Athens - where to stay and any tips.

[lifeturnsonadime]

We're going to Athens for Oct half term for 6 nights.

Any tips on where best to stay? I'm thinking cultural centre but teen fancies resort with a car hire to see sites (he's studying classical civilisation a - level) so it's semi educational.

If we stay near the beach will it be deserted for out of season? Anyone know if pools are likely to be heated?

Thanks and any tips will be gratefully received.

It’s been a while since I was there but the hop on and off bus was brilliant. Please whatever you do don’t miss the changing of the guard. Apparently the Athens museum is amazing, I need to go back.

Oh i've not heard about the changing of the guard, I'll take a look at that. Glad you enjoyed it, I'm so looking forward to it.

We went in April for 4 night with older teens 20&15. We had a great time . Definitely do the guided walking tour .

Hiring a car is a great idea as I have a classics obsessed teen and it was a shame we couldn't get down the coast .

We stayed in the Koukaki area ... which was a bit bohemian . Everything was within walking distance .

We stayed in the Absolut Athens Apartments ... self catering and very spacious .

Shopping area was excellent, a lot of time spent in the shops by the teens .

Do you want to stay in Athens/one place the whole time? When we went we did a mini road trip and stayed near Delphi and then a few days in the Peloponnese. There are loads of sights that you could do as a day trip from near Athens but staying e.g. in the Nafplion area for a night or two would give you more time to explore places such as Mycenae, Epidavros, Corinth, Nemea (great alternative if you are not going as far as Olympia) etc. I love Athens but with 6 nights you have a bit of time to explore elsewhere too.

Visit the acropolis at opening time - it'll be quieter and the flag raising with the squad of young soldiers lustily singing their anthem is rather moving (the tearing down of the Nazi flag during ww2 apparently helped spark the Resistance so I think it's a particularly symbolic act)

The acropolis museum is excellent; the National Archaeological Museum is fabulous.

Thanks I will look into doing something like this I think.

I don't know the area at all so need to do some research!

I'd echo PP suggestion of Delphi and the Peloponnese.

Oh, and have a trip to the top of Mount Lycabbetus, the highest point in Athens.

We stayed at the Coco Mat for a few days, after returning from an island and before flying home. It's really well located and the beds were very comfortable! Athens is such a cool city, you'll have a great time!

Imo 6 nights is only just enough for Athens itself but maybe depends how blown away you are by the museums and ancient sites. We were glad we went for 2 weeks as we wanted to return to some of them.
Mycenae, Epidavros and Delphi are certainly worth seeing - we did them on coach trips which was ok; you don't get to stay as long as we'd have liked but otoh we wouldn't have enjoyed driving to them ourselves.

I spent a week there in June in the Hilton area in a flat. I had a great time.
I booked some day trips - one to the beach and the temple of Poseidon, a food market visit and the Acropolis.
The Acropolis was very crowded even at 9am . I'm not sure I'd recommend it unless it's a must see for you too.
Food was great, also visited the Acropolis Museum.
I'd like to go back and do more day trips.

The Acropolis was very crowded even at 9am . I'm not sure I'd recommend it unless it's a must see for you too.

She's going in the October half term. We went earlier in October, it was fine.
May not be quite beach weather though. Iirc it was perfect for walking around sightseeing

We went in October in 2019. My recommendations would be to take a tour of the Acropolis, we did two guided tours which were absolutely brilliant. We did group tours but on the tour of the Acropolis we were the only guests. Having really knowledge guide made the difference between walking round some ancient temples that I vaguely knew something about and having a fascinating morning where everything was put into context. We also did Ancient Olympians where you tried various sports from the original olympics like discus and javelin. They weren't cheap but I would absolutely recommend this use of money. I'll try and find the name of the company.

we spent the day at Lake Vouliagmeni, a freshwater lake which is heated by hot springs. It was magical. The TA Athens forum has lots of info on how to get there but it was pretty easy.

Acropolis Museum was interesting, especially the excavations. Do it after you've visited the Acropolis

go to the Lukumades cafe in the evening. So good we went 3 times.

we stayed our first night on Hydra and went trekking with Harriet's Hydra Horses the next day before travelling back. Hydra is gorgeous, no motorised vehs and everything is moved by donkey.

we stayed 1 night on hydra and 5 in the city centre, we didn't do any day trips further than Vouliagmeni. 6 days is enough to get a flavour of the city and see the big sites.

highly recommend the Happy Train at dusk, you can hop on and off.

I love Athens, it has everything. Fantastic food, really friendly and obliging locals, history, seaside.

Found it !
really recommend this company, very professional https://www.alternativeathens.com/tours/olympic-games/

I think we did this Acropolis tour - DD was 9 at the time so went for something age-appropriate but actually it was really well pitched. The tour guide was a gold mine of information about Greece in general, we ended up staying with her for 4 hours !

Aaargh https://www.alternativeathens.com/tours/family-mythology-tour/

We stayed in this apartment, it was in a good position in a safe but quiet bit of the city centre. The owners couldn't have been more helpful, on the last day while on our way to go to the airport we suddenly realised we had left one of DDs toys wrapped in the bedding. Tears and panic ensued but they very kindly went back to the apartment and then met us at a cafe to return it to us. The apartment might not be right for you but I really recommend those hosts

https://abnb.me/3VRKBroe3Bb

Definitely stay in the city centre - Plaka is a particularly lovely district - get a hotel with a rooftop view of the Acropolis and all the sites are in walking distance. If your son is a Classics student, there is a wealth of ancient world knowledge and experience right there in the city - the Acropolis, Temple of Olympian Zeus, the Olympic Stadium, the agora, Hadrian's Library, the Acropolis Museum and excavation site underneath and the National Archaeological Museum are all glorious. The Athenian riviera is spectacular, but pools won't be heated and late October isn't the best time for staying out there. It's the perfect time to get the most out of the city when it isn't too hot and crowded. With six days at your disposal you should certainly do a day trip to Delphi, and you could take a trip down to Cape Sounion for sunset at the Temple of Poseidon. I'm so envious of you, Athens is one of my favourite cities in the world!

Excellent time of year to go to Athens - loads to see and do. Make sure you catch the OXI (pronounced O-hee) day celebrations on 28th October

I'd echo others and say a trip to Delphi is a must - it is spectacular on if he's doing Class Civ a level likely to be relevant to the spec - is he doing an art and architecture unit?

We loved athens. Stayed in a lovely 2-bed apartment in koukai I think, the main attractions were in walking distance. We did a day trip to Delphi and another to Poseidon. Both were great - we booked private trips with 'with locals'. We did think about a trip similar to that recommended by @Mia85 but ended up going off to an island so didn't have have enough time. Absolutely worth doing a bit of a google search for inspiration. I remember coming across this blog post which was useful (it's not mine, I promise) - aimed at the younger Percy Jackson market, but probably helpful for your purposes. Enjoy, whatever you do, I'd really like to go back.