Going to be in Athens for 1 day only at the end of September. Will visit the Acropolis and the Plaka, of course. Is there anything else that is a "must-see"? Does anyone know what the Jewish museum is like - it is worth visiting. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks in advance.

Frommer's says if you have only one day in Athens, after you visit the Acropolis go to the National Archeological Museum, and I quite agree. There really isn't much to see in Athens, but the museum is superb. Even if you don't care too much for museums.

Go to the Heraklion Headlands outside of Athens and arrive shortly before sunset. From there you can see Greece in all directions with a small temple located below you on a small peninsula. It is absolutely gorgeous at sundown. You may need a taxi but it's worth it.

I went to Greece a couple years ago and thankfully stayed in the Plaka. There isn't really much to see there, as most of the city is crowded and new, but I would advise the Acropolis and the Plaka. The Archeological museum was nice, but by that point in our trip I had seen my fill of vases, etc., in Delos and Akrotiri. The Plaka is cool because the ruins are right there in the middle of everything. And if you are shopping, the lowest prices in all of Greece can be found there. Also, if you want to see the real Greece, take a walk down the main street that leads to the Archeological museum from the Plaka. There is an open air produce and meat market--we knew we had left the tourist area because of the dirty looks we got from the locals. But we got some great pictures, and had the best Spanakopida on our trip! Monica

For a one day, whirlwind tour of Athens, do the following: 1) be at the Acropolis when it opens (it gets very crowded very quickly). Skip the museum at the Acropolis; it's good, but it deals primarily with earlier structures on the same site. 2) Just north of the Acropolis is a complex that includes the Thissio (or Temple of Hephaistos), the ancient agora, and the Stoa of Attalus. It won't be crowded, the temple is ca. 500 BC and beautifully preserved, and the museum housed in the re-built Stoa of Attalus is first-rate; dealing with objects found on the site during excavations. 3) Plan several hours at the National Archeological Museum, concentrating on the center gallery containing the Mycenean finds, the Cycledean gallery off to the right, and the frescoes on the second floor. The museum has strange hours, opening some days as early as 9 a.m. and closing some days as early as 3. Check ahead of time if possible. 4) Take the furnicular up Lycabettus Hill, have a look at Athens, enjoy a glass of the amazingly sweet Greek orange juice, then take the winding walk down into the Kolonaki district. 5) Have dinner in the Plaka and enjoy the street life, especially the narrow stair-cased streets that are up against the Acropolis. My recommendation: the outdoor restaurant Diogenes in the south end of the Plaka on Epimenidou, followed by ice cream from the storefront on Adrianou near Miniskelous.

I live in Athens and I believe that some of the messages exagerate the truth about life in Athens(ex."dirty looks..etc..) Although Athens is going under a great number of public projects, like the new subway, fiber-optics network, etc., there are still great places to visit. Part of the best are included in Neal Sanders reply. I hope you enjoy your stay, Greeks are realy hospitable people. Don't forget that Sounio is about an hour from Athens, too far for a day, but you are lucky because the airport is close to the city, less than half an hour.

to John Frydakis ,
my wife & I will be arriving in Athens at 17.00 on Thursday Sept 18 . Could you reccomend a centrally located hotel priced arond $20. U.S. Weplan to spend +/- 4days in Athens .
Thank you in advance

As a reply to the previous posting I would like to say, if the $20 USD it's not a typo, that I don't think there are any hotels in Athens, especially centrally located that I know, that have such rates.