- Most Popular!
- 3 hours Duration 3 hours
- Iconic sites, Activity Type Iconic sites Walking Activity Type Walking
Immerse yourself in the city’s ancient history while also learning about Athens as it is today on this jam-packed Athens tour.
Quick Details
- Stroll the historic neighborhoods of Makrygianni, Plaka, Anafiotika and Philoppapos Hill and marvel at ancient monuments and neo-Classical mansions.
- Savor freshly baked pastries and homemade sweet bread at a family-owned bakery and a neo-Classical gem.
- Boost your energy with a freddo espresso or frappé coffee, the famous Greek-style iced coffees.
- Dig into the country’s largest open-air market for undiscovered “antiques.”
Taste It, See It and Experience It — In Athens!
Immerse yourself in Athenian culture by exploring ancient masterpieces and mingling with hipsters in trendy neighborhoods on an itinerary inspired by The New York Times’ “36 Hours” series.
Go behind the scenes at a jewelry workshop, and meet the locals. The city that invented cities has survived for 5,000 years and remains a world-class destination for travelers. Taste it, see it and experience it with an Urban Adventures local guide. Sure, the ancient monuments are exciting but wait until you taste the savory pies hot from the oven and shake up your own cocktail.
New York Times Exclusives
- Behind-the-Scenes Access: Go behind the scenes at Ilias Lalaounis Jewelry Museum, and learn about the adaptation of traditional techniques of metalsmithing as well as decorative arts like ceramics, woodcarving, ivory, and ceramics, using industrial materials like acrylic or plastic.
- Hands-on Element: Try at wrapping your own gyros, at one of the city’s oldest establishments.
- Local Interactions: Meet local shop owners who have been continuing their family businesses, including a sandal maker who is also a poet and who has had customers such as The Beatles, Barbra Streisand, Lily Tomlin, and Sarah Jessica Parker.
Local Impact: How you will help the local community by joining this tour:
- By experiencing a hands-on lesson in traditional techniques at the Jewelry Museum, your tour helps to preserve local culture.
- Your tour supports locally-run businesses, such as a sandal-maker, which helps preserve traditional crafts for the next generation.
- All of the stores your visit on your tour are 100% locally owned and run.
Language: English
Inclusions: Local, English-speaking guide, one freddo espresso or frappé coffee, one local Koulouri or Tsoureki, one large portion of Greek pie, one gyro, two hands-on Greek experiences, one behind-the-scenes access at Ilias Lalaounis Jewelry Museum.
Exclusions: Guide gratuity
Schedule details
- Duration: 4.5 Hours
- Meeting point: Outside of the Acropolis Metro Station (Makrigianni street entrance/exit), at street level, next to the Metro sign. 37°58’08.6″N 23°43’46.7″E. View on Google Maps.
- Starting time: 9.00 AM
- Ending point: Monastiraki Square
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Begin just off the Acropolis Metro Station in Makrygianni, where you can see 5,000-year-old city remnants nestled beneath the new Acropolis Museum. Stroll around Koukaki, one of Athens’s hippest and liveliest neighborhoods. Stop at Taki’s Bakery, which has been satiating neighbors since 1962, for a koulouri sesame ring or tsoureki, sweet Greek bread.
Immerse yourself in Athenian coffee culture by sipping a freddo espresso or frappé coffee. In Greece, iced coffee drinks are popular year-round. Next, go behind the scenes at Ilias Lalaounis Jewelry Museum. Take a lesson on traditional techniques of metalsmithing and decorative art, combined with industrial materials like acrylic or plastic.
Then, head to Philopappos Hill. Follow the trail with the marble monument of Philopappos, completed in 119 A.D., and the monument of Pnyx, where ancient Athenians like Pericles and Themistocles spoke. There’s a great view of the Acropolis. More great views await as you stroll Anafiotika, with its cobblestone alleys and the white-washed homes nearly stacked on top of one another.
Wander around the historic neighborhood of Plaka and stop for a delicious variety of local pites, or Greek homemade savory pies. Continue to the country’s largest open-air market for treasures, some billed as “antiques” but probably not. Meet a sandal artisan and poet in his workshop. Three generations of his family have served celebrities like Sarah Jessica Parker, The Beatles, and Barbra Streisand. Perhaps order a pair for yourself.
Then, try wrapping your own gyros at one of the city’s oldest establishments. It’s not so easy to get the pita filled with meat cooked on a vertical rotisserie, tomato, onion, tzatziki sauce and, sometimes, French fries. It’s cocktail hour, so we’ll finish up at a hipster bar’s rooftop which has breathtaking views of the Acropolis, the Roman Agora and Hadrian’s Library. It’s a perfect spot to say “yiamas” to your new friends.
The New York Times Reading List:
- Great Retsina, an Oxymoron No More
- From Wine to Sweets, Greek Goodies at a New Athens Market
- Athens, Rising
- Five Places to Go in Athens
- Stelios Faitakis: How Greece Inspires His Art
Additional information
Confirmation of booking: If you have your voucher, your booking is confirmed. We’ll see you at the start point. Get in touch if you have any concerns or require more information via the email address or phone number (business hours only) on your voucher.
Child Policy: This is a child-friendly tour. Children between the ages of 6 and 11 inclusively are permitted on this tour at the rate listed above. Please select ‘child’ above when booking. Children under the age of 6 are permitted to join this tour free of charge. Please inform us at the time of booking if you’ll be bringing a child under the age of 6. You can do so in the special request box on the checkout page.
Dietary Notes
We can accommodate vegetarians and other dietary restrictions. Please notify us in advance if you have any dietary requests. You can do so in the ‘Additional information’ box at checkout, or by emailing us at [email protected]
Local contact
Office phone number: +30 698 067 9166
Email address: [email protected] -
Mr. ALAN C. from Australia travelled on 02 Aug 2018:
Brilliant tour, my wife and I loved it. Content and pace of tour was great. It was a wonderful experience to do this tour, so much better and personal
than the usual 30 people bus tour. It was all walking and getting up close to the local action and people. Our guide Vicky was great so passionate about Athens, its people and their culture. Vicky also recomended local drinks and even gave us some to try. To sum up, a great tour and guide.Mr. Don W. from New Zealand travelled on 17 Jul 2018:
Vicki Stergiopoulou was a friendly and knowledgeable guide who showed us interesting sites, told us about the history and architecture and shared generously her knowledge about Athens.
Ms. H R. from United Kingdom travelled on 29 Jun 2018:
Vicky was fantastic. Her love for Athens really shone out. She’s enthusastic, friendly and flexible.
Ms. Kristine B. from USA travelled on 21 Apr 2016:
great tour!
Ms. Elizabeth G. from Australia travelled on 08 Oct 2015:
I was the only traveller on this tour so I had a fabulous private introduction to Athens! Great to help me find my feet and see where I should spend more time during the rest of my stay. My guide was lovely, and it felt like we were friends hanging out rather than a formal relationship. This was my third Urban Adventures day tour, and it really cemented my trust in and appreciation of the company.
Mrs. Tunde F. from travelled on 23 Aug 2014:
Hi,
I would like to write a review about the experience we had with Urban Adventures and the tour guide we had, who was very knowledgeable, friendly, however embarrassingly we forgot his name…Are you able to find out which guide we had..? He is about 40,Greek,he is a building engineer,we met on the 19th of August in Athens..
Kind Regards
Tunde Fustos, Daniel SherringtonMs. Sandy K. from New Zealand travelled on 20 Oct 2013:
The opportunity this tour provided to walk, explore and become orintated to the city of Athens was awesome. In such a short few hours I gained a huge amount of knowledge and felt like I knew my way around. It became the backbone that enabled me to have several wonderful days exploring and enjoying the city of Athens.
Thank you Nikita for a couple of really wonderful tours, I very much look forward to visiting again
Ms. Stacey M. from USA travelled on 03 Sep 2013:
Nikita (I think that was his name), the Athens Urban Adventures guide, was FANTASTIC. So warm, friendly, and knowledgeable. I enjoyed the tour immensely. Please pass on my compliments!