Athens on New Year's Day

I am considering a Costa cruise that stops in Athens on January 1st -- New Year's Day. Looking at the Acropolis opening hours it looks like it will be closed for the holiday.

Interested in all the ports of call on the itinerary, but seems a shame to stop in Athens for just one day and not be able to visit its most famous site! We also have the option to skip the cruise and just visit Athens for a few days as part of a land itinerary.

Thoughts? Does being able to see the Acropolis at a distance + all the other things that can be visited in Athens still make it an interesting day (and the cruise still worth doing)?

TBH I can't imagine a cruise around the Med in December/January the best time of year. Although it may be sunny it will be cold and possibly wet.

Many small places will have a lot of places shut as it is outside the tourist season. Spring or Autumn would be my choice of time to visit.

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Spring or Autumn would be my choice of time to visit.

Agreed. But we are going to be in Venice for Christmas anyways, so looking for an add-on. Been through most of the rest of Italy. Head north and it gets even colder. So the idea was to head east and south. Ideally we would drive as I prefer being one place for a few days vs. just a brief day off a cruise stop. But then dealing with a rental car gets tricky unless you backtrack the drive and return in Venice -- and we have 2 younger kids -- hence looking at the cruise as a way to see a few things and only pack/unpack one more time even if not the optimal time.

We have actually had two really great trips through the south of Italy and Sicily over the New Year's break. Yes, it rains some (many) days. And it is chilly. But still enjoyable and get to see things one would normally not. The only part I did not enjoy was the longer drives in the rain -- being on a ship would solve that.

I think we are leaning towards doing it - being able to see the Acropolis even at a distance plus the ship visiting Olympia the next day will give us a slice of ruins. And excited about the other stops. So will change my question to asking for suggestions on what to do New Year's Day with the major sites closed. Assuming we can find a guide/driver working that day, will most likely hire a private tour to make the most of our time and take a break when the kids need to.

New Year's Eve is the 2nd biggest holiday of the year in Greece (after Easter). Pretty much everything will be closed on New Year's Day. However, that does give you a quieter Athens to walk around in! Yes, you can see some of the Acropolis site from below & you can walk around the Plaka area, see the outside of the ancient Agora etc. Syntagma square, possibly changing of the guard, the National gardens, maybe see the outside of the old Olympic stadium. How about a walk up Philopappos Hill? I would suggest arranging a driver in advance though, as I think public transport will not be running. A driver will have some good alternatives to take you.