Day plans: suggested routes (… working on it)

Acropolis, Agora, Plaka

Walk down to the Marble Stadium (Panathenaic Stadium), cross the avenue and go to the Zappeion. From there continue east bound. Pass from the Temple of Olympian Zeus and head to the Acropolis Museum. Check the museum’s site for oppening hours and tickets. Then head to the Acropolis hill. On your exit towards your right and across you will see the Areopagus rock. Climp the steps for a view of the Monastiraki area down below. Then head towards the archeological site of the ancient Agora. In the Agora particular interest is the Stoa of Attalos and the the Temple of Hephaestus (a smaller size Parthenon). Exit into Monastiraki area and after exploring a bit head west into Plaka. From there cross into the National Gardens. There is an augmented reality free exhibition in the National Gardens (until September 30, 2023). To see it you must download a free app .  Check the neon.org: Seeing the Invisible site for details. Exit the park on the east side. Pass by the Presidential Palace and head towards home.

Although I am an iphone user, I use Google Maps for navigation. Too many times iphone maps had wrong directions on non-efficient routes. Not that Google Maps is perfect; simply better. Google maps will not allow more than 10 stops. There is a way around it, but the compromise is that you use any alterations to the default ones for the extra stops you add. To make matters more complicated, it seems that the app counts alterations as extra stops (although not visible to anyone but the creator of the map). So, the 1st map below gives you the total route from home to home. The two following give you the same route in two sections. Use the top one as an overview and the two below for reference if you want to follow the route I suggest. IT SEEMS THAT GOOGLE WILL ALWAYS RECALCULATE THE ROUTE. Looking for a solution.

B. From X to Home

Archeological Museum, Filopappou Hill, EMST museum

Take a taxi or buss to the Archeological Museum. Visit it if you are into archeology. Otherwise, come back after it is restored. Walk toward Omonia square (harmony in Greek). This used to be the center of Athens in the 1950s. Now it is rather run down. Walk along Athinas Street. Visit the market and continue into Monastiraki and then to Thesio. Walk up Apostolou Pavlou, the pedestrian street leading to the Acropolis from the west. Enter the hill to your right and head to the Pnyx. Wonder around this hill. Loose yourself to the south of the hill where you will have a good -distant- view of the coastal area. If you are interested in Modern art head through Koukaki district to the EMST museum. The building, an ex-beer brewery is interesting. From there take the tram, a taxi or walk back home.