3 Days in Athens, Greece: An Action Packed Itinerary!
Athens Greece is actually one of my favorite metro areas! With easy to get the hang of public transit, amazing food, endless history and culture around every corner it is not to be missed when you go to Greece. I often see people skipping Athens all together before heading to the islands- which I get because Greece has many of the worlds most beautiful islands. But Athens is one of the most historic places you can visit and truly is a good time 🙂
Below we are going to get into some of my favorite ideas and recommendations for spending a few days in Athens! I am currently planning another Greece trip for the end of this year and can’t wait to go back to so many of these locations and I hope you find some fun ideas here too!
I break each day down into three general time groupings: morning, afternoon and evening. Of course your itinerary is going to depend on your groups speed, desire, and interests! But I truly believe we experienced some slightly outside the box experiences while also really getting to embrace the history and culture. So I really do want to share with you and hopefully inspire some fun ideas for your quick trip to Athens.
So let’s get into it so you can start planning your amazing time in Athens Greece –
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3 Days in Athens: An Action Packed Itinerary!
How to spend 3 days in Athens Greece:
Day 1:
The morning-
Start with the most iconic site in Athens right away in the morning- the Acropolis! I highly recommend getting tickets in advance (or else you have to stand in the ticket line and THEN the entrance line). And ideally if you can get the first slot of the day you won’t experience as many crowds. At least right away.
Make sure that you are on time too- you can get into the acropolis 15 minutes before or after your entrance time that you choose when getting the tickets. But you are SOL if you are more than 15 minutes late and will have to wait in the ticket line. So be timely or you might seriously regret it!!
Also if you want a quicker waiting line go to the entrance that is by the Theater of Dionysus aka the back of the site. We SO regretted not doing that the first time when we exited there and saw the line wasn’t even 1/3 of the main entrance line.
Grab a hand pie on the way there (trust me they are delicious)! If you are overwhelmed when you first get in and just really need a coffee and a snack then look for the closest Gregory’s which is the Greek version of a fast casual breakfast/coffee chain but like way better than Starbucks (shade intended lol). We ended up getting coffee from them like 3 or 4 times throughout our 2+ weeks throughout all of Greece and it’s an easy backup to keep in your pocket!
Let’s get back on track-
After spending a few hours exploring the acropolis and surrounding sites you’ll definitely be hungry and needing to grab some food and coffee before continuing on.
Extra tip: pay attention to where you are booking your hotel. Athens is a geographically pretty large city and their public transit is great BUT it can be challenging if you aren’t walkable to a train station. I recommend if at all possible to be within .75 miles of the Acropolis. And close to a station is ideal for easily getting around the city.
Also if you are only here for a few days and you have some specific things you are wanting to
The afternoon-
Get lunch and in case no one has told you- Greek omelettes are beyond delicious!
This restaurant was wonderful, it’s called Seven Cactus’s and the Freddo Cappuccinos were 10/10 sooo tasty!
Anyway back on track- the acropolis entrance tickets also include admission to (at least in 2025) 6 additional historical sites. I recommend spending the rest of the daylight hours trying to explore as many of them as possible.
The included sites are:
- The Acropolis
- The Parthenon
- Temple of Athena Nike
- Odeon of Herodes Atticus
- Theater of Dionysus Eleuthereus
- Erechtheion
- Propylaea
But unless you are SPRINTING and not really enjoying the sites you won’t get to them all this day and that is okay! We’re gonna get there just wait 😉
The majority of which can be walked to between them- especially if your group is all generally good with a fair amount of walking. I will say that unless you are way more familiar with Athens and driving in Greece in general I wouldn’t rent a car in Athens! On the islands? Sure some of them. But never in Athens lol!
This is the perfect time to share my FAVORITE travel hack: wanderlog.
It is both a website (best for planning the trip) and an app (best for using during the trip). The general idea is you are pre-marking food and attractions on a map that you can export to google maps or use on the app which is what I do. And then when you are actively traveling you can just pull the app open and look for whatever you are needing that is around you.
So for example- you’re walking around after spending hours exploring the acropolis and are in desperate need of a coffee. You can open up WanderLog and search for coffee shops that you have already checked out.
Why check them out in advance? A few reasons…
a) pre-vet menus for dietary restrictions. The first time we went to Athens I was still a full vegetarian and while Greece overall wasn’t hard to be vegetarian in, it did require some research to ensure I could find especially dinner restaurants with a vegetarian main dish option. If you have a gluten free or vegan restriction I really recommend doing this because those are definitely a bit more challenging in Greece!
b) you only have 3 dinners so let’s make it count. You run the risk of a flop experience by just walking in and not looking at the menus and reviews beforehand. And in a city filled with AMAZING restaurants I don’t want you walking away from a single dinner with regrets!!
c) tourist traps are real… and any major city has quite a few of them and Athens is no exception. By researching and checking things out beforehand on your
The Evening –
Now it’s time to get back to my favorite travel activity: eating.
Reservations didn’t appear to be the biggest concern in Athens compared to other European and American cities. Which is great because then you can have way more fun choosing what sounds good the day of 🙂
There are SO many amazing dinner restaurants in Athens that I’m going to be so real with you- it’s going to be realllllly hard to choose.
But if you are open to some recommendations here we go-
- Lithos Tavern– with all the delicious classics like moussakas and modern twists like beetroot risotto it’s the perfect dinner spot.
- Antica restaurant– we loved this spot so much! A little more causal than lithos but food that is just as tasty. They also have some good options like a burger for any picky eaters in your group 🙂
- Liondi– let this restaurant be the one that you experience saganaki at if you didn’t have any at lunch. Saganaki cheese is probably my favorite food in the world at this point and Liondi has one I still think about regularly….
Day 2:
The morning-
Museums are the name of the game today! There are more than you could possibly see in one day or even the 3 days you are in Athens. But that means that you have lots of choices for cool museums to visit that also peak your own or someone in your groups interest.
Let’s chat about some fun museum options you could consider-
- Athens Olympic Museum
- Museum of Modern Greek Culture (MNEP)
- The Hellenic IT Museum
- Museum of Greek Folk Musical Instruments
- The Byzantine and Christian Museum
- The Benaki Toy Museum
- Ilias Lalaounis Jewellery Museum
The afternoon-
Pottery or other fun class!
Head over to Viator and look through the class options because they have so many. And I have found that taking a relevant class to the culture of where you are visiting is one of the most educational yet also fun ways to experience the culture.
Cooking classes are the go-to option but you can also find so many creative/unique options!
Some that made my short list in Athens are:
- Wine Workshop Create your Own Wine under the Acropolis
- Ceramic and Pottery creative Workshop with two local artists
- Greek Leather Sandals Private Handmade Workshop in Athens
- Art workshop– Create your own greek silk scarf in Athens
- Philosophy Experiential Workshop at Plato’s Academy Park -Athens
The evening-
Dinner with a view!
Some of my favorite restaurants with a view that were found when researching options are:
- Sin Athina
- Dionysos Zonar’s
- Strofi
- Sense Restaurant
Those all have a view specifically of the acropolis. I will say though that often the restaurants with the best view have the highest prices and not always food that is worth it. So if you want the view but without spending a lot then just get a cocktail at one of those restaurants! And then go and get dinner somewhere without a million dollar view but better and more affordable food.
And since we are on the topic of dining then lets chat about some dining tips and cultural differences that will be helpful to know about before your couple days in Athens 🙂
Dining tips:
- Mezze culture is real– ordering a bunch of “mezze” dishes to share amongst the table and ordering more if you want more is so normal and truly embraced. So why not share in the culture and get to try a whole bunch of food items instead of just your entree.
- You gotta ask for the bill– as American’s this can be a weird culture shift but actually it’s so enjoyable. Not being rushed out of the restaurant, able to order more wine if desired, and setting your own pace is so lovely. But you will need to get your waiters(waitress) attention. I recommend making eye contact and mouthing the word bill while also motioning the act of signing. You will see many others doing that or similar variations!
- Dinner is later– of course, you can eat whenever you want BUT a lot of the better (aka less tourist-y) restaurants won’t even open for dinner until after 7pm. We made most of our reservations for around 8pm and it was generally a little early but there was still others around. A 5:30 dinner? It’s gonna be a ghost town in the restaurant which really kills the vibe.
- House wine is bomb– well that pretty much says it all but house wine in Greece is phenomenal and definitely the way to go.
Day 3:
The morning-
Take a walking food tour!
And they can be a little more pricey in theory than just walking around yourself and splitting food BUT it’s so worth it- here’s the one we went on and it was so much fun and I highly recommend it. And give everything a try (allergies and dietary restrictions aside of course) and trust your guide they won’t steer you wrong.
This was one of my favorite experiences we had in all of Greece and has sold me in general on walking food tours. So not only do you get to try out so many things including things you may never have thought of but a local is going to lead you through the experience. Not having to navigate on your own and instead following them also is so relaxing if you are the Type A leader of the group like I am lol!
The afternoon-
Explore neighborhoods!!
- Plaka- a crowd favorite and for a good reason! Plaka is the place to be with shops and restaurants all on gorgeous historic sites and beautiful greenery throughout. Make sure to do a little research and pop into some of the churches and historic sites in the area but for the most part Plaka is an overall cultural vibe not just history specific!
- Monastiraki- if you enjoy a good thrift/vintage experience then you gotta go explore Monastiraki with its insane and amazing flea market. They also have incredible street food to keep you fueled between shopping and taking in the beautiful views.
- Kolonaki- upscale is the best way to describe this neighborhood. But upscale with plenty of class and culture for everyone to appreciate! High end restaurants and designer shops fill the streets and the homes?! stunning!!
- Exarchia- kinda the opposite vibe is Exarchia aka the arts district filled with edgier culture. If you have specific dietary restrictions that are more frequent in the younger generations (like vegan) then this is where you are going to find the best options for you. Also- the place to be for a little bit or a lotta bit of drinking if you’re wanting to wrap up Athens with a fun night out.
The evening-
Wrap up your evening by grabbing dinner followed by my favorite treat in athens: lukumades! AKA fried dough balls covered in your choice of toppings but the classic version is honey and pistachio! And served with creamy ice cream on the side is the only way to go in my opinion!!
Then spend time walking around the main sites at night. The lighting, vibes, music from restaurants etc. is such a sweet and genuine vibe. Don’t rush and just stroll along the ancient streets and enjoy the last few hours of this trip (but hopefully not the last!) to Athens.
Korra The Explorer
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