Athens is the capital of Greece. Millions of people live there. It’s everything you expect a capital city to be—populated, busy, exciting, full of monuments, shops, restaurants and traffic. 
Taking my sons through Athens was daunting as we had to be careful with subways, crossing streets, etc. My husband and I had seen Athens many times before as individuals or as a couple but seeing it through my sons’ eyes for the first time was precious to me because we had studied Athens for years and I was eager to show them our ancestral homeland. http://www.ancientgreece.com/s/Art/
The Parthenon can be best understood and appreciated when you watch the video about it in The Acropolis Museum. To know what the Parthenon actually looked like in its original design is important because the stone color of it now is from years of erosion and pollution. Observing the marbles and the sculptures within it’s top layer is something you can appreciate best in person. The link above explains the architectural design of the styles of columns of various temples and buildings. Below are the “Elgin” Marbles housed in the British Museum in England. The controversy of the “Elgin” Marbles is a subject worth reading about. “Stealing Athena” by Karen Essex is a good book for adults to read about this topic.
(last two photos from the internet)
- Top things to do in Athens:
- Parthenon
- Acropolis Museum
- National Archeological Museum
- Plaka
- Monasteraki
- Mt. Lycabettus
- Temple of Poseidon at Sounion
- Syntagma Square
- changing of the guards
- Zappeion (National Gardens of Athens)
- Benaki Museum
Follow this lesson plan to build trip itineraries with your family: