Touch down Greece! The trip was part of my early summer holiday with my sister from 8-16 June 2019, in which the trip to Athens was done from 8-11 June, so it was a 4 day-trip.
Trip summary:
Date: 8-11 June 2019
Destination: Athens, Greece
Starting point: Eindhoven, the Netherlands
Transportation: Plane (Transavia), public transport in Athens (including funicular to Mount Lycabettus)
8 June/Day 1: Eindhoven-Athens
We started the trip from Eindhoven Airport, flying with Transavia. BTW, the airport is a nice surprise, it is quite big and clean with many shops to grab some food. After 3 hours flying, we were here in Athens! Athens welcomed us with a 30 degree celcius. What a start! I am not a big fan of such heat; yes I know, it is wierd when I've been living most of my life in 30+ degree celcius land LOL. The first day in Athens was almost over after touching down the airport, so what was left to do was checking in to hostel and rest for the night. We used Athens 72 hours card which includes return metro trip to the airport. Unfortunately, we got the paper ticket since we bought it by the machine. If you want to get the plastic one, buy it in the counter.
Left: Eindhoven Airport; Right: 72 hours Athena Ticket
Tips: How to take the metro from Athens International Airport?
Exit the arrival building from exit 2 and walk straight; pay attention to the sign of metro station. The ticket can be bought before you enter the gate in the station. I am not sure if there is a ticket counter, but I used the machine.
During our trip, we stayed at Bedway Athens which is near metro and tram station Neos Kosmos. By the facilities and the location and also the price, the hostel is really recommended. The metro line is also the same line to the Acropolis (Acropoli station) and it is not really far from Syntagma Square (Syntagma station).
9 June/Day 2: National Archaeological Museum and Mount Lycabettus
Our itinerary for the day was not so hectic. Our day could be divided into three main activities: visiting National Archaeological Museum, chilling out in Syntagma Square/Monastiraki district, and going to Mount Lycabettus.
National Archaeological Museum
I have been wanting to visit the museum since I saw the Rick Steves's video in Athens, so I thought it is a good option. From the hostel, we took metro to get to the museum. We started from Neos Kosmos by metro to University station, then we went by bus to stop Polytechneio.
The ticket fee to the museum is reasonable though, €10, and students pay €5 upon showing their student card. One thing I realised by visiting the museum is that even in the ancient times, the Greeks decorated their stuffs, and beautifully. Then, there are many beautiful statues. Interestingly, it is not allowed to take photos with the statue of the gods and goddess, taking photos of them are allowed.
Syntagma Square and Monastiraki
This is the city centre of Athens. There are many shops along the way, loads of cafe and restaurants, and also Greece Parliament building where everyone can watch the changing guards procession. On Sunday, the area is not so busy as many shops are closed.
Above L: Syntagma Square; R: Monastiraki Square
Below L: Changing guards; R: Details!
Mount Lycabettus
Being the highest point in Athens, this is the perfect spot to enjoy the city view from up above and also if you are lucky, you get to see beautiful sunset. What I mean by lucky is not only for the weather, but also if you get a good spot to enjoy the sunset. Let me tell you, it is packed with people! I guess everyone wants to enjoy that view which, indeed, beautiful. If sunset is not what you aim for, try to visit Lycabettus at least 3 hours before the sunset (or during the midday, perhaps?)
Now, how to reach the top? My way was taking the metro to Evangelismos station. From there, walk (and climb the stairs) to the funicular station. Not an easy walk, let me tell you. This is a mountain that we are talking about. But, relax and enjoy the journey! Taking a taxi to the funicular station is also an option.
The fare for two-way trip by funicular is €7.50. Oh, it is also possible to walk the way up, but I think the route is slightly different. Anyway, that was the first time I used a funicular. It is like a metro but steep to up and down.
The view from the top of the mountain is indeed gorgeous. The most popular view is the view looking to the Acropolis.
10 June/Day 3: Exploring the ancient Athens
Athens is named after its goddess patron, Athena. So, it is must to pay a visit to the temple dedicated to Athena: the Parthenon. Well, it sounds greedy (not really, in fact), but I wanted to explore other ancient buildings beside Parthenon. Luckily, Parthenon is located nearby many other ancient sites here in Athens, so it is possible to explore them, in one day.
First stop, we went to the Acropolis where the Parthenon is located. We have bought the 5 days ticket the day before, so no need to wait in line to buy one.
Tips: I really recommend you to buy the pass to the ancient sites; not only is it more economical, it also saves your precious time. Never wait in line for a ticket unless you have no better option! Where to buy? I bought the ticket in Ancient Agora, well basically you can buy everywhere where the pass is valid, just find somewhere with less line (which means, avoid buying it at the Acropolis if possible, where there is surely longer waiting line).
Sorry for the tips interuption btw :) okay back to Acropolis. One relaxing way to reach the Acropolis is to take metro to Acropoli Station, then follow where everyone goes: to the entry gate. The walk is not so bad (re: not really that steep). The first structure that we saw was Odeon of Herodes Atticus. At that time, there was a preparation for a music concert that night, so it was interesting to see the ancient theatre is still used for a modern concert. Then, we walked a little bit further up to reach the Temple of Athena Nike, which is also the entry for the high point in the Acropolis.
Finally after passing through the temple, I see that masterpiece: The Parthenon! Whoa.. I am at loss of words. It is so beautiful! And huge too. The view is also incredible. Now I understand why the gods and goddesses were in Athens, with such breathtaking view. I don't know about you, but there is a kind of sacred feeling at the Acropolis. To think that the gods and goddesses walked through the same path as I did there, made me feel happy. I wonder centuries later, humans of the future feel the same way the way I feel now. This kind of feeling made me greedy to explore many places around the world and keep on travelling (credit to Rick Steves for the saying :))
Next to Parthenon is Erechteion. The famous feature of the temple is the 6 women as columns, an olive tree which was the gift from Athena for the people of Athens, and a hole at the ceiling of the temple and on the floor (can not really see it) which was where the gift from Poseidon fell down.
After that, we explored the Ancient Agora. We got slight problem at the start of our visit there, since our cards were scanned the day before without us entering the site. Luckily they understood that and we were let through. Ancient Agora is a nice example of ancient city centre. The highlight is a big building with many statue displays and a museum inside.
Satisfied with the Ancient Agora, we moved on to the Hadrian's Arch and Temple of Olympian Zeus. I was mesmerized with how huge the columns of the temple. I thought the Parthenon is huge enough, but this temple is so enormous. Not far from the Temple and the Arch, we used our last bit of energy to checked out the Panathenaic Stadium before heading to the hostel and calling it a day.
11 June/Day 4: Going to Istanbul
It was our last day in Athens and we needed to go to the airport to catch flight to Istanbul. We used our transportation card and go to the airport by metro.
Athens is so beautiful and friendly. It is also safe and even the Hakuna Matata scam in Monastiraki made us laugh every single time. Without a doubt, this is one of the cities you should add on your travel list! As for myself, until next time, Athens!