Athens with Kids! The Best Two-Day Itinerary In and Around the Acropolis

Steeped in antiquity, buzzing with life, and framed by spectacular landscapes, Athens offers a world of experiences that can captivate and educate the whole family. From ancient ruins to modern eateries, every corner tells an ancient story.  It’s the kind of city that could fill weeks with new discoveries.  But, for many travellers – us included – Athens seems to be the start or end point of a flight or cruise to the beautiful Greek islands. We recently spent two days in this incredible city following a week in Crete. We created an activity-packed itinerary focused on learning about ancient Greek history in a way that’s fun for the kids and us parents.  The kids still talk about how much they loved Athens and would love to go back!

Here’s how we made the most of our quick visit:

Day One

Get into the City with Ease

Athens’ international airport is a bit of a ways away from the city centre. In fact, it’s about a 30 to 40 minute drive away, depending on traffic.  So something to keep in mind if you have an activity scheduled shortly after arrival. There are several ways to get from the airport to the city, including metro, buses, train, taxi, and private transfers. Information on each is available here.  We opted for a private transfer and booked it with welcomepickups.com. This turned out to be a value added experience as our friendly driver explained all about the surrounding areas as we drove through them, and recommended some of his favourite restaurants and neighbourhoods. We also booked him for our return ride – one less thing to do on our last day! On our way back to the airport, he even took us on a short detour to his favourite bakery so we could sample a delicious traditional dessert called Galaktoboureko – now that’s a personal touch!

Stay Central

There are plenty of accommodation options throughout Athens, and we needed something super central, affordable, and with a room large enough for four of us. Hotel Philippos, a three-star property just steps away from the Acropolis museum, checked all those boxes, plus a big bonus: a huge terrace with a direct view of the Acropolis! Talk about an amazing view to wake up to! There are many hotels and AirBnBs in the central area but keep in mind that a room with an Acropolis view may fetch a premium price. Our family-size room with a view was a rare find at just under 225 euros per night, including breakfast!

Kick Things Off with a Scavenger Hunt

We hit the ground running on our first day with an incredibly engaging Acropolis treasure hunt by www.theacropolistreasurehunt.com. Our guide, Charis, led us on a cleverly curated historical adventure all around Acropolis Hill, packed with mythological tales, historic facts, and fun tasks. We competed for coins, solved puzzles, and even unearthed pieces of ancient pottery (the real deal!). This is a highly recommended activity if you’re looking for a fun way to immerse the whole family in ancient Greek history and mythology.

Discover the Past at the Acropolis Museum

After an authentic souvlaki lunch at one of the many restaurants on Makrigianni street, we walked back to the hotel for some downtime, and a chance to admire our million dollar view of the Acropolis. Once rested and ready for more exploring, our next stop was the Acropolis Museum, just a 5 minute walk from the hotel.

Rated as one of the best museums in the world, the Acropolis museum showcases a wide range of archeological treasures dating back over 2,500 years. The exhibits feature more than 3,000 artifacts found on and around the Acropolis Hill, and the museum itself is built directly above part of an excavated ancient neighbourhood that you can actually walk through. An entire floor is dedicated to the Acropolis’ most famous structure, the Parthenon, which was originally built in 447 B.C. as a temple for the goddess Athena, the city’s namesake.

At the Museum: Pick Up a Family Backpack

We borrowed one of the museum’s “family backpacks” which offer a fun and educational way to engage the kids. These free kits include games, puzzles, and a booklet describing the most important artifacts and the history behind them in a kid-friendly way. The boys loved completing all the tasks, especially knowing they’d get a prize at the gift shop once they answered them all. Keep in mind: There is a limited number of kits that can be borrowed, so make your way to the information counter to pick one up – first come first served! If there aren’t any available, kits can be purchased at the gift shop.

Peruse Through Plaka

The day’s excitement wound down in the Plaka neighborhood, where we strolled through charming streets, along inviting restaurants, and colourful souvenir shops. If you only have time to explore one neighborhood, Plaka is the one you should visit. It gives you the sense that you’re stepping into a living, breathing postcard of Athens, and it’s conveniently located just walking distance to many top sites like the Acropolis, the Acropolis museum, Syntagma Square, and the Temple of Zeus.

Day Two

Ascend the Acropolis

This morning we were ready to climb the Acropolis itself, equipped with all the information we acquired the day before. We were especially eager to see the Parthenon up close, and appreciated its grandeur with our newfound historical knowledge.

Tickets are required to enter the Acropolis Hill grounds and can be purchased online or at the entrance gate. You can find a variety of tickets online here including those that include an audio-guide, skip-the-line, or as a combo ticket with entrance to the Acropolis Museum.  If you don’t want to risk waiting in a long line, we highly recommend buying your tickets in advance.  We took the risk and arrived at about 9:00am at the ticket booth. Luckily we only had to wait about 15 minutes, but about two hours later the queue was more than an hour long!

There are also plenty of guided tours available through getyourguide, viator, and other local tour providers. But having learned so much already, we opted to test our knowledge and DIY it. This proved to be a wise decision because it gets packed with tour groups fast! We were able to nimbly make our way through large throngs of people moving at a snail’s pace. The ground can be uneven (considering it’s 2,500 years old!) so be sure to wear comfortable shoes. About two hours gives you enough time to get to the top and back down while leisurely taking in important landmarks along the way. The most impressive (IMO), were the Theatre of Dionysus, the birthplace of the stage play, and the Odeon of Herodes Atticus, a Roman theatre structure, completed in 161AD that is still used for performances today!

Ascending the Acropolis is like a journey through history, with each landmark telling its story. But once you reach the summit, nothing compares to the sight of the majestic Parthenon proudly displaying the essence of ancient Greece. The panoramic city-scape, reaching all the way to the sea, adds to the awe-inspiring experience.

Enjoy a Well Earned Feast

Wrapping up our Athenian adventure, we headed back to explore more of the lively Plaka neighbourhood. Ravaged from an active day, we tucked into a delicious dinner of local delicacies at this local taverna starting off with mezes (small sharing plates) of feta and tzatziki with pita and olives. The kids even tried – and somewhat enjoyed – grilled octopus! There are plenty of similar eateries to choose from down every street so just take the time to read the menu and pick the one that suits your appetite. If you’re up for some entertainment, ask if they’ll have live music on tonight, if you don’t already hear it playing!

To sum it up, while it felt like we barely scratched the surface, our two-day Athenian adventure was an enriching mix of historical exploration, fun family activities and a generous helping of Greek culture. It gave us a deep appreciation for the city that is often seen as just a quick stopover, and left us wanting to return for a longer visit.

Have questions or want more info? Contact me! Let’s chat travel 🙂