One Day in Athens: Best Places to Visit

Last Updated on 16.07.2023 by Iliyan

It’s a well-known fact that Athens is one of the most ancient cities in the world. As such, it has been inhabited with no interruption for at least 7000 years. Thanks to its rich cultural and historical heritage Athens is visited by thousands of tourists annually. I’ve been thinking to visit the Greek capital for some time now and I finally managed, even that I spent just one day in Athens. Thankfully many of the most important monuments in the capital are relatively concentrated in one place and you don’t need to get too far from the Acropolis, which acts as a sort of center.

Contents

1 The Perfect One Day in Athens Itinerary

The Perfect One Day in Athens Itinerary

What to see and do if you have one day in Athens? In this article, you’ll find the best places that you can visit for one day in Athens, Greece.

National archeological museum

Start your day at the National archeological museum in Athens. It’s located outside of the center and it’s best to reach it by metro (get off at Omonia station, where the green (1) and the red (2) lines cross). The National archeological museum is the biggest museum in Greece and one of the most grandiose in the world. It’s numerous and exclusive exponents (more than 11 000) give you the opportunity to go back in Greek history – from the beginning of Prehistory to Late antiquity. At first you will notice a rich collection of various statues.

One day in Athens, Greece — National archeological museum in Athens

Bronze statue of a horse and a young jockey

The Prehistoric exhibition includes works of art of the great civilizations, which existed in the Aegean Sea from the 6th millennium BC until 1050 BC. Starting with the Neolithic from 6000-3300 BC we see extraordinary exponents, including gold objects and stunning clay figures.

Kylix and rhytons — Kylix decorated with stylized octopus and rhytons of different shapes

One of the greatest masterpieces in the world in located here – the gold Mask of Agamemnon. Even though nowadays archeologists believe the mask was made a few hundred years before Agamemnon’s time.

You will have the opportunity to see many gold decorations, jewellery and artefacts at the museum.

One day in Athens — National Archaeological Museum

Another interesting exponent in the museum is a wine mug/vase, on which is carved the oldest existing writing in Greek which says: “I now belong to the person, who is the best dancer.”

The Temple of Olympian Zeus

From the National archeological museum get back to the metro to the metro stop of the Acropolis and go through Hadrian’s gate (original entrance to Athens) to the Temple of Olympian Zeus. It’s dedicated to Zeus and is one of the biggest temples in Greece.

The construction of this temple started in 520 BC, but halted numerous times. It was finally completed by emperor Hadrian and was uncovered in 131 – 132 BC. In the years that followed it started to fall apart. Only 16 of the 104 original columns remain, one of which fell down during a storm in 1852 and continues to fall apart in the ground. However, the original giant columns are preserved in their grandeur.

The Arch of Hadrian

The Arch of Hadrian is located right in from of the Temple of Zeus. It was raised in honour of the emperor in 131 after his army took over the city.

It was built to honour Hadrian for the good he did for the wellbeing of the city and marks the border between the new and the old city. The west side of the Arch of Hadrian says: “This is Athens, the ancient city of Theseus”, and one on the east – “This is the city of Hadrian, not Theseus”.

Plaka and Monastiraki

From the Arch of Hadrian we crossed Leoforos Vasilisis Amalias boulevard and entered the popular neighbourhood of Plaka. This is the old part of Athens. Most of the streets here are closed for motor vehicles. The neighbourhood is located at the base of the Acropolis and is very picturesque with small narrow cobblestone streets, old buildings and great small restaurants. The Greek say that Plaka is the most beautiful part of Athens, and because of its close proximity to the Acropolis it’s often called “The Neighbourhood of the gods”.

If you continue your walk along Adrianou street you will get to another interesting neighbourhood – Monastiraki. This is one of the main shopping areas in Athens. You can buy souvenirs, clothes, antiques, shoes and any kind of new or second hand goods, for the price of which you can bargain. The area is named after the Monastiraki square, which is one of the most beautiful in the Greek capital. There are many cafes and taverns, which offer typical Greek food.

Ancient Agora of Athens

The agora is the heart of the ancient city in Athens, the center of democracy and the first parliament in the world. Besides that it was a center of trade and social activities.

Here is the museum of the Ancient agora, which is located in the Stoa of Attalos. The building was constructed during the time of king Attalos II of Pergamon, who ruled between 159 BC and 138 BC. The Stoa of Attalos was reconstructed and now houses articles, found in the agora, including artefacts, related to democracy in Athens, as well as the instruments, used for ostracism, an act of temporarily removing corrupted politicians from the city.

The Acropolis

In Greek Acropolis means “a city over a hill” and even though there are many of those in Greece, this one is called the Acropolis in short. The history of the Acropolis begins from The Mycenaean era and it was always an important religious and public center.

The biggest construction of the Acropolis in Athens is the Parthenon. It’s dedicated to the goddess Athena, the patron of the city of Athens. Its construction took only nine years – from 447 to 438 BC, even though the process of decorating the building continued until 432 BC. The Parthenon is considered a masterpiece of ancient Greek architecture and a symbol of ancient Greece. The Acropolis has been under the protection of UNESCO since 1987.

The Parthenon, dedicated to the goddess Athena

After taking a look at the Parthenon from all angles and the other temples at the top you can enjoy the view. The Acropolis gives a fascinating 360 degree panoramic view of the capital of Greece. It’s especially pleasing observing the sunset, so plan your trip to the Acropolis for the end of the day.

The best bars in Athens

Athens is a city where nightlife is especially important. There is a high variety of restaurants, bars and clubs. Many popular spots have a panoramic view over the city. Thanks to our friend Lee Anduze we had the opportunity to visit two of the best bars in Athens. Lee is an American producer and DJ, who’s been living and working in the Greek capital for the past few years.

The first bar we visited was Couleur Locale and it’s located in Monastiraki. Its terrace gives an amazing view to the Acropolis.

The next place turned out to be a real jewel. Baba Au Rum is part of the prestigious top 50 best bars in the world. If you are a rum lover, well then this is your place. You will find a great collection of different types and you can try exotic cocktails from all over the world. The place is small and it has a great atmosphere. I would highly recommend to anyone travelling to Athens, to visit Baba Au Rum.