Athens

[scrustyrock]

What is the best way to do Athens. Only 2 of us and private tours very expensive.

 

Thank you,

Sharon Campbell

[tomko2]

Sharon, we had a wonderful day in Athens. Took a taxi (22 Euros) to the Acropolis, paid the fee to enter (can't remember but not bad and included other sites), spent about 2 hours at the Parthenon, walked down to the Temple of the Winds, ate a light lunch with a beer outside a little taverna in the Plaka, wandered around the shops and bought a nice copper pepper grinder for about $20. and took a taxi back to this (20Euros).

Fabulous day. Photos and review of trip in the links below.

Kathy

[photographia]

Tomko2 is right, Athens is quite easy to do on your own as she described. Get a good tourbook ahead of time, read up on the Acropolis and you'll be good to go. People generally speak English there so if you get lost/dazed/confused, just ask and you'll be fine!

[Hlitner]

Well, if you are looking for cheap on your own, its very doable. You can walk from the pier to the Pireaus train station (about 15 min walk) and take the train/subway right into Athens. At that point, you can pretty much do anything on your feet if you like to walk. For a first visit I would recommend going to the Acropolis, walking around the Plaka and adjacent Syntagma Square, and perhaps some window shopping. One warning about using the train from the port. It has long been popular with gypsy pick pockets so take care of your valuables.

 

Hank

[CoralReef]

Very cheap (especially by metro) and easy to do independently. My tour report: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=791796

 

I do recommend either reading up on the Acropolis and Agora in advance, taking a good guidebook, or hiring a guide there. You will get so much more out of these sites if you understand their historical significance.

[MercedMike]

Athens has closed off the streets below the Acropolis and turned them into a beautiful Antiquities Promenade. It will be very easy to get on the Metro at the port and take it into Athens, stopping at the beginning of the promenade. Get a good guide book and walk from the Temple of Zeus along the promenade, climb the Acropolis, visit the museum and continue to the Ancient Agora and you will have a wonderful day! A guide is really not necessary.

 

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

 

Have a GREAT cruise!

[2Fltravelers]

Athens has closed off the streets below the Acropolis and turned them into a beautiful Antiquities Promenade. It will be very easy to get on the Metro at the port and take it into Athens, stopping at the beginning of the promenade. Get a good guide book and walk from the Temple of Zeus along the promenade, climb the Acropolis, visit the museum and continue to the Ancient Agora and you will have a wonderful day! A guide is really not necessary.

 

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

 

Have a GREAT cruise!

 

Thank you, Mike for your Antiquities Promenade guide in Athens. My DH and I used it for our 2-days in Athens post Azamara Quest cruise in October. We printed it out and followed it. The pictures were a plus. We decided to walk up the Hill of the Muses and it was the highlight. The ascent was very easy and the views breathtaking. We not only had the amazing view of the Acropolis and Mt. Lycabettus but could also see easily to Pireaus and the Med. Our walking tour guide the next day told us that all of the professional pictures taken of the Acropolis and Mt. Lycabettus are taken from the hill since it is at eye-level with the Acropolis. We also walked from the promenade up to Pyri and saw the seat of democracy. From that hill we walked right down to the ancient agora. We bought our tickets for 12 euros each (cash only) for all of the 6 sites (Acropolis included) at the Temple of Olympian Zeus where there was no line (make sure that the ticket for the Acropolis is not accidently removed or a new ticket will need to be purchased). The other addition to the promenade is the new Acropolis Museum scheduled to open in the spring of 2009. There is now a small exhibition on the first floor and the wonderful ruins that are visible along the base of the building and under the walkways which are made of glass in some places so the excavations below can be viewed. The Acropoli metro station is next to the museum and just off the actual promenade-very convenient.

[agabbymama]

Go to your roll call and try to link up with at least another couple. We had our own taxi driver for 8 hours in Athens at 55 EURO pp. There were just the four of us and it was great. If you give them the things you are interested in, they will plan the day accordingly. If you are going to pay 20 EUROs each way for a taxi anyway, why not have the driver all day?

 

He took us to the sights and waited for us, then after all the sights, he drove us to a small local restaurant that he goes to, for a late lunch. He ordered (family style) then we selected what we wanted. The meal was fantastic. We had chicken and beef gyros with pita bread, and lamb shishkabob, with french fries, lettuce, tomato served with white wine and red wine, then for dessert, fried cheese. All for about 8 EURO pp.

 

we used athenstaxi dot net and couldn't have been more pleased. Our driver spoke excellent English and knew his way around Athens and even took us to the less crowded Parliament for the changing of the guards. The tomb of the unknown soldier gets quite crowded, but it's where most people know to go.

 

We ended up with a small drive around Pireaus to see the coastline and some of the more expensive restaurants, before returning to the ship at around 4:30.