Athens, Greece: The Perfect 24 Hours

A lot of people told us we only need one day in Athens, but we loved Athens. We spent about 36 hours in Athens and could have easily spent more time there. I loved getting off the beaten path and exploring the neighborhood streets of Plaka. We discovered cool nooks, restaurants, stores and had a great time.

However, since 1 – 2 days does seem to the common amount of time that people spend in Athens, I figured I’d write up my recommendations for spending one day in Athens. I’ll share additional recommendations towards the bottom for those who have a bit more time.

If you’re interested in reading about the rest of our Europe trip, check out my Europe page on my blog. You can also read about how we paid for our trip to Europe completely on points here.

If you only have a short amount of time in Athens, I recommend staying central to the sites in Plaka or Monastiraki. We loved staying in Plaka. It was easy to get everywhere we needed and wanted. I recommend this to anyone with a short time in Athens, but especially if this is your first time. You’re going to want to be able to get to places like the Acropolis easily.

8:30 AM: The Acropolis

I recommend starting your day here because it can get pretty hot. It can also get extremely crowded. You’ll want to try to beat the crowds and the midday heat as there isn’t a lot of coverage. No matter what time of the day you go, you’ll want to make sure you have sunglasses (and maybe a hat.) You’ll also find vendors outside the entrance selling things like nuts, donuts and fruit. Grab a snack if you you think you’ll need the fuel to get through. NOTE: You’ll find these types of vendors all through the Plaka neighborhood in Athens.

If you want to save some time, you can buy your ticket in advance. The ticket line can get long, but we didn’t see a long line that early in the morning. We did however see huge crowds entering the Acropolis and at the ticket line on our way out (around 10:00 AM). Your ticket into the Acropolis will give you access to both the Acropolis and the Slopes (the hill and historical sites directly around it). You can buy combination tickets for other sites and/or the archeological museum. We bought tickets for both the Acropolis and the museum and we’re pretty happy with that option.

The Acropolis doesn’t have much to see but with the Slopes around it, so you could spend a decent amount of time here. I recommend using a self-guided tour like a podcast or a guided tour because there aren’t many signs or context around what you’re looking at. Throughout our trip, we relied on Rick Steves’ podcast tours to save money and do things on our time. Unfortunately, we could not get the podcast to work for our Acropolis tour so we winged it. We were probably in and out in about an hour.

9:30 AM: Grab Breakfast

The first thing we did after touring the Acropolis was grab breakfast. We made the mistake of not eating on our way to the Acropolis and Hart was quite hangry. This meant we picked one of the first places we could find. There are several restaurants surrounding the Acropolis so you have a lot of of options.

We ate breakfast at Makrigianni 3. It was pretty popular and had great food. It was a quick and easy restaurant for us to grab food at before we jetted off to the next thing on our list. If you’re not looking to sit down, you could also grab something from one of the many street vendors around the streets (like in the picture above).

10:30 AM: The Acropolis Museum or Visit Additional Sites

After a bite to eat, you can finish off the historical tours by stopping into the Acropolis museum or touring some of the additional archeological sites in Athens. We saw a lot of different ruins throughout the first leg of our trip in Italy and, to be honest, were a little “ruined” out. Because of this, we opted for the museum. Looking at the weather forecast, we also saw it was going to rain so we wanted to have something indoors to do.

Even if you don’t get your Acropolis tickets in advance (which I recommend), I really recommend getting your museum tickets in advance. The ticket line was INSANE and meanwhile, we cruised right in. We liked that the museum gave a lot of context to what we saw at The Acropolis. Another option could be to go through the museum first and then explore the Acropolis once you know more about it. Some people opted for guides throughout the museum, but we enjoyed just reading the plaques and watching some of the videos playing. The museum is awesome. We found that the Acropolis is actually full of many replicas while the originals are housed inside the museum.

If the museum isn’t your thing and you’d rather check out additional historical sites, I recommend checking out the Roman Agora or even the Panathenaic Stadium. If we had more time, we would have for sure checked out the stadium. You can find plenty of combination tickets for whatever you decide here.

12:30 PM: Lunch at Kostas

By this point, you’ll probably have worked up a pretty big appetite. My favorite thing to do for lunch throughout our time in Greece was grab souvlaki. It is DELICIOUS. The don’t-miss spot to get souvlaki in Athens is Kostas; however, note that they are popular and when they run out, they run out. So if you’re wanting to try this place, you’ll want to get there earlier rather than later – like before the lunch crowd. The restaurant will close at 3 PM or when they run out depending on what comes first.

Souvlaki is popular though so there are a lot of other places to grab some for lunch. A few other options are Meatropoleos 3 or Kosmikon if you’re looking to be closer to the Acropolis.

2:30 PM: Explore the Flea Market and Surrounding Neighborhoods in Athens

After lunch, continue exploring the bustling neighborhoods of Plaka or Monastiraki. We loved diving in and out of different alleyways. In doing so, we ended up stumbling into some cool finds like this awesome wonderland of a restaurant, Little Kook (above).

We really enjoyed walking through the different streets of Anafiotika, a small neighborhood within Plaka. The neighborhood was developed in 1922 when workers from Anafi came to live in Athens to work. They built their homes and the neighborhood to mirror their home island. You’ll find white buildings covered with fake (sometimes real) Bougainvillea (the famous pink flower you see on the Islands). I was so surprised at how many times we saw the fake flowers that looked realistic.

We also enjoyed walking through the flea market. You’ll find your basic tourist knick knack’s here, but you’ll also find some small boutique shops throughout as well. We ended up purchasing a painting of Santorini and a handmade magnet from two of the smaller shops. You’ll also find ample food and drink vendors around if you are looking for a snack.

4:30 PM: Drinks on a Rooftop for a View of Athens

Stop for drinks at one of the many rooftop bars in Athens. A lot of the rooftops are going to give you a good view of the Acropolis. You can see it throughout the city. We personally stopped at 360 Cocktail Bar, which happens to be a pretty well-known spot. They had a middle bar for people without reservations and not looking to eat. It was great if you just wanted to grab a drink. They had a good selection of both cocktail and mocktail options.

Right behind 360 Cocktail Bar is A for Athens. This was another option on my list. They had more sit-down options, but the view will be comparable. Neither of these places took reservations for less than 6 people.

PRO TIP: If you’re looking for a rooftop view of the Acropolis, but aren’t interested in a restaurant or bar, I recommend climbing the Aeropagus Hill and capturing the view from there. It’s pretty easy to find if you put it into your maps app. There are stairs to take you to the top of hill as well. Aeropagus Hill is the location of the ancient supreme court and hosted many trials.

7:00 PM Dinner

We LOVED our dinner in Athens. We ate at To Kafeneion, which is a small restaurant with tables placed in a small alleyway. They have seating inside, but outside is where the action is. We were able to people watch, listen to live music and really just embrace Athens. The restaurant is small plates style so we tried a few things. We LOVED the fried feta and the braised beef. I definitely recommend stopping here for dinner, but there are plenty of great restaurants to choose from.

9:30 PM Frozen Yogurt

Are you really on vacation if you don’t get dessert? We had dessert every night for our entire 18 day trip to Europe. Being in Athens was no different. A few locals recommended Le Greche for gelato – which was delicious. If you’re looking for frozen yogurt, Chillbox is a pretty popular spot!

10:00 PM Late Night Drinks in Athens

Depending if you’re wanting to wind down with a late night cap or rally with a few cocktails, I’ve got a list of local-approved bars to try – Brettos, Clumsies, and s.i.x dogs. Brettos is a popular spot for locals and tourists alike. It’s actually the oldest distillery in Athens, established in 1909. Our taxi driver recommended the second two to us, but we weren’t able to make it to them. I’ve heard a lot of good things about Clumsies as well though! You can try these during the day too if you prefer.

This is my 24 hour guide to Athens, but it is in no way a full guide to Athens. Athens is full of life, culture and wonderful attractions. If you have more than just a day, consider going out to the port, exploring a beach or even taking a day trip to a city like Delphi. Some of the other notable things we did was watch the changing of the guards near Syntagma Square, get multiple cups of tea and midday snacks from Amygdalo Cafe, and our favorite vacation tradition of getting country-specific items at McDonald’s.

What are some things you did or are looking to do in Athens?