In March 2017, I took a week off and spontaneously decided to visit Greece.
I had only five full days in the country and tried to see as much as possible. During my time in Athens I managed to visit most of the popular sights – including the Acropolis, the Temple of Olympian Zeus, Lykavittos Hill, the Ancient Agora, Hadrian’s Library, the Roman Agora, the Church of Panagia Kapnikarea, the Cathedral of Athens, Syntagma Square, the Parliament Building, the National Gardens, the Zappeion Hall, the Panathenaic Stadium, and Kerameikos. I also didn’t forget the fantastic museums such as the Acropolis Museum, the Byzantine and Christian Museum, the Museum of Cycladic Art, the National Archaeological Museum, and the Museum of Islamic Art. Check out the photographs below to get an idea:
Parthenon in the evening light
Acropolis in the evening light
Athens in the evening light
view towards Piraeus
evening light on Athens
sunset
National Observatory
Acropolis in the evening light
the hills surrounding Athens
Church of Agios Dimitrios Loumbardiaris
National Observatory
view across Athens from the Areopagus
Acropolis
Omonia Square
Arch of Hadrian
Temple of Olympian Zeus
Temple of Olympian Zeus
Acropolis behind the Temple of Olympian Zeus
Temple of Olympian Zeus
Lykavittos Hill
at the southern slope of the Acropolis
Stoa of Eumenes
Theatre of Dionysus Eleuthereus
at the southern slope of the Acropolis
at the southern slope of the Acropolis
flowers
flowers
view towards Filopappou Hill
Filopappou Hill
Odeon of Herodes Atticus
Propylaea
view towards the Erechtheion
Erechtheion and Parthenon
Porch of the Caryatids
Erechtheion
detail of the Erechtheion
Erechtheion
the sacred olive tree
view north from the Acropolis
Parthenon and Erechtheion
Parthenon and Erechtheion
Parthenon
view north from the Acropolis
Lykavittos Hill and Parliament Building
Parthenon
Roman Agora
Hadrian’s Library and Tower of the Winds
Temple of Hephaestus
Cathedral of Athens
Acropolis Museum
Theatre of Dionysus Eleuthereus
Odeon of Herodes Atticus
Temple of Athena Nike
Propylaea
National Observatory behind Areopagus
view across Athens from the Areopagus
Athinas Street
Church of St. Nicholas Rangavas
Propylaea
National Observatory and Church of Agia Marina
Adrianou Street
Ancient Agora
Stoa of Attalos
kylix showing a satyr on a donkey (510 BC)
bust of emperor Antoninus Pius (138-161 AD)
Church of the Holy Apostles
Temple of Hephaestus
Temple of Hephaestus
ramshackle ruins
view from the Temple of Hephaestus
Temple of Hephaestus
tortoise
Stoa of Attalos
Church of the Pantanassa
Tzistarakis Mosque
Hadrian’s Library
tortoise
Gate of Athena Archegetis
Roman Agora
Tower of the Winds
Tower of the Winds
Hadrian’s Library
Church of Panagia Kapnikarea
Church of Panagia Kapnikarea
Ermou Street
Cathedral of Athens
Agios Eleftherios Church
Parliament Building
Parliament Building
National Gardens
National Gardens
Zappeion Hall
Zappeion Hall
Panathenaic Stadium
Panathenaic Stadium
Panathenaic Stadium
Panathenaic Stadium
Panathenaic Stadium
Panathenaic Stadium
Panathenaic Stadium
Panathenaic Stadium
statue of George Averoff
Acropolis Museum
Acropolis Museum
the Caryatids of the Erechtheion
Lego model of the Acropolis
Acropolis Museum
Acropolis Museum
Aristotle’s Lyceum
Aristotle’s Lyceum
spring!
Byzantine and Christian Museum
Byzantine and Christian Museum
Byzantine and Christian Museum
Byzantine and Christian Museum
Byzantine and Christian Museum
Crucification (9th-13th century)
Lavender
Lavender
Museum of Cycladic Art
female figurine (2800-2300 BC)
female figurine
lekythos showing Herakles wrestling the Nemean lion (500-490 BC)
Presidential Guard (Evzone)
Presidential Guard (Evzone)
Presidential Guard (Evzone)
Syntagma Square
view from Lykavittos Hill
view from Lykavittos Hill
National Archaeological Museum
National Archaeological Museum
Mask of Agamemnon (1550-1500 BC)
golden octopus-shaped cut-outs (16th century BC)
statue of a kouros from Cape Sounion (6th century BC)
statue of a kouros (530 BC)
the Artemision Bronze (460 BC)
the Artemision Bronze (460 BC)
statue of Aphrodite (2nd century AD)
statue of horse and young jockey (140 BC)
Pithamphora (1500-1450 BC)
National Archaeological Museum
Antelopes Fresco (16th century BC)
National Library
University of Athens
Academy of Athens
Benaki Museum
Kerameikos
Museum of Islamic Art
Museum of Islamic Art
wall tiles from Iznik (17th century)
painting of a falconer (19th-20th century)
Fortunately, I was lucky with the weather and experienced some nice sunsets, such as the one you can see below from Lykavittos Hill.
Since it was my first time in Greece, I wanted to see as much as possible and also went on some tours into the neighbouring countryside. The aim of my first excursion was the Temple of Poseidon at Cape Sounion – check out my coming post!
yes – I really liked it a lot!! 🙂 Thank you for your comment! 🙂
Absolutely astounding photos, Matthias. whew! You sure saw and did a lot in five days! I enjoyed every single photo, appreciated the craftsmanship of your captures, and of course the beauty of the Greek sites. What an amazing place, thank you for sharing it.
Thanks so much for your comment and appreciation!! 🙂 I really had a good time in Athens even though my feet hurt each evening!! 🙂
Wow, what a gorgeous place! You did have nice weather. It was more crowded than I thought it might be for March. Perhaps it’s always crowded there like San Francisco, and New York City. 🙂
Looking forward to seeing the countryside!
thank you!! 🙂 Yes, the weather was great and there was free entrance to the monuments on a couple of days, maybe that explains the large numbers of visitors (which was still far from being annoying though)…
Wow an amazing collection…beautiful and classic. The people do serve to show the scale of those beautiful ruins.
Matt Travels 
Great pictures 🙂 athens is amazing
yes – I really liked it a lot!! 🙂 Thank you for your comment! 🙂
Absolutely astounding photos, Matthias. whew! You sure saw and did a lot in five days! I enjoyed every single photo, appreciated the craftsmanship of your captures, and of course the beauty of the Greek sites. What an amazing place, thank you for sharing it.
Thanks so much for your comment and appreciation!! 🙂 I really had a good time in Athens even though my feet hurt each evening!! 🙂
Wow, what a gorgeous place! You did have nice weather. It was more crowded than I thought it might be for March. Perhaps it’s always crowded there like San Francisco, and New York City. 🙂
Looking forward to seeing the countryside!
thank you!! 🙂 Yes, the weather was great and there was free entrance to the monuments on a couple of days, maybe that explains the large numbers of visitors (which was still far from being annoying though)…
Wow an amazing collection…beautiful and classic. The people do serve to show the scale of those beautiful ruins.
thank you so much!! 🙂
Pingback: Greece 2017 (part VI): Mycenae | wild life weeks·
Pingback: Greece 2017 (part VII): Delphi | wild life weeks·
Pingback: Greece 2017 (part VIII): Arachova | wild life weeks·