HALF DAY ATHENS TOUR

The beauty of a private tour in a short amount of time is that we work together to make sure you see the highlights of Athens and then focus on the options that most interest you.

There’s no better way to introduce Athens than the sweeping view from Philopappos Hill surrounded by hundreds of Greek olive trees. Get your camera out because the view is magnificent.

From there we head to the entrance to the Acropolis. Your private tour is personalized so devote your time where you will at the Parthenon, the Acropolis Museum, the Temple of Athena Nike and other fascinating and historic sites on the 'Sacred Rock' overlooking the city of Athens. The entrance fee for the Acropolis (20 Euros per person) gets you into five other archaeological sites: the Theater of Dionysus, the Temple of Olympian Zeus, the Roman Agora, the Greek Agora and the Kerameikos.

Depending on your time and interest we will visit the National Archaeological Museum which is world renowned and the largest archaeological museum. The museum of Cycladic art and the Benaki museum, important museums in Athens, are optional stops on your private tour. We’ll help you make your choices in our consultation.

The national Panathenaic stadium (330 B.C.) is made entirely of marble and is the only existing marble stadium in the world today. The Marathon of the 2004 Olympics ended in this stadium.

As we tour through Athens, we will see some monuments such as the Academy, the University and our National Library. Another important monument we will see is the 'Marathon man' which is made of fiberglass which was built in dedication to the Greek soldier Phidippides who in 490 BC ran from the town of Marathon to Athens (about 26 miles) to announce that the Persians had been defeated. He shouted 'NENIKIKAMEN!' which means 'WE WON!' in ancient Greek and collapsed of exhaustion and died.

We’ll be sure to fit in the changing of the guards changing of the guards which takes place in front of the Presidential Palace. If you are touring on a Sunday, in front of the Greek Parliament a unique show takes place where 52 national guards (in their white uniform) accompanied by a band march down from their house and complete the change in front of The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. Across from the Presidential Palace are the National Gardens where Athenians take a walk and relax during hot summer days. This is also one of the most expensive real estate areas in Athens which is called Herodou Attikou.

We’ll then pass through the narrow streets of Kolonaki, the Soho area of Athens. On the square Athenians gather to have Greek coffee and chat in the cafes. Kolonaki also has some of the best shopping stores of known fashion designers.

After that we will visit mount Lycabettus which is the tallest hill in Athens (its height reaches 277m). On its peak is the small white Greek Orthodox Church of St. George (1852). This peak is another great opportunity to take photos of grand views of Athens. Our last area is the Plaka area where you can spend some time shopping. Plaka owes its name to a large stone slab found in the area of the church of St. George of Alexandria. During our tour we will have lunch at a local Greek taverna. At the end of the tour we will drop you off at your destination. The tour schedule is flexible and can be adjusted according to your needs. Athens offers so many possibilities, we want you to have the richest and most meaningful tour possible.