Athens is the home of the Acropolis, which means "City at the top". It sits up on a rocky hill and can be seen from the entire city. Up top, there really is only three buildings - Parthenon - which is a huge temple dedicated to Athena, the goddess of wisdom; the Propylaea which is the gateway/entrance to the Acropolis; and the Erechtheion which is a smaller temple dedicated to Poseidon and the temple of Athena Nike.
These were built in marble from far off quarries and the Parthenon was built in 447 BC with the others soon after.
Our guide told us we were lucky as we were there on an "uncrowded day" so we should be grateful for that! Remember how I said Santorini was crowded? Times that by 10 and you get how busy the Acropolis was in the "off season". Oh. My. We could barely walk in there. It was crazy!!
Most of Athens downtown sidewalks are made of marble
There's a little walk up the hill
Down below the Acropolis, is this huge theater which is still used today for performances
And then the crowds appeared! Everyone has to funnel through the 'Propylaea' which is the only way in and out
The Parthenon is HUGE!
Yep..there even was a geocache here!!
Athens is a big city!! 3.1 million people live here
Don't let this photo fool you, this was way at the end - where the crowds were not as bad
After, our tour visited a few places in the city
Ruins are everywhere....in the middle of neighborhoods and even streets
Some videos:
View of Athens
Up top:
Crowds!!
We got back to the ship to relax and play some mini golf
It was pretty cool to be up close to these huge ruins and glad we went!
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