Acropolis
The Acropolis is the sacred rock above Athens, crowned by the Parthenon and visible from almost everywhere in the city. Entry is paid, with a combo ticket covering multiple archaeological sites.
City in Greece
Athens
21 things to see
Athens is one of Europe’s best-value capitals: souvlaki costs a couple of euros, rooftop bars with Parthenon views charge less than a drink in most Western capitals, and some of the city’s best sights cost nothing at all. Skip the Acropolis ticket queue and climb Filopappou Hill or the rocky Areopagus for free Parthenon views at sunset, or hike Lycabettus, the highest point in the city, for an Aegean panorama. The free-to-wander old quarters of Plaka, Anafiotika, and Monastiraki feel like island villages dropped into a metropolis, and the ancient ruins scattered through them can be admired from the street without paying in. If you want the major archaeological sites for free, the Greek state opens them on the first and third Sunday of each month through the winter low season, roughly November to March, which is also when flights and rooms run cheapest and the heat is gone. Athens pairs naturally with day trips and onward stops like Nafplio, and the airport and Piraeus port connect it to Santorini, Crete, and the northern hub of Thessaloniki.
What to see
Things to do in Athens
What each one costs, where the cost is known.
Acropolis Museum
The Acropolis Museum is a modern glass museum at the foot of the Acropolis, housing the sculptures, friezes, and artifacts from the Parthenon and the other Acropolis buildings. Entry is paid.
Anafiotika
Anafiotika is a hidden neighborhood clinging to the north slope of the Acropolis rock, built in the 19th century by workers from the Cycladic island of Anafi who replicated their island architecture in the middle of Athens. Free.
Ancient Agora
The Ancient Agora was the civic and commercial heart of classical Athens, where Socrates argued and democracy was practiced daily. The site is included in the Acropolis combo ticket.
Areopagus Hill
Areopagus Hill (Mars Hill) is a bare marble rock below the Acropolis entrance where the Athenian court met and where St Paul delivered his sermon to the Athenians. Free.
Athens Central Market
The Athens Central Market (Varvakios Agora) is a covered market on Athinas Street between Monastiraki and Omonia, with a meat hall, a fish hall, and surrounding streets of fruit, vegetable, and spice vendors. Free to browse.
Benaki Museum
The Benaki Museum of Greek Culture is a private museum spanning Greek history from the Neolithic era to the 20th century, housed in a neoclassical mansion on Vasilissis Sofias Avenue. Entry is paid.
Cape Sounion
Cape Sounion is a headland 70 kilometers south of Athens with the Temple of Poseidon perched on the cliff edge 60 meters above the Aegean Sea. Entry is paid at a modest price.
Filopappou Hill
Filopappou Hill is a wooded hill southwest of the Acropolis with walking paths through pine and olive trees and the best unobstructed view of the Parthenon from its summit. Free.
Hadrian's Library
Hadrian's Library is the ruins of a vast Roman library built by Emperor Hadrian in 132 AD, just north of Monastiraki Square. Included in the Acropolis combo ticket.
Kerameikos Cemetery
Kerameikos is the ancient cemetery and potters' quarter of Athens, included in the Acropolis combo ticket. The site is the quietest of the major archaeological sites in Athens, with street of tombs, the Sacred Gate, and a small museum.
Lycabettus Hill
Lycabettus is the highest point in Athens, a limestone hill rising above the Kolonaki district with a 360-degree panorama of the city, the Acropolis, and the sea. The hike up takes about 30 minutes through a pine-wooded path and costs nothing.
Monastiraki Flea Market
Monastiraki Flea Market sprawls out from Monastiraki Square in a grid of shops, stalls, and open-air vendors. Free to browse.
National Archaeological Museum
The National Archaeological Museum of Athens is the largest archaeological museum in Greece and one of the most important in the world. Entry is paid.
National Garden
The National Garden is a 15-hectare green park behind the Parliament building, shaded by mature trees and crisscrossed by gravel paths. Free.
Panathenaic Stadium
The Panathenaic Stadium is the only stadium in the world built entirely of marble, reconstructed for the first modern Olympic Games in 1896 on the site of the ancient Athenian stadium. Entry is paid at a modest price.
Plaka
Plaka is the oldest neighborhood in Athens, a cluster of pedestrian streets and neoclassical houses directly beneath the Acropolis. Free to walk.
Psiri
Psiri is a formerly run-down neighborhood between Monastiraki and Omonia that has become one of the trendiest areas in Athens. Free to walk.
Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Center
The Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Center is a Renzo Piano-designed complex south of the city center with the Greek National Library, the National Opera, a park with a canal and Mediterranean gardens, and a rooftop with panoramic views. Free to enter the park and library.
Syntagma Square
Syntagma Square is the central square of modern Athens, fronted by the Hellenic Parliament in the former Royal Palace. The changing of the Evzone guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier happens every hour and is free to watch.
Temple of Olympian Zeus
The Temple of Olympian Zeus is a ruined temple southeast of the Acropolis, once the largest temple in Greece. Included in the Acropolis combo ticket.
On foot
Walks and free tours in Athens
Tip-based tours and self-guided routes, which is usually the cheapest orientation there is.
Acropolis Hill Circuit
The Acropolis Hill Circuit is a self-guided walk connecting the three hills around the Acropolis through pine forests and rocky paths. Free. It passes the site of the world's first democratic assembly and the most historically significant free walk in Europe.
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