Athens is an amazing city. It is such a wonderful mix of history, street art, little streets, and modern neighborhoods. This Athens 4 day itinerary will give you all the information you need for your first visit. This blog post contains affiliate links. When you make a purchase I may get a small commission at no extra cost to you. Find out more here.
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I visited Athens in December 2023. It was my first time in the capital of Greece. I loved exploring the narrow streets, the ancient sites, and the tavernas. I used to learn about Greek mythology in school, and it was so amazing to be able to visit the ancient ruins I read so much about and learn more about Greek history and Ancient Greece.
Four full days is the perfect amount of time to visit the main attractions, but I would have loved to stay there for a full week so I could explore more of the non-touristy Athens. If you want to also visit the Greek Islands, then you should aim for at least 10 days in Greece.
This 4 day Athens itinerary is perfect for first-time visitors since it ticks off all the major attractions in Athens.
Athens 4 day itinerary:
Day 1: Monastiraki Square, Ancient Agora, Little Kook
Since you just flew into Athens and are probably a bit jet lagged, day one will be a lighter day.
Monastiraki Square
Start day one of your Athens 4 day itinerary in Monastiraki Square and look up to catch your first glimpse of the Acropolis. It’s a busy square with a lot happening at all times. Here you’ll find Panagia Pantanassa, one of the oldest churches in Athens, dating to the 10th century. You can also find the entrance to the outdoor flea market.
The metro station Monastiraki connects you to all parts of Athens, including the airport. The coolest thing about it is that it has some historical ruins inside the station. Only in Athens!
Ancient Agora
Then after you explore Monastiraki, head over to the Ancient Agora of Athens. This is one of the attractions that is part of the Acropolis combo ticket (read the Acropolis section for details). There’s lots to explore here, including the Temple of Hephaestus, the Agoraios Kolonos, and the Stoa of Attalos, which currently houses the Museum of the Ancient Agora.
Pro tip: if you want the place to yourself, go about 30-45 minutes before closing. That’s what I did and it was magical. If you do that in December you’ll also catch the golden hour.
Little Kook
Little Kook is one of my favorite places. It makes the child in me so happy by going so extra with all the decorations. Since I visited in December they had Christmas decorations up. They change them depending on the season, but I can imagine they are all amazing.
It’s a short walk from Monastiraki Square. They serve only desserts, coffee, tea, and hot chocolate. And yes, the inside is as heavily decorated as the outside, which makes it the most Instagrammable place in Athens. They allow you to take pictures inside, but not videos.
They do not take reservations, but even if there is a line, you’ll be able to get in fairly quickly since they have 2 locations adjacent to each other. Both of them are decorated in an epic fashion, so it doesn’t matter which one you get a table for.
Day 2: Acropolis, Plaka, Stavros Niarchos cultural center
Acropolis
Start day 2 of your Athens 4 day itinerary at Acropolis, the most famous historical site in Athens. It has remains from multiple ancient buildings including the Parthenon, Erechtheion, and the Temple of Athena Nike, dedicated to Goddess Athena and Goddess Nike. If there’s a single place you need to make sure it’s in your Athens 4 day itinerary, this is it.
Because it’s the most popular attraction there will be a lot of tourists. If you visit in December, like I did, you don’t have to worry about it. There will be a few people, but none of the crowds you see in the summer. If you visit during peak season, make sure to get there as soon as they open at 8am.
You can start your visit from the main entrance, located behind the ticket booth. From there you’ll have to walk up the hill. It’s a pretty easy hike and it only takes about 10-15 min until you’re at the top of the hill.
When I visited there was a 24h strike where employees were protesting against plans to assign ticket control duties to private contractors. Check the news the morning you plan on visiting to make sure there’s no strike. I didn’t, so I went there, and then I had to change my plans for the day and return the next day.
Acropolis ticket info
If you plan on visiting multiple historical attractions besides the Acropolis of Athens you should go with the combo ticket, which you can use to enter 6 archaeological sites. It’s cheaper than buying individual tickets at each site. However, if you’re not interested in the combo ticket, you can buy an Acropolis-only ticket here.
An important thing to keep in mind is that the Acropolis Museum is different from the Acropolis. You will need a separate ticket to enter and, unfortunately, the ticket for the museum is not included in the combo ticket. You can buy the ticket for the museum here. I am not a huge museum person, so I skipped it. However, if museums are your vibe, another good one to visit is the National Archaeological Museum.
Plaka
Plaka is the neighborhood under the Acropolis hill. It has cute cobblestone streets and lots of shops where you can buy souvenirs, clothes, and jewelry. You can also find the oldest house in Athens in Plaka, which is now a museum.
Stavros Niarchos cultural center
The Stavros Niarchos cultural center is the polar opposite of Central Athens. It’s ultra modern and it even has a singing and dancing fountain. The center is comprised of the National Library, the Greek National Opera and the Stavros Niarchos Park. During the winter they also have an ice-skating rink.
You can spend some time in the library, walk through the park, watch the dancing fountain show, and get a crepe from one of the food trucks.
Day 3: Syntagma Square, Athens National Garden, Aristotle’s Lyceum, Lycabettus Hill
Syntagma Square
Start day 3 of your Athens 4 day itinerary at Syntagma Square, the central square of Athens, located across the street from the Greek Parliament. A must do activity here is to watch the changing of the guard at the Parliament. It happens every hour on the hour, it’s free, and you just need to wait on the sidewalk for the ceremony to start.
The ceremony lasts about 10-15 minutes and it’s so captivating. The guards march in a way that reminds me of a dance. It’s part art, part military ceremony, that’s why I think so many people watch it every day.
Athens National Garden
From Syntagma Square head to the Athens National Garden. It’s a very spacious park with many species of trees and plants. It’s the perfect walk for a stroll in nature in the middle of Athens.
Aristotle’s Lyceum
Aristotle’s Lyceum is another site that’s part of the Acropolis combo ticket. Unfortunately, when I was there it was closed due to 24h the strike and I didn’t have time to come back to visit. I guess this is just an excuse to go back to Athens.
Lycabettus Hill
Lycabettus Hill or Mount Lycabettus boasts the best view in all Athens. Yes, it’s a bold statement, but I stand by it. It’s a higher viewpoint than the Acropolis Hill, so you’ll be able to see further away, including more of Piraeus and the Aegean Sea. It also has a tiny, white and blue church at the top, which is functional. Imagine getting married there with this view.
There’s two ways to get to the top of the hill: you can hike, or you can take the funicular. I highly recommend the funicular option if you have other plans that day as the hike is pretty long and intense. The funicular costs 8 euros just to go up, while the price for a round trip is 10 euros.
You can get to the funicular by walking from Aristotle’s Lyceum. Even to get to the funicular is a hike as you’ll have to go up some very steep streets and lots of stairs. I was tired by the time I made it there.
What I saw other people do is get a taxi to the funicular. Taxis are really affordable in Athens. It usually costs 5-7 euros to go from one attraction to the other. They technically don’t have Ubers, but you can order taxis through the Uber app, which is what I did all the time.
Day 4: Panathenaic Stadium, Pangrati
Panathenaic stadium
Start day 4 of your Athens 4 day itinerary at The Panathenaic Stadium. The stadium was built for the first modern Olympic Games in 1896 in Athens, Greece. It is the only stadium in the world made completely of marble. I love its Greek name, “Kallimarmaro”, which translates to beautiful marble.
The stadium is free to visit, and you can also enter it from the top, besides street level, so you can get a full view from above.
A fun fact is that the olympic circles have no colors. This is to protect the IP of the logo of the Olympic Games today, which has blue, yellow, black, green, and red circles.
Authentic food tour in Athens
One of my favorite activities in Athens was going on a food tour. I am a big foodie and I love to try local foods whenever I travel. There are a lot of food tours in Athens, but I signed up for an alternative, truly authentic food tour in secret Athens. This tour didn’t take place in the most touristic neighborhoods of Athens like Plaka or Monastiraki, but in Pangrati. I wanted to experience how locals eat and explore tavernas and eateries where you don’t find a lot of tourists. And boy, I’m so glad I picked this tour.
I invited Ioanna, my Greek friend I met on my solo trip to Madrid, to join me. We met with Nikolas, the tour guide by the Panathenaic Stadium around 6pm. He was so friendly and welcomed us. It also turned out that Ioanna and I were the only two people on the tour that night because it was mid-December and there weren’t that many tourists in Athens. So we had a VIP private food tour, which I loved.
Athens food tour itinerary
We started the tour at a cafe where we had the option to choose from a traditional Greek coffee and a freddo. Greeks are serious about their coffees. They drink it even at dinner time. When I asked them if they had trouble sleeping because of this they started laughing. As if that’s an option. They are so used to drinking coffee at night that they probably wouldn’t sleep well without it. It was pretty cold that night, so I opted for a traditional hot coffee. We also tried a traditional pastry filled with cheese and drizzled with honey. A fantastic start to the night.
Then we continued walking in Pangrati and started walking uphill on these little streets. It turns out that Nikolas took us to the top of the Panathenaic Stadium. We could see the entire marble stadium and the olympic circles from up close. It was such an amazing view. While we were there, he gave us all the details about this stadium. For example, I didn’t know that a private Greek investor paid for its renovation. This tour was not just about food, but it was also about the history of the neighborhood. Nikolas was born and raised in Pangrati, so I couldn’t have asked for a better guide to introduce me to this beautiful neighborhood.
Panathenaic Stadium stop during the Athens food tour
After spending some time at Panathenaic Stadium we continued to tour and stopped at a local shop to get some snacks: pistachios from Aegina, raisins, white figs, and melomakarona, a traditional Greek Christmas cookie. Everything was delicious and tasted so fresh.
Then we continued our walk and stopped by a bakery to get spanakopita. This was the best spanakopita I had in Athens. It had so much feta and spinach filling and the dough was delicious. Nikolas was telling Ioanna and I how he used to get spanakopita from this shop on his way to school back in the day. So wholesome! It truly felt like I was getting to know the neighborhood small businesses and support them in the process.
After trying the spanakopita we went to a local taverna to eat a family style meal. Everyone was a local there, it felt so authentic. The food was so delicious. We ate tirokafteri (a spicy feta spread), eggplant, beets, zucchini croquettes, and chicken soup. And we drank taverna wine. This meal was the highlight of the tour for me. It felt like this Greek family welcomed me into their home for dinner. Plus, the conversation with Nikolas was great. By the end of the night we were friends.
After the meal we made one last stop at a local bar. We tried two different drinks to cleanse the palate and we ate portokalopita for dessert. I can’t recommend going on a food tour enough. The food is some of the best you’ll ever have, the guide is so welcoming and friendly, you will learn a lot about the local culture, and you will be supporting small neighborhood businesses in the process. 10/10 experience.
Pangrati
Pangrati is a bit of a hidden gem neighborhood that’s definitely worth visiting. The food tour in secret Athens is where I got introduced to this neighborhood, which is close to the Panathenaic Stadium.
There are fewer tourists here, so you can observe how locals live, and you can eat and drink like the locals do. Even if you don’t sign up for the food tour, I still recommend you explore this neighborhood.
Best places with a view of the Acropolis
There are so many amazing places with views of the Acropolis in Athens. Since I was there only for a few days I didn’t have time to try them all, so I will introduce you to my two personal favorites: The Sense Rooftop Restaurant, and the Foundry Suites Hotel rooftop.
SENSE rooftop restaurant
SENSE Rooftop is a restaurant close to the Acropolis Museum. It has a breathtaking view of the Acropolis and you can also see Lycabettus Hill. I had a late lunch there when I visited Athens in December and the restaurant was empty. I had the entire place for myself. It doesn’t get more VIP than this. If you visit during the summer, you should make a reservation since it can get packed due to their great location and quality of food.
I recommend their spreads and pork souvlaki. They were so good! SENSE Rooftop Restaurant is the perfect place to enjoy delicious food with views of the Acropolis.
The Foundry Suites Hotel rooftop
The Foundry Suited Hotel has an amazing rooftop garden with over 30 different species of plants and trees. It has an incredible view of the Acropolis. Hotel guests can use the tables and chairs anytime to have a drink or eat breakfast here. During the summer months they offer Neapolitan style pizza, cocktails, and wine and beer from small Greek wineries and microbreweries for dinner on this rooftop garden. I stayed at this hotel in December, so I couldn’t take advantage of this, but I can imagine it’s such a vibe to eat pizza and drink a cocktail on that terrace with Acropolis views.
Where to stay in Athens
Budget hotels
Athens is a more affordable destination compared to other countries in Europe and it has many budget-friendly hotel options. Here are some hotels that cost under $60 per night: Areos, Breeze Boutique Hotel, Athens Panorama Project, Supreme Luxury Suites by Athens Stay, and Acropolis Ami Boutique Hotel.
Mid-budget hotels
If you want to stay in a nicer place in central Athens, you’ll find a plethora of options, including The Foundry Suites Athens, Grand Hyatt Athens, Wyndham Grand Athens, Perianth Hotel, and Herodion Hotel.
The Foundry Suites Athens
I opted to stay in Psyri at The Foundry Suites Athens. This was one of my favorite hotels I’ve ever stayed at. It’s a boutique hotel with just 12 apartments designed in an industrial style and decorated in a mid-century modern vibe. There are no rooms, just apartments. They all come with a fully functional kitchen, so if you’re traveling with family this could be a great option. The apartment I stayed in (suite A-0) reminded me of a loft in Brooklyn. It was funky, modern, and very welcoming.
The building that now houses the hotel used to be a type foundry, where typefaces were designed and distributed. It was originally built in 1930 and recently renovated and converted into this amazing boutique hotel.
The staff was so amazing. From the moment I got there I was greeted warmly, they offered me water, they gave me a map with attractions around the hotel. They will go above and beyond to make sure their guests are having the best time. Greek hospitality is next level.
Breakfast at the Foundry Suites Athens
While they don’t have a restaurant on site, they will bring you breakfast from The Athenian Deli across the street every morning. You can fill out a form with everything you want to order for the next morning, and they will bring you everything in a basket either to your suite, or on the rooftop. It felt so cozy to get the breakfast delivered in this way, compared to the traditional breakfast buffet offered at the majority of hotels.
Rooftop at the Foundry Suites Athens
The other unique thing about this hotel is the rooftop. If you take the elevator to the third floor you will get to an amazing rooftop garden with over 30 different species of plants and trees. It has an incredible view of the Acropolis. There are tables and chairs if you want to have a drink or eat your breakfast here. During the summer months they offer Neapolitan style pizza, cocktails, and wine and beer from small Greek wineries and microbreweries for dinner on their rooftop garden. I visited in December, so I couldn’t take advantage of this, but I can imagine it’s such a vibe to eat pizza and drink a cocktail on that terrace with Acropolis views.
I highly recommend this hotel when you visit Athens. It’s a special place.
Luxury hotels
If you have a higher budget and are seeking a more luxurious option in one of the central neighborhoods, then I recommend King George – A Luxury Collection Hotel, The Dolli, Hotel Grande Bretagne – A Luxury Collection Hotel, Gatsby Athens Hotel, or Divani Palace Acropolis.
Hostels
Unfortunately, I am not the right person to recommend you any hostels. I am in my 30s and I value comfort, so I will always choose to stay at a hotel vs a hostel. I can see how a hostel is a great option for younger people, but I’m at a different stage in life, so I prefer hotels.
Airbnb
I also tend to pick hotels over Airbnbs because I feel like it’s less of a risk and it’s a more reliable option. One time when I visited Miami with my friends we booked an Airbnb that looked great in pictures but looked really bad in reality. We ended up going to a hotel instead. After that experience I tend to avoid Airbnbs altogether.
Additional information for your Athens 4 day itinerary
How can I get to the Athens city center from the airport?
Metro
Athens has good public transportation. You can take the metro from the airport to get to any central neighborhood. It will take about 50 minutes to get to Monastiraki.
The important thing you need to know is that the metro station is located outside of the airport. After you pass customs and you get your luggage, follow the train signs in the airport. You’ll have to exit the airport, cross the street, and then you’ll be at the train station.
They have ticket vending machines. Select your desired language from the various options offered, then pick the ticket type you want (usually a one-way ticket), and pay with a credit card. Trains leave every 30 minutes, so you might have to wait a bit if you just missed a train. The Athens metro operates between 6:30am and 11:30pm. If your flight arrives during the night you’ll have to take a taxi to get to the city center.
A one-way metro ticket costs 10 euros. If you’re traveling with 2-3 other people you should share a taxi since it will be the same cost as taking the metro. Plus, taking a car is a more convenient option.
Uber / Taxi
You can call a taxi through the Uber app. A ride from Athens international airport to the city center costs about 35-40 euros and it will take about 45 minutes. Alternatively you can also schedule a private transfer.
What are some top activities I can do in Athens?
Food market visit and cooking class with wine
Half-day morning catamaran cruise
Guided day trip to Aegina Island with swimming
Full day Meteora tour with Greek lunch
Delphi archaeological site full-day guided trip
Aegina, Agistri, and Metopi day cruise w/ lunch
What is the best time to visit Athens?
While most people go to Greece in the summer or during the warmer months of spring and fall, I really enjoyed visiting in December. There were fewer tourists, everything was cheaper, the Christmas decorations were up, and the weather was still pretty warm.
I tend to avoid Europe summer travel because it gets so hot and there are so many tourists everywhere that it takes away from the experience for me. I’d rather wait a few months and go in the fall so I can properly enjoy the destinations I’m visiting.
How to get cell phone data when visiting from abroad?
The cheapest and most convenient way to get data while visiting from abroad is to buy an eSIM. An eSIM is a digital SIM that lets you activate a data plan from a provider without having to use a physical SIM card. They are super easy to use.
I use Nomad eSIM (use code IOAN43TM for 25% off your first purchase). You can go to their website, select the country you’re traveling to, select how many GB of data you want, and how many days you want the eSIM to be active for. After you pay you will receive a confirmation email with instructions on how to activate the eSIM.
You can activate it on your phone and the process takes under 1 minute. Once the eSIM is activated you don’t have to do anything else. When you’re at your destination you will automatically get data.
Is Athens safe for a solo female traveler?
Yes, in my opinion it is safe, as I can’t recall a single situation that made me feel unsafe in the city. I visited in December, which is off season, so there’s less pick pockets running around (I didn’t see any when I was there). As always, be on high alert, try to not walk alone on the street at night, and do as much research as you can ahead of your trip.
Do you recommend Athens as a solo destination?
I 100% recommend Athens as a destination for solo female travelers. Athens is a great city for solo travel.
Do I have to tip in Athens?
Tipping is not mandatory in Athens, but it is highly encouraged. I usually leave 1-2 euros as tip when I eat out. They highly appreciate it when you do this.
How can I get around Athens?
Athens is a walkable city, but it’s very large. They have a great subway system that has stations near all major attractions. If you don’t like to take the subway you can always take an uber.
What are some cheap eats I can try in Athens?
I put together this list of everything I ate in Athens under $5. There are so many options! Athens is one of the more affordable European destinations.
Do I need cash?
I didn’t use cash when I visited, I paid for everything with a credit card. But it’s always recommended to carry some cash with you so you can tip tour guides or buy souvenirs or something else from small mom-and-pop shops who don’t accept credit cards.
Pro tip: always get cash from an ATM in the airport instead of going to an exchange place. Your bank will always have better exchange rates when taking out cash in a foreign currency from an ATM.
Do people speak English in Athens?
Yes, they do. Athens attracts a lot of visitors each year and, as you can imagine, not all tourists speak French.
What Greek words do I need to learn before my trip to Athens?
I always learn a few basic local words ahead of a trip. This is the list of words I think are useful for a trip to Athens.
Do I need to book tickets for attractions in advance?
I highly recommend you book all the tickets online in advance of your trip. Athens is a very popular destination so it’s very likely that tickets will sell out. Especially if you visit during the summer months. Booking in advance will give you peace of mind.
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