Trying to plan out what to see in a big city like Athens can be overwhelming. Don’t worry I have already done a ton of research for my trip to Athens, Greece and now I want to share it with you to save you time and stress.
This blog post will tell you the top places I recommend you spend your time in Athens visiting, where these places are located, and how much it costs to enter.
This blog post is all about the top 10 places to visit in Athens, Greece.
Top 10 Places to Visit in Athens Greece:
Locations of the Top 10 Places:
Top Tip for Exploring Athens
If you want to visit ALL of the historical sites in Athens getting The Athens Pass is going to be your cheapest option. If you only want to go to a few you can calculate the cost of buying individual tickets, I will tell you the cost of each attraction in this post, and see if the pass would be worth you getting. Personally, when I travelled to Athens I wanted to visit as many of the sites as possible and the Athens Pass is decently affordable for what is included. What’s included in the Athens Pass: -Skip-the-line access to the Acropolis Sites and the Slopes -Skip-the-line access to the Ancient Agora -Skip-the-line access to the Roman Agora -Skip-the-line access to Hadrian’s Library -Skip-the-line access to the Olympieion -Skip-the-line access to Kerameikos -Skip-the-line access to Aristitle’s Lyceum- Skip-the-line access to the Acropolis Museum
- City Audio Guide App for your Phone
- 10% discount on other attractions
1. Acropolis and Parthenon
About:
The famous Acropolis and Parthenon is a must-visit when you travel to Athens Greece. These beautiful Greek ruins tell you so much about history. To walk around this site it’s hard to comprehend how long these structures have been standing. Seeing the Acropolis NEEDS to be on your Athens bucket list.Cost:
To get a Skip-the-line Entrance Ticket to the Acropolis (without an audio or tour guide) is around $30 CAD. To get a walking tour of the Acropolis will cost around $50 CAD.2. Theatre of Dionysus
About:
This beautiful Theatre of Dionysus is located on the slope of the Acropolis hill. This theatre is one of the oldest in the world and is still used for performances to this day. If you want to really experience the Theatre of Dionysus you can get a ticket to a performance held there or if you just want to see this theatre from above you will be able to view it from the Acropolis.Cost:
The Theatre of Dionysus can be viewed and learned about if you book a tour of the Acropolis so there is no extra cost to see the theatre from Acropolis Hill.3. Acropolis Museum
About:
Another popular destination for first-time travellers to Greece is the Acropolis Museum. The Acropolis Museum is a great place for travellers who want to learn tons about the history of the Acropolis of Athens. This museum houses tons of artifacts found around the slopes of the Acropolis.Cost:
To visit just the Acropolis Museum will cost around $25 CAD for a skip-the-line ticket and if you wanted a guided tour of the Acropolis Museum it would cost around $50 CAD.4. Ancient Agora + Temple of Hephaestus
About:
The Ancient Agora in Athens is another spot many tourists visit during their stay in Athens. You can walk around the site and see both still-standing buildings as well as ruins of old ones that are no longer there. You can also visit the museum on the grounds of the Ancient Agora and learn about the artifacts.Cost:
A skip-the-line entrance ticket to the Ancient Agora costs around $18 CAD. This ticket includes…- Skip-the-line entrance to the Ancient Agora of Athens
- Admission to the Temple of Hephaestus
- Admission to the Museum of the Ancient Agora in the Stoa of Attalos
- Admission to the Tholos
- Admission to the Bouleuterion
5. Roman Agora
About:
The Roman Agora though it sounds very similar to the Ancient Agora is not the same historical spot. An Agora was a central public space in ancient Greece so they have a few popular spots in Greece with this name. The Roman Agora used to be a market back in the day but today you can walk around the site and see parts of the old Agora.Cost:
An entrance ticket to the Roman Agora costs around $14 CAD.6. Hadrian’s Library
About:
Hadrian’s Library was the largest library in Athens. Now you can walk the grounds of where the largest library in Athens used to be. You can learn about what the library used to look like back in the day and try to make out the rooms of the library from what is still standing.Cost:
Hadrian’s Library costs 6 euros to enter and you can purchase tickets at the ticket office at the entrance to Hadrian’s Library.7. Temple of Olympian Zeus
About:
The Temple of Olympian Zeus also called the Olympieion or Columns of the Olympian Zeus is another popular place to visit when you are in Athens Greece. There is not a lot of this temple left standing just a few pillars showing where this temple once stood in the past.Cost:
For a ticket and audio tour of the Temple of Olympian Zeus, it costs around $19 CAD.8. Kerameikos
About:
Kerameikos is known for housing the largest cemetery in Greece. You can walk around this old cemetery and see all the tombs used by the Romans during the 16th century AD.Cost:
The tickets for Kerameikos with an audio tour cost around $14 CAD.9. Panathenaic Stadium
About:
Panathenaic Stadium is one of the main historic attractions in Athens. This stadium is the only one in the entire world made entirely of marble. This stadium also hosted the Zappas Olympics in 1870 and 1875 and the first modern Olympics in 1896.Cost:
The Panathenaic Stadium is not included in the Athens Pass so you would have to pay for a ticket to enter. Personally, I did not go in or go on a tour to see and learn about the stadium I just saw it from the outside and read a bit about its history from the sign outside the stadium. To enter the stadium it costs 10 euros. And if you really want a full Olympic experience there is an experience where you get a tour around the stadium as well as train and run around the stadium. This experience is on the more expensive side, around $80 CAD, but if you want the full experience this is it!10. Aristotle Lyceum
About:
Aristotle’s Lyceum is the site where Aristotle established a school and a library. He used this site to work with other researchers and hold lectures for the public. Now it is a historical site of where this school used to be. You can walk around and read about the history.Cost:
The entrance fee to enter in the summer (April-October) is 4 euros and in the winter (November-March) is 2 euros. Those are the 10 sites I recommend visiting for your first time travelling to Athens Greece. There are tons of historical and archeological sites in Athens it can get overwhelming, I understand, I have been there. These are the top 10 places I recommend spending your time visiting. I hope this guide was helpful and have the most amazing trip to Athens!This blog post was all about the top 10 places to visit in Athens Greece.
[…] For more details on all the historical monuments I recommend you visit in Athens, check out my blog post “Top 10 Places to Visit in Athens Greece.” […]