- Most Popular!
- Iconic sites, Activity Type Iconic sites Walking Activity Type Walking
- 3 hours Duration 3 hours
Immerse yourself in the city’s ancient history while also learning about Athens as it is today on this jam-packed Athens tour.
Tour Highlights
- Immerse yourself in the city’s ancient history and see some of its top sites from a different perspective.
- Witness the famous Greek changing of the guard.
- Discover Exarcheia, Athens’ most alternative neighbourhood, and see with your own eyes why it is one of the coolest neighborhoods of Europe.
- Dig up the most unexpected souvenirs in only-locals-know vintage fashion stores, second-hand vinyl emporiums and local grocery shops.
- Treat your taste buds to special sweet delights and sip on traditional Greek coffee like a local.
See Two Very Different Sides of Athens
Greece is the type of place where you can see ancient ruins alongside pulsating, bohemian neighbourhoods; where the old world coexists with a sort of anarchic urbanisation.
On this six-hour tour, you will admire classical landmarks and one of Europe’s trendiest neighbourhoods, all with a local guide by your side. Throw in some delicious food and a spot of shopping and you’ve got a well-balanced tour that allows you to see two very different sides of our fair city.
Local Impact: How you will help the local community by joining this tour:
- Your tour visits several historic sites of Athens, giving you a sense of the city’s rich history, as well as supporting local cultural heritage.
- By joining this tour you are helping to support local businesses in a neighbourhood that doesn’t generally benefit from tourism.
- By visiting 100% local, small-scale businesses, you’ll help them thrive through financial crisis.
- By visiting a 100-year-old local bakery, your tour helps this historic business continue serving authentic local delicacies.
- By joining this tour, you are helping to keep Exarcheia’s unconventional and creative characters in the spotlight, during times where national forces are creating tension.
Language: English
Inclusions: Local, English-speaking guide, a coffee or soft drink, 4 special sweet delights at 4 different sweet spots, bottled water, train fares.
Exclusions: Additional food and drinks, souvenirs and personal shopping, tips/gratuities for your guide.
Schedule details
- Duration: 5-6 hours
- Meeting point: Syntagma Square (at the exit of Syntagma metro station). Our guide will be standing next to the fountain, holding an Athens Urban Adventures sign. View on Google Maps. Exact GPS Coordinates of the meeting point: 37.975626, 23.734832
- Find the exact meeting point with what3words: ///seaside.debating.drive
- Starting time: 9.30 AM
- Ending point: Panepistimio metro station
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This whistle-stop Athens tour combines two of our most popular group tours: Walking Athens and Exarcheia: Sweet Destruction.
Your total Athens tour begins in Syntagma Square, the most important and crowded square in the city, boasting an impressive array of neoclassical buildings.
The best known is the Grande Bretagne, once a royal palace but now a luxury hotel which has housed everyone from Churchill to Madonna.
At the upper end of the square, you will see the Evzones, or guards of the Constitution, and the tomb of the unknown soldier. The Evzones are traditionally dressed in 17th/18th century clothes: an impressive white skirt, a red hat, and an old rifle. The changing of the guard happens every hour, and frankly, no sightseeing tour of Athens is complete without seeing this spectacle!
Next on this Athens tour you’ll walk by the once Royal Gardens and admire the stunning Zappeion Megaron building, designed by the famous Danish architect Theophil Freiherr von Hansen in 1878.
You will also see Hadrian’s Arch, built to honour one of the most revered Roman emperors. Directly behind it, you can see the ruins of the Jupiter (Zeus) temple as you taste and feel the history of Athens.
After a coffee stop under the shade of the mighty Acropolis, you will jump on the metro and exit at one of Europe’s most interesting neighbourhoods, Exarcheia.
Athens isn’t all about the Acropolis, there’s plenty of modern action to be had too! Get off the beaten track with us to the Exarcheia neighbourhood, the most alternative district of Athens and find out why Exarcheia has been voted as one of the coolest neighbourhoods of Europe.
Explore where the city’s students, intellectuals and artists prefer to live. Discover second-hand vinyl stores, vintage fashion stores, independent coffee shops, and contemporary art spaces and try some of our favourite Greek sweet delights!
Our tour ends here at the train station but before you go, don’t forget to ask your local guide for tips on what else to see, do and eat during your stay.
Additional information
Dress standard: Please wear comfortable walking shoes and dress in smart casual clothing.
Your Trip: For your Urban Adventure you will be in a small group of a maximum of 12 people.
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]