Athens-Which Museum?

[kadey]

This April will be our 2nd trip to Athens for the day. We are going to do a DIY day! We have hired a car to pick us up at the port and take us to the Acropolis (we don't want to take the metro or bus). We'd like to then walk down to the Plaka area for lunch and shopping. I think we will have time to visit one of the museums ,Acropolis Museum or

The National Archaeological Museum of Athens. Can someone suggest which museum they prefer and can we walk there from the Plaka area? We would then make arrangements to be picked up from the museum to go back to the pier. We are getting picked up at the port at 7:30 and meeting our ride back to the port at 3:30. We haven't been to either museum . Thanks!! Kade

[PORT ROYAL]

This April will be our 2nd trip to Athens for the day. We are going to do a DIY day! We have hired a car to pick us up at the port and take us to the Acropolis (we don't want to take the metro or bus). We'd like to then walk down to the Plaka area for lunch and shopping. I think we will have time to visit one of the museums ,Acropolis Museum or

The National Archaeological Museum of Athens. Can someone suggest which museum they prefer and can we walk there from the Plaka area? We would then make arrangements to be picked up from the museum to go back to the pier. We are getting picked up at the port at 7:30 and meeting our ride back to the port at 3:30. We haven't been to either museum . Thanks!! Kade

 

The National Archaeological Museum of Athens is approx 1.5 miles north from The Acropolis - Worth the walk:)

[kadey]

Thanks for the quick reply Keith! Is it doable to walk from the Acropolis to the Plaka area? Is the museum closer from the Plaka area since I think that is close to the Acropolis,so we'd go there as our second stop. We will be on a 14 day cruise with a lot of touring so we will take a cab if it's over a mile from one place to the next. -Thanks, Kade

[nick_arch]

Plaka is the area on the foot of Acropolis Hill.

 

From the two museums you are interested, i 'd pick Acropolis Museum, which is ( as sensibly expected ) very near to Acropolis, although National Archaeological Museum is also a very very good option.

 

Compare distances, location:

Acropolis Museum: Near Acropolis site, visible from there. Just aside Plaka, i 'd say three minutes walk to Plaka from the museum. Location is good and keeps you near Acropolis minimising walking distances and offering time to explore more like the Philopappos Hill or Anafiotika in Plaka, or Agora site / Agora Museum too.

 

National Archaeological Museum. Not near to Acropolis, i 'd say 40 minutes walking. Acropolis, Acropolis Museum and Plaka are aside to each other, while the NAT is located in another area. It can be walked, not really combined with Plaka at all, but it can be walked through Athinas str. to combine it probably with the Fish Market / Meat Market. A fairly larger collection, needs more time and its are is not really salubrious. Definitely bigger museum, needs more time, more artifacts in, even a small Egyptian wing.

 

What to pick depends on time you wish to allow for each one and location, in combination with what you want to see.

 

The NAT is a typical big museum, with a lot to see in. It's not near to the Acropolis. Acropolis Museum is more manageable, devoted to what was found around the Acropolis and houses the Parthenon Marbles too. Acropolis Museum is newer and a better museum experience in general and in more convenient spot, while NAM is older and would benefit from a new cafeteria and some rennovation, still has a very expansive collection.

 

On a tight schedule i 'd probably pick Acropolis Museum, exploring Plaka and the area around. It's a gold mine of an area, with more sites around, so you can pick really what you want, either for example adding Ancient Agora in, or Anafiotika, or Philopappoy Hill and many other options.

 

Map, describing where Plaka, Acropolis Museum and NAM are, here: Click here ( area you are interested / Google Maps link )

[nick_arch]

If you have Google Earth plug-in installed in your pc, click "Earth" button on top right side of the map, to see the map in three dimensions.

 

Acropolis Hill is in the middle and all the nearby sites are around it. Plaka is the North / Northeast / East side of the Hill, other side of the Hill compared to the main entrance location : )

[nick_arch]

( sorry: by NAT or NAM i mean the National Archaeological Museum )

[kadey]

nick_arch,WOW!WOW!WOW! Thank you!! With only 1 day in this fabulous city we'd like to do it right! When we were there three years ago one of the museums wasn't open yet. After reading your post I'm guessing it was the Acropolis Museum.We also were there on a ship sponsored tour and are looking forward to visit these places at our own pace.

[nick_arch]

You are welcome : )

 

Yes, the new one is the Acropolis Museum. Site here: http://www.theacropolismuseum.gr/en :-)

[cruisemom42]

Hey Kade,

 

If it's any help, here's a link to a review I wrote just after visiting the new Acropolis Museum for the first time shortly after it opened:

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1290949&highlight=acropolis+museum

 

It's a tough choice. If someone is as into ancient history as I am, I'd probably still recommend the National Museum. But for folks with just an average interest, the Acropolis Museum is quite nice.

 

If you choose the Acropolis Museum, I would also really, really recommend at least walking through the ancient Greek Agora. (It is also right there, together with the Acropolis, the Plaka and the Acropolis Museum). Your Acropolis ticket includes admission anyway and I really got a much better idea of life in ancient Athens from strolling around this area than from the Acropolis, beautiful as it is. Keep in mind that average people didn't go walking around the Acropolis every day, but the Agora was the "heart" of ancient Athens.

[kadey]

Thanks Cruisemom42! Great review. You always come through!

[Chloe1500]

Just to add that if you visit the Acropolis Museum, consider having lunch on the terrace. It's a fabulous, close view of the Acropolis.

[kadey]

This all sounds wonderful!! However, my husband just came in and asked if we could fit going to Lycabettus Hill! So my friends....is it worth going there? Is it worth changing my plans to get there? Is it hard to get to the top!!I love traveling!! Thanks-Kade

[nick_arch]

Decisions decisions : )

 

It always depends. Lycabettus Hill is the highest point in the city and offers great views to the whole center, the sea. It is absolutely worth of your time ( location pinpointed in the already linked map ) but, whether you want to go or not really depends on your overall itinerary.

 

Bitter reality is you 'll have to prioritise and this is common in all ports of call. This is even harder for Athens, where abundance of sites museums and other attractions makes it a harder choice.

 

If you spend time in the Acropolis / Agora / Acropolis Museum area you could possibly include Lycabettus at the end, meeting your driver earlier, getting to the Lucabettus funicular top and going up to see the views / then going down. With the taxi ride, osme waiting time in the funicular station, the ride up and some time up there i 'd count for a minimum of 60 minutes overall. This subterannean vertical train getting you to the top departs every 30 minutes or on demand. You can acess the top walking too but it's a quite steep ascend for those on really good physical condition and a definitely harder task compared to Acropolis Hill.

 

You could definitely do it and it 'd be a good end on a sightseeing day offering you a good aerial perspective of this big city, still you 'll have to remove time from some other point of interest and tailor the plan of the day more to fit more in.

 

Or you can pick a "less is more" handling of the "problem" which i admit it's hard to do in any cruise and nearly impossible for the two big cities in the area, Athens and Istanbul : )

 

If you need to make some compromise, you also have three observation spots nearer to the Acropolis area and i am talking about the top of Anafiotika, the top of Mars Hill just aside the exit of the Acropolis site and the top of Philopappos Hill, while you should not forget that you 'll have aerial views of the city from Acropolis Hill top too. All these three points and Acropolis Hill are lower than Lycabettus Hill, but they are near to each other, so they can be options for a compromise : ) Mars Hill especially ( location of Ancient High Court and spot where Paul preached to the Athenians centuries later ), is typically overlooked, despite being so near to the Acropolis main entrance. It's definitely lower than Lycabettus and more of a big big boulder than a real Hill and views are definitely from a very very much higher point from Lycabettus, but still you can spend time there very easily to gaze the views and it's so near to the main site of the day.

 

All four points, including Lycabettus, are already pinpointed in the map.

[kadey]

Thank you again Nick! I really appreciate all your information and time that you've taken to help. We can now plan our day by making smart and informed choices!!

[nick_arch]

( just correcting a misphrase in the end of the post )

 

"and views ( from Mars Hill ) are definitely from a very very much lower point from Lycabettus".

[Hlitner]

We have visited both museums (twice at the National Archaeological Museum) and this is a tough choice. However, if you are visiting the Acropolis we would probably recommend combining it with a visit to the gorgeous new Acropolis Museum which will really help put the Acropolis in proper perspective. The two (ruins and the Museum) really go to together. The National Archaeological Museum, on the other hand, is a huge facility which is best saved for when one has several hours (or a full day) to devote to the place. We only visit this large museum when we are actually staying in Athens and have lots of time.

 

Regarding the views from Lycabettus, we had to visit that place 3 times until we finally got up there on a day when it was clear enough to really enjoy the view. Unfortunately, Athens has a real pollution problem which is often made worse by the weather/winds and the views from the top can be a real disappointment. You will actually get some great views from simply being up on the Acropolis and this might be enough to satisfy the eyes for a single port day.

 

Hank