Athens - recommendations other than archeological sites

[shootingstar07]

Hi all,

I will be in Athens on Oct. 4. Just got the following message from my tour guide:

 

The prime minister announced on September 4th that we will have elections on October 4th, 2009 instead of 2011 and I found out that all the archaeological sites will be closed

 

Does any experienced Greece traveler have suggestions of what to do/see other than the archeological sites?

 

Thanks so much for your help/advise.

[cruisemom42]

Oh my.....I would be extremely disappointed. Can you ask your guide for any clarification? For example, I'm wondering if the Archeological Museum would be closed (not really a "site")? If museums are open, there are some others in Athens as well -- the Benaki Museum, the new Acropolis Museum, etc.

 

Also, is this closing throughout Greece or just in Athens? If it's just in Athens, you may want to consider a day trip to somewhere like Corinth, Mycenae, Epidavros, etc.

 

If it turns out all the sites throughout Greece are closed..... There are some interesting Greek Orthodox churches in Athens, there is the Plaka, and Syntagma Square (although I would think that in the case of an election, you wouldn't really want to be in Syntagma Square either).

 

Another alternative if most sites are closed: a ferry trip to one or more of the nearby small islands: Aegina, Poros, and/or Hydra.

[Wendy The Wanderer]

I would ask your tour guide for recommendations. If the whole country is closed down, presumably Mycenae and Epidavros would be closed as well!

 

I agree, if everything is closed everywhere, spend the day on Poros or Aegina. The ferry ride is quite short (just get the fast ferry, and take good note of return times.)

 

But I'm sure there are gardens, parks, things like that that would be open. There's the flea market near Monastiraki. Perhaps your guide could suggest some interesting neighbourhoods for walks, there are probably lots of historical areas where a guide would offer lots of color commentary. You could at least see how the Athenians live.

[MercedMike]

To me, Athens IS the antiquities. It will be a big disappointment for you to miss the Acropolis, I am sure.

 

HOWEVER, the walk along the antiquities promenade below the Acropolis features lots of great views of major sites without actually entering the sites. You can begin at the Temple of Zeus with a pretty good view through the fence, see part of the Theater of Dionysus, good views of other sites, see Mars Hill and I think the park of the pynx would not close. From the area in front of the Agora there are spectacular views of the Acropolis. So you might indeed want to consider just walking the promenade even if you can't actually go into the sites.

 

Check out our review and pics at http://www.elite.net/~thehalls/athens.html

 

Have a GREAT cruise!

[CintiPam]

Wow, that is a tough one. So many of the sites are run by the Greek government.

 

Because we had visited Athens last September, we spent our pre-cruise day there visiting two private museums, the Benaki, a very diverse collection of artifacts and exhibits on Greek life, and the Museum of Cycladic Art, which also has exhibits on the Classical Age, both of which are excellent and just up the road from Syntagma Square.

 

Google both to read about their collections to see if you have any interest.

[Rhisibabe]

There's a lovely park near Syntagma Square which has tortoises walking around it (its amazing how quick they can walk!). Also the changing of the guard in Sytagma Square is one not to be missed. There are loads of churches around and you could stop by the old olympic stadium. Lots of the ruins can be viewed from the road as well. We really enjoyed walking round Athens.:)

[Glesca]

Hi all,

I will be in Athens on Oct. 4. Just got the following message from my tour guide:

 

The prime minister announced on September 4th that we will have elections on October 4th, 2009 instead of 2011 and I found out that all the archaeological sites will be closed

 

Does any experienced Greece traveler have suggestions of what to do/see other than the archeological sites?

 

Thanks so much for your help/advise.

 

I posted a response on our roll call.:)