Table of Contents
Exploring Athens: The City of the Violet Crown
City of light, with thy violet crown, beloved of the poets, thou art the bulwark of Greece.
This is how the Greek Poet Pindar described the alluring city of Athens. With beautiful sunsets that display shades of violet and purple, the surrounding mountains appear enveloped in a purple haze.
Athens, the capital city of Greece, is a graceful mix of heritage, culture and modern-day cosmopolitanism. Known as the cradle of western civilization and democracy, Athens has been the center for arts, learning, philosophy and the home of Plato’s Academy and Aristotle’s Lyceum. From beautiful architectures to creative brilliance on display, a trip to this city promises to enrapture anyone with its magnificence.
What makes Athens stand out is that despite being a global city, it still embraces its cultural heritage very well. This presence of modern-day vibrancy and classic charm together make exploring this city an even more profound experience.
So, whether you’re a traveler seeking to soak in the vibes of new places or an explorer wanting to gather knowledge about interesting cities, Athens will not disappoint you.
Plan your itinerary, book your tickets and go explore this beautiful ancient city. Don’t forget to buy travel insurance and experience your trip worry-free. You can easily buy a travel insurance policy online. Insurers today provide 24*7 support service which takes care of all travel related unexpected worries, anytime, anywhere.
However, before anything else, let’s give you a glimpse of all that Athens has in store for any visitor:
Exploring Athens – What to do in Athens
The Magnificent Acropolis View
This is a striking citadel around which the entire city of Athens revolves. Sitting atop a rocky outcrop, this is visible from every part of the town. This UNESCO recognized heritage site stands to remind Greeks of their roots.
Consisting of various structures of historical significance, seeing this place at sunset with beautiful hues adorning the sky, makes it look even more mystical and magical. When in Athens, take out some quiet time and appreciate the glorious past that stands preserved in the Acropolis with all its beauty and splendor.
Crackling Creative Energy
Along with its historical charm, Athens also displays exuberant creative energy. The city crackles with energy through its art shows, political debates, and street art that makes it come alive. You will be delighted when you stumble upon a lively dance or music show with just a turn in the road because they are very common here.
Moreover, with exciting museums like Benaki Museum, National Archaeological Museum, Acropolis Museum, Museum of Islamic arts and many others, you’ll have lots to explore with a visit to each one of them.
Byzantine Churches
Here in Athens, you will also experience tranquillity in the thousand-year-old churches and monasteries nestled in between neo-classical houses and villages. Made by the Byzantine empire back in the 12th or 13th century, some of them remain unaltered, and therefore offer a good glimpse of the times gone by.
Some of the must-visit churches include – Church of the metamorphosis, Church of the Apostles, Little Mitropolis among many others. The ‘Daphni’ in Athens is also a UNESCO recognized heritage monastery. With unique mosaics and carvings decorating the facades and the gleaming lights and incense that lend a soothing touch to the interiors, you’ll love the time you spend here!
Temple of Odeon Zeus
This is something you should not miss. This temple is the largest in Greece and is right in the center of Athens. It took about 700 years for it to get entirely constructed.
Although initially, 104 Corinthian columns made this up, now only 15 remain. However, because of the history attached with it, and the sheer size of the structure, you should explore this one for sure.
Odeon Of Herodes Atticus
Built at the base of Acropolis, this Odeon is an amphitheater which was built in 161 A.D by a wealthy man named Herodes for his beloved wife. This was later restored in the 1950s.
With a seating capacity of about 5000, this theatre is used as a venue for blockbuster pop concerts that take place in Greece quite frequently. Also, ‘Athens and Epidaurus Festival’ also use this place to hold dance, music and drama performances in summer. Pay a visit here whenever you visit Athens, because you might catch a live performance.
Parthenon Temple
This is an ancient temple that epitomizes the glory of Greece. The word ‘Parthenon’ means a ‘virgin’s apartment’ and is dedicated to ‘Goddess Athena’ Parthenos, the goddess of wisdom and power.
This splendid temple took 15 years to get completed and is the only one made entirely from white Pentelic marble. Explore more yourself, whenever you visit this temple.
Ancient Agora in Athens
Anciently, the Agora was a lively hub for all kinds of social, political and administrative activities. Today, it offers excellent exploration for a tourist. It has the grand temple of Hephaistos, a good museum and the Church of Holy Apostles that display Arabic calligraphy. The entire area also has a lush green landscape, that enhances the mood of the place furthermore.
Stay Safe with Travel Insurance
Traveling and exploring a place like Athens can get anyone excited. However, along with all this, one must also keep in mind that being in a Schengen country, the expenses, especially the medical expenses can get costly. So, to cover yourself against all travel related contingencies, especially medical emergencies, travel insurance can be of great help. Having this insurance will ensure that in case of any such predicament, you don’t suffer heavy financial losses. Insurers like Tata AIG General Insurance offers medical assistance up to $5 lakhs ( half a million).
Moreover, travel insurance will help you get back on your feet in situations like – baggage or document loss, flight delays, hotel cancellations, accidental injury, etc. without much worry.
Nowadays you can buy travel insurance online in minutes from reputable insurers. However, you should not wait till the last moment to insure your trip.
The best time to insure your international travel plans is the moment you receive the visa stamp. Early enrollment also ensures that you can enjoy maximum benefits at the lowest premiums.
Thus, explore Athens with relative peace of mind while a travel insurance policy has your back.
Do You Love Traveling?
Do you want to know how to travel the world? We have put together a very useful travel resources page with best travel tips. Go check it out now.
Thanks for visiting our site Voyager – imvoyager.com and taking the time to read this post!
If you wish to collaborate/work with us then reach us at [email protected]
We’d love if you’d comment by sharing your thoughts on this post and share this post on social media and with your friends.
[shareaholic app=”share_buttons” id=”27413782″]
Follow our journey on our social media channels:
Facebook Twitter Instagram Pinterest G+ YouTube
I love all of the ruins in Athens. One of my biggest regrets from my teenage angst years was declining a family trip to Greece. On holidays, my mom and sister recall the sites (and tastes!) of Athens and I can’t even think of what I did that week while they were in Europe.
I thoroughly enjoyed my visit to Athens. I loved all the ruins and temples that you showed here (with Parthenon arguably the most impressive just because) but I also loved the markets and viewing the Acropolis from other parts of the city…walking the colorful neighborhoods too. Athens is just incredible!
Athens looks like such a cool city to explore, there is so much history there! I would love to visit the Agoda and the Odeon the most I think. The Byzantine church in your photo looks stunning too!
Athens is a hit and miss city for me, I been there twice. I love the history, the anicent sights, they are truly amazing, but away from that, the city can be quite bland and boring for me. Not sure why and cant put my finger on it. I think I am more appealed to the Greek islands and seeing whats on them instead of the cities on the mainland.
You touched on all the important landmarks of Athens. I have only been to Thessaloniki and this reminds me that, if I haven’t seen Athens, I have not been to Greece at all.
I’ve been to Greece, but not Athens. I’d love to explore the historic sites and eat my way around the city! Thanks for a great list of things to do! The National Archaeological Museum would be a must for me!
I’d really love to visit the Acropolis and see all the wonderful sites. Especially during sunset. The way you describe it sounds magical. I’m sure it’ll take my breath away!
We’ve not managed to make it to Athens yet but we’ve been to some of the islands of Greece. It’s somewhere we’ve always wanted to visit, the history just makes it seem like one big outdoor museum!
I have never been to Europe yet and happy to read the detailed write-up about Athens. I love how they’re able to embrace their cultural heritage despite its a global city.
We loved Athens the last time we visited … even though our luggage took a detour and visited Munich for three days instead. 😉 By the time we reconnected with our luggage, we’d gone shopping (still have the shirt I bought) and seen so much of the city — wandering the colorful neighborhoods, the history and architecture. It was amazing.
Have only heard so many great things about Athens. But what I love the most about it is the architecture. Hope I make a plan soon!