Acropolis

[broccoli]

We will be in Athens on May 5. Our ship does not dock until 12 noon so we won't be touring the Acropolis until that afternoon. Does anyone know how bad the lines are then and will all the construction interfere a great deal with the viewing? Would we be better off just doing an exterior viewing, eliminate the 200-300 steps to the top, and spending our time elsewhere including shopping at the Plaka?

[Susan-M]

I highly recommend visiting the Acropolis as opposed to viewing it from below. According to the attached info from Rick Steves, it's very crowded with tours between 10:30 and 1:00 (we left at 11 and can attest to the difference in crowdedness between 9 and 11:00 a.m. ... but if you go later in the afternoon (3:30 on) you will miss the mid-day heat and hopefully the crowds.

This article also includes info for a self-guided tour: http://www.ricksteves.com/plan/destinations/greece/athens.htm

 

The Acropolis ticket includes admission to other sites (Roman and Ancient Agoras, Temple of Zeus, etc.) http://odysseus.culture.gr/h/3/eh355.jsp?obj_id=2384

[Lady Chew]

We were on a ship's tour last Sept. The Acropolis was jammed when we were there in the morning, I think around 10am or so ... but it was still fabulous. A few hours later, when we were on the "on your own" portion of the excursion, it was practically empty.

 

The construction had no impact on the views or our enjoyment of the site. We would have liked to have gone into the museum but it was closed to everyone during that time. Don't know if it's reopened yet.

 

We actually ended up walking around the entire base of the Acropolis. Didn't set out to do that, just the things we wanted to see took us that way. We just took our time, realized we had gone most of the way around, decided to keep going, were back at the Plaka before we knew it!

[broccoli]

Thanks Lady Chew and Susan-M! Great advice and much help!

We will stick to our plan of climbing the stairs and taking in all of the Acropolis!