Athens on your own? Need info on reaching major sites by metro.

[Travelalot2]

We are considering doing Athens on our own rather than hiring a private driver. The full-day private tours we looked at go to the Acropolis site and museum, The Old Palace, The Tomb of the unknown solider in front of the parliament (and see the changing of the guards), the temple of Zeus, the original olympic stadium and to Cape Sounion. After spending a lot of time looking for metro information on the net, it is still hard to understand which of the above major sites we will be able to reach by train and which stations you will need to get off at to see them (Help!).

 

As far as Cape Sounion goes, will you see it from the ship as you get closer to Athens?

 

Any thoughts on a private tour vs seeing this on your own are also appreciated. For four adults, the private tour is 250e and all-day metro tickets are 12e. If we are going to be spending most of our day seeing the same things we can reach by train, then, we may not gain much more from using the driver. Thanks.

[Susan-M]

We did Athens by subway and really enjoyed it, but it does involve a lot of walking. We were on our feet (except for lunch and a coffee break) from 8 am-7pm, but thought it was a great way to experience the city. The subway system in Athens is really nice (modern, easy to use as there are only 2 lines & there are museum exhibits in some stations.)

 

By subway, you will be able to see all but Cape Sounion, which requires a few hours to get there and back. We arrived and departed Piraeus in the dark, so not sure about being able to see it from the ship?

All of the sites you mention (except Cape Sounion) are within a short distance of each other.

The Old Palace and Parliament bldg are the same & I think you can only view it from the outside (but not positive on this.)

The Archaeological Museum is described as: "the most important archaeological museum in Greece and one of the richest in the world concerning ancient Greek art." - it is really impressive!

 

A summary of our day there:

Athens - 7 am - 11 pm. (on Millennium)

Left Piraeus at 8 a.m. It is a 25 minute walk from the port to the Metro Station.... bought an all day ticket for 3E each, validated it before entering the train (green line); took it to Omonia, transferred to the red line and then 3 stops to the Akropoli stop.

From the Akropoli stop it is a short walk uphill to the Acropolis.... arrived at approximately 9:15 & crowds were very light then. We toured the Acropolis and museum until 11, by which time it had become quite crowded. On to the Ancient Agora, through the Plaka to the Roman Agora and Tower of Winds, lunch at Monastiraki Square (at a great restaurant recommended by Rick Steves), walked through the National Gardens to the Olympic Stadium, Temple of Zeus, back through the gardens to Syntagma Square & Parliament Building/Tomb of the Unknown Warrior, caught the subway at Syntagma to get to the National Archeological Museum for a quick tour. Needed a caffeine jolt by that time, and found an internet cafe next door to the museum. By this time it was 4:30 and I had one stop left on my list.... Lykavittos Hill. Walked to the hill and up to the top...a good workout, with awesome views from the top! From the museum to the top of the hill, it took us approx. 1 hour. Walking down was much faster and easier! Once down, it was about a 20 minute walk to Evangelismos subway stop, transferred at Monastiraki and back to Piraeus....and on the ship by 7:15.

 

Guide Material: http://www.ricksteves.com/plan/desti...ens.htm#glance

Map: http://www.chem.uoa.gr/Location/AthensMap/Athensmap.htm (this map has a scale on it, along with info on major sites.)

 

If you want details of how to get to the subway from Piraeus, I'll post them.... this post was getting too long:)

[Susan-M]

Sorry, my link to Rick Steves' Athens guide material should have been:

http://www.ricksteves.com/plan/destinations/greece/athens.htm

[Travelalot2]

Thanks for the link! The sight has a lot of good information for seeing Athens on your own.