Athens
The Parthenon on its rock above the rooftops, the ancient market at its foot, a Riviera running south towards Sounion, and a metro line from the terminal to Syntagma.
- Arrival
- Athens International · ATH
- To the city
- About 40 minutes to Syntagma by metro
- Private jets
- General aviation terminal at ATH
- Best time
- May to October
The city
A classical city with a coast.
In Athens the Acropolis rises over Plaka and Monastiraki, the Agora lies at its foot, and the squares of the nineteenth-century capital spread out around Syntagma. South of the centre the coast takes over, through Glyfada and Vouliagmeni towards Cape Sounion, with hotels and beach clubs along the way.
May to October is the season. The days run from 22 to 32 °C, summer rain is almost unknown, and the sea reaches 25 or 26 °C in August and September. July is the hottest month: climb the Acropolis early and keep the afternoon for the Riviera.
Arriving
One airport, two doors at Spata.
Athens International, on the plain east of the city, handles airlines and private aircraft alike. The road crosses the hills, so the drive is about 30 kilometres.
- Cairo 1 h 50
- Vienna 2 h 00
- Amsterdam 3 h 10
- Lagos 5 h 35
- Toronto 10 h 45 long-range jet
When to go
May to October.
A dry Mediterranean summer and mild, wetter winters. From May to October the days run from 22 to 32 °C with very little rain; the storms return in November, and the sea stays warm into October.
- 12° J 63 15°
- 13° F 54 14°
- 15° M 50 14°
- 19° A 31 15°
- 24° M 23 18°
- 29° J 12 22°
- 32° J 6 25°
- 31° A 6 26°
- 28° S 13 25°
- 22° O 55 22°
- 18° N 64 20°
- 14° D 80 17°
What to see and do
Days in and around Athens.
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Landmark
The Acropolis
The Parthenon and the Erechtheion on their rock, the whole city laid out below.
-
Landmark
The Ancient Agora
The marketplace of the classical city, with the Temple of Hephaestus still standing almost whole.
-
Landmark
The Athens Riviera
Beaches and coves running south from Glyfada to Vouliagmeni and on towards Cape Sounion.
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Culture
National Archaeological Museum
Its galleries hold the Antikythera mechanism, the gold mask of Agamemnon, the Artemision bronze and the wall paintings of Thera.
Official site -
Culture
Museum of Cycladic Art
Built on the Goulandris Collection of some 1,100 objects, over 300 of them Cycladic, with further galleries of ancient Greek and Cypriot art.
Official site -
Opera & music
Greek National Opera
The national company stages opera and ballet in the Stavros Niarchos Hall at the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Centre.
Official site -
Opera & music
Megaron, the Athens Concert Hall
Home of the Athens State Orchestra, its four halls programme visiting orchestras, recitals, jazz and contemporary dance.
Official site -
Culture
Athens Epidaurus Festival
Summer evenings of drama and music at the Odeon of Herodes Atticus, under the Acropolis, from a festival now in its eighth decade.
-
Wellness
Lake Vouliagmeni
Brackish thermal water under limestone cliffs stays between 21 and 29 °C all year, with bathing from 8.30 am to 4.30 pm.
Official site -
Golf
Glyfada Golf Club
An 18-hole, par 72 championship course on the southern edge of the city, open from early morning until sunset.
Official site
Where to stay
Under the Acropolis and on the Riviera.
Shown for information. We have no arrangement with any of these hotels.
- Four Seasons Astir Palace Hotel Athens A resort of the 1960s terraced so that most rooms have a balcony over the sea, and the only hotel in Greece with three MICHELIN Keys.
- Hotel Grande Bretagne Restored to its 1842 character after a two-year renovation, with Churchill among past guests and the Acropolis seen from some balconies.
- THE DOLLI at Acropolis Forty-six rooms in a neoclassical building of 1925, with an infinity pool on the roof.
- One&Only Aesthesis Bungalows and waterfront villas among olive trees above Asteras Beach, some with their own pool and fireplace.
- Anthology of Athens Eighteen rooms around an atrium hung with a vertical garden, many facing the columns of the Temple of Olympian Zeus.
- Xenodocheio Milos Named after Costas Spiliadis's Milos restaurants, with Estiatorio Milos on the ground floor and forty-three rooms above.
- King George, a Luxury Collection Hotel, Athens A hotel dating from 1930, with 102 rooms and a two-bedroom penthouse on the ninth floor whose private pool looks towards the Acropolis.
- Electra Metropolis Its 216 rooms stand at the top of Mitropoleos Street near Syntagma, and the roof garden faces the Acropolis.
- Electra Palace Athens On Nikodimou Street in Plaka, with a roof garden restaurant on the eighth floor, a summer pool facing the Acropolis and a second pool indoors.
- AthensWas Greek marble and walnut inside, the pedestrian walk below the Acropolis outside, and the SENSE restaurant up on the roof.
- Athens Capital Hotel - MGallery Collection Built as a hotel in the late 1950s, it spent years as the headquarters of a financial institution before reopening in 2020 as the first MGallery in Greece.
- Divani Apollon Palace & Thalasso A private sandy beach and a spa and thalassotherapy centre covering more than 3,500 square metres.
Where to dine
Starred tables in the city and by the sea.
From the MICHELIN Guide Greece 2024 Athens selection, the latest published; a new Greek selection is due on 20 October 2026. Shown for information. We have no arrangement with any of these restaurants.
- Delta Two Michelin stars Creative, Greek €€€€ Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Centre
- Makris Athens One Michelin star Creative €€€€ Ermou Street, opposite the Ancient Agora
- Tudor Hall One Michelin star Modern €€€€ King George Hotel, Syntagma
- The Zillers Rooftop Gastronomy One Michelin star Contemporary €€€ Mitropoleos
- Hervé One Michelin star Modern €€€€ Trion Ierarchon Street, Petralona
- Hytra One Michelin star Modern €€€€ Petrou Kokkali Street
- CTC Urban Gastronomy One Michelin star Modern €€€ Kerameikos
- Pelagos One Michelin star Contemporary €€€€ Four Seasons Astir Palace, Vouliagmeni
- Patio One Michelin star Modern €€€€ The Margi, Vouliagmeni
Elsewhere in Greece
More reasons to come.
-
Mykonos
Windmills, beach clubs, and a runway that takes private jets.
- Santorini Villages on the rim of a sunken volcano.
- Corfu A Venetian old town and the green coves of the Ionian.
- Elounda Resorts on the Gulf of Mirabello, in the east of Crete.
- Rhodes The medieval town of the Knights, inside its walls.
- Costa Navarino Golf courses and resorts in the south-west of the Peloponnese.
Flying to Athens?
Choose how you arrive.
A Business or First Class seat on a scheduled airline, or an aircraft of your own. Tell us the date and how many are travelling, and we reply with one final price, our margin included.