24h of Athens

Above 38 ℃

Friends asked,

How was Athens?

Me:

It was too hot. Above 38 ℃, unpleasantly heated.

So let's move onto the story behind! 29th June, 24 Hours in Athens.

9:30 pm: Our ferry from Paros arrived at Athens, no time for other things than getting into the apartment, get some dinner and crash into de bed.

😴

8:00 am: Rang the clock, time to wake up!

Hellenic Parliament

8:36 am: Reached the Hellenic Parliament, temperatures were ok-ish, although Athens does not offer much of shadow areas.

To do here: Wait for the Changing of Guards every hour.

Zappeion

8:53 am: Started walking through the National Garden, nice breeze? well no! But shadows.

9:00 am: Reached Zappeion, such a beautiful building.

To do here: Enjoy a walk around the gardens, finish your walk inside Zappeion and look for those amazing ancient columns and statues.

PANATHENAIC STADIUM

9:31 am: It's been just an hour walking and I'm already struggling the heat. Looking forward I just reached the Olympic Stadium, where I as you can see, there is no shadow at all.

To do here: Get the audio guide, spend an hour, feel overwhelmed by this gigantic stadium, sit down and look around, experience what it could have been to be here during the Olympic Games. After that get inside the museum to see every's year Olympic Games symbols.

FRAPPÉ COFFEE BREAK

10:49 am: Struggle is real. I need coffee, ice coffee, so I'm meeting a friend of mine at Syntagma Square, and do breakfast.

Temple of Olympian Zeus

12:22 pm: Unfortunately there's nothing I can do to beat the heat unless I just don't see the city 😅, and that's not an option, so I kept going.

12:37 pm: Arrived at Temple of Olympian Zeus, soaked in sweat, but the Colossal Zeus made it fly away.

To do here: Look at every angle, from down to top, from left to right, get close to the columns, see how small are you. And look around, sight the Acropolis, Lycabettus and more.

Areopagus Hill

1:40 pm: Fresh beer break 🍺

...

2:49 pm: Call me crazy, it's 43 ℃ and I getting high to this hill. Well, it was on my way back home 😬, and the view was totally worth it!

4:02 pm: Back at the apartment, I need a nap.

To do here: Get early, stay late, this point it's an easy one for every traveler and offers incredible views of Athens, really you can see almost everything from the top of this hill.

Walk to Monument of Philopappos

7:21 pm: Let's get out of the apartment to watch some sunset! 💪

7:47 pm: On my way to Filopappos Hill, I found "The Voice of St Paul" event happening, surprising and fascinating.

Acropolis View

7:58 pm: Summit Filopappos 😬

To do here: Definitely head here for Sunset! You'll get the same view, but better! It's not a difficult walk, and you'll see Athens from a different perspective.

aegean sea view

8:17 pm: Walking around filopappos trying to find the best spot for shooting the sunrise. All of them are good spots!

To do here: Spend a few hours, let the Sun go down, look at the ferries arriving at Athens, the crowded streets, the horizon...

Cityscape view

8:22 pm: Never stop moving, look at all different angles, positions, closer, further...

To do here: Athens it's an overwhelming huge city, but from this hill, you can escape from those massive buildings and look at them from above.

Monument of Philopappos View

8:26 pm: Stop running around! There's a monument in the center of the hill!

Sunset View

8:28 pm: Set tripod and wait looking at the sun going down.

8:44 pm: Sun is gone, start moving back to the Acropolis View for the blue hour.

Blue hour view

9:13 pm: No sun does not mean any light, the Acropolis has its own source of shine.

To do here: Just wait a bit longer, the sky colors and the Acropolis lights really match.

Night View

9:45 pm: All of the natural source of light is gone, but Athens makes sure its important sights are lighten up, so I keep going taking long exposures from different angles.

To do here: If you stay this late, make sure you have a torch/lantern to go down, otherwise, you'll encounter yourself, as I did, completely in the dark with no clear path to reach Athens 😅

Acropolis of Athens (few hours to go)

7:30 am: Clock sounds, wake up, shower and running up the hill!

8:00 am: Queueing at the Acropolis 😴

8:37 am: Finally inside! However, again temperatures are very high already and that made the waiting time horrible.

To do here: Really check opening times and get as soon as possible, lines can be very long, and you don't want to wait for 35 min.

Acropolis View

9:38 am: An hour after I was exhausted, there were too many people, the sun was hitting the hard way, and really beat me up. I started to do the round path around the Acropolis complex looking for shadows and any source of water.

To do here: The path around the Acropolis it's very nice, it let you walk around the area offering different perspectives of Athens.

The Streets

10:00 am: I'm just starting heading back to the apartment since the checkout time is at 1 pm. On my way back I can enjoy calmly the wonderful streets of Athens.

To do here: Spend more time than just an hour or two 😅, especially in Monastiraki, Plaka and Thiseio.

The Market

10:48 am: Last stop, I feel I have time to visit the Central Market, and this was awesome, I got to see the Greek locals a bit closer, buying the daily food and how they prepare it.

To do here: Enter the market, it's is an extraordinary place where you will find yourself in a different Athens.