When visiting Athens, chances are you’ll want to visit the Parthenon, and you should. But there are so many other amazing archaeological sites worth visiting too, and the combined ticket makes it so easy!
What Is the Combined Ticket?
The Athens combined ticket covers 7 archaeological sites and is valid for 5 days from the date of purchase. It gives you skip the line access and is available to buy at any of the sites or online.
What Sites Are Included?
The 7 archaeological sites included on the ticket are:
The Acropolis of Athens and its surrounding slopes
The most popular site and probably one of the reasons you’re going to Athens! The word ‘Acropolis’ refers to the ancient citadel that was located on top of a hill. The Acropolis houses several different archaeological ruins, the most famous of which is the Parthenon. This is an old temple dating back to the 5th century BCE dedicated to Athena, the goddess of wisdom, warfare, and handicraft. Along with everything at the Acropolis, there are also nine other sites on the surrounding slopes. It’s definitely worth allowing a couple of hours here.
The Ancient Agora
Sitting below the Acropolis, the Ancient Agora was the centre of democracy in ancient Athens. It is a big site and has many remains, including the temple of Hephaistos which looks like a mini Parthenon. The Stoa of Attalos, and old outdoor hall with beautiful big columns, has now been turned into the Museum of The Ancient Agora and is well worth a visit. Make sure you head upstairs to see the scale model of the site! We would recommend at least an hour or two at the Ancient Agora to really see it all.
The Roman Agora
This is a much smaller site and won’t require more than 30 minutes to look around. The Roman Agora used to be an open market but has not yet been fully excavated so there are not as many visible ruins. There’s a big marble gate at one end and other marble columns around so is still worth a visit.
Kerameikos
Kerameikos was an area of ancient Athens mostly inhabited by potters that was also home to an important cemetery. The Sacred Way, an ancient road that connected a suburb to central Athens, also ran through here. There are quite a few ruins and sculptures, however there are not many signposts or informational boards, so it can be difficult to understand what’s what.
One of the best parts of Kerameikos is the small onsite museum. The museum houses a lot of pieces uncovered during excavations of the site. It has the added bonus of air-conditioning, which is nice if you’re visiting during the warmer months! We would recommend an hour or two here to see both the outside and inside sections.
Hadrian’s Library
This library dates back to 132 AD, under the rule of the Roman emperor Hadrian. Originally, the library consisted of a room with books, reading rooms and lecture halls. After significant damage to the library in 267 AD, four churches were added on the site. The current archaeological site has remnants from both the library and the churches. The site isn’t too large so will probably require between 30-60 minutes to look around. While you’re there keep an eye out for wild tortoises, we saw heaps of them!
Aristotle’s School (Lyceum)
This is the only site that isn’t near the city centre, but was one of our favourites and is well worth a visit! The Lyceum (or Lykeion) was the site of a School of Philosophy founded in 334 BCE by Aristotle. The actual site is pretty small and will take 30 minutes to walk around, but has great signage and is really interesting.
It also connects to the gardens behind the Byzantine and Christian Museum, which are wonderful. The design of the garden is said to reflect the way Aristotle used to wander the grounds of the Lyceum while he taught. It also has some old remains to look at and is a beautiful place to wander for half an hour.
The Temple of the Olympian
This temple is dedicated to the head of the Greek Olympian gods, Zeus. Construction first started in the 6th century BCE but wasn’t finished until 683 years later. Once finished, it was the biggest temple in Greece with 104 huge columns.
Only 15 of the columns are still standing today (with a 16th on the ground, lying where it fell during a storm more than 150 years ago). A lot of the missing columns were repurposed for other projects in the city, but what remains really gives you the idea of how big it used to be. There’s also remains from an ancient bath house so the whole site deserves at least half an hour to explore.
How Much Does the Combined Ticket Cost?
The combination ticket costs €30 all year round, with no discounts in the off season. This may seem pricey if you’re only planning on going to one site but if you visit two or three during the summer months, you quickly save money.
The important thing to note is the entry price to these sites changes seasonally. The summer season is the 1st of April to the 31st of October and the winter season is the 1st of November to the 31st of March. During the summer season, it would cost €64 to visit all 7 sites individually. Winter season is 50% less but this means it would still cost you €32 to visit all the sites individually.
As you can see, during the summer season it is well worth buying the combo ticket if you’re visiting two or three sites. However in winter, you’ll need to visit all 7 to make the combo ticket worth it. So it really does depend how many sites you’re wanting to visit, and when you’re visiting, as to if the combo ticket is worth it for you.
Where Can You Buy It?
You can buy the combination ticket at any of the 7 archaeological sites or online here. If you choose to buy it at the sites, we recommend choosing one of the quieter ones such as Hadrian’s Library, Kerameikos, or Aristotle’s Lyceum. This way you can skip the lines at the busier sites such as the Acropolis. We would highly recommend you do NOT buy the ticket at the Acropolis, as the lines can be well over an hour long.
You can purchase the tickets with card or cash and then you will have 5 days from the date of purchase to see all the sites. However this shouldn’t be too difficult as 6 of the 7 are within walking distance of each other. Aristotle’s Lyceum is the only one out of the way and it is still easily accessible by bus.
Is It Worth It?
If you’re in Athens for enough time to visit all the sites, we would definitely recommend the combined ticket. Even if you’re like us, and not super interested in archaeology, it was a great way to see places we wouldn’t have seen without the ticket. We really enjoyed all the sites, especially the Lyceum and the Acropolis. However as stated before, if you visit in winter and only want to visit a couple, it may be better just to pay for the sites individually.
If you’d like to see first hand what the combined ticket and all the sites are like, you can check out our Athens vlog!
We hope this guide has helped you make an informed decision about whether the combined ticket is right for your trip. Athens has so much amazing history right in the city centre and being able to see it all so easily is so exciting. If you go, let us know which of the 7 is your favourite!
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