The Most Famous City in Greece, Athens

Parthenon, Acropolis, and More

I had one goal in mind when preparing for my trip to Athens, see the all famous Acropolis and Parthenon.  Due to luck and good timing my day in the capitol of Greece turned out to be filled with touring much more than this one famous monument, much to my delight. 

A little disappointed the face of the parthenon was covered in scaffolding during our visit,  but I was not going to pass up a photo opportunity.

I visited Athens via cruise ship docked in the nearby Piraeus.  Piraeus is the largest port in Europe and a city as old as Athens.  A day in Piraeus would be a day well spent in its own right, but this was my first opportunity to visit Athens and I would not pass up an opportunity to see that world famous city only a few miles away.  Our original plan to get to Athens was to take the public bus from the cruise port to the metro that runs from Piraeus to Athens.  We visited at the end of the cruise season however, and arrived in the port of Piraeus to find the bus to the metro no longer running for the season.  It would be a thirty-minute walk to the metro, not the best use of our limited time.

Visitors access the acropolis through these steps and hall of columns.

The acropolis is the entire high hill behind me where the parthenon and other temples are located.  The acropolis can be seen almost anywhere in the city.

An employee of one of the three hop on hop off bus companies came over to us as we stared puzzled at the closed bus ticket office and explained the situation.  Thankfully he offered us an affordable alternative in a daily hop on hop off bus ticket (or get on get off as that specific company called it).  The ticket allowed us access to two routes between Piraeus and Athens and around Athens itself.  I was happy with the optional stops and narrated tour, but I was terrified by the driving.  Looking at the cool as a cucumber driver I would never have thought he was flying through the crowded streets barely missing the tiny fiats surrounding the double decker bus, and tailgating worse than I have ever seen in my life.  After getting off on the first stop, before which we rode to in the front seat, I made a mental note to sit as close to the center of the bus as possible.  I wanted to be as far away from possible points of impact. 

The Panathenatic Stadium (left) and Temple of Zeus (right) as seen from the acropolis.

The only ceiling still intact enough on the acropolis to make out the cubic reliefs.

We disembarked at the Acropolis.  Acropolis means high point of the city, and its shape can be seen from all over the city as I would learn later that day.  It seemed whenever I looked up I could see the Acropolis off in the distance.  Access to the Acropolis requires entering through the series of slippery marble steps and columns, currently under restoration.  The only access point to the hilltop, which is surrounded on all other sides by a sheer drop off, acts as a bottle neck to the no doubt thousands of visitors who come daily to this ancient site. 

The scaffold free back of the parthenon.

David enjoys the view of the entire top of the acropolis.

Once we cleared the bottleneck like entrance the Acropolis opened up to a large clearing containing the two monuments built by classic Greeks to honor their gods and city, the Parthenon, the Temple of Wingless Victory (the first temple built on the Acropolis), and the Erechtheum (a third temple dedicated to Athena and Poseidon.

Friendly family dogs wander freely in Greece.  David pets this one who said hello while we waited for our bus.

The Parthenon was unfortunately covered in scaffolding since it was undergoing restoration.  I would have been upset about the scaffolding ruining all my photos of the monument, had I not seen what bad shape the Parthenon is in.  I realize this monument has been standing for over two thousand years, but I did not expect the roof to be completely missing.  The only parts of the structure remaining are the exterior columns and the floor, much less than I expected. 

Hadrian's arch stands behind me across from the mammoth columns of the Temple of Zeus.

I think all of the photos used in history channel specials and promotional materials show the Parthenon from the front, which due to its large facade gives a fools the observer into think the structure is more complete than it really is.  What the Parthenon lacks in structure the Temple of Wingless Victory and Erechtheum make up for.  These structures still contain enough of a ceiling and decoration to make it easy to imagine what they would look like whole. 

These archaeologic remains were discovered in the botanical gardens while installing a ventilation shaft for the subway system.

The Acropolis offers more than Greek monuments to the observer willing to climb its stairs to the summit.  The treeless terrace of the summit offers a three hundred-sixty degree view of Athens below.  From the summit, we could see the Panathenaic Stadium where the first modern Olympic Games were held in 1896, and the remains of the Temple of Zeus down the street.  On the opposite side of the plateau, we could see the park that surrounds the Acropolis, with its temples, ancient ruins, and ancient streets now used as pedestrian walkways.  We could even see the cruise ship docked in Piraeus. 

Ruins that will have to wait until we return to explore more of Athens.

The acropolis looms above this park in Athens.

The weather in Athens was perfect in the mid seventies, with sunny skies.  After leaving the Acropolis we spent as much time walking around the many green areas of the city as riding the get on get off bus.  We made a loop of Hadrian’s Arch (supposedly built to honors the emperor Hadrian and separating the ancient city from the temple complexes), the larger than life remains the Temple of Zeus, the Panathenaic Stadium, and the National Gardens before arriving just in time to see the changing of the guard in front of the parliament building.  We purchased some roasted nuts from a street vendor as we watched the slow motion kicks of guards in fanciful uniforms during the ten-minute ceremony. 

Slow rolling kicks are the signature move in the changing of the guard in front of the Greek parliament.

In reality purchasing nuts was a tasty but unnecessary purchase, as trees both within the National Gardens and all over the city were full of citrus.  Citrus trees were so plentiful and bountiful fruit was rotting on them before it could be picked.  Citrus trees were not the only fruit trees we saw plentiful in Athens.  After riding the bus from the Parliament to the park surrounding the Acropolis for a leisurely stroll along the old Greek roads we saw olives just ripening hanging from trees throughout the park.  They were hard to see at first as their green color and small shape hid the olives among the leaves, but once we noticed the first bunch I looked around again to seem them hanging everywhere. 

Citrus trees are abundant with fruit all over Athens.  We found these in the National Gardens.

An olive tree we passed in Athens.  Legend has it the goddess Athena gave the citizens of Athens the olive tree as a gift.

Aside from olives and olive trees, the park was abundant with locals selling jewelry and art.  Cafes with outside seating lined the busier sections of the walkways.  Despite much of the park bordering the rougher section of town, I never felt unsafe.  Firemen and other public servants stood watch in strategic locations along the walkway, ensuring the safe environment for tourists and locals alike to enjoy the perfect weather.  As Athens is home to a third of Greece's population, green spaces like this park offer an oasis within the city from the urban sprawl.

David walks through this park past vendors selling trinkets and jewelry.

We found Athens an affordable port stop.  Between out hop on hop off bus ticket (fifteen euros each), ticket to the Acropolis (twelve euro each), and the nuts we bought for a snack (a euro and a half each) we enjoyed a full day in the city for less than the cruise ship was charging for a visit to the Acropolis alone (eighty-five dollars a person).  We also had the freedom to adjust our plans, squeezing in more sights like the changing of the guard as the day went on, freedom lacking on a cruise ship excursion.  The people of Athens were friendly, and the bus company employees all spoke impeccable English.  Employees were stationed at all the stops ready to sell tickets or answer questions.  Given the opportunity, I would not change the time we spent in Athens in anyway.  

Can you make out the cruise ship and Acropolis in these photos we took?