Athens 7-Day Itinerary: Acropolis, Delphi and Islands

What is the best way to spend 7 days in Athens?

Spend four days in the city and three on day trips: the Acropolis and its museum on day 1, the Ancient Agora and Kerameikos on day 2, the National Archaeological Museum on day 3, then a Saronic island, Delphi and a Sounion sunset, with a slow final day. Book the Acropolis slot before anything else.

A week lets Athens do what a long weekend cannot: give each major site a cool morning, leave the midday heat for museums and lunch, and still reach Delphi and an island. The plan keeps one hotel all week, because every day trip starts from central Athens or Piraeus, and it puts the ruins first so that a heat closure or ferry cancellation later in the week costs you a swap, not a sight.

If you only have three days, use the Athens 3-day itinerary. For more day-trip options, including Nafplio and Meteora, see best day trips from Athens. Choose a base near Line 3 or the Acropolis with where to stay in Athens, and check the season in the best time to visit Athens.

Hours and prices come from the Greek Ministry of Culture’s official pages, the museums’ own websites and OASA, all checked on 16 October 2026. This is a suggested route built from those sources, not a journey we have timed ourselves.

What should you book before a week in Athens?

Book three things before you fly: an Acropolis time slot, ideally the 08:00 opening, your Delphi transport or guided tour, and in summer the ferry for your island day. Everything else, including the Ancient Agora, Kerameikos and the National Archaeological Museum, can be bought at the site or online the night before.

Acropolis entry costs €30 (€15 reduced) on the ministry’s Acropolis page, sold at the gate and on the official Hellenic Heritage e-ticketing service. Since 2023 entry has been split into hourly zones under a daily cap of 20,000 visitors, so the coolest early slots are the scarce ones. The Acropolis Museum sells its own €20 tickets and warns of a fake .org site; buy only on its .gr domain or through a labelled partner.

Plan the week around opening days. The National Archaeological Museum opens only at 13:00 on Tuesdays, the Acropolis Museum closes at 17:00 on Mondays, and state sites close on 25 March, 1 May, Orthodox Easter Sunday, 25–26 December and 1 January. Put the Acropolis on day 1 so that any slip still leaves room later in the week.

• Before you fly: Acropolis slot, Delphi plan, summer ferry
• Avoid: the National Archaeological Museum on a Tuesday morning
• Avoid: leaving the Acropolis Museum for a Monday afternoon
• Pack: a hat, a refillable bottle and shoes with good grip

Day 1: how do you combine the Acropolis and the Acropolis Museum?

Enter the Acropolis at 08:00, when the site opens, and spend about two hours on the rock before walking down to the Acropolis Museum, 130 m from Akropoli metro. In summer the museum stays open until 20:00 from Tuesday to Sunday and until 22:00 on Fridays, so the hottest hours can go indoors.

The Acropolis runs 08:00–20:00 in summer (last entry 19:30) and 08:00–17:00 in winter (last entry 16:30), with closing times stepping down through September and October. Its operating rules prohibit consuming food or beverages on the site and recommend suitable walking shoes. A lift for visitors with reduced mobility runs from a separate entrance north of the main gate, but it does not operate in severe weather or strong winds.

Leave by the main exit and follow the pedestrian Dionysiou Areopagitou promenade to the Acropolis Museum, where general admission is €20, and which OASA places 130 m from Akropoli station. In July and August, watch the news the night before: the ministry has shut the Acropolis from midday to 17:00 in heatwaves, as Al Jazeera reported on 8 July 2025.

Spend the evening in Koukaki, which This is Athens credits with a lively café and bar culture around Drakou Street, or climb Filopappou Hill for a sunset view of the Parthenon. If you are unsure about paying for both the rock and the museum, read is the Acropolis worth it? first.

Day 2: what should you see at the Ancient Agora and Kerameikos?

Start at the Ancient Agora at 08:00, entering from Thiseio Square while the main gate is rebuilt, and allow two hours for the Temple of Hephaestus and the Stoa of Attalos museum. Then walk to Kerameikos, the ancient cemetery, before the heat. Rest at midday and spend the evening in Psyri.

The Ancient Agora costs €20 for the site and museum and opens 08:00–19:30 in summer and 08:00–16:30 in winter. Since 1 July 2025, works on the main Adrianou entrance mean visitors enter and leave by the gate at Thiseio Square, and the upper-floor exhibition in the Stoa of Attalos has been closed since November 2025. Thissio station on Line 1 is the closest stop.

Kerameikos is cheaper at €10 for site and museum, opens 08:00–20:00 in summer and 08:00–15:00 in winter, and lies a short walk west along Ermou Street. From there, Gazi and the Technopolis arts centre are 200 m from Kerameikos metro on Line 3, according to OASA.

After a midday break, head to Psyri for the evening; This is Athens says it is at its liveliest at night, when bars set their stools out on the narrow streets. If rain spoils the day, swap it with day 3 and see Athens in the rain.

Day 3: how do you plan the National Archaeological Museum?

Give the National Archaeological Museum a full morning, but not on a Tuesday, when it opens only at 13:00. In the 2026 summer season it opens 08:00–20:00 from Wednesday to Monday, and winter hours are much shorter. Spend the afternoon in Kolonaki or up Lycabettus, or visit the Panathenaic Stadium.

The museum’s visit page lists a summer season from 4 May to 15 November 2026 with hours of 08:00–20:00 from Wednesday to Monday and 13:00–20:00 on Tuesdays, and a 2025–26 winter season of 08:30–15:30 from Wednesday to Monday. Entry is €20; young people up to 25 from EU countries enter free, as do under-18s from outside the EU, on showing a passport or ID.

OASA puts the museum 500 m from Victoria station on Line 1, or 130 m from a trolleybus stop served by lines 2, 4, 5, 11 and 15 from Syntagma. Lycabettus Hill is 140 m from the stop for bus 060, which runs from Panepistimio station.

For a lower-key afternoon, the Panathenaic Stadium, venue of the first modern Olympic Games, currently opens daily from 08:00 to 19:00. Kolonaki, which the city guide calls the capital of Athenian café culture, is the natural place for an early-evening drink before dinner.

Day 4: should you take the ferry to Aegina or Hydra?

Choose Aegina for the easier day: Saronic Ferries lists a crossing of about 1 hour 10 minutes from Piraeus, and the island has temples, beaches and pistachios. Choose Hydra for a car-free harbour town; This is Athens puts fast ferries at 60 to 90 minutes. Either way, leave Piraeus in the morning.

Saronic Ferries lists the Piraeus–Aegina run at 1 h 10 min and points visitors to the Temple of Athena Aphaia, the Kolona site, the fishing village of Perdika and the island’s pistachios. On Hydra, cars, motorbikes and bicycles are banned; This is Athens says Hellenic Seaways runs several daily services from Piraeus all year, with larger boats taking about two hours, so check the return time before you buy.

Reach Piraeus on Line 1 from Monastiraki or Thissio, or on Line 3, which This is Athens says takes about 20 minutes from Syntagma. The port is spread out, so allow time to find your gate. Weather and strikes can both cancel sailings: the FCDO warns that strikes can disrupt ferries, sometimes at short notice.

Keep this day flexible. If the forecast shows strong winds or a strike, swap it with day 6 and take the island later in the week. In July and August an island day is also the best escape from the city’s hottest afternoon.

Day 5: how do you visit Delphi from Athens in a day?

Delphi is a long but rewarding day: This is Athens calls it an easy two-and-a-half-hour road trip from the city. Go by KTEL bus from the Liossion terminal or join a guided coach day, arrive early, and note that parts of the site, including the Athena Pronaia sanctuary and the stadium, are currently closed.

The ministry’s Delphi page lists a €20 ticket and hours of 08:00–20:00 from April to October, stepping down to 18:00 in late October, and 08:30–15:30 from November to March. It also says the Sanctuary of Athena Pronaia is closed because of pedestrian access restrictions, the stadium is shut for rockfall works and the Kastalia spring area is closed after rockfalls, and that tickets are issued at the museum ticket office.

This is Athens lists KTEL Liossion as the terminal for central and northern Greece, reached by bus A10 from Larissis station, and the ministry’s Delphi page points to the regional operator, KTEL Fokidas, for timetables. A guided day trades flexibility for hotel pickup, commentary and a guaranteed return, which suits a site this far from the city.

In summer, the ministry asks visitors to bring their own cool water, light-coloured clothing that covers the limbs and a hat. This is Athens recommends going first thing in the morning in summer and notes that the museum’s Charioteer bronze has a room of its own, so leave time for it.

Day 6: when should you go to Cape Sounion?

Go in the afternoon and stay for sunset, after a slow morning in the city. The Sounion site opens at 09:30 and closes at sunset, with last entry 20 minutes before. KTEL Attikis buses leave from the Mavromateon stop by Pedion tou Areos; a tour usually costs more but guarantees the ride back.

The ministry’s Sounion page lists a €20 ticket (€10 reduced), opening at 09:30 every day and closing at sunset, with free entry on the first and third Sundays from November to March. Sunset moves through the year, so check the time for your date and work back from last entry.

This is Athens notes that KTEL buses for the Lavrio coast run from the Mavromateon stop in the city centre, and OASA places the regional bus stop for Lavrio, Rafina and Oropos close to Victoria station. Journey times vary with traffic, so a sunset tour with a fixed return can be worth it if you have an early flight the next morning.

Use the morning for whatever you missed. The Temple of Olympian Zeus (€20, open 08:00–20:00 in summer and 08:00–15:00 in winter) is a short walk from Syntagma, or take the tram to the Riviera for a swim. Keep the afternoon free for the trip south.

Day 7: how do you spend the last day and get to the airport?

Keep the last day close to your base: the Benaki Museum, 650 m from Syntagma, or a Pangrati coffee and the Panathenaic Stadium. Then take Line 3 or the X95 bus to the airport. Allow extra time on Sunday to Thursday evenings, when works currently cut Line 3 after 21:40.

OASA puts the Benaki Museum 650 m from Syntagma. For the airport, Line 3 trains run about every half hour (check OASA) and the X95 bus takes about 60 minutes from Syntagma. At the time of writing, This is Athens reports that from Sunday to Thursday after 21:40, airport trains start at Agia Paraskevi, with a replacement X20 bus from Ambelokipi, and that airport taxis charge a flat €40 by day and €55 from midnight to 05:00.

Ticket maths for a week, using OASA’s fares: the €20 three-day tourist ticket includes one airport round trip but covers only three days. For seven days, an airport ticket on arrival (valid 90 minutes across the network), a €8.20 five-day ticket from day 2 to day 6, a €1.20 single or two on day 7 and an airport ticket home cover the week; check the current airport fare with OASA before adding it up. Contactless bank cards work at the gates too.

If you are leaving on an early island or international flight, a prebooked transfer can be calmer; compare the options in our ATH airport transfer guide and getting around Athens.

How should you change this itinerary for summer heat or winter hours?

In July and August, keep every ruin to the first hours after opening, move museums to midday and check each morning for heat closures. In winter the problem flips: sites close between 15:00 and 17:00 and the National Archaeological Museum shuts at 15:30 most days, so start early and save the late-opening Acropolis Museum for afternoons.

The table shows the swaps we would make. Winter times come from the ministry pages for the Acropolis, Ancient Agora, Kerameikos and Delphi, and from the National Archaeological Museum for its 2025–26 winter season.

Free entry changes the maths in winter: the National Archaeological Museum, Delphi and Sounion admit visitors free on the first and third Sundays from November to March, but the Acropolis does not list those Sundays. In summer, stay alert to wildfire warnings; the FCDO says the risk is high from April to October.

How much do entry tickets cost for this week, and is it worth it?

Full-price entry to the sites in this plan adds up to about €140 per adult: the Acropolis at €30, €20 each for the Acropolis Museum, the Ancient Agora, the National Archaeological Museum, Delphi and Sounion, and €10 for Kerameikos. Young EU visitors and under-18s from elsewhere often enter free. For a first visit, the week is worth it.

Prices are from the ministry’s official site pages and the museums’ own websites, checked on 16 October 2026. The National Archaeological Museum’s free-entry rules, which cover state-run sites, admit EU citizens up to 25 and non-EU children up to 18 free with ID, and most state sites also open free on 6 March, 18 April, 18 May, the last weekend of September and 28 October.

Is a week too long for Athens? Not if you use it this way. Three days covers the core, but the extra four buy cooler mornings, an island, Delphi and slack for heat, wind or strikes. Choose a base with where to stay in Athens, browse things to do in Athens, and if you are travelling with children, adapt the pace with Athens with kids.