Athens tour
 

Hi All!

My girlfriend and I will be traveling to Greece for two weeks at the end of May into early June. We are very excited as the focus of the trip will be on relaxing on the islands, enjoying the views and the food and wine. However, we have one full day and a half day in Athens, as we would like to see the "highlights." Hopefully in the future we will come back and spend more time really digging into the city, but this trip we only have one day. My question is, should we spend the money to do a private tour? We obviously want to see the Acropolis, as well as the Ancient Agora. I'm assuming this will require most of the day. Is it worth it to have someone show us around not only for the extra information, but as a way to saving time and knowing our way around? We are open to suggestion. Thanks in advance!

I am not one to use tour guides so I am biased. I prefer to get a book and read up then just wander around.
My strategy for the Acropolis is to arrive early just before opening get my ticket and be with the first people through the gate. The tour buses arrive en mass about an hour or so after opening so you will have the site relatively alone for an hour or so.
When the crowds arrive we always leave and walk up Philopappas hill for absolutely outstanding views of the acropolis.
Then head down into the Plaka area and visit the lesser sites Hadrians Library and the Agoras. Most of the people will be crowding the acropolis and will leave these sites until later so you can stay ahead of the crowd for the morning at least.
Here are some images of Athens.
Athens http://www.flickr.com/photos/stanbr5...7632121475515/

Personally i find that having everything explained by a tour guide who will give you information also on many other things and answer your questions, is much better than any guide book.

I would study a guide book before my visit to the Acropolis, and would book a tour guide, if i were you and could afford one.

If you can afford a private tour guide, go for it. There are other options of tours in small groups, though. One company I am familiar with is the award winning http://www.athens-walks.com

In this case I agree with clauser. We did a morning half day tour of Athens and it was good for getting our bearings. It finished at the acropolis where the guide gave an excellent talk about the history of the acropolis, then we were free to wander on our own.

Bookmarking

<<<We obviously want to see the Acropolis, as well as the Ancient Agora.>>>

Perhaps this Agora site will interest you, surprisingly over the years the website links still work:-).

http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...ens-greece.cfm

I'd been to Athens and the Acropolis before but used a guide for the latter on my last trip. It was free entry day so we figured we'd spend the money we saved (plus a bit) on the guide. It was just another couple in addition to a friend and me. Our guide
was great and we were glad we'd taken her up on her offer.