At the Acropolis, in front of Parthenon Temple.

The Erechtheion, an ancient temple from 421 BC. Housed special statue of Athena.

These were originally on the Erechtheion temple (reproductions are now outside on the temple).

As I mentioned there were a ton of people at the site.

Theatre of Herodes Atticus built in 161 AD, seats 5000 and still used for performances today.

Temple of Hephaestus, one of the best-preserved temples of Greek antiquity (over 2000 years old).

These are Ionic column relics on display in the archeological museum.

Clay figures of angels in the entrance hall to the Archaeological Museum.

The museum was designed to mimic the architecture of the Parthenon.

Almost every block you walk down in the historic center has a beautiful building on it.

The street art (both formal and adhoc) is amazing. Every surface is covered with some sort of image.

Loved the juxtaposition of the gorgeous picture above to the graffiti below.

Every now and then you come across a dilapidated building like this one. Too expensive to repair.

Sunset colors on Acropolis Hill (view from the roof of our hotel).

Sunset over the sprawling city of Athens. 6m people live in the city.

Exploring historic and modern Athens

June 2, 2024 in Greece ⋅ ☀️ 30 °C

Athens is a big change from our time on Corfu. It is a vibrant city with historic sites intermingled with modern buildings and amazing street art. It also has many more tourists (including many Americans which we only saw a few of on Corfu).
We spent some time on our own exploring, we took a food tour (see other post) and we had an organized tour with a group joining us on the island of Syros (other clients of our financial planner). We covered a lot of ground, but there is a ton of things to do and see in the city. The cafe scene is amazing (all sorts of interesting bars and cafes), tons of great food options (both high-end and inexpensive) and lots of shopping opportunities.
Even with the heat and the crowds, we both really enjoyed visiting the historic sites, including the Acropolis, Parthenon, Theatre of Herodes Atticus, Theatre of Dionysus and more. And the Acropolis Museum was very impressive- in the design and the items on display. We were only in the museum for an hour or so but I could see spending double that amount of time if we had it.
I’ve attempted to describe the items/places in the photos but may not have it 100% or as complete as I’d like (due to space limitations).
Now we are off to the beautiful island of Syros for a week.Read more