The trip, in order
Follow the route day by day. Times and prices can change, so check official information before you travel.
Acropolis and Ancient Civic Centre
Athens
- 1
Acropolis of Athens
Classical sanctuary and citadel above Athens, centred on the Parthenon and other fifth-century BCE monuments. The rocky hill was fortified in prehistoric times, but its best-known monuments were created in the fifth century BCE under Pericles after the Persian destruction of 480 BCE. Later centuries brought Christian, Frankish and Ottoman uses before modern conservation. The visit is strongest when you focus on parthenon, erechtheion and caryatids and propylaea and panoramic city views.
- Duration
- 180 minutes suggested
- Price
- Admission is normally charged for the principal visitor area; check the current official rate.
- Start time
- Choose a start time that suits your day.
- 2
Ancient Agora of Athens
The civic and commercial heart of ancient Athens, with temples, public buildings and the reconstructed Stoa of Attalos. The Agora developed from the sixth century BCE as the centre of Athenian civic life. Assemblies, courts, markets and religious processions met here, and philosophers including Socrates moved through the public spaces; Roman and later phases reshaped parts of the site. The visit is strongest when you focus on temple of hephaestus, stoa of attalos and panathenaic way.
- Duration
- 120 minutes suggested
- Price
- Admission is normally charged for the principal visitor area; check the current official rate.
- Start time
- Choose a start time that suits your day.
Acropolis Collections and National Treasures
Athens
- 1
Acropolis Museum
Modern museum displaying sculpture and finds from the Acropolis in a building aligned with the ancient hill. The museum opened in 2009 to bring together surviving finds from the Acropolis and its slopes. Its galleries present material from the Archaic and Classical periods through Late Antiquity, with the Parthenon Gallery arranged around the temple's sculptural programme. The visit is strongest when you focus on parthenon gallery, archaic gallery and glass-floor views over excavations.
- Duration
- 150 minutes suggested
- Price
- Admission is normally charged for the principal visitor area; check the current official rate.
- Start time
- Choose a start time that suits your day.
- 2
National Archaeological Museum
Greece's major archaeological museum, covering prehistoric, Classical, Hellenistic, Roman and Egyptian collections. Founded in the nineteenth century and housed in its present neoclassical building from the late 1800s, the museum gathered major discoveries from excavations across Greece. Its collections include Mycenaean gold, monumental sculpture and the Antikythera mechanism. The visit is strongest when you focus on mask and grave goods from mycenae, antikythera mechanism and classical sculpture galleries.
- Duration
- 180 minutes suggested
- Price
- Admission is normally charged for the principal visitor area; check the current official rate.
- Start time
- Choose a start time that suits your day.
Classical Athens and Modern Culture
Athens
- 1
Temple of Olympian Zeus
Monumental remains of one of the largest temples of the ancient Greek world, standing beside central Athens. Construction began under the Peisistratid rulers in the sixth century BCE but stalled for centuries. The vast Corinthian temple was finally completed under the Roman emperor Hadrian in the second century CE, when Athens enjoyed renewed imperial patronage. The visit is strongest when you focus on surviving corinthian columns, hadrianic setting and views toward the acropolis.
- Duration
- 60 minutes suggested
- Price
- Admission is normally charged for the principal visitor area; check the current official rate.
- Start time
- Choose a start time that suits your day.
- 2
Panathenaic Stadium
Marble stadium on the site of an ancient racecourse, closely associated with the revival of the modern Olympic Games. An ancient stadium was developed here in the fourth century BCE and rebuilt in marble under Herodes Atticus in the second century CE. Restored in the nineteenth century, it hosted ceremonies and events during the first modern Olympic Games in 1896. The visit is strongest when you focus on marble horseshoe seating, track and finish line and olympic display areas.
- Duration
- 75 minutes suggested
- Price
- Admission is normally charged for the principal visitor area; check the current official rate.
- Start time
- Choose a start time that suits your day.
- 3
Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Center
Contemporary cultural complex housing the Greek National Opera, National Library and a large Mediterranean park. Designed by Renzo Piano Building Workshop, the complex opened in the 2010s on a former coastal racecourse site. It brought the National Library of Greece and Greek National Opera together with a public park and major civic event spaces. The visit is strongest when you focus on canal and park, opera and library buildings and roof terrace views.
- Duration
- 150 minutes suggested
- Price
- Mostly free public access; particular museums, organised activities, parking or managed areas may charge.
- Start time
- Choose a start time that suits your day.