GREECE - Athens Private Walking Tour

Athens, the capital and largest city of Greece is known to the world as the cradle of western civilization and the birthplace of democracy.



From Santorini, I flew to Athens. Not wanting to miss some of the smaller attractions that I might miss while in Athens, I engaged a tour guide. The theme of the tour is “Athens Hills-Hidden Athens Walk.



Met the guide at the hotel and from there we walked to the Old Royal Palace situated at the heart of Athens, facing Syntagma Square. Completed in 1843, it was a palace for the Greek monarch. Well, eventually Greece abolished the monarchy in 1924 and now this building houses the Parliament.

 
Just in time for the Changing of the Guards which is held every hour.



In front of the Old Royal Palace, or should I say Parliament House, is the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.



The tomb is guarded 24 hours a day by the Presidential Guard called the Evzones. 



Their traditional uniform features a skirt, stockings and pom-poms on their shoes.









The new Guards at their respective post.



Next stop, the National Gardens.



Formerly known as the Royal Garden, this garden is located behind the Parliament building.





Commissioned by Queen Amalia in 1838, the garden was completed in 1840. 



Encompassing an area of 154,000m², the garden brought me much relief from the summer heat.





Some ancient ruins in the garden.



The map of the National Garden.



From the garden I exited to Herodou Attikou Street. The property along the street is by far the most expensive piece of real estate in Greece. Other than luxurious apartments and mansions, the residence of the President and Prime Minister is located along this street.



This building is named Maximos Mansion. The Maximus Megaron houses the offices of the Head of Greek Government and is the official residence of the Prime Minister.



The Presidential Mansion is the official residence of the President of Greece. Previously, this building is known as the New Royal Palace.



A family photo with one of the Presidential Guard.



Up, close and personal. Haha!







Passed by a Cinema.



An open air cinema to be exact, where you can enjoy a movie under the stars.



Stopped here at a restaurant for some drinks before continuing our tour.





The Zappeion.



A couple having their wedding pictures taken here.



Opened since 1888, the Zappeion was the first building to be erected specifically for the revival of the modern world Olympic Games.



A glimpse into the interior of Zappeion which was closed when I visited.











Athens Tram.



Statue of Lord Byron.



I have reached the Arch of Hadrian or known as Hadrian’s Gate, a monumental gateway resembling a Roman triumph arch.



It was built to celebrate the arrival of Roman Emperor Hadrian and to honor him.





The Pathenon at the Acropolis can be seen here.





Nearby the Hadrian’s Gates is the Temple of Olympian Zeus. It was once the largest temple in Greece during the Roman period.



Now, it is reduced to ruins.





From the Hadrian’s Gate, I walked towards Plaka.







The Plaka is the oldest section of Athens.



It is now an area of restaurants, jewelry stores, tourist shops and cafes.





Knock, knock. The door knob actually resembles a small hand.



Plaka was night club district at one time, but the government outlawed amplified music in the old neighbourhood.



Beautiful street arts.










A beautiful Byzantine church nearby the neighbourhood.









Church of Agii Anargyri Kolokynthi is located on the hill of Acropolis. It was built in the 17th century and operated as a Catholic nunnery.



Next, our tour guide led us into a very interesting alley with walls painted in grafitti art.















Anafiotika is the island village in Plaka. This is because the original inhabitants were stone masons who came from the island of Anafi to build Athens in the mid 19th century.



It’s like wandering about on a Greek island in the neighborhood of Anafiotika.







The narrow path of Anafiotika,



When we kept walking to the eastern edge and this is the view of Athens city that greets us.



Lycabettus Hill is a limestone hill in Athens. It is a tourist attraction and can be reached by a funicular railway.





Up and up we go.







Passed by the Old University of Athens.





Church of Metamorphosis.





Ruins of the ancient city was discovered at the residential area and the resident must display it under glass deck.







Passed by the Ancient Agora too but it was closed. I planned to visit it on another day.



Areopagus or Mars Hill is a popular spot to view the Athens city and Acropolis. It is a bare marble hill across the entrance to Acropolis.

 



Ancient Agora is just beneath the hill.





It’s really nice to sit and enjoy panoramic view of Athens and Acropolis just beside the hill.





The marble can be quite slippery, especially in rain. Fortunately, the weather was good that day.





Next, we headed to the Philopappos Hill.



The Socrates Prison. This is where the great Greek philosopher was kept while waiting for his execution. His old friend, Crito visited him before dawn to arrange his escape from the prison. But Socrates refused and he was executed by drinking hemlock.





The empty shells left behind by the crickets.



This is another good place to view the Pathenon.



Here, the tour guide offered us some Greek pastry and wine.



Taking a photo with our tour guide, Kostas at the Philopappos Hill.



Really had a good view of Acropolis from Philopappos Hill.





Light began to light up the Pathenon in the evening.









Acropolis Museum at night. Tour ends here. The tour costs EUR 100 for 2 persons and it took around 4 hours. Kostas is a friendly and knowledgeable guide and I truly enjoyed the walking tour.



You can visit the website to book a tour: www.athens-walks.com



From here, we walked back to our hotel.



The night view of the Parliament building.



A delicious dinner at a restaurant nearby our hotel, Hotel Arethusa, marked a perfect ending to that day.