acropolis around 8:15 am and walked straight into the historic grounds. Being first in line was smart… We were glad we listened to recommendations of other travelers because we were able to take pictures, admire the history and experience Ancient Greece with freedom and flexibility. In other words, we weren’t fighting crowds of tourists and Insta-influencers (lol… #hypocritical). Highlights included: Parthenon, Temple of Athena Nike, Theater of Dionysos and the Odeon of Herodes Atticus.

We continued our walking tour with stops at the Agora, Temple of Hephaestus, Hadrian’s Library, and the Temple of Olympian of Zeus. In total, we logged around 25,000 steps exploring the grounds of Greek legends from thousands of years ago.

Ancient history…

Athens is considered the birthplace of European civilization, mythology, democracy and so much more – and in our opinion – it is a must visit for history buffs, foodies, street art aficionados and culture-seekers alike.

Plus…Greek people are so friendly! That important point stood out to us immediately. Every single person we encountered during our stay was eager to see us, happy to help, and well versed in English (which was appreciated because our Greek is rough).

To those who say you only need one day in Athens, Two for Takeoff respectfully disagrees. There is plenty to see, taste, smell and experience and a few days would have been fabulous.

Sunshine at the Parthenon

Next up: Albania! First to the capital city of Tirana and then to the south in Dhërmi.

Published by

Maggie

326 thoughts on “Athens”

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