Athens is an amazing city where ancient Greek ruins coexist with graffiti-covered high-rise buildings and bustling highways. Fashionable areas are surrounded by slums, and on the winding streets you can find fragments of ancient columns, Turkish buildings and a Byzantine temple, to the wall of which a restaurant will be attached. The high hills offer stunning views of the city, sea and mountains, family restaurants serve generous portions at low prices, and hotel prices remain affordable even in high season. We will tell you how to relax in Athens and save money, because there are many ways to have fun completely free.
1. See the changing of the guard in front of the Parliament building
Opposite the Parliament, on Plateia Syntagmatos Square, the changing of the guard takes place every day (5 minutes before and 5 minutes after the new hour). And on Sundays from 10:45 to 11:15 there is a ceremonial changing of the guard with the blocking of the main street, an orchestra, a march and a procession of 150 people. This is an interesting spectacle, in which very unusually dressed guards of the presidential guard – evzones – take part. They wear white stockings with garters, a white skirt, a vest and a red cap with a long tassel, and their shoes are lined with nails and decorated with large pompoms.
Interesting excursions from local residents in Athens
2. Visit ancient ruins and visit ancient churches
There is a fee to visit the Acropolis and Agora, but in addition to these world-famous attractions, Athens has many ancient Greek ruins that can be viewed for free: the Panathinaikos Stadium, built of white marble in 329 BC, and which, after its restoration, the first Olympic Games in modern history were held, the Arch of Emperor Hadrian, built in 131, the interesting mausoleum of Prince Philopappus, built next to the Acropolis in the 2nd century, and the Aristotle Lyceum, founded by the great philosopher in 334 BC. Valuable historical artifacts can be viewed in display cases at Monastiraki and Syntagma metro stations. We also recommend visiting the two oldest Christian churches in the city – the Church of Our Lady of Kapnikaréa, built in 1050, and the Church of the Holy Apostles of Solaki, built in the 10th century, and the very beautiful Agios Eleftherios Church, whose marble walls are covered with exquisite carvings.
3. Take a walk through the historical city center
Athenians believe that a walk through the ancient streets of the historical center will allow you to get to know the city better than visits to museums and guided tours. In addition, many Greek streets are the same age as the Acropolis and boast a rich history.
Turkey’s Plaka district is home to ancient baths and Byzantine churches, with amazing frescoes and mosaics. Winding streets wind down the hill next to the Acropolis, just as they did in ancient Greek times. One of the most beautiful streets is Dionysiou Areopagitou, which goes around the Acropolis and goes down to Philopappos Hill and goes through the Thissio area, where you will find the best family restaurants in the city. Thisio flows into the Monastiraki area, which is famous for its huge flea market, where on Sundays, in addition to junk and antique dealers, street musicians, acrobats and magicians gather.
4. Climb to the observation decks on the Athenian hills
Athens stands on high hills, the tops of which offer breathtaking views of the city and the sea. The most complete and colorful panorama of the city and the best view of the Acropolis opens from the top of Mount Lykavittos, highest point in Athens. At its top, in addition to the platform, there is an open-air theater and the chapel of St. George. The second most popular hill among locals is the Areopagus hill. on which the Athenian court sat in ancient times, and today from it you can see Athens and the mountains surrounding the city from above. Philopappos Hill is remarkable because it is located so close to the Acropolis that from it you can see all the details of the temple and statues. Strefi Hill is the quietest and least crowded hill with a panoramic platform, on the slopes of which there is a garden.
5. Learn more about Greek culture and art in museums
The most popular complex of museums in Athens, which includes the Acropolis of Athens, the ancient Agora, Hadrian’s Library, the Archaeological Museum of Ceramics, the Roman Agora, and the Temple of Olympian Zeus, can be visited for free every Sunday of the month from November to March, also on all Greek public holidays (1 , January 6, March 25, May 1, August 15, October 28, December 25 and 26*), in addition, museums are open free of charge for visitors on Christian holidays: Clean Monday, Good Friday, Holy Easter and other significant dates (March 6, April 18, May 18, June 5, September 27, the last weekend of September). From March to November, you can visit museums for free on every first Sunday of the month, except July, August and September.
* on these days museums may not be open full time.
There are also several museums in the city, entry to which is always free:
- Museum of Greek folk instruments, which houses 1200 instruments from different times: ancient mandolins, lutes, cymbals, drums and tambourines.
- Epigraphical Museum of Athens, with a collection of Greek inscriptions from various eras – clay and stone tablets from the times of Ancient Greece, papyri, manuscripts.
- The DESTE Foundation for Contemporary Art is a non-profit organization that constantly hosts exhibitions of contemporary Greek artists.
- Museum of the History of Greek Costume, with a collection of 25 thousand items of clothing and accessories from all over Greece. The museum also has copies of costumes from the Minoan, Ancient Greek and Byzantine eras.
- Municipal art gallery, where 2.5 thousand works by Greek masters of the 19th and 20th centuries are collected. Many creations were purchased from collectors, others were received as gifts.
6. Take a free city tour
Photo: @ypsilon_67/@teodorally/Instagram.com
Athens has a wide range of free walking tours: Tours2Greece offers tours led by locals, which not only tell the history of the city, but also share the addresses of good restaurants, shops and bars. Athens Free Walking Tour will tell you myths and legends about gods and heroes, inextricably linked with the history of Ancient Athens. GuruWalk offers an interesting tour of the best examples of street art in the Exarcheia region, where artists and anarchists live.
7. Experience contemporary art and street art on the streets and in galleries
Photo: @alexandros4k/Instagram.com
Athens is covered in street art; graffiti can be found everywhere: on ancient ruins, high-rise buildings, mountains and cars. The state does not fight street art, thanks to which street artists are free to paint whatever and wherever they want. The Exarcheia district is considered the center of street art. which, due to its low prices, relaxed atmosphere and abundance of bars, has long been chosen by people of creative professions. On the streets of Exarchia you can find works of world-famous street art masters (Os Gemeos, Fikos, Sonke, iNO, STMTS).
Athens also has many excellent contemporary art galleries, where young and established artists exhibit. A complete list of events and galleries can be found on the website (http://athensartmap.net/). We recommend visiting the most interesting exhibition spaces:
- Medusa Art Gallery – the most talented young Greek artists exhibit here.
- Taf is an independent gallery and theater located in a dilapidated building in the center of Athens, often hosting free concerts in the evenings.
- Qbox Gallery – Internationally renowned Greek artists exhibit here, such as Megan and Murray McMillan, Paolo Colombo, Stephanie Stein.
8. Relax in parks and gardens
You can take a walk and have a picnic in one of the city parks. The National Gardens park is most conveniently located – it occupies 15.5 hectares in the very center of Athens, next to the Parliament. The park is home to several thousand species of plants and trees brought from all over the world. Also on its territory there are ancient ruins with columns and a living area with peacocks, goats and geese. Other gardens and parks are located much further from the city center, but also deserve attention: the Botanical Garden (Diomidous Botanical Garden) grows plants from all over the world, the park (The Stavros Niarchos Park) lies on a hill with views of the sea and the city, and it also has many playgrounds, and a huge park (Syngrou Estate) is open around the clock, it is clean and beautiful, there are many fountains.
9. Sunbathe and swim on the beaches in the warm season
There are many private beaches in the vicinity of Athens, the entrance to which costs money, but there are also several free ones with clean water and all necessary amenities: the pebble beach of Votsalakia Castellas, located in Piraeus, next to the port of Castellas. Elliniko Beach can be reached by tram or metro from the city center and is always crowded. The sandy Eden beach in Paleo Faliro can also be reached by public transport; there are always many visitors with children, as well as with pets, whose entry is allowed.
Text: Olga Perepelitsa
