Day 1 - Neighborhoods & Acropolis museum

Hadrian’s Arch & Temple of Zeus

syntagma square, Plaka & Anafiotika

Acropolis Museum

Hadrian’s Arch & Temple of Zeus

When they built this arch, they considered the eastern side of this main street "New Athens".

Temple of Zeus is right next to Hadrian's Arch. They left this fallen column in place, which was neat. You can see that the columns are made of these discs.

Only a minor part of the original temple remain standing, unfortunately.

Of course we had to do these shots.

A enjoying the view.

This shot didn't work as well as we'd like.

Syntagma Square, Plaka & Anafiotika

The parliament building, with the tomb of unknown soldiers in front.

There is exchange of the guards at 11am each day, but we missed it, so we watched a recording on YouTube instead.

Two guards in front of the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, one on each side.

Syntagma Square is on the other side of the street from the parliament building.

The fountain is the centerpiece of this spacious square.

We walked farther away from the busy Syntagma Square to find restaurants with better values. The gyros plate here was fantastic!

Plaka. You can't go ten steps without someone luring you into a restaurant or a souvenir shop.

Halloween costume for next year?

A nice graffiti mural on our way to Anafiotika.

The path to Anafiotika runs along the Acropolis walls.

Some picturesque streets.

Not every street here is pretty. Some look like this.

Nice view at the top of Anafiotika. You can see Mount Lycabettus in the distance.

Heading down to go to Acropolis Museum.

Plaka is the most touristy place with tons of shops and restaurants, whereas Anafiotika is a small neighborhood next to Plaka that has some picturesque streets and a great vista point. Syntagma Square, opposite to the parliament building, is a nice hangout place with many shops and restaurants nearby as well.

Acropolis Museum

The museum has a grand entrance.

The entire museum is built on a site of ruins. They did a great job of not only preserving it but also showcasing it to visitors.

The building itself is an impressive work of art.

These rocks provide color pigments for ancient art.

The maidens from Maidens Arch of the Erechtheion. 4 original + one new addition.

These are pieces that belonged to the top of the Parthenon. They’re very incomplete, as you can see. These were the only pieces they could find.

The complete model of what was once on the front fascia of the roof.

The outdoor cafe at the museum... no significance whatsoever, but it sure looked nice.

We went to a Greek grill house afterwards. The food was amazing!

The Greeks got their meat figured out. They're so flavorful and tender.

Oinomelo, a hot drink consisting of honey and fruit in hot wine. It was interesting and sweet. Probably won’t order it again.

The Acropolis Museum, at the foothills of the Acropolis, has a collection of art pieces excavated from the Acropolis. Most of the Acropolis was ruined during the Persian war.