Top 10 Reasons Why You can’t Avoid Athens Trip
While in Athens, there are many things to do and many important sites to see. You will never miss some exciting places to see in this great ancient city.
The following are top 10 reasons why you cannot avoid a trip to Athens.
1) The Parthenon: When you care less about archeology, you may come to Athens and visit Parthenon. This is one of the ancient wonders of the world and a symbol of some of the top achievements of mankind. Millions throng Athens to have a glimpse of this spectacular building.
2) The National Archaeological Museum : This is some 45 minute walk from Syntagma and one of the greatest museums of the world. You are not going to find better collection of Greek jewelry, pottery and the Antikythera Device which is a 2000 year old computer that was found in the shipwreck off Antikythera Island. You are going to wonder how the ancient Greeks basically were. There are other numerous museums that you may visit in Athens.
3) The Agora-Athens Central Market: Notwithstanding what you think about meat, vegetables and fish, you are not going to find a more lively location like Athena’s Street. A walk through this market is possibly going to alter how you feel about shopping. At any time of the day, the restaurants here are teeming with cheap meat. This market is also the beginning of Eolou Street and Athens Chinatown.
4) Mount Lycabettus: When you climb this mountain, you are going to see and amazing view. There’s great café and amphitheater where you are able to see some of the great actors who visit Greece during summer. Walking down is a lot of fun. And when you do have to climb, there’s a strange train which will take you nearly to the top. You can have a ride in this train.
5) The Plaka: A walk through this oldest Athens neighborhood is a must. This is one of the most pleasurable activities, specifically in the early evening. Several shops and workshops of great artists line the streets. You cannot miss some excellent restaurants. There’s also the famous Brettos distillery on Kydatheneon that also offers attractive sight.
6) The Agora : This spot provides some easy wandering. It has the perfect temple of Hephaestus which is a rebuilt colonnade that houses a museum and many other minor monuments. Many site combo tickets make this a specifically good bargain to mix a visit with the Acropolis among other close by sites.
7) Cape Sounion and Temple of Poseidon : A great trip from the heart of Athens in the afternoon; this is among those spots which is a favorite for both the tourists and locals, a favorite sunset viewing for many. Majority of tourists prefer taking organized tour or drive to this amazing place.
8) Syntagma Square : Also called the “constitution Square”, in many ways this is the heart of Athens. It’s open, large square that normally hosts holiday events. It’s also home to several most famous hotels in Athens and an intense (public) transportation hub. It also has Parliament building along one side of it.
9) The National Garden : When you are looking for refuge from urban sprawl and Athens heat, you are going to love the remarkable National Garden, situated right behind Greek Parliament. It provides over 15 hectares of land you can explore at your own pace. There are ancient ruins you can also see at each turn.
10) Academy of Athens : This is the unofficial national academy of Greece and a tribute to Academy of Plato. It honors the tradition of philosophy, knowledge and study in Greece. The major Neoclassical complex which was built in late 19th century is among the central landmarks found in Greece. A great place to visit.
The Acropolis of Athens is an ancient citadel located on a rocky outcrop above the city of Athens and contains the remains of several ancient buildings of great architectural and historical significance, the most famous being the Parthenon. The word acropolis is from the Greek words ἄκρον (akron, “highest point, extremity”) and πόλις (polis, “city”). The term acropolis is generic and there are many other acropoleis in Greece. During ancient times the Acropolis of Athens was known also more properly as Cecropia, after the legendary serpent-man, Cecrops, the supposed first Athenian king.
Monastiraki (pronounced [monastiˈraci], literally little monastery) is a flea market neighborhood in the old town of Athens, Greece, and is one of the principal shopping districts in Athens. The area is home to clothing boutiques, souvenir shops, and specialty stores, and is a major tourist attraction in Athens and Attica for bargain shopping. The area is named after Monastiraki Square, which in turn is named for the Church of the Pantanassa that is located within the square.
The National Archaeological Museum in Athens houses some of the most important artifacts from a variety of archaeological locations around Greece from prehistory to late antiquity. It is considered one of the greatest museums in the world and contains the richest collection of Greek Antiquity artifacts worldwide. It is situated in the Exarcheia area in central Athens between Epirus Street, Bouboulinas Street and Tositsas Street while its entrance is on the Patission Street adjacent to the historical building of the Athens Polytechnic university.
The Temple of Poseidon is an ancient Greek temple on Cape Sounion, Greece, dedicated to the god Poseidon. There is evidence of the establishment of sanctuaries on the cape from as early as the 11th century B.C. Sounion’s most prominent temples, the Temple of Athena and the Temple of Poseidon, are however not believed to have been built until about 700 B.C., and their kouroi (freestanding Greek statues of young men) date from about one hundred years later. The material and size of the offerings at the Temple of Poseidon indicate that it was likely frequented by members of the elite and the aristocratic class. The Greeks considered Poseidon to be the “master of the sea”. Given the importance to Athens of trade by sea and the significance of its navy in its creation and survival during the fifth century, Poseidon was of a particular relevance and value to the Athenians.
The Odeon of Herodes Atticus (also called Herodeion or Herodion) is a stone Roman theatre structure located on the southwest slope of the Acropolis of Athens, Greece. The building was completed in AD 161 and then renovated in 1950.
The Acropolis Museum is an archaeological museum focused on the findings of the archaeological site of the Acropolis of Athens. The museum was built to house every artifact found on the rock and on the surrounding slopes, from the Greek Bronze Age to Roman and Byzantine Greece. It also lies over the ruins of part of Roman and early Byzantine Athens
Filopappou Hill or Mouson Hill or Seggio Hill is a hill in Athens located opposite, southwest, from the Acropolis. It is connected to the adjacent hills of Asteroskopeio (hill of Nymphs) and Pnyka. At its top there is the monument of Philopappos which was erected by His Highness Philopappos during the Roman occupation and gave his name to the hill.
Mount Lycabettus, also known as Lycabettos, Lykabettos or Lykavittos (pronounced [likaviˈtos]), is a Cretaceous limestone hill in the Greek capital Athens. At 277 meters (908 feet) above sea level, its summit is the highest point in Central Athens and pine trees cover its base. The name also refers to the residential neighbourhood immediately below the east of the hill.
In legend previously called Pytho (Πυθώ), in ancient times was a sacred precinct that served as the seat of Pythia, the major oracle who was consulted about important decisions throughout the ancient classical world. The oracle had origins in prehistory and it became international in character and also fostered sentiments of Greek nationality, even though the nation of Greece was centuries away from realization. The ancient Greeks considered the centre of the world to be in Delphi, marked by the stone monument known as the omphalos (navel). The sacred precinct of Ge or Gaia was in the region of Phocis, but its management had been taken away from the Phocians, who were trying to extort money from its visitors, and had been placed in the hands of an amphictyony, or committee of persons chosen mainly from Central Greece. According to the Suda, Delphi took its name from the Delphyne, the she-serpent (drakaina) who lived there and was killed by the god Apollo (in other accounts the serpent was the male serpent (drakon) Python).