Athens

Everyone starts in Athens… At least, that’s where almost all flights are going to bring you. It’s an obvious and perfect starting point. In Athens you can find your footing and take in the modern capital and certainly the most famous ancient city. In Athens you can (and should) visit:

• The Acropolis (duh)
  On the Acropolis you’ll find the Propylaea, the Temple of Athena Nike, The Erechtheion (and the Caryatid columns!), and of course, the Parthenon. You will also see what used to be the Acropolis Museum. (Picture here is the Parthenon)

• The Acropolis Slopes
  Enter the Acropolis from the south side and see the Theatre of Dionysus, the Odeon of Herodes, and more. Leave through the north and you can see the Areopagus hill and find your way to the Agora.

• The Acropolis Museum
  In order to prove that they could take care of the famed Parthenon Marbles, the Greeks built the new Acropolis Museum below the Acropolis hill*. But the British refuse to return the marbles, so in the Acropolis Museum you’ll see only the plaster casts of the originals. Still, there’s so much to see beyond the (lack of) Parthenon Marbles, this museum is a required visit. You can even walk over (and through) an ongoing archaeological site below the museum.

• The Agora
  Below the Acropolis Hill on the north side are the ruins of the Agora, the city centre of ancient Athens. There you’ll find the Temple of Hephaestus, one of the best preserved temples and so much more (ruins, yes, but magpies and tortoises too!).

• Roman Ruins
  The Emperor Hadrian did a whole lot in Athens when he reigned over the Roman Empire. There’s the Temple of Olympian Zeus, the Roman Forum, The Arch of Hadrian, The Library of Hadrian, and more!

• The National Archaeological Museum of Athens
  Another must see: there you’ll see the mask of “Agamemnon” (it’s not actually him but it’s cool), so many Herms (love a Herm), wall paintings from Bronze Age Akrotiri (pictured!!), pottery, statuary, and so much more.

• More Museums
  There are lots of other museums including one of Cycladic art, and Ottoman, but I haven’t made it there yet to recommend anything!

• Everything
  I recommend everything in Athens.

Close to Athens

• The Temple of Poseidon at Sounion
  If you’re staying in Athens you should probably visit the Temple of Poseidon at the Cape of Sounion. This temple sits at the edge of a cliff at the furthest tip of Attica, overlooking the Mediterranean Sea. If you get the right tour guide you might even get to visit a beach along the way. On route to Sounion you can see an island named for Patroclus (oh, Patroclus!)… The tour guides say to go at sunset and I’m sure it’s incredible, but the temple of beautiful no matter the time of day!

Delphi

Of course, an obvious place to visit is the site of the ancient Oracle of Delphi! The trip is a couple hours outside of Athens, you can rent a car and drive yourself (I did this with my friends in Ancient History Fangirl) or partake in one of the many tours that save you the trouble and take you there directly (I’ve done that too, pre-pandemic). Either way, Delphi is a must! So, what’s in Delphi?

The Primary sanctuary ruins:

The main site of the ancient Oracle complex, this is a huge space with Greek and Roman ruins (and lots of cats!). More specifically:

• The Treasury of Athens, this has been rebuilt to show what the ancient treasuries would have looked like (major regions had their own buildings to house all the offerings they would bring!)

• A recreation of the Omphalos, the “navel of the world” (the original Omphalos is in the nearby museum)

• The Temple of Apollo, where our girl gave her prophecies (you can trust her, provided you’re not Oedipus)

• The Theatre (there were festivals and performances of Greek plays right there on the side of the mountain)

• The Stadium (if you make your way aaaall the way up to the top, you’ll see the ancient Stadium where they held ancient games)