At last, I’ve digested my trip to Greece with my tribe, and here are our three days in Athens as a family: visits and activities with the children before our flight to Paros for our catamaran cruise! On the programme: Plaka, Acropolis, bus tour and children’s museum!
A lighter programme than we’re used to, but to put it in context: Mum and Dad had invited us to celebrate their extra years, and we all chose Greece.
So there were 10 of us in total: the grandparents, Mr Dad’s brother, his wife and their 2 grown-up children (20 and 18!) and the 4 of us (3.5 and 10 for my mini travellers!). So with 10 of us, there were a lot of logistics involved for visits, restaurants etc…
>> Our family guide Greece
-> Au sommaire +
Visit to the Plaka and the Acropolis – Day #1
After arriving at the airport in the morning and taking a taxi, we were able to have lunch in the Plaka, just a stone’s throw from our hotel, the City Circus, which I’ll tell you about in a later article.
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A stroll through the Plaka
Although very touristy if you stay on the main streets, the charm appears as soon as you take the side streets and you come across Greek families sipping their iced coffee!
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We then headed for the Acropolis, on foot, and I think we went all the way round, starting off on the wrong side, but the little Greek alleys with their staircases and bar terraces charmed me!
Family reunion so as not to lose one! with all the crowds in the Plaka!
A family visit to the Acropolis
It was quite grey that day, and even though it was a Sunday, there was a queue to buy tickets. The hotel had advised us to go that day, telling us it would be less crowded.
>> Book Acropole’s ticket here
The Acropolis is, of course, the Parthenon, which is still being renovated since my last visit when I was 11!) and the temple of Erechtheion, with its caryatids! I was captivated by it when I was 11, and I’m still under its spell because I love Greek mythology!
However, I don’t think Miss Voyageuse has experienced the magic of the place! A guide should have been brought in to show her the history and mythology in a more lively way! But after waiting in vain for a guide, we didn’t find one, no matter how incredible!
Warning: no explanation on the site!
Infos
- Access: on foot from the Plaka quarter
- Times and prices: ticket only: €20 / adult – free for under-18s – €22 if booked online – Online booking is now compulsory, with a limit of 20,000 visits / day
- Length of visit: around 2 hours, depending on the information in our travel guide
- Children’s accessories: bring a baby carrier with you if you have a toddler, as there are many slippery steps and rocks.
- To find out more: the website of the Greek Ministry of Culture
My opinion: I’m sorry I didn’t take a guided tour like we did when I was a child. The children didn’t learn a thing about this emblematic site. What a shame! So I’d advise you to book a tour that will also save you queuing to get in, and in a small group so that the children can ask questions (book here).
Bus tour – Changing the Guard – Jardin National – day #2
City See Sighting Bus to the Pyrenees
The next day, we wanted to discover Athens! So with 10 of us, the easiest thing to do was to take the City See Sighting buses, the red double-decker buses, especially with Mini Voyageur and Beau-papa ‘hanging around’ ;)!
The children really enjoyed it, although I did regret that there weren’t many really visible monuments on the route. If we’d been motivated, we could get off at any time and then get back on the bus: it’s the Hop On and Hop Off principle!
- Accès: A prendre à n’importe quel arrêt Hop On! Hop Off (panneau rouge)
- Horaire et tarifs: 18€ / adulte – 8 € / enfant c’est pas donné mais 4€ supplémentaire / adulte, et 1€/enfant seulement pour aller jusqu’au Pirée
- Durée de visite: 1h30 pour le tour d’Athènes en Centre ville et 1 h le tour du Pirée
- Accessoires enfants: Casquette et crème si vous êtes à l’étage sans toit
- Pour réserver vos billets
- Avis et conseil: Je ne suis pas vraiment fan de ce genre de visite mais en groupe c’est très pratique, et avec de jeunes enfants, cela vous permet de découvrir la ville pendant que le plus jeune dort sur vos genoux! Attention: tentez de monter dans un bus avec un toit surtout si c’est le moment de la sieste pour le plus jeune bambin, ou badigeonnez-vous de crème surtout dans le cou (testé!) Un autre tour existe un peu moins cher, mais je ne l’ai pas testé
>> You might also like: Where to stay in Athenswith kids
Piraeus for lunch
I wanted to go and have lunch in the port of Piraeus, and the bus tour was a very interesting addition to the tour, even though for most of the way the bus was on wide, uninteresting boulevards.
Piraeus reminded me more of a large seaport and commercial port, visible on the first part of the tour, but as we continued we passed a number of marinas and ended up eating at a small fishing port…. In ultra-touristy restaurants, but if you do as we did, eat at midday, because the big cousins are ‘ogres’ according to Mini Voyageur and can’t wait until 2 or even 3 p.m., you’ll be eating completely alone 😉
Voing the Changing of the Guard With children: the Evzones
A must for any family visit to Athens: take a photo with the Evzones, the Athenian guards! 29 years after me, my children posed as I did with my little brother! Nostalgia!
Changing of the guard every full hour! And it’s a free activity, which impresses the children, even if at the age of 10, Miss Voyageuse really wanted to laugh (it’s a bit zany, isn’t it?).
And if you think it’s too crowded in Parliament Square, head for the streets around the park, where we saw an even more amazing Changing of the Guard! 100 m in 10 minutes to do the changing of the guard!
A lovely park with play areas: the Jardin National
After the Changing of the Guard, the National Garden park is just a few metres away! A great place for children to relax after a long bus tour.
There’s also a play area with a toilet and changing table, so you can look after your baby from the comfort of your own home! Attractions for young and old alike, and the chance to rub shoulders with other young Athenians and travellers!
Before going to the play area, take a look at the little farm where children can see goats, birds, etc., but in enclosures that are far too small! What a shame!
Leaving the playground, continue on to see the Panathenaeum stadium, which is impressive even if we didn’t take the tour.
Children’s activity: the children’s museum – day 3
That morning, we had lost the cousins who had left earlier for Paros! So we chose an activity that only young children like: a museum just for them!
The children’s museum: the Hellenic Children’s museum! A museum like you don’t see any more in France! No fuss, no big interactive digital activities in the 3rd dimension! Nothing but concrete objects on a child’s scale: a grocer’s shop, a building site, a kitchen, little water containers, etc.
It’s great to see that our children are still able to play these games!
And in the second part of the museum: a slightly more educational area, a little harder for my little travellers as it was in Greek or English. So we had to translate and that took some of the independence away from the children, who spent less time there as a result!
The rest in pictures:
Infos
- Accès: 14, Kydathineon Str, Plaka
- Horaire et tarifs: Gratuit – ouvert de 10h à14h les lundi et mardi – 10h à 15h les week-ends
- Durée de visite: 2h sans tout faire surtout dans la deuxième salle plus ludo-éducative
- Accessoires enfants: poussette à laisser en bas, car c’est dans une vieille bâtisse – WC de taille enfant avec table à langer
- Pour en savoir plus: Le site officiel
Et pour finir Athènes de Nuit…
A fairly light programme for these 3 days in Athens with children!
Other ideas for places to visit in Athens with children
If you want to see more of Athens, you’ll have to go back:
- to visit the Acropolis museum (which you saw 30 years ago! and which has changed a lot),
- walk around the Agora, which you can access with your Acropolis ticket,
- Hellenic Cosmos, a museum showing the Acropolis and the Agora in 3D.
Here are some other ideas for children’s holidays in Athens
- Athens Toy Museum: a beautiful museum displaying old toys… Will it be the children or the nostalgic parents who will enjoy themselves? Tickets here
- Attica Zoo: for a relaxing day out with the little ones – Your tickets here
- The Museum of Ancient Greek Technology: for the curious and budding engineer, there’s plenty to keep your brain ticking as you travel – tickets here
- Greek dance show: to round off a great holiday, nothing beats a great family show – Tickets here
If you want to move around a lot, take the bus and visit more museums than we do, the City Pass could be a good option.
>> Tous les hôtels testés et approuvés en Grèce
Where to stay in Greece as a family?
We stayed at:
- City Circus Athens very well located in Plaka, nice decoration
- Mare Nostrum: close to the airport on our return from the Cyclades
I’ll tell you more about all the practical information and accommodation here.
I hope this article has given you a taste of Athens and some ideas for your next trip. Don’t hesitate to comment and share what you’ve discovered with your children in Athens.
