My 3 Days in Athens Itinerary for First-Time Visitors

A sensible 3-day itinerary for Athens, featuring the must-sees plus my favourite local neighbourhoods and offbeat activities.

Athens was never at the top of my to-visit list – it was always on my I will get there eventually list. I imagine it is the same for many travellers.

After visiting Thessaloniki half a dozen times, and having spent a few days in Kastoria a few autumns ago, I didn’t know what to expect from the Greek capital – I just knew it would be nothing like the north.

Athens is walkable, photogenic, and just the right level of grungy for my taste. I knew I would get a kick out visiting the Acropolis, but overall I enjoyed the city – especially the food and the markets – way more than I thought I would.

Visiting Athens in January turned out to be a great decision: We lucked out with perfect weather, and encountered very few spots that were crowded. If you can, I highly recommend aiming for the off or shoulder season.

My priority list for Athens was to:

1. Check off the essential tourist must-sees;
2. Eat as much excellent food as possible (no wasted meals);
3. And locate a couple of cute neighbourhoods to wander around and photograph.

I satisfied all those criteria during our four-and-a-half days in Athens. This itinerary distills the best bits down into a sensible three day plan, with 72 hours being the optimal duration for a first visit.

Where to stay in Athens & how to get around

Central Athens is surprisingly compact and walkable. For efficiency, I recommend staying somewhere central –a place walking distance of either the Omonia, Syntagma or Acropoli Metro Stations (or anywhere within that triangle) is ideal.

We stayed a few blocks north of Omonia Square at Dave Red Athens, a boutique hotel set inside the old communist party HQ. Our room was tiny but very well-appointed, and the facilities are great – guests get access to the rooftop terrace, and coffee/filtered water is complimentary.

This location allowed us to walk 90% of the time, using the metro only to travel between the same three stations mentioned above occasionally to save time. (I do recommend riding the metro at least once – the central stations are very unique because they double as excavation sites/mini archaeological museums.)

You can also use the metro to get into the city from Athens Airport. Buy a rechargeable ticket from the machine at the station, or purchase a single fare by tapping on with any credit/debit card.

Day one

If you’re a first-time visitor to Athens, day one should be all about the Acropolis. 

Entrance to the ‘high city’ is now capped at 20,000 people per day, and you must pre-book your time slot in advance, Vatican-style.

I didn’t know about this rule, but thankfully we were able to get same-day tickets since we were travelling in winter. In summer, you should book as far in advance as you can.

Tickets for the Acropolis cost 20 Euro per person (10 Euro in the off-season). We used the Hellenic Heritage website to buy tickets with no additional fees, and showed our digital receipt to enter.

Today’s agenda:

• Breakfast in Psyrri neighbourhood
• The Acropolis & Odeon of Herodes Atticus
• The Acropolis Museum
• Anafiotika & Plaka neighbourhoods
• View of the Acropolis from Philopappos Hill

Morning: The Acropolis & Acropolis Museum

When reserving your Acropolis tickets, you need to nominate a time slot. Some websites say this is for ‘statistical purposes only’, but you are in fact obliged to enter within the hour-long timeframe printed on your ticket. Staff are very strict about this, and we saw multiple people being turned away when they arrived too late.

If you are visiting Athens in spring, summer or autumn, then you will want to book in for the first available slot at 8am. In winter, you have more flexibility. We chose a later time slot (10am-11am), which gave us plenty of time for a sit-down breakfast beforehand.

Psyrri is a neighbourhood we returned to over and over again – there are some excellent food options here, and the atmosphere is beautiful in the evenings. Its location near the base of the Acropolis hill – a 15-minute walk from the main entrance – makes it a good choice for fuelling up before the ruins.

We chose Picky Brunch & Specialty Coffee for our first breakfast in Athens because it opens bright and early at 7.30am. We ordered the Sweet and Salty Pancakes and the Pork Benedict, which were both excellent.

When your time slot opens, staff will check your tickets and perform a quick bag search (bottled water is OK, but snacks are a no). Bathrooms are located outside the entrance, and water is available from a vending machine near the exit for 50 cents. There is free WIFI at the Acropolis entrance, but it drops off once you are inside. If you want to do an audio tour like we did, make sure you download the file and map before you arrive.

After enjoying the free Rick Steves audio tour of the Vatican last year, we decided to do the same for the Acropolis. It took us two hours to make our way around the ruins at a steady pace, pausing the audio tour to take photos. Here is the free download. Remember to bring your headphones.

Other blogs tend to break the Acropolis up into multiple different sites, so I was honestly quite confused about the layout. In reality, everything is in one place and covered under one ticket and one audio guide.

The first major point of interest is the Odeon of Herodes Atticus, a theatre scooped out of the side of the Acropolis Hill. On your way in, you can look down over its cascading marble seats and chequerboard stage floor. We will come back to the Odeon later to see it from a different angle.

The Acropolis Museum is just 10 minutes on foot from here. If at this point you need a pick-me-up, there are several coffee shops around Parthenonos. We stopped at Coffee Dive Acropolis for a cappuccino freddo to go.

I definitely recommend visiting the Acropolis Museum after the Acropolis itself. Many of the exhibits reference the layout of the ruins and are original or recreated elements from within the site – so it will make more sense if you have seen the actual Acropolis first.

Entrance costs 20 Euro (no off-season discount here), and includes a new archaeological site, which we saw when we came in via the back entrance on Chatzichristou. You must cloak backpacks. Bring your own headphones if you want to do the audio guide.

The entrance to the museum evokes the feeling of entering the Acropolis itself – there is even an angled glass floor to remind you of the slippery stone pathway! Photography is allowed in all but one of the galleries, where there are examples of marble statues re-colourised with experimental pigments.

As well as the original Caryatids, another highlight is the top floor, which features a full wrap of marble sculptures and friezes. This is meant to recreate the experience of walking into the Parthenon itself – something that is not possible since the ruins are roped off. The museum building is oriented at the same angle as the Parthenon, which is visible through the ceiling-to-floor windows. It’s all very effective.

Afternoon: Plaka & Anafiotika

After the museum, walk north past the Arch of Hadrian to reach Plaka, a historic neighbourhood that creeps up the side of the Acropolis Hill. We were famished at this point, so we headed directly to Taverna Saita for lunch.

The subterranean dining room with its oak barrels is very cute, but it was warm enough for us to sit outside as we enjoyed a colourful Greek salad and kebab. We liked the food, but it was nothing extraordinary. There are dozens more trattorias in this neighbourhood if you want to shop around.

After lunch, stroll through Plaka and Anafiotika, losing your way on the little side streets. We didn’t see many other tourists around in January, but I can imagine that it’s a bit of a circus in summer.

For architecture, I much preferred the Mets neighbourhood – see day 2 below.

If it’s of interest, the Benizelos Mansion, the oldest surviving konaki house in Athens, is located nearby. Having been inside dozens of similar house museums in Albania and Northern Greece, we decided to skip it. I do recommend stopping at the Holy Metropolitan Cathedral, and don’t miss the tiny church nearby.

Evening : Philopappos Hill

An hour or so before sunset, make your way to Philopappos Hill for a view of the Acropolis looking north-east. The light is lovely at golden hour, and you get a clear view of the Parthenon from here.

Morning: Exarchia, Kolonaki & Syntagma Square

I am completely addicted to bougatsa, a morning dish of cream-filled phyllo dusted with powdered sugar and cinnamon that is popular in Thessaloniki and the north of Greece. Start the morning with a casual plate at Bougatsa Savvas.

Exarcheia is Athens’ ‘Anarchist’ neighbourhood, a hub of counter-culture that is known for its street art. Maybe I am growing old and cynical, but this area didn’t really appeal to me. It was a little too grungy for my liking – I’m all for street art, but I don’t think defacing private property with graffiti is cool. I don’t regret going, and I do think it’s worth dropping in – but all you need is 20 minutes max to walk a circuit past the most notable murals and the memorial to Alexandros Grigoropoulos, which is located here.

The changing of the guard in front of the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier and Hellenic Parliament building opposite Syntagma Square is another must for first-timers. We enjoyed it so much, we came back no less than three times during our stay.

The small ceremony takes place every hour on the hour, and lasts for around 15 minutes. Try to arrive at a quarter to the hour to get a good spot.

As part of the procession, the crowd parts to make way for the three Evzones guards who approach from the north-west. Spectators then reassemble along a designated line. I recommend standing somewhere in the middle or a little to the left in order to see the full display.

Afternoon: The Panathenaic Stadium & Mets

Before leaving Syntagma, grab a wrap from Souvlaki Kostas to snack on while you walk. Despite this being a very touristic establishment, we found that staff (including the chef himself) were extremely welcoming and patient. We tried both the pork and the beef – I have never tasted anything that comes even close.

For efficiency’s sake, we decided to visit only two historical sites in Athens: the Acropolis, and the Panathenaic Stadium. The site of the first modern Olympic Games, held in 1896, was of particular interest to us because my husband has a family connection to an Australian athlete who competed.

The 10 Euro ticket price includes a 30-minute audio guide, which is a bit glitchy but quite interesting (download the app from this link before you go). Don’t miss the Olympic Museum, which has a great collection of retro games posters.

If the stadium is not of interest, or if you’re visiting in summer (I definitely wouldn’t recommend coming here in the middle of a summer’s day – it is completely exposed and scorching hot), then the Benaki Museum is located on the edge of the park and is a good alternative (indoor activity) to slot in here.

Either way, you should definitely not miss the Mets neighbourhood, which is located behind the stadium. This was my favourite part of Athens by far – full of charming architecture and tumbledown houses (and no graffiti!), it’s the sort of area that is perfect for exploring with your camera, much like Arnavutkoy in Istanbul.

After admiring the architecture, I recommend eating lunch at Olympion, a local restaurant-canteen in Mets that was full of Greek-speaking customers when we arrived. This was the best meal of our trip, and I’m quite confident it will be yours too.

Come before 1pm to try the moussaka, which apparently sells out every day. We had the meatballs in egg-lemon sauce, the tzatziki, and the stuffed eggplant.

Another thing you can do in Mets is summit the Ardittos Hill for a view of the Panathenaic Stadium. Unfortunately it was closed off at the time of our visit.

Evening: Lycabettus Hill

In the evening, Kolonaki district is full of buzzing cafes and bars. You will find the sidewalks and stairs are crowded with tables as you walk back through the area to reach the bottom funicular station for the 10-minute ride up Lycabettus Hill. I recommend arriving 60-90 minutes before sunset.

Lycabettus has a very nice vantage, looking south-west towards the Acropolis and the Port of Piraeus beyond. While I very much enjoyed watching the flag lowering ceremony, which takes place in front of Saint George Church just as the sun is setting, I thought Lycabettus was completely overrated. It was crowded (even in winter), and the view from Philopappos Hill is much nicer in my opinion.

We made the mistake of buying return tickets for the funicular (12 Euro) – a better strategy is to take the funicular up then start walking down just before sunset to stake out a position on the pathway, where there are fewer people.

Day three

Day three is a much lighter day that brings it all together, with a mix of markets, archaeological sites, and shopping streets.

Today’s agenda:

• Varvakios Central Municipal Market & the Flea Market
• Monastiraki Square, Hadrian’s Library, the Roman Agora & Tower of the Winds
• Ermou Street & Aiolou Street pedestrian streets
• Athens’ Commercial Triangle & Merchants’ Arcade
• Sundowners overlooking the Parthenon
• Dinner in Psyrri neighbourhood

On the opposite side of Athinas Street, there is something marked ‘Flea Market’ on Google Maps. The beginning of that alleyway (Aristogitonos) is lined with jumble shops that spill out onto the sidewalk, the largest being the aptly named Big Bazaar.

You can find a huge range of items here, from icons to musical instruments to rather risque collectables. Honestly I can’t remember the last time I visited an antique market of these proportions – it’s really spectacular.

For a healthy breakfast, The Makers is a solid option nearby.

Afternoon: Monastiraki Square & the Agora

We decided to spend our final afternoon in Athens back in the heart of the city. Monastiraki Square and the 18th-century Tzistarakis Mosque is a good place to start. From there, you can walk south to see Hadrian’s Library, the Roman Agora, and the Tower of the Winds (Horologion of Andronikos Cyrrhestes). Close to the tower, there is a beautiful old Old Madrasa Gate, a relic from Athens’ Ottoman days.

Evening: Sunset cocktails & Psyrri

Cocktails overlooking the Parthenon – just as the Gods would have wanted it – is the perfect way to end a trip to Athens. There are a number of restaurants and bars around Ermous Street that are well-positioned for Acropolis views. We were ecstatic with our choice of Attic Urban Rooftop – the cocktails are reasonably priced (10 Euro for an aperitivo), the staff are friendly, and the terrace has plenty of room to move around.

I recommend arriving about two hours before sunset to stake out a spot. The Acropolis is lit up as soon as the sun goes down.

We decided to end where we began, back in Psyrri district. The Rosary of Psirri (Το Κομπολόι Του Ψυρρή) is open late for souvenir shopping – we picked up a beautiful pair of worry beads.

Avli (‘The Yard’) is a nice spot for your final dinner. As the name suggests, this open-air restaurant is located in a courtyard between buildings in Psyrri, with the hidden entrance located down a narrow alleyway. The zucchini balls and minty meatballs (which reminded me of Gjirokaster kofte) are both a must-try, and we really liked the tzatziki and oregano fries. Everything else on the menu is fried – including the mixed grill plate, which was a bit too intense for us!