When I was planning my trip to Greece I knew that I had to make a stop in Athens to see the ruins, I mean we all studied about them in history class so I had to see them in real life. We decided to make Athens our first stop and to stay there for literally 24 hours. To be honest if your time is limited in Greece I believe 24 hours in Athens is enough to explore.
We took a red-eye flight from Madrid and got there at 7:00 am and went straight to our hotel to drop off our bags and change to explore the city and ruins. I think getting there very early is perfect so you have the whole day to explore then take a nap and then dinner at the hotel (well that was what we did). The next morning our flight was at 9:00 am and we were on our way to Mykonos!
Where we stayed?
If you are on a budget I recommend staying at Hotel Dorian Inn. This hotel was super central and budget-friendly. It is on average $80 a night in the off-season and if divided by two it is $40 each so it was pretty affordable. We where a couple stops away in the subway to the ruins and a 30-minute drive to the airport. Since our trip was so short we knew we needed to stay close enough to the airport so we did not lose that much time commuting.
This hotel was very nice and had everything we needed for just one night. The room and bathroom were pretty spacious for European standards. Also, our room included a greek buffet breakfast.
#LaMariaTravelsTip: when on a budget always look for hotels that include breakfast this way you can have a big breakfast and not eat until dinner, therefore, you only have to spend money on one meal a day.
One perk of the hotel was the rooftop. The view was the ruins and you can have a beer or even dinner there. I mean I am always looking for places with good views, that is for sure a big seller in my book. Also, the pool was in the rooftop which in the Summer months must be pretty nice to lounge there. We were there in April so it was not pool weather yet.
What did we do?
To be honest we were in Athens only to see the ruins. Right after we arrived from the airport we went straight to the ruins to explore.
First we went straight to the Acropolis. Once in the Acropolis you need to get a ticket to get in which is about 20 euros, while we were in line to buy the tickets it started raining so I had to run to buy umbrellas. Thankfully once we went inside it stopped raining.
#LaMariaTravelsTip: Always make sure to travel with an umbrella otherwise you will end up buying an overpriced umbrella.
I am not a big fan of tours so we ended up exploring the Acropolis on our own. If you like tours there are plenty of them online and even sold at the entrance. Since we were there in April which is low season there were not as many people and we were able to see all the ruins and not feel overwhelmed. It took us around 2-3 hours to see explore and take pictures, be ready to climb stairs to get to the top.
The second and last stop was the Temple of Olympian Zeus. It was walking distance from the Acropolis and it cost around 12 euros to get in. It took us around 30 minutes to explore and take pictures. We ended up sitting in the shade around a tree and enjoying the green areas since we were exhausted by then after the red-eye. Actually for me was a double red-eye flight since I first took a red-eye to Madrid from NYC and then that same day took a red-eye to Athens, I know I love pushing my limits while traveling.
#LaMariaTravelTip: when having limited time to travel always take a red-eye flight when traveling to Europe from the States so you do not have to take an extra day off from work.
**Ohh and one side note, when I say “we” is because I went with my best friend. She has been my Europe trip travel partner since 2016!