How to spend 3 days in Athens- a practical guide

Greece is a very popular destination and Athens is a must stop. So if you are planning a trip and looking for ideas on what to see and do in 3 days in Athens, keep reading.

Athens was one of the cities that I somehow haven’t had a chance to visit for a long time but was very high on my list of dream places. Earlier this year I finally booked my flight to Athens and invited my mum to join me. From time to time I take a trip with my mum. I’ve been living abroad and travelling for the last 17 years and only a few times I have gone back to Poland for a visit. Flights are usually more pricey than to other European places and my mum enjoys visiting new sites, so we opted for Greece this summer. Apart from Athens, we visited a couple of islands, but I’m going to write about it in another post.

Use my favourite travel resources to plan your dream trips

Booking.com for searching best prices on accommodation.
Discover Cars is a great website as they search both local and international car hire services, so you can choose the best deal for yourself. Make sure though, that the company has a good reputation and reviews.
Get Your Guide is my place to go for searching and booking tours and excursions, especially when I travel solo.
World Nomads travel insurance. I like them because they have quite extensive coverage of different activities.
Jack’s Flight Club is a service that can save you hundreds of dollars on flights, it works especially well in Europe.
Trivago where you can search and save on hotels.
Go City is a perfect site for booking bucket list experiences and attractions all in one to avoid paying for multiple tickets. Easy and saves money.
Trip Advisor– amazing for good quality recommendations.
Skyscanner is a perfect website for searching flight routes and comparing prices.

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Where to stay in Athens

For this trip, the most important aspect of accommodation for me was its location. I wanted to stay somewhere close to the Acropolis and be able to go walking to most places. The other thing I really wanted was a balcony or rooftop with a view of the Acropolis and where I could have nice breakfast or coffee while overlooking this beautiful sight.

I spent hours researching and found a few excellent options, but not all were available during peak season on the days when we travelled. These are the hotels that were considered and would choose any time if I ever go again to Athens.

So, after all these hours of searching for hotels with a perfect view of the Acropolis and the most convenient location, these are my top picks:

The Athens Gate– we stayed in this hotel for the amazing terrace with the view, however, the following hotels were on the list of my choices, but not available on my travel dates.
Athens Ikon– A absolutely beautiful boutique hotel blending Greek hospitality with contemporary design. Situated near the Acropolis, it offers stylish accommodations and personalized service for a memorable stay.
Athens Grand Suite– Luxurious hotel featuring elegant suites with modern amenities and panoramic city views.
Frixos Acropolis Luxury apartment– A lavish apartment with luxury amenities and a prime location near the Acropolis. Ideal for families or groups, it offers spacious living areas and a private balcony with breathtaking views of Athens.

Getting to Athens

I dedicated the last days of my trip for discovering Athens. I flew to Athens with Qatar Airways as the schedule was the most convenient for me, my mum chose Green airlines- Aegean (I was extremely happy with them, she, unlike me, flew business and paid under 200$). After arriving, we took a ferry from Piraeus to spend over a week in the islands.

3 days in Athens- what to see and do

Day 1

It wouldn’t be a surprise if I said that the main reason for my trip to Athens was Acropolis. As early as possible I went for my breakfast to be able to enter the Acropolis as soon as the gates are open at 8 am. Since getting up early is usually a challenge, I wanted to have accommodation very close to the site and the Athens Gate Hotel was just perfectly located 5 minutes away from the Acropolis.

I booked my tickets in advance because there are two lines that you need to stand in to enter the Acropolis: the first line to buy your ticket, the other one to enter. I wanted to avoid this and head up the hill as soon as possible (mainly to avoid crowds and the summer sun). It all worked out perfectly and I would really recommend buying skip the line if you are going there in peak season and after 9 am (it gets really crowded then). Another thing I found extremely useful was a combined ticket for 30 Euros that allowed me to enter a few different sites.

Acropolis museum was absolutely stunning. Make sure that you have plenty time to soak all the displays there

Plan for day 1:

The Acropolis
Theatre of Dionysus
Odeon of Herodus Atticus
Temple of Zeus (Olympeion)- included in the special ticket
Hadrian’s Arch
Plaka neighbourhood
Acropolis Museum

Top tip:

Enter the Acropolis at the southeastern gate (it was 4 minutes walking from the Athens Gate Hotel).This way you’ll avoid big groups coming in buses.

Day 2

The day started with a breakfast with a view of Acropolis. What could be better than that? We needed a good breakfast as a whole and a long day of walking was ahead of us…and it was hot! While I loved every place we visited, I especially enjoyed the changing of guards, it is truly one kind of a show (and a slightly funny one). Again, my idea to buy a combined ticket to see many ruins proved to be a good one as the savings, in the end, was more than the ticket itself.

Ancient Agora
Roman Agra
Temple of Hephaistos, from there 15-minute walk to Syntagma Square, where you can see the guard change every day at 11 am
Panatheraic Stadium (15-minute walk from Syntagma Square)
Spend an afternoon in the Hilopappu Hill park
Watch an evening performance at the Odeon of Herodes Atticus

Day 3

The last day was to anything else that we didn’t manage to explore yet. I was happy to have already seen most of the attractions in the previous days, so I could just soak in the atmosphere of the city and walk through some areas for the second or third time, just to enjoy it.

Psiri neighbourhood and Pittaki street
Monastiraki Square and market, from there you can walk to the central market
Watch the sunset from one of the rooftops in Monastiraki Square
Make sure you leave some free time to explore and enjoy a coffee break (and do it every day).

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Enjoy your trip!

Love,

Ania

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