After a day at sea spent relaxing with good books, beers, the sun and several naps, we were refreshed and ready for a day in Athens. Many other cruisers (our dining mates included) booked excursions through the ship to the Acropolis, but I had done my research and knew you can take a quick subway ride into the city from the port. We opted to go this route and walk around on our own and not have to deal with crowds.
The port for Athens is actually in Pireaus, a town about 10 minutes (subway ride) away from Athens proper. Pireaus is the busiest port in Greece and when we pulled in, we saw dozens of ships all around us. We thought Rome was busy but it was nothing compared to Pireaus! We got off the boat at about 8:30am, and followed the directions that I found online to get to the subway. The directions were a bit murky: follow the road along the port until it forks, then turn right. After walking for about 20 minutes, we found the subway stop pretty easily. No, the fork in the road wasn’t what tipped us off (to be honest, there were many places where we questioned – is this what she meant by ‘fork’?), it was the big pedestrian overpass that connected the port to the small square outside the metro and all the people rushing to and from the building. So obvious!
The automated ticket machines were a snap to use. We bought two tickets and were on our way! Since the train comes every 3 minutes, we didn’t have to wait long. At first, we were confused by the 2 different train tracks and couldn’t decide which to use, but we figured that Pireaus is the end of the subway line so both trains must go to the same destination. We took our chances, hopped on the train, and in 10 minutes we were in the city.
Most guides told us to get off at Monastiraki, which is right in the heart of old town Athens, and then walk up to the Acropolis. On the subway map though, we saw a stop for Acropolis that required a transfer but seemed closer to our destination. We decided to do this one instead and I’m so glad we did! The Acropolis stop drops you off about a block away from the top entrance of the Acropolis. There were only a handful of people at this gate so we waited in line for about 2 minutes to get tickets. So easy!
“Acropolis” actually means “high city” in greek so there are, in fact, many acropolis all over the world. The one in Athens though, is so famous that people just end up referring to it as THE Acropolis. We made it through the entrance really easily, but once we started walking up towards the Acropolis, we were met by the hordes and hordes of tourists we were trying to get away from. Again, like Cairo, we shuffled along with everyone else to get to the top. Once up there, the area was very big so the crowds dispersed and we were able to walk around and take pictures with some ease. The view of Athens from there was very pretty. We were surprised at just how big the city is. The day was clear (a bit rainy in the morning) and we could see all the way to the water.
The Parthenon is the main building on the Acropolis. It’s the building in the postcard you always see when people refer to Athens. It was built in 5th century BC and is a temple to the greek goddess Athena, which the city is named after. Next to the Parthenon is the Erechtheum with an olive tree right outside. Legend says Poseidon, the god of the sea, and Athena were battling it out on who would be the patron god of the city. Poseidon put down his trident at the top of the hill, and out sprang a fountain of water. Problem was the fountain spurted salt water which did the town people no good. Athena touched the ground and out came an olive tree which was a much more useful present. Thus, the town of Athens is named after Athena, and the Parthenon was built in dedication of her.
After snapping too many pictures, we headed down to the Ancient Agora – the town center. We posed for more pictures in front of the Temple of Hephaestus, the best preserved ancient greek temple and then walked around the grounds.
By this time, we were hungry so we exited the Agora right into the Plaka district, the oldest section of Athens. The streets are again filled with tourist shops, jewelry stores and tons and tons of cafes and restaurants. It is actually quite pretty, and we had a nice time strolling about. We stopped at a small Gyro hole-in-the-wall place to get some food. I had a pork gyro and Scott had chicken, and we ate it standing outside on the street. We both thought the meat was a bit dry but very tasty. After more walking around, we stopped again for an afternoon drink (the local beer – Mythos) and tzatziki again. I don’t think we will ever tire of tzaziki!
We both agreed we liked Athens. Scott was very surprised by this because he remembered Athens to be dirty and teeming with sleazy nightclubs. It looks like all the reports on how Athens has been cleaned up because of the 2004 Olympics are true! The subway ride did give us a glimpse of the non-touristy parts of Athens and there were definitely lots more grime and graffiti everywhere, but it just looked no worse than Rome. We’d go back to explore more than just the Acropolis and Plaka district.if given the chance.
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