Best of Athens Half Day Private Tour

Meeting point

Departure

13 start times between 08:00 and 14:00 daily; scheduled year-round (operator schedule, seats confirmed at checkout)

Pickup

Hotel pickup included

Operator

LS Tours; booking and payment are completed on Viator

1. 1
   Athens

   You will get picked up from your hotel, appartement or Piraeus Port and we will start our Athens Tour.

   15 min
2. 2
   Acropolis

   The Acropolis of Athens is an ancient citadel located on a rocky outcrop above the city of Athens and contains the remains of several ancient buildings of great architectural and historical significance, the most famous being the Parthenon. The word acropolis is from the Greek words ἄκρον (akron, "highest point, extremity") and πόλις (polis, "city"). The term acropolis is generic and there are many other acropoleis in Greece. While there is evidence that the hill was inhabited as far back as the fourth millennium BC, it was Pericles (c. 495–429 BC) in the fifth century BC who coordinated the construction of the buildings whose present remains are the site's most important ones, including the Parthenon, the Propylaea, the Erechtheion and the Temple of Athena Nike. The Parthenon and the other buildings were seriously damaged during the 1687 siege by the Venetians during the Morean War when gunpowder being stored in the Parthenon by the Ottomans was hit by a cannonball and exploded.

   30 min · Admission not included
3. 3
   Parthenon

   On the top of this sacred hill, proudly stands the Parthenon, which is the epitome of ancient Greek architecture, where you will experience the greatness of ancient Greece captured on every piece of marble. An architectural jewel that hosts the best of what the human spirit and genius has ever conceived, an open embrace that awaits its famed sister marbles to welcome them home again.

   30 min
4. 4
   Old Temple of Athena

   The Temple of Athena Nike is a temple on the Acropolis of Athens, dedicated to the goddesses Athena and Nike. Built around 420 BC, the temple is the earliest fully Ionic temple on the Acropolis. It has a prominent position on a steep bastion at the southwest corner of the Acropolis to the right of the entrance, the Propylaea. In contrast to the Acropolis proper, a walled sanctuary entered through the Propylaea, the Victory Sanctuary was open, entered from the Propylaea's southwest wing and from a narrow stair on the north. The sheer walls of its bastion were protected on the north, west, and south by the Nike Parapet, named for its frieze of Nikai celebrating victory and sacrificing to their patroness, Athena and Nike.

   15 min
5. 5
   Erectheion

   The Erechtheion is an ancient Greek temple on the north side of the Acropolis of Athens in Greece which was dedicated to both Athena and Poseidon.

   15 min
6. 6
   The Theater of Dionysus is an ancient Greek theatre in Athens

   It is built on the south slope of the Acropolis hill, originally part of the sanctuary of Dionysus Eleuthereus. The first orchestra terrace was constructed on the site around the mid- to late-sixth century BC, where it hosted the City Dionysia. The theatre reached its fullest extent in the fourth century BC under the epistates of Lycurgus when it would have had a capacity of up to 17,000, and was in continuous use down to the Roman period. The theatre then fell into decay in the Byzantine era and was not identified, excavated, and restored to its current condition until the nineteenth century.

   15 min
7. 7
   Herod Atticus Odeon

   The Odeon of Herodes Atticus is a stone Roman theatre structure located on the southwest slope of the Acropolis of Athens. The building was completed in AD 161 and then renovated in 1950.

   15 min
8. The Arch of Hadrian, most commonly known in Greek as Hadrian's Gate, is a monumental gateway resembling a Roman triumphal arch

   It spanned an ancient road from the center of Athens, Greece, to the complex of structures on the eastern side of the city that included the Temple of Olympian Zeus.

   Pass by, no stop
9. 9
   Panathenaic Stadium

   Continuing with the stunning Calimarmaro or as it is called today, the Panathenaic Stadium, the house of the first modern Olympic games, made of Pentelic marble in which the Olympic ideals are still reflected today.

   10 min
10. 10
    Mount Lycabettus

    After leaving the beautiful Calimarmaro behind us, we will drive up to Lycabettus hill where you will enjoy the beautiful panoramic view of the city and admire the combination of ancient and modern Athens from above.

    15 min
11. 11
    Hellenic Parliament

    Traveling thousands of years ahead, to the Hellenic Parliament building that houses the Greek Parliament in an impressive building in downtown Athens overseeing Syntagma Square, protected by the presidential guard that consists of two soldiers dressed in the traditional Greek combat uniform, standing stationary and guarding beside the tomb of the unknown soldier. The two guards perform the guard change ceremony every hour with impressive accuracy and agility.

    10 min
12. 12
    The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier is a war memorial located in Syntagma Square in Athens, in front of the Old Royal Palace

    It is a cenotaph dedicated to the Greek soldiers killed during war. It was sculpted between 1930 and 1932 by sculptor Fokion Rok. The tomb is guarded by the Evzones of the Presidential Guard.

    10 min
13. Syntagma

    Syntagma Square (Constitution Square) is the central square of Athens. The square is named after the Constitution that Otto, the first King of Greece, was obliged to grant after a popular and military uprising on 3 September 1843. It is located in front of the 19th century Old Royal Palace, housing the Greek Parliament since 1934. Syntagma Square is the most important square of modern Athens from both a historical and social point of view, at the heart of commercial activity and Greek politics. The name Syntagma alone also refers to the neighbourhood surrounding the square.

    Pass by, no stop
14. Academy of Athens

    The Academy of Athens is Greece's national academy and the highest research establishment in the country. It was established in 1926 and operates under the supervision of the Ministry of Education. The Academy's main building is one of the major landmarks of Athens.

    Pass by, no stop
15. National Library of Greece

    The National Library of Greece is situated near the center of the city of Athens. It was designed by the Danish architect Theophil Freiherr von Hansen, as part of his famous Trilogy of neo-classical buildings including the Academy of Athens and the original building of the Athens University. It was founded by Ioannis Kapodistrias.

    Pass by, no stop
16. 16
    Acropolis Museum

    Optional visit for 1 hour by selecting the "Best of + Acropolis Museum 5H" option of this tour. The total duration of the tour by selecting this option is about 5 hours. The entrance tickets are not included. The Acropolis Museum is an archaeological museum focused on the findings of the archaeological site of the Acropolis of Athens. The museum was built to house every artifact found on the rock and on the surrounding slopes, from the Greek Bronze Age to Roman and Byzantine Greece. It also lies over the ruins of part of Roman and early Byzantine Athens. The museum was founded in 2003 while the Organization of the Museum was established in 2008. It opened to the public on 20 June 2009. More than 4,250 objects are exhibited over an area of 14,000 square metres.

    1h · Admission not included
17. 17
    Ancient Agora of Athens

    Optional visit for 30 minutes at the Ancient Agora by selecting the "Best of + Anc. Agora 5H" option of this tour. This option also includes the Temple of Hephaestus. The ancient Agora of Athens (also called the Classical Agora) is an ancient Greek agora. It is located to the northwest of the Acropolis, and bounded on the south by the hill of the Areopagus and on the west by the hill known as the Agoraios Kolonos, also called Market Hill. The Agora's initial use was for a commercial, assembly, or residential gathering place.

    30 min · Admission not included
18. 18
    Temple of Aries

    Optional visit for 30 minutes at the Temple of Hephaestus by selecting the "Best of + Anc. Agora 5H" option of this tour. This option also includes the Ancient Agora of Athens. The Temple of Hephaestus or Hephaisteion is a well-preserved Greek temple dedicated to Hephaestus; it remains standing largely intact today. It is a Doric peripteral temple, and is located at the north-west side of the Agora of Athens, on top of the Agoraios Kolonos hill.

    30 min · Admission not included

About this tour, from the operator