Athens Highlights & Athenian Riviera with Sunset Poseidon Temple

Pick up from your hotel, apartment, Airbnb, Athens airport, or Piraeus port

Walk on the land in which thousands of years ago some of the largest and most important parts of the global philosophy, politics, and science were born and flourished. Navigate ancient monuments of priceless cultural and historical value and experience in person the greatness and glamour of Greek ancient times. Starting off with the Acropolis, which in Greek translates to the edge of the city, the geographically and spiritually highest point according to ancient Greeks.

On the top of this sacred hill, proudly stands the Parthenon, which is the epitome of ancient Greek architecture, where you will experience the greatness of ancient Greece captured on every piece of marble. An architectural jewel that hosts the best of what the human spirit and genius has ever conceived, an open embrace that awaits its famed sister marbles to welcome them home again.

The Propylaea was the monumental gateway to the Acropolis of Athens and was one of several public works commissioned by the Athenian leader Pericles in order to rebuild the Acropolis a generation after the conclusion of the Persian Wars.

The Temple of Athena Nike is a temple on the Acropolis of Athens, dedicated to the goddesses Athena and Nike. Built around 420 BC, the temple is the earliest fully Ionic temple on the Acropolis. It has a prominent position on a steep bastion at the southwest corner of the Acropolis to the right of the entrance, the Propylaea. In contrast to the Acropolis proper, a walled sanctuary entered through the Propylaea, the Victory Sanctuary was open, entered from the Propylaea's southwest wing and from a narrow stair on the north. The sheer walls of its bastion were protected on the north, west, and south by the Nike Parapet, named for its frieze of Nikai celebrating victory and sacrificing to their patroness, Athena and Nike.

located on a rocky outcrop above the city of Athens and contains the remains of several ancient buildings of great architectural and historic significance, the most famous being the Parthenon. The word acropolis is from the Greek words ἄκρον (akron, "highest point, extremity") and πόλις (polis, "city").[1] Although the term acropolis is generic and there are many other acropoleis in Greece, the significance of the Acropolis of Athens is such that it is commonly known as "The Acropolis" without qualification. During ancient times it was known also more properly as Cecropia, after the legendary serpent-man, Cecrops, the supposed first Athenian king.

The Theater of Dionysus is an ancient Greek theatre in Athens. It is built on the south slope of the Acropolis hill, originally part of the sanctuary of Dionysus Eleuthereus. The first orchestra terrace was constructed on the site around the mid- to late-sixth century BC, where it hosted the City Dionysia. The theatre reached its fullest extent in the fourth century BC under the epistates of Lycurgus when it would have had a capacity of up to 17,000, and was in continuous use down to the Roman period. The theatre then fell into decay in the Byzantine era and was not identified, excavated, and restored to its current condition until the nineteenth century.

At the foot of the Acropolis Hill in the shadow of the imposing Parthenon lays a modern jewel that houses some of the most important ancient Greek statues and works of art, the Acropolis Museum.

The Arch of Hadrian, most commonly known in Greek as Hadrian's Gate, is a monumental gateway resembling a Roman triumphal arch. It spanned an ancient road from the center of Athens, Greece, to the complex of structures on the eastern side of the city that included the Temple of Olympian Zeus.

The Temple of Olympian Zeus or Olympia, in the colloquial referred to as Columns of Olympian Zeus or (etymologically correct) Columns of Olympian Zeus is an important ancient temple in the center of Athens. Although its construction began in the 6th century BC, it was only completed during the reign of the Roman emperor Hadrian in the 2nd century AD. It was the largest temple in Greece during Hellenistic and Roman

A stadium was built on the site of a simple racecourse by the Athenian statesman Lykourgos (Lycurgus) c. 330 BC, primarily for the Panathenaic Games. It was rebuilt in marble by Herodes Atticus, an Athenian Roman senator, by 144 AD and had a capacity of 50,000 seats. After the rise of Christianity in the 4th century it was largely abandoned. The stadium was excavated in 1869 and hosted the Zappas Olympics in 1870 and 1875. After being refurbished, it hosted the opening and closing ceremonies of the first modern Olympics in 1896 and was the venue for 4 of the 9 contested sports. It was used for various purposes in the 20th century and was once again used as an Olympic venue in 2004. It is the finishing point for the annual Athens Classic Marathon. It is also the last venue in Greece from where the Olympic flame handover ceremony to the host nation takes place.

The Academy of Athens is Greece's national academy and the highest research establishment in the country. It was established in 1926 and operates under the supervision of the Ministry of Education. The Academy's main building is one of the major landmarks of Athens.

The University of Athens has been in continuous operation since its establishment in 1837 and is the oldest higher education institution of the modern Greek state and the first contemporary university in both the Balkan Peninsula and the Eastern Mediterranean. Today it is one of the largest universities by enrollment in Europe, with over 69,000 registered students.

The University of Athens was founded on 3 May 1837 by King Otto of Greece and was named in his honour Othonian University. It was the first university in the liberated Greek state and in the surrounding area of Southeast Europe as well. It was also the second academic institution after the Ionian Academy. This fledgling university consisted of four faculties; Theology, Law, Medicine and Arts (which included applied sciences and mathematics). During its first year of operation, the institution was staffed by 33 professors, while courses were attended by 52 students and 75 non-matriculated "auditors"

The National Library of Greece is situated near the center of the city of Athens. It was designed by the Danish architect Theophil Freiherr von Hansen, as part of his famous Trilogy of neo-classical buildings including the Academy of Athens and the original building of the Athens University. It was founded by Ioannis Kapodistrias.

Lycabettus Hill is a hill in Athens. It has the small church of Agios Georgios at the top and there is also a cable car. Lycabettus is the second highest point of the Athens basin after Turkovounia and rises to 277 meters above sea level and 227 meters above the city.

The Goddess Athena fell for her after a bad news that brought her a crow. Since then, the crows have turned black, the legend says

The old historical neighborhood of Athens, clustered around the northern and eastern slopes of the Acropolis, and incorporating labyrinthine streets and neoclassical architecture. Plaka is built on top of the residential areas of the ancient town of Athens. It is known as the "Neighborhood of the Gods" due to its proximity to the Acropolis and its many archaeological sites.

The original Agora was encroached upon and obstructed by a series of Roman buildings, beginning with the imperial family's gift to the Athenians of a large odeion (concert hall). The Odeon of Agrippa was built by him in around 15 BC, and measured 51.4 by 43.2 metres, rose several stories in height, and – being sited just north of the Middle Stoa – obstructed the old agora. In return for the odeion, the Athenians built a statue to Agrippa at the site of the previous agora; they based it on a plinth recycled from an earlier statue by covering the old inscription with a new one.

Tower of The Winds

Glyfada is a suburb in South Athens located in the Athens Riviera. It is situated in the southern parts of Athens' urban area. The area stretches from the foot of the Hymettus mountain to the Saronic Gulf. It is the largest of Athens' southern suburbs.

During our return to the city of Athens, we will stop at one of the most idyllic places. Vouliagmeni Lake, in the heart of the Athenian Riviera, is the hidden treasure of Attica's nature. Lake Vouliagmeni ("Sunken Lake") is a small brackish-water lake fed by underground currents seeping through the mass of Mount Hymettus located to the south of Vouliagmeni.

Varkiza, also Alianthos, is a suburb of greater Athens forming part of the municipality of Vari-Voula-Vouliagmeni in southern Attica.

Cape Sounion is the promontory at the southernmost tip of the Attic peninsula, 8 kilometers (5.0 mi) south of the town of Lavrio (ancient Thoricus), and 70 kilometers (43 mi) southeast of Athens. It is part of Lavreotiki municipality, East Attica. It is 59.6 km away from Athens. Cape Sounion is noted for its Temple of Poseidon, one of the major monuments of the Golden Age of Athens. Its remains are perched on the headland, surrounded on three sides by the sea.

The ancient Greek temple of Poseidon at Cape Sounion, built during 444–440 BC, is one of the major monuments of the Golden Age of Athens. A Doric temple, overlooks the sea at the end of Cape Sounion, at a height of almost 60 meters (200 ft).