City Pass Athens: reviews, rates, duration & activities included

You always wanted to visit this great historic city that is Athens? To help you, here is a presentation of the City Pass Athens, an essential asset for your visit.

For ancient history enthusiasts, travel lovers or simply mosaka fanatics, Athens is a city that can fill all the hearts! Each person discovering this city for the first time has only one desire, it is to return there as quickly as possible.

It is known that Athens is a city rich in museums, archaeological visits and good restaurants. When our time is counted, we sometimes have to make choices and we don't always make the right ones. This is when the City Pass Athens intervenes, the sesame for those who want to do a lot in a short time!

Is it wise to have a City Pass in Athens to visit the ancient city of Pericles? Let’s check it together immediately before we consider going there.

What is the City Pass Athens?

The City Pass Athens is in the dematerialized form that can be accompanied by a card. This depends on the chosen option and we will return to this point in a next paragraph.

Like the other steps of the same type, the City Pass Athens makes many savings. Its purchase allows to visit free many museums and archaeological remains, to benefit from access to public transport, reductions at some restaurants, even a cruise!

Another non-negligible advantage, the City Pass Athens is a ticket cut-file . This allows you to avoid queues during your visits.

The City Pass Athens is therefore a flexible solution that adapts to our needs. There are several options, which we will discover together.

Activities included in the City Pass Athens

Acropolis

The most famous and popular attraction in Athens, the Acropolis is of course part of the City Pass Athens. It is at the Acropolis that you will realize the usefulness of having a ticket cut-file !

Inhabited since the Neolithic period, the Acropolis is completely rebuilt by Pericles in the fifth century before our era. It then becomes the center of the city of Athens. There are many temples and monuments, such as the Parthenon, the Erechtheion, the temple of Athena Niké and the Propyas.

A symbol of the power of the city of Athens, the Acropolis also offers a magnificent view of the city of Athens and the Lycabette, the highest point in Athens.

Acropolis Museum

Not enough to visit the Acropolis? So get on for his museum! Inaugurated in 2009, it is located near the Acropolis and are exposed to all objects found during excavations on the hill.

This museum is organized in five themes: the slopes of the Acropolis, the archaic Acropolis, the Parthenon, the classical Acropolis and the rest. Of course, there are many statues and sculptures, as well as an excellent presentation of the history of the Acropolis. Everything is done to make the visitor comfortable.

Do not hesitate to use your City Pass Athens to visit this beautiful museum!

Ancient Agora of Athens

Near the Acropolis, the ancient agora is the other great archaeological site of Athens. At the time of ancient Greece, this is where the people met and where the shops of the city were located. Unlike other ancient sites, the agora is inhabited during subsequent periods, including important functions under the Byzantine Empire, until the XII-XIIIth centuries.

The agora has not been the subject of a great interview since the classical period. So there are many monuments in ruins and you have to show a lot of imagination to get back into the skin of a resident at the time the agora was growing.

However, two monuments are remarkably preserved. The first is Temple of Hephastos , the best preserved Greek temple of the classical era. The second is the stoa d’Attale a sublime Hellenistic portico.

Roman Agora of Athens

A place less known than the other historical sites of Athens, the Roman agora is located a few minutes from Monastiráki and the Pláka district. It is usually called a forum, so as not to confuse it with the ancient agora.

Built in the 1st century before our era after the ancient agora, the Roman agora sheltered the shops of the city of Athens following the ancient agora, as well as many houses. Today, the Tour des Vents, combining a water clock, a solar frame and a girouette, is the best preserved monument of the Roman agora. Come and enjoy this unique visit thanks to the City Pass Athens.

Olympia

Also known as the temple of Zeus Olympian, the City Pass Athens allows you to visit the site of Olympia. This site once housed a huge temple dedicated to Zeus.

Unlike other archaeological sites in the city, this temple was not used since it was looted in 267 during a barbaric invasion, barely a century after its construction! Despite this, many columns are still standing and are among the best preserved in the city and all the architectural order of Corinthian.

Kerameikos

Very unrecognized and little visited, the Kerameikos is one of the forgotten treasures of the city. The City Pass Athens will allow you to discover the cemetery of classical Athens, as well as a museum retracing the history of the place.

We will enjoy a quiet walk in the middle of the old stele, some of which are absolutely sublime. A unique and magical place, which you like to discover before or after walking through the neighborhood of Monastiráki.

Rates and durations of the City Pass Athens

There are a lot of different options and prices that we will try to just summarize.

Moreover, know that every citizen of the European Union 25 years or less can access free to the Acropolis. Think about it before buying your City Pass Athens.

Pass 1 day is at the fare 54,90 € for over 25 years , 19,90 € for adults 18 to 25 years . 2-day pass is at the fare 61,90 € for over 25 years , 23,90 € for 18-25 years . Finally, for 3 days, the City Pass Athens is sold 65,90 € for over 25 years , 27,90 € for 18-25 years .

Are you a great traveler? Options 4, 5 and 6 days are respectively at the rate 69,90€, 75,90 € and 79,90 € for over 25 years , and at the price 30,90 €, 34,90 € and 37,90 € for 18-25 years . Regardless of the chosen option, you will notice the rate degressive according to the number of days!

For all passes, rates for your children minors average 40% cheaper only the 18-25 year old rate. There are also two additional options: public transport at a rate of 27 € for 72 hours, a cruise around three islands (Hydra, Poros and Aegina) with a buffet included for 100 €. These rates are identical regardless of the City Pass Athens chosen.

In all cases, the validity of the City Pass Athens begins when it is used for the first time. Our advice is as follows: Start your activities as soon as possible In the morning to enjoy it longer.

Where to buy the City Pass Athens?

The City Pass Athens buy exclusively exclusively on the manager's website. There is no withdrawal point on site in Athens.

If you choose the option without public transport, you will receive your City Pass Athens by e-mail and you can either print it or present it from your phone. If you choose the option with public transport, the map for public transport will be transmitted to you by mail .

Our opinion on the City Pass Athens

The City Pass Athens has multiple advantages and some have already been discussed in this article. The first is to visit all the great attractions of Athens without having to go to the caisse. The second is to avoid long queues that can form in high season.

However, the City Pass Athens should not be reduced to the only attractions. Indeed, the pass allows to get beautiful reductions guided tours of monuments, city and sites such as Cape Sounion and Delphi. They're also many reductions in restaurants in the city located in the most lively neighborhoods. Finally, for those who take the option public transport, the pass includes the journey from and to the airport .

For Wanderlix, this pass is addressed above all to those who want to discover the multiple treasures of Athens because it avoids you to queue. We all know, the queues can make you lose half a day. It is especially useful for families because children can get impatient if they wait too long! On the other hand, if you want to stroll, enjoy the cafes of the city or have fun with friends, this pass will not be helpful.

With respect to the duration, unless you are between 18-25 years old, we don't recommend the pass 1 day, quite expensive, because the deressivity is very important from the second day. As for the public transport option, it is only useful if you intend to use it for the airport.

In summary, the City Pass Athens is an excellent choice for those who want to visit many places and stay at least two full days on site, or only one if you are under 25 years old, with a public transport option only if you want to go and come by metro from the airport.