Photos That Will Make You Want To Pack Your Bags and Travel to Athens, Greece
Updated: 2 days ago
Athens is a true city of Giants. While in the city, we stayed at the Athens Gate Hotel, which boasts a central location and one of the best views in the city. From our balcony, we had an unobstructed view of the huge Temple of Olympian Zeus – one of the largest temples in the ancient world.
How to See the Most Sites in Athens for Less:
To see the most sites for less, especially if you plan on visiting the Acropolis, purchase a combo ticket from one of the other ancient sites included in the package in the day/s before you visit the Acropolis. This allows you to avoid the long lines at the Acropolis ticket office, as the combo ticket is valid at 7+ participating sites for the next 5 days. You can also purchase online through a third party and pay an additional handling/guide fee, or directly from the Greek Cultural Site, which costs 30 Euro per person.
After a delicious buffet breakfast at The Athens Gate Hotel, we set off to just across the street and stopped to visit The Temple of Olympian Zeus and purchase our combo ticket. Words cannot truly convey the size of the pillars of the Temple of Zeus. From a distance, the marble looks ancient and fragile, but up close the massive pillars are thick and solid, piercing a full 57 feet into the sky. Impressive is an understatement. Standing just beyond the Temple of Zeus is the impressive Hadrian’s Arch.
Athens is a Very Walkable City:
Athens is easily walkable, as most sites are located close by. After a quick ten minute walk from Hadrian's Arch, we arrived at the Panathenaic Stadium. Entirely built of marble, this massive structure was played host to the first modern Olympic Games in 1896. Tourists took turns standing on the podium, imagining their Olympic dreams have come true.