Attica is the peninsula around Athens, and the region also takes in the Saronic islands off its coast. The capital has its own page with the experiences worth booking there. This page covers what lies within an hour's drive or a short ferry ride of it: the Athens Riviera, a run of beaches and coves along the coast road down to the Temple of Poseidon at Sounion, the classic half-day trip from the city; the islands reached from Piraeus; and Marathon and the plains of the north-east.
The islands differ more than the distances suggest. Aegina, 40 minutes away by fast boat, is a lived-in island of pistachio orchards with the Temple of Aphaia on a pine hill. Agistri, next door, is small, wooded and given over to beaches. Poros faces the Peloponnese across a narrow strait, Hydra has no cars at all, and Spetses, the farthest at over two hours, is an island of neoclassical mansions. On the mainland, Mount Hymettus rises behind the city with Kaisariani Monastery in its woods, and the plain of Marathon keeps the burial mound of the Athenians who fell in 490 BC, with the Schinias wetland and the ruins of Ramnous a short drive away.
Cross to Aegina for the Temple of Aphaia and Paleochora
Aegina (Temple of Aphaia, above Agia Marina)
A full day from AthensNo booking needed
A Doric temple of about 500 BC, 24 of its 32 columns still standing on a pine-covered hill, on the closest Saronic island.
What it is
The Temple of Aphaia stands on a pine-covered hill above Agia Marina, on the far side of the island, a Doric temple of about 500 BC with 24 of its 32 columns still standing; its pediment sculptures were taken to Munich in the 19th century and are still in the Glyptothek.
How to do it
Aegina is the closest Saronic island: fast boats from Piraeus take about 40 minutes and land in Aegina town. The temple is 17 minutes by car from the port and only a few island buses a day pass it, so take a taxi or plan around the bus. On the way, stop at the monastery of Agios Nektarios, where a path climbs to Paleochora, the abandoned Byzantine capital with dozens of chapels.
Good to know
The €10 ticket includes the small Scientific Collection, which closes on Tuesdays. Buy Aegina's PDO pistachios before the boat back.
Time needed
A full day from Athens
Best time
Afternoon in summer, when the site is open until 20:00 (April to August)
Swim in the warm, brackish water of Lake Vouliagmeni
Vouliagmeni (Athens Riviera)
2 to 4 hoursNo booking needed
Swim all year in a lake under a limestone cliff, fed by warm seawater through flooded caves and kept between about 22 and 29 degrees.
What it is
Lake Vouliagmeni lies under a limestone cliff beside the coast road at Vouliagmeni, in a cavern whose roof fell in roughly 2,000 years ago. Warm seawater reaches it through flooded caves and a freshwater spring dilutes it, so the water stays between about 22 and 29 degrees and you can swim all year.
How to do it
It is run as a paid spa: buy the day ticket at the gate, and note that it lapses 60 minutes after you leave the swimming area. The main deck takes no reservations and seats go first come, first served, and entry stops at 300 people, so arrive at opening on summer weekends. Cabanas and sunbed sets are booked online only, never for the same day. Bus 122 and the KTEL Sounio coaches stop outside.
Good to know
Outside food is banned, rinse off sunscreen before you swim, and there is little natural shade.
Time needed
2 to 4 hours
Best time
At opening on summer weekends; open 08:00 to 19:00 from April to mid-September
Swap the city for woodland in about 20 minutes, at a walled monastery with frescoes of 1682 on Mount Hymettus.
What it is
Kaisariani Monastery stands in the forest on the western slope of Mount Hymettus, about 20 minutes by car from central Athens, and it is the quickest way to swap the city for woodland. The walled monastery dates from the late 11th or early 12th century. Around a quiet courtyard are the cross-in-square church, with frescoes of 1682 in its narthex, the bathhouse, the refectory and the tower of the Benizelos family, who paid for those frescoes.
How to do it
Then walk the Region of Attica's 3.2-kilometre loop: from the Kalopoula picnic area past the Church of the Ascension and the Frankish church of Agios Markos to the monastery, about an hour on forest paths that start near 400 metres up. A taxi is the easy way there.
Good to know
Entry is €5 and it opens from 08:30 to 15:30 all year, closed on Tuesdays.
Time needed
Half a day with the loop walk
Best time
Morning, any day but Tuesday; it closes at 15:30 all year
Stand at the Marathon burial mound, then see the battle finds
Marathon
Half a day from AthensNo booking needed
Stand at the nine-metre mound over the hoplites who fell at Marathon in 490 BC, then see fragments of the marble victory trophy.
What it is
In 490 BC the Athenians and their allies defeated the Persian army on the then-marshy plain of Marathon, about 50 minutes by car north-east of Athens. The hoplites who fell were buried near the battlefield under a mound of earth nine metres high, which still stands on Agiou Panteleimonos Street. The Archaeological Museum, a few kilometres away at 114 Plataion Street, holds the original fragments of the marble victory trophy, busts from the estate of Herodes Atticus and colossal Egyptian-style statues from his sanctuary at Brexiza, and the Bronze Age tumulus cemetery of Vrana is next door.
How to do it
The mound and the museum have separate €5 tickets, open from 08:30 to 15:30 and close on Tuesdays.
Good to know
The Marathon Run Museum in town covers the race itself, and the Athens Marathon sets off from here every year, normally on the second Sunday of November.
Time needed
Half a day from Athens
Best time
Morning, any day but Tuesday; sites close at 15:30
Climb to the Poros clock tower and cross the strait to Galatas
Poros
A full day from AthensNo booking needed
Climb 146 steps to a clock tower above a strait only 350 metres wide, then cross by small boat to a lemon forest.
What it is
Poros is two islands joined by a short bridge: Sferia, covered by the town, and pine-wooded Kalavria. A strait only 350 metres wide at its narrowest separates it from Galatas on the Peloponnese coast, so the town looks across at the mainland as if across a river.
How to do it
Fast boats from Piraeus take about 55 minutes. From the harbour, 146 steps climb to the clock tower of 1927, the viewpoint over the strait. Then take one of the small boats that cross to Galatas every 10 minutes or so, for the lemon forest near ancient Troezen, with more than 30,000 lemon and orange trees.
Good to know
On Kalavria, about 6 kilometres from town, the remains of the Sanctuary of Poseidon lie on a plateau 200 metres up, where the Athenian orator Demosthenes died in 322 BC.
Time needed
A full day from Athens
Best time
Late afternoon at the clock tower, for the light over the strait
Climb the Acropolis at the 8:00 opening, before the heat
Athens
2 to 3 hours with the slopesTimed entry
Take the first entry at 8:00 and you see the Parthenon in the morning cool, before the heat closes in.
What it is
One ticket covers the rock and its slopes. You enter by the Main Entrance on the west side, or by the South Slope entrance near the Acropolis Museum, which climbs past the Theatre of Dionysus; the lift for visitors with reduced mobility is on the north side.
How to do it
Tickets cost €30 (€15 reduced) and are sold for an entry time on the ministry's site, tickets.hh.gr: book the first slot. The site opens at 8:00 all year and closes at 20:00 in summer and 17:00 in winter, earlier step by step through September and October. Wear shoes with grip.
Good to know
In heatwaves the ministry has shut the site from 12:00 to 17:00, as in July 2025. Closed 1 January, 25 March, 1 May, Easter Sunday and 25 and 26 December. Free on 6 March, 18 April, 18 May, 28 October, the last weekend of September and the first and third Sundays from November to March.
Walk car-free Hydra from the harbour to Kamini and Vlychos
Hydra
A day trip from Athens, better one nightBook ahead
An island with no cars: walk Hydra's coastal path west to Kamini and Vlychos for a swim, and take a water taxi back.
What it is
Hydra has no cars by law, and no scooters or bicycles either: donkeys, mules and water taxis do the carrying, and they wait at the centre of the port. West of town, Kamini is a quieter village with its own little harbour and the rocky swimming spot of Spilia; Vlychos has a pebble beach with tavernas just behind.
How to do it
Walk west on the coastal path: about 20 minutes to Kamini, then another 20 minutes or so to Vlychos. A water taxi can bring you back; fixed fares are posted at the port, in Greek.
Good to know
Catamarans from Piraeus take about 1.5 hours and the slower ferry about 3; small catamarans can sell out in peak season, so book. Another way in: drive to Metochi on the Peloponnese coast and take the 20-minute passenger boat.
Give Athens three days and add one or two of these. To swim near the city, take the Riviera: Lake Vouliagmeni and the beaches from Glyfada to Voula, then Sounion for the sunset. For one island day, Aegina is the shortest crossing and has the best temple; Poros is greener and quieter; Hydra, 1 hour 30 minutes away by fast boat, rewards a night. Agistri is for beaches, Spetses for a longer stay. For history without the crowds, Marathon and Kaisariani Monastery each take half a day, and both close on Tuesdays.
How to combine them with Athens
Athens works as the base for everything on this page. The tram from Syntagma runs down to the coast, and bus 122 and the KTEL coaches to Sounio stop at Lake Vouliagmeni. KTEL coaches for Sounion leave from Aigyptou Square at Pedion tou Areos and take about two hours, against 65 minutes by car. The Marathon area is the one part that really wants a car: the Region of Attica's own route through the battlefield, Schinias and Ramnous runs to 55 kilometres. For the islands, take metro line 1 to Piraeus.
Ferries from Piraeus
Boats for the Saronic islands leave Piraeus from gates E8 and E9: Hellenic Seaways' island pages say E8 while its port map puts its Aero catamarans at E9, so check your ticket and the departure screens, and use the free shuttle that runs inside the port. Fast boats take about 40 minutes to Aegina, 55 minutes to Agistri and Poros, 1 hour 30 to Hydra and 2 hours 10 to Spetses; Saronic Ferries' car ferries to Aegina and Poros are slower. Sailings run all year but thin out in winter and are cancelled in strong winds, so do not leave an island day for the eve of your flight.
How many days
Five days make a good first visit: three for Athens, one island day and one day down the coast ending at Sounion. With a week, sleep a night on Hydra or Spetses instead of adding more day trips; the Region of Attica's own route recommends at least one night on each. In summer you can see Hydra and Spetses together in a long day, leaving Piraeus at about 08:30 and back by 22:00 with some nine hours ashore. The organised cruises that call at three islands in a day leave little time on each, and in must30's view one island on the regular boats beats three seen from a deck.
When to go
Late May, June and September suit both swimming and walking. Greek state sites keep summer hours from 1 April to 31 October: on Aegina the Temple of Aphaia closes at 20:00 until the end of August, then half an hour earlier each fortnight down to 18:00 in late October, and at 17:30 in winter. From November to March, state sites are free on the first and third Sundays of each month, though ferries run less often. Lake Vouliagmeni opens all year, from 08:00 to 19:00 between April and mid-September and 08:30 to 16:30 in winter. In July and August, see sites in the morning and keep the afternoon for the sea.
Questions travellers ask
What is the best island day trip from Athens?
Aegina is the quickest, about 40 minutes by fast boat from Piraeus, and has the Temple of Aphaia. Poros, 55 minutes away, is greener and faces the Peloponnese across a strait 350 metres wide. Hydra is the most distinctive, with no cars, but at 1 hour 30 minutes each way it is better with a night.
Can I visit Hydra, Poros and Aegina in one day?
Organised day cruises call at all three, with short stops on each. On the regular boats you can pair two islands in summer, such as Hydra and Spetses on a day from 08:30 to 22:00, but the winter timetables are too thin for that.
Do I need a car in Attica?
Not for Athens, Piraeus, the islands or the coast down to Vouliagmeni, which the tram, city buses and KTEL coaches cover. A car helps most around Marathon, Schinias and Ramnous, where the sites are kilometres apart, and it takes about an hour off the trip to Sounion.
Which Athens port do I need?
Piraeus, at the end of metro line 1, for the Saronic islands and most ferries to the Cyclades and Crete. Rafina, about 25 kilometres east of the centre, is the alternative port for some Cyclades sailings, and Lavrio, near Sounion, serves Kea. Both are reached by KTEL coaches.
Is Attica worth visiting in winter?
Yes, for the sites rather than the beaches. State sites such as Kaisariani and Marathon are free on the first and third Sundays from November to March, and Lake Vouliagmeni stays open, with water that ranges from 22 to 29 degrees across the year. Ferries run less often and stop in strong winds, so keep island days flexible.
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