Piraeus, Greece? Where the heck is that?

Piraeus is where the cruise ships dock.  Athens is about 20 minutes from the port.  There are many, many ways to get to Athens and its main site - The Acropolis.  If it was only going to be ATP & I on our own, I would have opted for the 'Hop on, hop off' bus.  Most big tourist cities have these and it is my 'fall back' position for getting around if I can not get a group together - but in this case it was absolutely no problem to get a nice sized group together and do our own private tour at a reasonable cost.  Do a tour of 10 instead of being on a big motor coach tour allowed us to get off the ship quickly and get moving before the big crowds.

Our tour group of 10 + our guide.

Athens was very easy to set up -- if you are cruising to Athens - give it a try, I think you will find it pretty easy.  All you need is a little time at your computer.  First I must tell you I had been to Athens before, but none of my tour companions had, so they were OK to let me take the lead and make the plans. The 8 people that we picked to join us all had the same idea of what they wanted to see as ATP & I.  And I do like the planning process!

 Here is what I did.  I went on Trip Advisor and got the names of the Top 3 tour companies for Athens, based on ratings by travelers.  Then I checked out each of their websites.  I narrowed it down to Athens by Taxi and made contact with them to find out the type of vehicles they had and pricing.  I then posted on the Cruise Critic thread for our cruise: 'Looking for 6 - 8 people interested in a private tour in Athens'.  I received a ton of responses and ended up with 8 people + ATP & myself- 10 total.  Athens by Taxi did an outstanding job, and I highly recommend them.

They were right on time to pick us up at the port in a Mercedes Sprinter Van, which is very comfortable.  We had a fabulous Driver/Guide in Dimetrius.    Here is what they included in their full day tour:

 The Acropolis which includes the temple of Parthenon which is dedicated to Athena Parthenos, the temple of Athena Nike which is dedicated to Athena-Apteros Nike, the temple Erechtheion which is dedicated to Athena Polias, the Cariatides, Herodion theater, the ruins of the Theater of Dionysus and finally Areopagus [Mars Hill]

Dimertrius was not allowed to join us on the Acropolis, you would have 
to hire a special guide for that.  We did not feel we need a guide
on the Acropolis.  We had plenty of information on what we
were going to see, and Dimertrius gave us great tips on how to
best use our time there.  We arrived just as the site opened for the
day at 9am.  Great timing.  There were very few people at that time 

The New Acropolis Museum, is fantastic!  You are not allowed to take pictures in there, so dear readers, you will have to go see it for yourselves.  It is really well done!  

The Temple of Zeus (which is the largest ancient temple in Greece in the Corinthian order), The Panathenaic Stadium (also known as The Kallimarmaro; the original stadium built in the 1863 for the first modern Olympic games in 1896)

The Hill of Lycabettous,The Old Palace, The Tomb of The Unknown Soldier in front of The Parliament and The Changing of The Guards,

The Plaka  Athens’ oldest and most picturesque neighborhood. It is stone-paved, with narrow streets, and is full of gyros places, tavernas and souvenir shops. We stopped there for lunch.

Sooooooo Good!!!!!!

Then it was on to  The Greek Agora The Roman Agora where the Tower of Winds stands. Which is an octagonal pentelic marble clocktower.

All along the way, our excellent guide would tell us about the areas we were driving through and he would point out all items of interest as we went.  


This is a piece of public art.  It is a marathon runner to represent the Olympic spirit. 


A very full day and tired travelers when we got back to the ship in time for the 6 pm departure.  



While Athens is a big city, and to see it all in one day is impossible.  However, with Athens by Taxi, you can see a pretty big chunk of the main sites.  History is all around you in Athens.  It is an amazing experience!  If you ever have a chance to visit Athens, go for it!



Go Here:  

Restaurant located in the Plaka

  

Try this:

Incredible Grilled Cheese!  

And smile for the camera when they bring you the yummy food! 

 

I hope you enjoyed our day in Athens

Until Tomorrow,

Travel Safe