How to Spend 4 Days in Athens: A Perfect Itinerary

Perfect Athens, Greece in 4 Days Travel Itinerary

Full of history and ruins, Greece has been a place I’ve wanted to visit since learning about it in school. Being able to actually see these ruins and artifacts in person was like transporting back in time! We spent 4 full days in Athens, Greece, and loved every moment of it.

So if you are planning on traveling to Athens for 3-5 days, this 4 itinerary will cover the best things to do and see in Athens and even a beach day!

We are pretty fast travelers, so this Athens Itinerary could easily be stretched out a day or two, as well as shorten depending on what kind of traveler you are and if you like going to museums!

Don’t have 4 days in Athens? Check out my top 8 things to see in Athens here!

Disclaimer*** Please note this post contains affiliate links which I receive a small commission at no additional cost to you if you click a link and make a purchase.

How to Get to Athens

The best way to get to Athens is to fly into Athens International Airport (ATH). From the airport, you can either take the train or hire a driver to pick you up. We took the train, which was easy although a bit of a walk to the station. If your budget is not tight, I would opt for a car service instead.

Tip: We use Skyscanner to find the best airfare across airlines.

How to Get Around Athens

The best way to get around Athens is by foot or through public transportation. The subways in Athens are the cleanest subways I have ever been on, but the bus line is the complete opposite.

At the end of the day, we took both and had zero issues. You can also call a taxi, private car.

Day 1: Full Day of Acropolis and Surrounding Area

On our first day in Athens, we hit the ground running doing all things Ancient Greece including the famous Acropolis along with a couple of other historic sites.

Ancient Greece Acropolis

The Acropolis is a must with 4 days in your Athens itinerary. To be honest, if you only had one day in Athens, it should still be here!

When touring the ancient ruins of Athens, it’s best to try to beat the crowd. We arrived at the Acropolis entrance bright and early (8 am) and purchased the 3-day pass self-guided. If you are really interested in history, you might want to opt for a guided tour of the Acropolis.

Once you go through the gate, you will get to explore the Odeion of Herodes Atticus Parthenon, Athena Nike, and Erecthion just to name a few.  It was seriously mind-blowing to see in person!

The most important thing we learned was arriving early and wearing proper shoes! Within 20 minutes of being at the Acropolis sites, the crowds had grown significantly. April is not even the high season in Greece!

I wore regular flat sandals and found it so hard to climb up and down the rocks. Halfway through the day, I had to buy a pair of Birkenstock Sandals so we could keep on going lol.

*Insider tip: If you get the 3-day pass, make sure to hold on to it, as you will need it to enter into sites.

Roman Agora

Next, we headed to the Roman Agora. Built between 19-11 BC, the Roman Agora was where commercial activities took place in Ancient Greece. It’s a nice open space with pieces of Doric columns and some arches.

You can walk right up to them, but do not touch or stand on any of the structure, even though it can seem tempting. This spot was not crowded when we went and was really nice to walk through.

Stoa Of Attalos

After, we continued walking to the Stoa Of Attalos. To the left is a building with statues and a small room with encased artifacts. One of my favorite pieces was an intricate design of titles!

You will also notice that many of the artifacts have been restored. How can you tell? You will notice by the slight discoloration.

We spent ample time exploring the many ruins, olive, and orange trees throughout the grounds.  While walking the grounds, it turns into The Athenian Agora which is all the way to the right when entering.

Atop is the Temple of Hephaistos and a beautiful view overlooking Athens! Give yourself some time to explore this whole area and then make your way down for some lunch! We ate outside at Restaurante Attalos and it did not disappoint!

Explore the Street Markets of Athens

If you eat close to the Stoa of Attalos, you will notice there is a large Flea Market. If your anything like me, this is a little opportunity to shop!

Discover Plaka, Athens, The Prettiest Neighborhood

We continued to walk through Plaka’s streets past the ancient street of the tripod Athens where we found beautiful allies, amazing shops, and delicious gelato. This area was very clean compared to other parts of Athens and had more upscale restaurants.

This was likely one of our favorite places to walk through and where I’d recommend staying.

Library of Hadrian

After exploring the shops and Plaka, head to Hadrian’s Library. The large marble columns were blinding and it looks as if they have begun to restore this old ruin. In the same area, you will also see the Church of Saint Asimatos and Tetraconch Church.

“It was built according to the view by Herculius the Perfect of llliricum (AD 407-412) or by the Empress Eudocia, former Athenais daughter”.

This spot is full of history and lots to see with instagramable views and fewer crowds than the Acropolis!

Acropolis Museum

Next, make your way through the charming streets to the Acropolis Museum. The Acropolis Museum is beyond a stunning piece of architecture but holds some of the most fantastic art from ancient Greek times.

If you go to any museum while in Athens, I would definitely make this one my number 1 choice. The large glass windows even give you spectacular views of part of the Acropolis!

One of my favorite pieces was the 5 Caryatids which were smashed by a Turkish canyon ball but still in decent shape. You will recognize them immediately since they are the originals from the replica you will see atop the Acropolis!

The address is Dionysiou Areopagitou 15, Athina 117 42, Greece, admission is 5 euros ( some days out of the year are free!) and hours and dates for free admission click here!

Areopagus

Finally to end your day on a beautiful note, head to Areopagus. You will likely see tourists and locals relaxing and waiting for the sun to set atop this rock. It is located below the Acropolis heading towards the Roman Agora.

For additional Acropolis guides or to get your tickets in advance, click here!

Day 2: National Archaeological Museum of Athens

Since day 1 of your Athens Itinerary is so jam-packed, consider a more relaxing day exploring the National Archaeological Museum of Athens. Using google maps at our Airbnb, we mapped out to take the subway to the museum.

Their subway system is pretty easy to use, safe, and very clean!

The National Archaeological Museum of Athens was founded in the 19th century and is the largest archaeological museum in Greece. This Museum is also considered one of the most important museums in the world dedicated to Ancient Greek art.

If you are a huge Greek art lover, you will want to check this out. They even had an Egyptian exhibit.

Some well-known pieces to see is the Mask of Agamemnon ( gold funeral mask) the bronze statue of Zeus or Poseidon, Aphrodite, Pan Eros complex, The Kore and Kouros, the Horse and jockey, and more.

I for one was in love with the vast ancient jewelry collection and metalwork. If you decide to visit, give yourself plenty of time and make sure you see the above pieces which are some of the most notable.

Address:  28is Oktovriou 44, Athina 106 82, Greece

If you’re hungry, there was a cafe close to the museum called right off the property that Google is calling “Quality Restaurant”. It’s nothing fancy, but the food was good and they had a really good Greek coffee.

Day 3: Temple of Zeus, Zappio and Panathenaic Stadium

This day might have been one of my favorites in terms of the places we visited. It also didn’t hurt that we were all rested up and jet lag-free! We headed off towards the Temple of Olympian Zeus.

Temple of Olympian Zeus

With 4 days in Athens, seeing the Temple of Zeus is a must-see! This was by far one of my favorite ruins. Why? I just loved the way the Corinthian columns stood and all the detail you could see.

This temple was also one of the largest in the time era. The temple had 20 columns on the side and 3 rows of 8 on the end. Around 5 AD deterioration started due to natural causes and human activity and of the original 104 columns, 16 had survived until 1852.

A storm made one column fall over and can be seen laying on the ground! If you’re in this area, you will also get to see Hadrian’s arch and gate.

Address: Athens 105 57, Greece

Zappio Hall

Next, we walked over to the Zapieron but didn’t spend much time here. There was some event going on so we just went in, snapped a couple of photos, and left to get some food. The restaurant is right next to it called Aegli Cafe.

Being a pescatarian in a city that loves meat is hard, so I got pizza, and let me tell you this pizza was amazing!

Address: Leof. Vasilissis Olgas, Athina 105 57, Greece

The Panathenaic Stadium

This was one of the coolest places we went to in Athens. There is a 5 euro admission to go inside the gate but it’s totally worth it. They will even give you a headset that will walk you around the stadium and give you all the history.

We were able to walk up the giant marble steps, sit in the royal marble chairs, run down the track, stand on the pedestal of champions and my favorite, walk down the tunnel where so many athletes had walked before me.

If that wasn’t cool enough, through the tunnel is a room that holds all the Olympic torches! Oh, and did I even mention the amazing views of Athens you will see when walking up the Panathenaic stadium?!

Or did you know that the Panathenaic stadium is the only stadium built completely of marble? It was a lot of fun and I would put it on the top of any Athens list!

Address: Leof. Vasileos Konstantinou, Athina 116 35, Greece

Day 4: Day Trip to the Beach From Athens

After all the excitement of day 3, we were ready for some beaches in Athens. The day before we briefly spoke to a man selling paintings who let us in on a little secret of visiting the local beach of Vouliagmeni!

Vouliagmeni Beach

We took the red line train to the very last stop, Alexandros Panagoulis. Then we then crossed the street to catch the blue 122 bus all the way down to Vouliagmeni Beach.

It’s about a 45 minute trip from Athens, but totally worth it if you have some warm weather as we did in our April visit!

We got off by this restaurant called Sardelaki; I believe it was the Limnē stop. Below was this cute little cove beach.

The beach didn’t have any specific name that I could find, but it was definitely a local spot. Although the water was too cold to go fully in, it was nice to dip our feet in the crystal clear water of the Aegean sea.

Later we went up and had lunch at Sardelaki and it was delicious. They brought out all their appetizers on a plate and you choose which ones you wanted wish was pretty cool.

Larger beach Option

If small little local spots are not your thing, we decided to walk back to a large stretch of beach with loads of amenities. We could easily tell this is the spot, everyone, flocks to!

You did have to pay a small fee to get in but they had bathrooms, changing rooms, spots for food, chairs, and umbrellas. It was like a full-on beach club and there were a ton of people there partying.

This part of the beach also no specific name but the bus stop closest to it is called Α’ΠΛΑΖ ΒΟΥΛΙΑΓΜΕΝΗΣ  and the address is Vouliagmeni 166 71, Greece. As another reference, it’s right next to a restaurant called En Plo.

 

Additional Athens Travel Tips

1. 1. In Athens, you will notice tons of cats! You will even see shop owners putting out water for them!
   2. It’s very possible to run into a squat toilet (just an FYI). Also, you will see signs in every bathroom letting you know to not flush the toilet paper. Their plumbing system is not the best so try to follow the rules on this one!
   3. The water is safe to drink, however, we used our reusable Lifestraw bottle that comes with a very strong filter (strong enough you can drink from a lake).  You can check out my Lifestraw bottle here!
   4. You may have heard this before and it is true that Athens is not the cleanest city. We will saw a lot of garbage and graffiti, but it still didn’t take away from our trip.
   5. If you plan on hitting the beach, check out my favorite quick-dry towels from Dock and Bay here! They are compact, dry well, and are made with an eco-friendly thought in mind! We have the (2) large size towels that come with their own little carrying case, which is perfect for us.
   6. If you have more than 4 days in Athens, also consider taking a guided day trip or a Northwest Road trip in Greece.

Where to Stay in Athens

We stayed at an Airbnb about 10 minutes from the Acropolis, however, I would definitely recommend staying closer! The areas are much nicer surrounding the Acropolis and you will be much closer to all!

If you are looking for an Airbnb, you can use my link to receive up to $50 off for first-timers! Save with Airbnb!  If you rather stay at a hotel, the Plaka area is a great place to be.  Check out hotels for Athens here!

4 Days in Athens Itinerary Review

This ended our 4 days in Athens, Greece. To be honest, we think 4 days in Athens is plenty depending on how much you want to see and if your going island hopping. For opening hours, along with price, this website was helpful to us as well. Click here!

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