Athens in May for a week, tips please!

[MegCleary]

We are thinking of apt for a week at half term. DDs are 18 & 15. I have heard people don’t go for a week. City not great.
Can the hive mind help please?

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I bloody love Athens!

I would do all the open top buses (I think there are three routes). Or at least the Athens Route and the Riviera Route at the end of which there's https://lakevouliagmeni.gr/ where you can spend the day.

The Acropolis Museum is incredible as of course is the Acropolis itself.

Mooch round Plaka and eat in one of the gorgeous al fresco restaurants.

Find a rooftop bar at Monastiraki Square and watch the sunset over the Acropolis.

I'm very jealous and I'd live there in a heartbeat 💙🤍

Reading some threads say no for a week. Is there enough to do or travel on elsewhere for a few nights?

Well I personally could do a lifetime week there because there are beaches as well as the city but three or four nights is probably enough and then you could get an internal flight to say Zakynthos or Corfu for a few days and then fly home from there.

We easily did a week in Athens by doing a couple of ferry trips to nearby islands when the city got a bit too hot for sightseeing. Fabulous city.

What’s easy to get too from Athens, island/sightseeing wise that may be good?

We did three nights last year, and could have done more. Have booked five nights on the Athenian Riviera for next summer, which you can easily visit by day if you wanted to from the City.

Will your daughters not want any time just relaxing and soaking up the sun?

They didn’t seem to bothered by pool etc!
people watching, eating out, museums main interests at the moment

what about 4 days Athens and 2-3 Delphi?

I’d do half Athens and half an island. The Saronic islands are easy to reach from there - Hydra or Spetses could be good. Not for beach/pool (too cold in May anyway) but both have nice main towns and a different feel to the mainland.

Or Nafplio is a nice coastal town close to Athens with various ancient sites along the way from Athens - but you’d need a car.

I don’t know Delphi but expect it could be good too!

No car, that’s no holiday driving in another country. Any place nearby we could try without a car?

3 nights in Athens and 4 nights on an island. I’d choose somewhere like Andros. If you sail back into Rafina as opposed to Piraeus then you’re a 10 min uber to the airport

I love Athens but a week is a long time. I'd do a day trip to Delphi and then take the ferry for the day to Poros or Hydra.

Delphi is tiny, once you've been to the museum and walked around the sites, visited the town (which is small) there's not much to do.

Meteora is beautiful to spend a couple of days.

meteora.com/meteora-monasteries/

We did a week at Feb half term last year.

day trip to Delphi (you do not need more than one day) but it’s quite a long one.

we got the Athens pass or whatever it is called for lots of the museums.

did the acropolis one day.

we split up at points - so for example I got a taxi out of the city to go to a thermal lake with restaurant and spent the day there just swimming and drinking coffee.

my DS did most of the museums I think.

there’s lots of restaurants to eat out at.

honestly we’ll go back because we didn’t do it all even in a week and there’s so much to do.

Do all of the above in Athens then, if you want some island life, it’s very easy to go to Aegina or Hydra on a hydrofoil (about 45 minutes from Piraeus port which is at the end of the metro line.

Athens booked thanks all for the advice. Now just deciding re museum and travel passes

The Archaeological museum is amazing. Also the Benaki museum is really interesting and has a nice terrace restaurant with good views. It's in Kolonaki which is where the wealthy live and has some lovely shops bars, cafés etc.

National Archaeological Museum

Enjoy Athens it's an amazing city.

If you’re there on a Sunday, don’t forget to watch the changing of the guards at Syntagma Square. The Grand Change takes place at 11am, and I’m so glad I went to watch it. We arrived about 15 minutes early to get a good viewing spot.

Athens is a marvellous city, and May will be warm enough for sight seeing without being uncomfortably hot. I’d echo going to Hydra, just get the hydrofoil rather than doing a boat tour. Delphi is a long day trip by bus.

Do get the city pass - it gives access to lots of sites, the Acropolis and both agora’s which are worth visiting. There are lots of small, specialist museums in the city which are worth a visit and lots of people watching. The gardens around the Acropolis are beautiful and some lovely bars and tavernas in that area for a lazy afternoon drink. I’ve been to Athens twice in May, for 4 nights each time and could happily go back - there’s so much to see and do beyond the obvious.

I'm sure that there are various companies that could sort you out a day trip to Delphi- and one to the temple of Poseidon at Cape Sounion too, if you like.

Aegina is the closest Island to Athens- shouldn't be too crowded in May because all the Athenians tend to descend on it in August. It's surprisingly nice for a honeypot, and has an impressive temple (Artemis or Aphrodite? Can't remember!) It's a really short trip if you take the hydrofoil.

There are beaches on the coast near Athens- there's a tram that takes you down the coast. Again, unlikely to be busy because out of peak Greek holiday season.

I like Lycabettus Hill, the Byzantine Museum (love icons), the Central Market and the Agora, which should have an almost rural feel in May, with all the wildflowers.