Athens, Greece

After our day in Rome, we will have two days at sea before arriving at the port of Piraeus, Greece.  Piraeus is the ancient name of the harbor created in the 5th century BC, and is approximately 75 minutes from the city of Athens.  Greece is a new country for us and the ability to visit Athens is why, after making our reservation for the 2^nd portion of our back-to-back cruises, we opted to add this sailing to our summer plans.

 

While in Athens, we want to specifically see the Acropolis and its monuments.  Just as the villages of Cinque Terre are UNESCO World Heritage sites, the Acropolis shares that designation.

 

One of the DCL tours, Acropolis Sightseeing and Archaeological Museum with Lunch, not only will take us on a guided tour of the Acropolis, we will also have time to visit the National Archaeological Museum.

 

Along the way, we will pass by the Temple of Olympian Zeus and Hadrian's Arch which separates the old and the new Roman towns, and see the National Gardens, the Parliament building (formerly the Royal Palace), the Academy, the first University and the National Library of Athens.  We will also pass by the Panathenaic stadium, built in 1895, where the first Olympics was held in 1896.  (I know this because I read the excursion description.)

 

While in Athens, we will get to spend some time in the Plaka neighborhood for lunch and shopping.  We like excursions that allow some free time as part of the day, particularly when they are in cities that are further from the port so you can’t just go on your excursion, come back to the ship, and then pop back out for some souvenir shopping.

Getting to spend some time in another, new-to-us part of the world is very exciting, and we are glad you’re sharing it with us. What we don’t know yet is what souvenir we might be on the look-out for, so if you have any suggestions, please leave them in the comments! And for now, αντίο.