Thanks for all of the great advise.

We are on BA 634 735PM flight out of LHR that lands at 110AM. I see it currently lands at 310AM, but it def says 110AM for us in November. Maybe a seasonal time change?

My hope was that we would get close to a full night's rest on our flight from DEN to ORD, and overnight flight from ORD to LHR (thank you ear plugs and sleeping pills), and then get even more rest during our 12 hr layover at LHR (if we can find a nice place to rest) and on the 3.5 hr flight from LHR to ATH.

I was saying 3AM because I thought getting off the plane, passport/imigration, finding bags, finding a cab, and getting a ride into Athens would take a while. If busses and cabs are readily available, then it may be closer to 2am.

We are only in Athens for parts of 3 days, so I was hoping we could get in some good early morning sightseeing and just tough it out until an early bed time that night. 1AM ATH time will feel like 4PM DEN time, and I find that staying active when arriving in EU helps keep the jet lag away, and not sleeping until the first night helps reset the body clock.

With limited options maybe a bus/cab straight to our hotel, or the Sofitel are the best way to go. My wife and I are known to take a long time getting up and out of our room, so I was kind of hoping to avoid potentially sleeping late and missing a good morning of sight seeing.

I was kind of thinking it may be a good idea to try and go to the busiest sight right when it opens that first morning if we are going to be up anyway? Anyone had any experience going to the Parthenon or National Museum right when they open? Will crowds be a non-issue in early November?