ATHENS · GREECE
The rock, the ruins, the long way to the sea.
The Acropolis and the Plaka, the day-trip circuit to Delphi and Meteora, and the Saronic islands by boat. The classical world, from the city it started in.
Start on the rock
Start where the city started.
If you’ve only got one day in Athens, it’s the Acropolis — the hill the whole city grew up around.
The classics
Athens’ Most Popular Tours & Day Trips
The Acropolis and the Agora, then Delphi, Meteora and Cape Sounion. The Athens most travellers come for.
Beyond the city
Day trips through the ancient world.
Athens is the base. A few hours’ drive in almost any direction is a place that shaped the Western mind — the oracle at Delphi, the monasteries of Meteora, Agamemnon’s citadel in the Argolid. These are the trips worth building the week around.
The oracle
Delphi
For a thousand years, kings and whole city-states climbed the slopes of Mount Parnassus to ask the Oracle what came next. The Temple of Apollo, the theatre, the stadium — and the carved stone the Greeks called the navel of the world.
- 1 Athens: Mythology of Delphi, Museum and Arachova Guided Tour
- 2 From Athens: Delphi Full Day V.R. Audio Guided Tour
- 3 From Athens: Small-Group Delphi, Museum & Arachova Day Trip
Monasteries in the sky
Meteora
Sandstone pillars climb three hundred metres straight off the Thessalian plain, and on top of them Byzantine monks built monasteries you can still walk into. A long day from Athens, or an overnight on the northbound train.
- 1 Athens: Meteora Tour with Local Guide and Greek Lunch
- 2 From Athens: Delphi and Meteora 2-Day Guided Tour
- 3 Athens: Meteora Monasteries, Hermit Caves Tour with Pickup
The age of heroes
Mycenae & the Argolid
Pass under the Lion Gate into the citadel Homer called rich in gold — Agamemnon’s seat, three thousand years old. Pair it with the theatre at Epidaurus, where a coin dropped on stage still carries to the back row.
- 1 Mycenae and Nafplion Day Trip from Athens with Official guide
- 2 Argolis: Full-Day Tour in Mycenae & Nafplio
- 3 3-Day Classical Greece Tour: Epidaurus, Mycenae, Nafplion, Olympia, Delphi
By place
Pick a corner of Greece.
Athens for the Acropolis and the food. Delphi for the oracle. Meteora for the monasteries in the sky. Sounion for the temple over the sea. The Saronic islands for a day on the water.
By tour type
Or pick how you want to spend the day.
On foot through the Plaka. By bike along the coast. A cooking class, a wine tour, a boat to the islands, or a private driver for the day.
The sacred rock
The Acropolis, up close.
The Parthenon, the Erechtheion and its caryatids, the Propylaea — and the museum that holds what’s left of the marbles. The three we’d book first.
The long lunch
Athens eats slowly.
Souvlaki off the grill, the Varvakios market at full volume, and meze that keeps arriving until you stop ordering. Three we’d send our friends to.
Out on the water
Three islands, one day.
Aegina for the pistachios and the temple, Poros for the pine-covered hills, Hydra with no cars on it at all. If you only get one day at sea, these are the boats.
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