⏳ A Journey Through Time
🏛️ Lykeion (Λύκειον, Lyceum)
🎫
Included in the Combined Ticket
⏰
Opening Hours: Until 15:00 (Closes far too early… I couldn’t get inside in time.)
Founded by Aristotle, this was once a thriving academy where he taught philosophy, physics, biology, and pursued early forms of scientific research.
It was the intellectual and academic heart of ancient Greece — a place of debate and discovery.
Today, only the foundations remain, preserved like an archaeological excavation site, yet the air still feels charged with the breath of ancient wisdom in the middle of modern Athens.
🏺 Benaki Museum
Located near the Lykeion, this private museum caught my attention thanks to a guidebook that promised “a vast and rich collection.”
So, I hurried over — only to realize...
The closing time was 6 PM,
and by the time I arrived, they were already preparing to shut the doors.
I couldn’t help but sigh, “I’ve been tricked by the guidebook again…”
Still, the building itself was beautiful, and even in those short moments, the atmosphere of Greek tradition and art was palpable.
Now, it was time to move on — to chase the night view.
🚶 From Kolonaki Street to the Cable Car Station
To reach the
Lycabettus Hill viewpoint, I walked along
Kolonaki Street.
On the way, I came across a
young Romani girl playing the accordion — only four bars of a single phrase, repeated endlessly.
I dropped
1 euro into her tin and thought,
“Sweetheart… if you want to earn more, try learning a full song…” 😅
Following the narrow lanes of Kolonaki, a series of wooden stairs appeared, leading up toward the cable car station.
🚠 Lycabettus Cable Car (Teleferik Cable Car)
You can easily find it by searching “Teleferik Cable Car Station” on Google Maps.
At this point, even signs written in Latin letters felt strangely comforting.
🎟️ Fare: Round trip €7.5 / One-way €4
🕒 Departures: Every 30 minutes
🗣️ Note: The staff seemed more interested in chatting (or arguing?) than operating, so the departure was a bit delayed. 😅
🕘 Operating Hours: 9:00 AM – 3:00 AM
🚻 Tip: There’s a restroom right as you get off the cable car(!)
🌕 Lycabettus Hill (Λυκαβηττός / Lykavittos)
Finally, I reached the top of the hill.
From here,
the city of Athens spread out beneath a full moon.
They say the view is most stunning at sunset, when the sea glows gold alongside the city.
But by the time I arrived, the sun was long gone —
and the quiet, calm nightscape of Athens unfolded before me.
It was hard to tell where the sea ended and the land began.
The city lights shimmered like waves —
a capital city that somehow felt like a peaceful port town at night.
🚍 Tip: Want to skip the stairs?
Take Bus B060 and get off at Klemenous Station.
From there, it’s just a short uphill walk to the cable car.
🛍️ Ermou Street (Οδός Ερμού)
After enjoying the view, I thought I’d do a bit of shopping,
but the Hondos Center was already closed.
Maybe it was a holiday, or just late — in any case, most stores had shut their doors.
Once again, I found myself wandering along Ermou Street,
Athens’ shopping district, quiet at night.
Yet the soft music from a distance and the warm streetlights left a lasting afterglow on this long day’s walk.
✨ End of the Day
I spent the day walking through the very heart of Athens —
and even among the ruins, the pulse of the city was still alive.
Across thousands of years, the traces of thought, art, politics, and community continue to exist here,
not as relics of the past, but as something beautifully present tense.
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