Athens- stay there a week or go elsewhere too?

[JDM625]

DH and myself are looking to got to Athens in Oct (not during half term!). I realise there are always things to see/do in a city, but is 7 days too long to see the main sights? Would you spent say 4 days in Athens and time elsewhere? If so where? Any tips on places to stay appreciated too.

Personally I think a whole week would be too much time in Athens.
Do you like history? If so, you could go to Delphi or Olympia. If not history fans, one of the nearby islands. Hydra is close, looks like a postcard Greek island & doesn’t have cars.

Ferry from Athens to Paros for a few days is what I would do (although I do love Athens and could probably do 7 days there happily).

I would do 4 days in Athens including a day in Delphi. Then Naxos or Paros for a few days.

You don’t need a week in Athens. I would have a look at which islands you can get to sailing from Rafina as it is close to the airport for your return.

Naxos would be my choice

I spent a week in Athens for work, bearing in mind I love a city, I did rather run out of things to do as could’nt leave for a day trip or overnight. It’s an interesting city but I’d spilt your time with somewhere else.

We went early summer. Athens is great but 7 days is quite long. We went to Poros, nearby island which was lovely.

You could easily spend 7 days in Athens and slow things down. There’s so much to see and do and also excursions out to places like Delphi. There are lots of trendy rooftop restaurants and bars and many interesting museums.

There are very short (45 minutes to an hour or so) very frequent fast ferries to Aegina, Angistri, Poros and Hydra (very pretty). The metro runs out to Piraeus, the port, so it’s very easy to get on a ferry. Or from Regina to Nando’s, Skiathos etc. We look at schedules on www.ferry.gr and you can book tickets on that site too.

Its just over an hours journey from Piraeus to Athens airport.

Or hire a car and travel to coastal mainland Greece. The are some gorgeous areas outside of Athens - Nafplio, the Mesdinian coast or even the Athenian riviera’ if you don’t want to go too far.

19yo DD has just spent 4 days in Athens on an “end of high school” trip with friends. Their specialization was Latin and Greek so they were interested in the ancient sites and museums as well as night life and shopping.

She says 4 days was plenty. It’s not a huge place and there’s a big historical gap between the ancient ruins and the (rather grimy, too much graffiti according to her) modern city.

Some great suggestions which I really appreciate. Oct is creeping up in just over a week so we're now looking at early Nov. Some of the island suggestions might not be doable due to the ferries not working then.

We aren't die hard history buffs. Happy to see the archeological sites and wander around the archaeological museum, but also enjoy the local food and culture. I now looking at day trips we can do from Athens- if anyone has any other ideas.

7 days in Athens seems a lot. I would head for the Peloponnese, it’s well worth a visit. Mountains, beaches, history. And wonderful food.

I agree, 7 days is a lot I can recommend visiting Nafplion or Kalamata for a few nights.

Kalamata is definitely the livelier of the 2 but Nafplion has its own charm. Both are accessible from Athens.

I could easily spend 7 days in Athens. As well as the main tourist sites there are lots of much smaller, specialist museums down small side streets. Parts of the city are beautiful - the park surround the Acropolis has lots of lovely walks, bars and tavernas. If people watching is your thing you can while away the time with a drink, I don’t know how the weather will be in November though. There are day trips to places like Delphi, which is a long day but really interesting. I’d avoid driving at all costs, Athens is a huge city with chronic traffic issues. I’m a very confident driver but I just wouldn’t. You can get a passenger ferry to Hydra, which would be lovely for an overnight - they don’t allow cars on the island and it’s all very lovely with the twin built around the harbour. Avoid boat trips that do 3 islands in one day - it’s a long day with very little time on any of the islands, much nicer to do at your own pace. I’m very jealous, I’d love a week in Athens, one of my favourite cities.

We stayed for 4 days in Athens recently then picked up a hire car from the airport to explore the Peloponnese. It’s very easy driving from the airport out onto the national highways. Nafplio is a good suggestion and is just over a 2 hour drive from Athens. The ferries may have a reduced service from Piraeus but Aegina is a commuter island so there will be very regular services there and it’s about £25 return and takes 40 minutes. It’s not renowned for its beaches but if you do want beach life, you can get a taxi directly from the port for €12 to Marathonas beach. Or go to pretty Hydra.

If you like running you can do some laps of the original Olympic track. That is fun

Hi there! I saw your updated message, but if you'd like you could go to closer-by islands (Aegina, Hydra, Spetses, Salamina) and there are ferries all year-round (bc many people live on these islands and go to Athens quite often), you can check on ferry hopper all the possible itineraries.
When we were in Athens (October) we went for a one-day trip to Aegina and it was totally worth it.
Otherwise you can always visit the coastal area of Athens or rent a car to go to the Peloponnese for example. I hope you'll enjoy the trip in any case xx