Help! Need help from Athens Experts. We get to Athens at 1:30 in the afternoon on day 1, we have all of day 2, and all of day 3, and leave for a cruise on day 4. We'll be going to Corfu and Cephalonia on the cruise, so will get to see a couple islands. How should we spend our time in Athens? Is there 2 1/2 days of sight-seeing in Athens? Recommend a day trip to Sounion? or something else?

You have plenty of options to fill that time, it all depends on the pace you prefer.

Depending on how tied you are getting to Athens, you could spend that first afternoon poking around Syntagma and Kolonaki with a stroll through the gardens to the old Olympic stadium.

Day 2 -- Could be Sounion with a nice lunch along the shore -- or an all day trip to Delphi.

Day 3 -- Climb the Acropolis early in the day, wind through the Agora, grab lunch, and then visit the wonderful archaeological museum in the afternoon.

Also try to go up Mount Lycavettus - you get a fabulous view of the city. This wasn't high on my list of things to do when I went, but am so glad I ended up doing it.

do not miss the benaki museum. it is free on thursdays.. and has a great diner buffett as it is open late that night.

a very wealthy family's collection. if you can only go to one museum, make it this one.

your acropolis grounds ticket is good for three days i think, so , i did it in spurts.. since it is massive and can get you quite tired, depending on the heat.
i was also lucky to get tickets to a ballet performed in the roman amphitheater there. really impressive.

you must have a drink atop the Grand Bretagne hotel near sunset, or dinner if you please.

when the acroplis is lit, and the sky gets darker and darker.. it is magical as it slowly seems to be suspended in mid-air as the night gets black around the perimeter of the lighted monument.

they often have music in main floor bar/restaurant also. very convenient stopping place from back and forth from lodging to town.

athens is much more beautiful than i had expected, and i was fortunate to have time to wander some of the lovely residential neighborhoods, and get out to the olympic grounds before the games last june.

i wrote a post about my short trip here.
great public transport, and good food, beautiful sights.

you might want to check out matt barrett's "greek travel" website at www.greektravel.com. he gives a lot of good advice.

By all means, don't forget the National Archaeological Museum, 44 Patission Street.

I too was amazed at how much I liked Athens, and wish I'd stayed longer. I stayed at a low priced (but frequently recommended) hotel I cannot remember the name of, but it also had a charming rooftop bar that was very inexpensive and had a breathtaking view of the Acropolis as it lit up at night. I'll try to look up the name.

We rented a taxi driver in advance for a day in Delphi, and it was a very nice trip with a wonderful driver, but I wish I'd spent more time wandering the Plaka instead.

Postal, was that the Attalos Hotel on Athinas Street? It has a rooftop lounge and a view of the Acropolis. Good budget hotel and nice people there.