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The Parthenon, 2,400-odd years old and still under renovation. Relatable.
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One Acropolis, one overpriced bottle of water, one rooftop, and a ship to catch.
Athens was the hinge of this trip: out of Paris, into Greece, and onto the Explora II at Piraeus the next day. Thirty-six hours, and we lost the first few of them to a delayed flight that landed after midnight.
Here’s the short version, so you can skip to the part you need. The Acropolis: worth it. Lunch on the famous stairs: not worth it. The rooftop at sunset: worth it, at the bar. And the honest headline, which we’ll explain at the end: if we go back, we intend to skip Athens city completely.
Give the hill a few hours. Give the stairs your camera, not your wallet.
Trust us? Check out our Athens Wander Map.
*As always, no commissions from our links. We encourage booking early and direct. These maps are always a work in progress, and are curated from all past trips and current research.
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When you land after midnight, you want a bed, not a view.
We chose the Moxy for its location just outside the tourist circle: an easy stroll to the Acropolis, but far enough that the street outside isn’t selling plaster owls. It’s a great low-cost hotel. It’s also a Moxy, which means the rooms are small, and you will be on intimate terms with your partner’s suitcase. For a night before a ship, that’s exactly the right trade. For a week, it isn’t.
Full disclosure: we got 10% off the room. It did not make the room any bigger.
The flaw is the arrival itself, not the hotel. A delayed, post-midnight landing turns a 36-hour stop into a 30-hour one. Somehow, we still found the energy to welcome the welcome drink. Purely medicinal. We’re fairly sure it helped us sleep. If you can find a flight that gets in by dinner, take it.
The one thing in Athens that lived up to its billing.
Thankfully, we were traveling in shoulder season, which meant a crack-of-dawn entry wasn’t necessary — a precious gift after a delayed flight and a medicinal welcome drink. We booked a late-morning timed entry at the official Hellenic Heritage site, strolled over from the hotel, and stayed for a few hours. In peak summer, it’s a different story: book the earliest slot you can stand, because the crowds and the heat build together through the day, and by afternoon the marble is crowded, bright and hot enough to make you reconsider your life choices.
We skipped the guides hustling at the gate and used the free Rick Steves audio tour instead, and it was thoroughly enjoyable. He’s a little corny. He’s also well-researched, perfectly paced, and, unlike a man with a laminated sign, you can pause him. Allow three hours to do the Parthenon, the Erechtheion, the Propylaea gate and the views properly.
The flaws. The Parthenon is still partly wrapped in scaffolding; it’s an active restoration, not a photo set. The marble underfoot has been polished smooth by a few million visitors and is slippery even when dry, so leave the cute sandals at the hotel. And there’s very little shade. Bring water from the hotel, which brings us neatly to lunch.
Mnisikleous Stairs: completely disappointing, extremely photogenic.
You’ve seen this staircase. It’s on everyone’s feed: taverna tables on every step, bougainvillea overhead, the Acropolis just above. It is undeniably pretty. We were hungry, it was right there, and we sat down. Readers, we knew better.
The food was forgettable at best. Then the bill came, and it had been padded by about $45, most of it attributed to a bottle of water. One bottle. Of water. In a country where a bottle of water costs about fifty cents at any kiosk. We overpaid for the privilege of a lunch we’d happily forget.
Our advice: go to the Mnisikleous Stairs for the photo. Take it. Admire it. Then walk somewhere else to eat. If you must sit down, ask the price of everything, including the water, before it touches the table, and check every line of the bill.
Free, quiet, and nobody tried to sell us water.
After lunch we wandered back through the old neighborhoods tucked under the north slope of the Acropolis. Anafiotika is a tiny cluster of whitewashed houses and narrow lanes that looks like someone airlifted a Cycladic island village into the middle of Athens — which is roughly what happened when island builders settled here in the 1800s. Real people live here, so keep your voice down. It’s their front yard, not a set.
Be warned: the lanes eventually spill you back out into the souvenir-shop corridors, where every third shop sells the same evil-eye magnet. Walk faster.
Attic Urban Rooftop, and how to get the view for a fifth of the price.
We made it back to the hotel in time to change and head out to Attic Urban Rooftop for dinner. Here’s the honest review: the food is very good. The view of the Acropolis turning gold at sunset is unbeatable. And the price leaves you questioning both.
So here’s how to do it right. Skip the dinner table. Go for sunset drinks at the bar and drink in the view for about a fifth of the price. Same sky, same Parthenon, same golden hour. Then go eat at a taverna on a street with no view and no English on the sign.
The city was the stopover. The coast was the discovery.
On the ride to the port, we got a long look at the Athens Riviera, the stretch of coastline running south of the city. It looked lovely. It also looked packed in like sardines. Still, we saw enough to change our plans: if we go back, we intend to skip Athens city completely and head straight for the coast.
At the tip of the Riviera, the Temple of Poseidon sits on a cliff above the sea, and it’s at the top of our list for sunset. Just up the road, the quaint-looking Aegeon Beach Hotel seems more our speed than anything in the city: low-key, on the water, and nowhere near a padded bill. We haven’t stayed. We intend to.
This one has been on our someday list for years, and it’s been thoroughly scouted by a few very lucky travelers we trust completely. The verdict from the scouts: we may never leave. If the Staches win the lottery — or if the Four Seasons wants a completely honest review at an 80% room discount (we’re easy to find) — we’ll report back firsthand.
Fourteen nights at sea, starting now.
The next morning, we squeezed down the coast road to Piraeus and boarded the Explora II. That story — and the fourteen nights that followed — gets its own three-part brag, starting with Part 1: The Overview.
Athens earned a few hours. The Riviera earned a return trip.
We did Athens the way most cruise passengers do: fly in, climb the hill, have a drink with the view, get on the boat. The Acropolis lived up to two and a half thousand years of hype, scaffolding and all, and Rick Steves was excellent company. Everything below the hill was some combination of overpriced, over-photographed and over-souvenired, and we paid our tourist tax on the stairs like amateurs.
So here’s the plan for next time, and the one we’d give a friend. See the Acropolis first — late morning in shoulder season, first thing in summer. Then get out of the city and spend your nights on the Riviera, where the sunsets come with a temple instead of a cover charge.
Land before midnight. Go in shoulder season. Download Rick. Photograph the stairs. Ask the price of the water. Drink at the bar, not the table.
No kick-backs for links. Ever.
The Acropolis
Timed entry. Late morning is fine in shoulder season; go early in summer. Allow a few hours, wear real shoes.
Find it on the map →
Official tickets: Hellenic Heritage →
Rick Steves Audio Europe: Athens
Free audio tours, including the Acropolis. Download before you go.
Official: Rick Steves Audio Tours →
Moxy Athens City
Great low-cost hotel, small rooms, easy stroll to the Acropolis.
Find it on the map →
Official: Marriott booking page →
Mnisikleous Stairs
Photo, yes. Lunch, no. Ask the price of the water.
Find it on the map →
Anafiotika
The island village under the Acropolis. Stroll quietly.
Find it on the map →
Attic Urban Rooftop
Very good food, unbeatable view, questionable bill. Sunset drinks at the bar.
Find it on the map →
Official site →
Four Seasons Astir Palace
Scouted by very lucky friends. Lottery pending.
Find it on the map →
Official: Four Seasons Astir Palace →
Temple of Poseidon, Sounion
Sunset at the end of the Riviera. Next time.
Find it on the map →
Official site →
Aegeon Beach Hotel
Quaint, on the water, near the temple. More our speed.
Find it on the map →