Will this plan for Athens on your own work?

[cruiser7706]

We will be in Athens on a Sunday - there is a special changing of the guards ceremony that takes place on Sunday's at 11am that we would like to see. We are planning on doing Athens on our own and need some input to see if this plan will work (don't really know if these sites are within walking distance - I think they are).

 

We're going to take the metro and get off at Monastirion, where we will walk to the Acropolis and tour around there. Once we are finished we will head to the Parliament to see the changing of the guards (is this walkable - how long will it take?). From there, we also want to see the Temple of the Olympian Zeus, Hadrians Arch, and Panathenaicon Stadium (which I don't think is walkable), and spend some time in Plaka - although not a huge priority, since I think most of the stores will be closed since it's a Sunday.

 

Will this work - are these sites all within walking distance?

 

Thanks!

[Susan-M]

The sites are all within walking distance. From the Acropolis, Syntagma Square is approx. 1/2 mile. From Syntagma Square, you can do a loop to the stadium, Temple of Zeus and Hadrian's Arch and back to the Plaka .... in all a little over 1 mile of walking, plus walking at the sites.

 

Here's a map to help with distances - each grid is 500M or just under 1/3 of a mile. http://www.chem.uoa.gr/Location/AthensMap/Athensmap.htm

 

We took the Metro to the Acropolis stop and spent almost two hours there, then walked through the Ancient and Roman Agoras & Plaka (lunch stop), through the National Gardens to see the stadium and Temple of Zeus/Hadrian's Arch, back to Syntagma Square and still had time to go to the National Archeological Museum and Mt. Lykabettus .... so I think you'll be able to cover all that you mention at a fairly leisurely pace.

 

Enjoy!:)

[gentlemancruiser]

You should arrive early for the changing of the guard ceremony! It's very popular and can be difficult to get a spot to watch from. Yes all the sites are in a walkable distance, but in the heat of the day you will not be able to do this.

If you can get a day pass for the metro that would be much better.

[YoPhilly]

The sites are all within walking distance. From the Acropolis, Syntagma Square is approx. 1/2 mile. From Syntagma Square, you can do a loop to the stadium, Temple of Zeus and Hadrian's Arch and back to the Plaka .... in all a little over 1 mile of walking, plus walking at the sites.

 

Here's a map to help with distances - each grid is 500M or just under 1/3 of a mile. http://www.chem.uoa.gr/Location/AthensMap/Athensmap.htm

 

Thanks for sharing the map. Most of the maps I've found online use the Greek alphabet, which doesn't help me at all.

[Susan-M]

Thanks for sharing the map. Most of the maps I've found online use the Greek alphabet, which doesn't help me at all.

 

You're welcome :) Not sure if you noticed but if you click on the blue P's there are pictures and description of the sites.

 

Agree with the poster above who mentioned that it might be difficult to walk very far in hot temperatures ... we did it at the end of September when it was quite comfortable with mid 70's temps. If you get the 3E pass in Piraeus, it's good for subway/buses all day.

[cruiser7706]

Thanks for the help. That map is great - I was having a hard time finding a good map to use. I am worried about the heat since we'll be there at the end of August - so we'll definitely pick up an all day metro pass!

 

Thanks again!