bryanwallace

have one day in athens on april 1st (!) sat ..(leave 9pm at night)

dont actually arrive til 2.10am,.

first question-at that time will the best place to stay be the sofitel?(or are others walkable/have reliable shuttles at that time of morn)

2ndly,will prob sleep in - i see all advice says to go to acropolis early..

would this still be the case in april (or are crowds weather just as bad)

3rdly what else would be good to take kids to see?

thanks

ps i know this is a crazy itinerary but will be only chance we get!

KLouis

Only walkable hotel is, indeed, the Sofitel. Anything else at this time of day (hmmm, night!) can only be reached by taxi, no shuttle reliable or not. Your problem will be the next day: Assuming you do an early Acropolis tour (not hot in April, perhaps wet), followed by a stroll through Athens and the Acropolis Museum before that, you'll be done by noon. You also grab lunch somewhere nice in the old town, you'll be done by, say, 2-3 pm. That will be after the standard check-out for any hotel. So, what about your luggage and?

I think best solution would be the Sofitel, sleep until "late", have a good breakfast, check-out but ask them to store your luggage till the evening. Take the metro into town and after doing what you want to do, take the metro back to ATH as late as you can. Then retrieve your luggage and see how you kill time at ATH.

bryanwallace

thanks-is there anything else you would advise seeing in ath?

KLouis

Well, many excellent museums (national Archaeological, Byzantine, Benaki, Cycladic Art to name a few) but you'll have limited time and hardly any possibility to take a siesta or so. Perhaps going up the Lycabettus hill to enjoy the view? (360 degrees, almost the entire city and on a clear day even snow-capped mountains more than hundred kilometres away, plus islands etc.). Or, time permitting and the kids not protesting, going to Piraeus and walking along the "pier" in Limin Zeas and looking at the boats and yachts, finishing this (if still open at that time) by a visit to the Navy Museum...

bryanwallace

thanks-you are very kind....one thing-what is the best /most economical way to get from airport to acropolis-i see the bus is the cheapest but wondering if metro less hassle??

also for the metro it seems the tkt is valid for 90mins from validation-doesthat mean i can travel about on the way back to airport aslong as i start my last journety(enter the subway system) wtihing the 90mins?

KLouis

There have been some strikes affecting the subway and the local train systems during the last couple of weeks, so you'd have to look it up. The bus takes a bout 10 minutes longer (or 30 and moreon days the subway is on strike).

As for your question, I really can't answer this (I think you have to conclude your trip within the time indicated) but I wonder why would you want to take the metro to Athens, get out and hop into the next one to the airport? By the way, the trains leave every 30 minutes, so you'd have to calculate this time lost too. Anyway, I think it's a bad idea that has no advantages what so ever for you.

PS If you're over 65 the bus is only 3 € one way!

bryanwallace

sorry-no i meant buy a return tkt to airport and onthe return visit one more place before going back to airport..

KLouis

I see, but there is no need. The metro to the airport leaves from the very centre of the city (Syntagma or Constitution Square). Actually from the stop before that (Monastiraki) , which is less than 10 minutes away (walking). And the only thing worth seeing between there and the airport is the US Embassy (yes!), built by Walter Gropius in the early 60s. So, unless you're an architect, you better stay on board.

Romanianflyer

While KLouis is an institute on his own with his vast knowledge about Greece, I have to slightly correct him here.

If you travel by metro to/from the airport, and will return in (what I believe) 48 hours, you save 2 Euro with a return ticket compared to buying 2 single tickets just don't forget to stamp it on each way!

(one way ticket being EUR 10, return EUR 18)

For the price-conscious travelers, that is a free souvlaki there! And saves time buying a ticket on the way back too.

Returning on a simple one way ticket won't work even though bryanwallace correctly pointed out that a ticket is valid for 60-90 mins or so. He will simply never manage time-wise as it will already take about 40-50 mins to reach Acropolis from the airport.

(besides if checked, I don't know if a ticket inspector can see you stamped the ticket on an airport ticket machine, but somehow are returning to the airport with the same ticket!)

KLouis

Thanks for the correction! As I wrote before, I now only take the bus: 3 € instead of 10 € for old people like me. You'll also find out how enjoyable life gets when you retire. Many things are cheaper, you have more time and, best of all, you no longer have to fly to these strange places any more.

Romanianflyer

Or even better, let some friends pick you up at the airport like I will arrange when flying into ATH with A3 on Friday - although I wouldn't be surprised if nowadays the Greek motorway tolls are much more expensive than it would cost going by bus

(If flying Bucharest-Athens on Ryanair, the flight ticket is as well often already lower than the metro into town after years visiting Greece and living there for a while, I still don't understand why such things, or intercity buses for that matter, are so ridiculously expensive compared to anything else in the country)

KLouis

There would not have been a need for Greeks to "invent" logic (even in the pre-bus and pre-plane times) if Greece had been a logical country... @:-)

roberto99

I've done the X95 bus and the Metro from ATH to/from Syntagma Square several times. I like both. My fav hotel is only a few blocks from there.

You see nothing for 40% of the journey on the Metro since it goes underground part way. But it's much more comfortable than the bus.

I like the X95 bus for the opportunity to see things. It's a bit cheaper and only a few minutes slower than the Metro.

Note that lots of people have to stand up on the bus since the seats fill.

I've actually boarded the X95 bus at 4:00 am at Syntagma Square a couple times! Lots of A3 flight attendants ride that bus to work. I recall that the Metro starts up around 6:30 am.

KLouis

First three trains of the day from Syntagma Square are 5:40, 6:06 and 6:36, then every 30 minutes till 23:06 (last train).

During most of the day you may not find a seat till you reach Doukissis Placentas (end of the subterranean part) about 20 minutes away from Syntagma.

You can see the complete schedule here.

bryanwallace

thanks-i will have a look