Sightseeing

You can find tickets for various monuments and sites in the official website of Hellenic Heritage eTicket.

• Sites & Museums
• Acropolis & slopes
• National Archaelogical Museum
• Temple of Hephaestus & Ancient Agora
• Kerameikos
• National Museum of Contemporary Art
• National Gallery
• Syntagma area

Sites & Museums

There used to be an official combo 5-day pass for several archaeological sites, but the Ministry of Culture stopped issuing it. You could find similar offers from private tourist agencies, covering access to various sites and museums, like:

• Acropolis & its slopes
• Ancient Agora of Athens & its museum
• Kerameikos & its museum
• Archaeological Site of Lykeion
• Hadrian's Library
• Olympieio (Styloi Olympiou Dios)
• Roman Agora of Athens.

Make sure the offer you find covers the sites you want to visit.

Also, keep in mind some special days when sites and museums offer free admission:

• 6 March—in memory of actress and Minister of Culture Melina Mercouri
• 18 April (but not museums)—International Day for Monuments and Sites
• 25 March (only Acropolis Museum)—1821 Greek Revolution anniversary
• 18 May—International Museum Day
• last weekend of September anually—European Heritage Days
• 28 October—National Anniversary of the 1940 No (Ochi Day)
• first Sunday of every month, 1 Nov–31 Mar.

... or are closed:

• 1 January
• 25 March (except Acropolis Museum)
• Greek Orthodox Easter Sunday
• 1 May
• 25 & 26 December

Acropolis & slopes

The rock of Acropolis is just a short walk away. It is the location of the Parthenon—the most significant monument of Classical Greece and one of the most important monuments of the world.

Enjoy the walk on the pedestrian-only Dyonisiou Areopagitou Str., which connects our neighbourhood with Acropolis, the neighbourhood of Thiseio, and the Monastiraki area.

Along this walk, you will find:

Acropolis Museum (map): an essential visit for completing your Acropolis experience, the impressive building encloses hundreds of statues and artefacts found on the site. Admission: 20€.

Theatre of Dionysus: apparently, the world's first theatre—this is where the famous plays by Aeschylus, Sophocles, Euripides, and Aristophanes premiered.

Odeon of Herodes Atticus (Herodeon): a stone theatre from the Roman era, used today as one of Greece's most prestigious concert venues. See Nightlife > Live Music > High End Venues.

Holy Church of Agios Demetrios Loumbardiaris: a tiny beautiful church dating back to the 9th century—restored in 1955.

Filopappou Monument: a roman monument on the top of the Hill of the Muses—more commonly called "Filopappou Hill." The hill is great for a walk and for admiring the Acropolis.

National Archaelogical Museum

Being Greece's largest museum, the National Archaeological Museum (map) covers a broad historical spectrum of Greek civilisation, from prehistory to the Roman times.

In it, you can admire iconic antiquities like the prehistoric Cycladic figurines, the bronze statue of Zeus/Poseidon, the bronze statue of Young Jockey and Horse, and many more.

Admission fee:

• 12€ (1 April—31 October)
• 6€ (1 November—31 March)
• 15€: 3-day special ticket package, valid for National Archaeological Museum, Epigraphic Museum, Numismatic Museum, and Byzantine and Christian Museum of Athens.

Temple of Hephaestus & Ancient Agora

By walking Areopagitou Str., you will reach the neighbourhood of Thiseio. Closest transportation: Thiseio Overground station ("ISAP").

In this site you can see the Temple of Hephaestus (Thiseion), the remains of the Ancient Agora (Athens' ancient market and forum) and the fully restored Stoa of Attalos, one of the first shopping malls of the ancient world.

Also, very close is the Roman Forum of Athens.

Kerameikos

The site of Kerameikos has the most important cemetery of ancient Athens, with tombs dating back to the Early Bronze Age (2700–2000BC) and used until the Early Christian period (6th century AD).

Admissions to the site and the Archaeological Museum of Kerameikos cost 8€.

National Museum of Contemporary Art

Not everything in Athens is about ancient history. In our area stands the National Museum of Contemporary Art, established in 1997 (map).

Initially without a building of its own, it had to collaborate with various important venues and only recently did it find its home: the ex-brewery of the historical Fix beer. Built in the late 50s, it is a monument of the Modernist movement, although half of it was unfortunately demolished for the making of the nearby metro station (Syggrou-Fix).

The museum's entrance bears the initials ΕΜΣΤ.

National Gallery

After the construction of a new wing, the National Gallery (map) reopened in 2021, expanded and refurbished, with permanent and temporary exhibitions covering vast periods of Greek and European art.

Syntagma area

Transport: Metro, Tram, Bus.

Parliament Building: after serving as the king's palace until 1922, the building had several uses. In 1935, it was given to the Greek Parliament.

In front of it is the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier—a cenotaph dedicated to the Greek soldiers killed during war. The memorial is guarded by the Evzones of the Presidential Guard. You can see the change of sentry every hour, while there is a ceremonial change of guard, every Sunday at 11:00.

At the west of the Parliament is Syntagma Square, named after the Constitution (Syntagma) that Otto, the first King of Greece, was obliged to grant after a popular and military uprising on 3 September 1843.

National Garden: a great place to take a breather. The greenest part of Athens is right there, behind the Parliament Building.

Ermou Str: with shops for all clothing brands known to a Greek, it connects Syntagma with Monastiraki. Halfway between the two, you can find Kapnikarea, one of the oldest Byzantine temples, dating back to the 11th century.