Athens on our own purchasing tickets

[gypsyyve]

We ( group of 4) are planning to do Athens on our own on our day there. Are there any tickets we are best off/able to pre-purchase to avoid queues. Thank you.

[Keith1010]

You can pre purchase tickets for the New Accropolis Museum. They are very cheap and it really is more meant to give you a reserved time for the museum. Here is the link for the museum and up top you'll see tickets. They are only available a couple of months before your visit.

 

http://www.theacropolismuseum.gr/?pname=Home&la=2

 

Keith

[cruisemom42]

You can't prepurchase tickets for the Acropolis, to the best of my knowledge.

 

The ticket for the Acropolis includes 5 other sites as well. You can buy this combined ticket at any of the sites, so if you want to avoid the longer lines at the Acropolis, you can stop off at one of the other sites first and get your ticket there. Be sure to ask for the combination ticket. The Acropolis ONLY sells the combo ticket; but other sites also sell individual tickets at a lower cost.

 

Other included sites in the combo ticket: Greek Agora, Roman Agora, Temple of Zeus, Dionysus Theater, and Keramikos Cemetery.

[MercedMike]

 

Other included sites in the combo ticket: Greek Agora, Roman Agora, Temple of Zeus, Dionysus Theater, and Keramikos Cemetery.

 

A really good plan is to start at the Temple of Zeus (Akropoli metro stop) and buy your combo ticket there. Then you can walk through Plaka's Gate to the Antiquities Promenade which takes you past all the major antiquities, and use your ticket as you go along.

 

Check out our trip report and pictures at http://www.bully4.us/athens.html

 

Have a GREAT cruise!

[jen1206]

A really good plan is to start at the Temple of Zeus (Akropoli metro stop) and buy your combo ticket there. Then you can walk through Plaka's Gate to the Antiquities Promenade which takes you past all the major antiquities, and use your ticket as you go along.

 

Check out our trip report and pictures at http://www.bully4.us/athens.html

 

Have a GREAT cruise!

Do you have to change trains on the metro from Piraeus port to Akropoli? If so, at which stop do you switch?

[janina]

Great tour, thanks Merced Mike for all the info. I love your tours.:)

[kuldalai]

Map of the Athens METRO is here :

 

http://www.holiday-in-athens.com/athens/athens-metro-map.html

 

From PIRAEUS on the Green Line head into town and CHANGE to the Red Line at SYNTAGMA (Direction of travel to terminal station Aghios Dimitrios) and travel one stop to alight at AKROPOLI.

[bunkydog]

Wouild appreciate some advise about seeing the Parthanon/Acropolis area in a short period of time. We arrive in Greece about 9:15am and our ship, Oceania Nautica, departs at 10 pm. We will need to be aboard earlier for a fire drill but not sure what time that is. Any suggestions as to how to go about cramming in some quick but important site seeing? :)

[cruisemom42]

Wouild appreciate some advise about seeing the Parthanon/Acropolis area in a short period of time. We arrive in Greece about 9:15am and our ship, Oceania Nautica, departs at 10 pm. We will need to be aboard earlier for a fire drill but not sure what time that is. Any suggestions as to how to go about cramming in some quick but important site seeing? :)

 

 

So it sounds as if you are arriving by air to Athens on your departure day? If that's the case, I think your only option would be to make arrangements to be picked up by a private driver/taxi who can store your luggage and take you to a few sites before heading to Piraeus to board your ship. You should be able to see a fair amount of Athens if you get to the city by approximately 11:00 am (although traffic may be bad from the airport on a weekday morning -- allow 70-90 minutes) and are willing to stay in Athens until around 6pm or so....

[rian90]

Map of the Athens METRO is here :

 

www.holiday-in-athens.com/athens/athens-metro-map.html

 

From PIRAEUS on the Green Line head into town and CHANGE to the Red Line at SYNTAGMA (Direction of travel to terminal station Aghios Dimitrios) and travel one stop to alight at AKROPOLI.

 

On the map it looks like you have to take the green line to Monastiraki and then switch to the Blue line, and then go to Syntagma and switch to the red line. I am confused. Is the map wrong? Sorry, but I don't want to end up on the wrong train. :)

[cruisemom42]

On the map it looks like you have to take the green line to Monastiraki and then switch to the Blue line, and then go to Syntagma and switch to the red line. I am confused. Is the map wrong? Sorry, but I don't want to end up on the wrong train. :)

 

 

There are a couple of different ways to get to the Acropolis.

 

From a transportation point of view, the easiest way is to simply take the Green Line directly to Monastiraki stop and walk to the Acropolis, passing the Library of Hadrian and Roman forum along the way. However, the climb to the Acropolis is steeper if you take this route.

 

Another route is to take the Green Line to Omonia Station and transfer to the Red Line, then traveling on the Red Line to the Akropoli stop. Although this involves one transfer, the ascent to the Acropolis is easier.

[Cornishpastyman1]

Wouild appreciate some advise about seeing the Parthanon/Acropolis area in a short period of time. We arrive in Greece about 9:15am and our ship, Oceania Nautica, departs at 10 pm. We will need to be aboard earlier for a fire drill but not sure what time that is. Any suggestions as to how to go about cramming in some quick but important site seeing? :)

 

In case it's any help with your planning I did this

between 10.30 and 3.30, with 2 hours in the wonderful N.A.M. By what I've missed out you can tell it was nowhere near enough.

 

The only bottleneck was at the steps of the Propylaea as you enter the Acropolis. It seems a bit much that you might have to reduce your time in this fantastic city just to attend a fire drill. This is only my thinking, and there's no doubt some intractable reason why you can't do it, but is it worth contacting your cruise line in advance explaining your problem ? Maybe you could get a special dispensation to do your fire drill at some other time and be allowed to board much later (6 or 7 pm ?)

 

However this pans out I hope you have as good a time as I did.

[cruisemom42]

I wouldn't worry about the emergency drill. On every cruiseline I've ever sailed, they have had a "make up" drill the next day for folks who missed the first one...

[cruise kitty]

In case it's any help with your planning I did this

between 10.30 and 3.30, with 2 hours in the wonderful N.A.M. By what I've missed out you can tell it was nowhere near enough.

 

However this pans out I hope you have as good a time as I did.

 

Mr CPM,

 

great videos, so far I've watched your Santorini, Ephesus, & Athens a few times, very helpful info on them. Thanks

[Cornishpastyman1]

Mr CPM,

 

great videos, so far I've watched your Santorini, Ephesus, & Athens a few times, very helpful info on them. Thanks

 

Hi Kitty

 

Thanks for that link. Very nice collection, I particularly liked the Rome and Florence ones.

[numbersix]

On the map it looks like you have to take the green line to Monastiraki and then switch to the Blue line, and then go to Syntagma and switch to the red line. I am confused. Is the map wrong? Sorry, but I don't want to end up on the wrong train. :)

 

Rian: Don't know when you're going, but when we were there in mid-August, the Green Meto line terminates at Monastiraki, due to construction. Either alight there, and walk up to the Acropolis, or change to the Blue line (direction Doukissis), and changing (after one stop) at Syntagma, to the Red Line, direction Ag. Dimitrios, for one stiop, getting off at Akropoli. It's not as daunting as it sounds.

 

http://www.google.ca/imgres?imgurl=http://www.mlahanas.de/Greece/Regions/images/AthensMetroMap.gif&imgrefurl=http://www.mlahanas.de/Greece/Regions/AthensMetro.html&h=583&w=640&sz=44&tbnid=2PsfwbRMJo9U-M:&tbnh=125&tbnw=137&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dathens%2Bmetro%2Bmap&zoom=1&q=athens+metro+map&hl=en&usg=__ODUD2cKrCg7C2UxW5udEgDHdC5s=&sa=X&ei=S_9_TO6bHYL58AaTqZyOAg&ved=0CCwQ9QEwBA

 

From there, you could do the Temple of Olympian Zeus first, buying your combo ticket there, and then continuing along the Walk of Antiquities to the Acropolis.

 

Kevin

[rian90]

Thank you, Kevin. We plan to do it the same way you did and start at the Temple of Zeus. I like not having to wait in line and the stroll sounds really nice.

 

I have cut and pasted your instructions from another thread into my cruise documents. :)