The Ultimate 1-Day Athens Itinerary

Is this Guide for You?

If you’re like most travelers to Greece, you are passing through Athens on your way to or returning from a magnificent Greek island adventure. You may have limited time to explore the capital, but want to hit the memorable spots while you’re in town. This guide will give you 3 different itineraries for exploring Athens in one day.

To keep your itinerary flexible, each option contains 2 major points of interest as well as 2 options for dining. So if this guide is for you, strap your gladiators on, and let’s dive in!

Acropolis and Panathenic Stadium (Itinerary #1)

Changing of the Guards and Acropolis (Itinerary #2)

All Acropolis All Day (Itinerary #3)

Details about the Activities

Exploring the Acropolis

The Acropolis, which is Greek for “high city”, is located in the heart of Athens. When standing atop it, you have a 360 view of Athens with neighborhoods visible from every viewpoint. The Acropolis is a citadel made up of lots of ancient structures including the most famous, the Parthenon. Yep! The Acropolis and the Parthenon aren’t exactly the same thing. The Acropolis is the land that the Parthenon sits on. The Parthenon is the classic government-looking building you’ve probably seen in pictures. For reference, I am sitting in front of it in the solo picture below!

Other famous structures are the Theatre of Dionysus and the Temple of Athena.

To walk the Acropolis you can purchase tickets online or at the entry gate.

For smaller crowds, it’s best to visit right at opening time. The Acropolis tends to get more crowded between 11 am and 2 pm. All 3 itinerary options place your Acropolis tour at the start or end of your day in consideration of the crowds.

Walk Around Plaka

Plaka is a small neighborhood hidden in the shadows of the Acropolis. It is a very active tourist hot spot, so you can pick up your souvenirs here as well as shop for authentic Greek jewelry, crafts, and other artwork.

This quaint little neighborhood’s character resembles the whitewashed walls in the Greek islands. It is completely walkable. The roads are closed to automobile traffic, but be careful when it comes to scooters and motorcycles that speed through the area.

Plaka also has tons of restaurants mostly marketed for tourists. However, in all itineraries, we’ll skip this and instead take you to O Thanasis in the neighborhood of Monastiraki for a proper Greek meal.

Lunch at O Thanasis in Monastiraki

O Thanasis, known for having the best souvlaki and kebabs in Athens, is located just off Monastiraki Square in the neighborhood of Monastiraki. Monastiraki is a short 7-10 minute walk from Plaka, just make sure you always look both ways because drivers are usually zipping around town in Athens.

If you’re coming from somewhere else, I suggest hopping on the Metro M3 (Blue) line and getting off at Monastiraki.

The menu has all the classic Greek dishes including Greek salads, moussaka (Greek eggplant lasagna), gyros, and souvlakis. They also serve a few vegetarian dishes.

I highly recommend ordering the yogurt kebab and the Greek salad!

Visit the Panathenaic Stadium

Stop at the location of the first modern Olympic games in 1896! For a small fee, you can enter the stadium, roam the bleachers, step up on the Olympic podiums, and walk through the museum! Also, make sure you bring your sun hat here because there is little shade!

The Panathenaic Stadium, also known as Kallimarmaro, is the only stadium in the world made completely of marble. Also, it has a 50,000-person capacity! That’s a lot of marble!

Presently, the stadium is used to host concerts and is also the finish line for the annual Athens Marathon every November.

My favorite part of visiting this stadium was getting to enter the tunnel where athletes enter and exit the field. I’ve always wanted to pretend I am a pro athlete running out onto the field!

At the other end of the tunnel is a museum that features the original Olympic torches. It’s really a special experience to get to share a space with all of these torches you once watched on TV or saw in newspapers. When I visited I didn’t even know there was a museum! However, I happened upon it while roaming around and was in near disbelief when I walked in and saw actual Olympic torches!

Rooftop Dinner with a View of the Acropolis

There are few experiences similar to seeing the Acropolis lit up at night. It is mesmerizing to have this famous 3,300-year-old archaeological site, on a pedestal at the city’s center. What’s even more mesmerizing is getting to dine with a view of it.

Here is a list of restaurants with a view of the Acropolis. Make sure you set your reservation in advance because many restaurants book up quickly! The one pictured above is A for Athens.

Watch the Changing of The Guards

The changing of the guards Is a ceremonial routine where Greek guards trade places protecting the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Syntagma Square. It occurs every hour and is a spectacle for tourists to stop and watch.

Every Sunday at 11 am there is a full changing of the guard’s ceremony in Syntagma Square, which includes a parade. If you are in Athens on a Sunday, I recommend getting there no later than 10:30 am so you can snag a good spot in the crowd.

What’s cool about this? Well, it’s pretty cool to watch how in sync the soldiers are are they make their transition. They also wear a unique uniform. It consists of a kilt, a red army beret with a long tassel, and a wide-sleeved shirt that flares as they march. It’s probably one of the most exotic military uniforms I have witnessed and adds almost a theatrical element to the whole experience.

Visit the Acropolis Museum

The Acropolis Museum is conveniently located a couple blocks from the Acropolis itself. This bustling museum offers audio tours in Greek and English. Guided tours are not available through the Acropolis Museum, but you can hire a licensed tour guide who is authorized to perform guided tours are the museum here.

The tickets for this museum are completely separate from the Acropolis tickets. You can purchase entry tickets ahead of time here or you can buy them onsite. The line for tickets can be lengthy on the weekends so buying online can save you quite a bit of time when you’re only in town for a day.

How to Get Around in Athens

Athens Metro – Athens has excellent and safe public transportation thanks to the Athens Metro, with stops at all the major sites around the city including the airport and the Acropolis. The Metro has 3 routes identifiable by both color and number: Line 1 (red), Line 2 (green), and Line 3 (blue). For a one-day visit to Athens, I recommend purchasing the 24-hour ticket, which gives you all access for around € 4.50 (US$ 4.90). You can purchase tickets at any of the city’s metro stations. Here is a link to the Athens Metro map.

Car – Greece has car rental agencies that you can rent a car from for one day. If you are coming from the United States you must make sure you have purchased an IDP (International Drivers Permit). Make sure you do this in advance of your trip or else you will have a difficult time trying to snag a rental. In the United States you can obtain an IDP from AAA just make sure you call ahead to ensure your location issues them.

If you’re planning your Greek island getaway then check out my Greece content for things to do in Santorini and Milos.