The Long Walls of Athens, also known as “Makra Teixi,” were a defensive structure that protected the access road between Athens and the Port of Piraeus. They were 7 kilometers long, between 3 and 4 meters high, and consisted of two parallel walls, spaced about 200 meters apart, and were protected by towers. The protected area included not only the road connecting the two cities but also houses, sanctuaries, shops, and even cemeteries.
They were commissioned by the famous general Themistocles in the 5th century BC to guarantee access to the sea in case of a siege. This audio guide follows this ancient road, exploring the still-visible remains, many of which are hidden and undocumented.
The audio guide is a walking route of about 11 kilometers, where we will visit more than 30 points of interest. It will take approximately 4 to 5 hours to complete the entire route. Furthermore, it’s very easy to split your trip into two or more days, if needed, using the green metro line.
Athens is a city with over 3,000 years of history, having been inhabited by the Mycenaeans, the ancient Greeks, the Romans, the Byzantines, and the Ottomans. It boasts a great number of sites, some little known, from which to admire this magnificent city.
That’s why we decided to compile a list of viewpoints that includes not only the best spots to appreciate the Acropolis and the surrounding area, but also other interesting, hidden, and little-known viewpoints, offering a different perspective of the city.
This list includes the typical viewpoints of Areos Pagos, Philopappos, and Lycabettus, plus other lesser-known vantage points.
Some are rooftop cafes, and some belong to museums. Often, it’s possible to ask permission to visit the cafe without paying the museum entrance fee, and it’s also possible to enjoy the view without buying a coffee.
The list also includes viewpoints that are difficult to access by public transport, such as those on Mount Parnitha and Mount Hymettus.
You can find the map at this link: https://ko-fi.com/s/318abe4026
Athens, upon arrival, can be a challenging city due to the lack of a common language and alphabet.
The most common tool for navigating the city is a mobile phone with an internet connection.
However, it’s possible that our phone, for one reason or another, doesn’t have internet access, such as:
We forgot to enable roaming before leaving our country (required by some phone providers)
Our plan doesn’t cover roaming (a surprise that has happened to me personally)
We’re coming from outside Europe and roaming is prohibitively expensive.
In these situations, it would be ideal to know where to find free Wi-Fi to reply to messages and emails, download maps, and check the location of our hotel.
This list includes the most well-known establishments that provide free and open Wi-Fi, which are:
Some international food chains like McDonald’s and local chains like BreadFactory
Some cafes and bakeries like La Pasteria, 12oz, and Apollonion
Some international supermarket chains like LIDL and local chains like AB Bassilopoulos and Massoutis
Many bank branches
Some metro stations of tourist interest, in their main halls, such as Syntagma, Acropolis, Omonia, Piraeus, Neratziotissa, and Doukissis Plalentias (currently being installed in all stations)
Large stores like Public, Plaisio, and Hondos Center
Large department stores like Leroy Merlin and Praktiker
Some parks and public squares.
All shopping malls (although there aren’t any in the center of Athens)
Some clothing chains, such as Terranova, Zacret, Zara, H&M, JD, Adidas, Guess, Cosmos Sports, Marks & Spencer, Intersport, and Slam Dunk. Stores like Pull&Bear and Nike may ask for your name and email address.
Eleftherios Benizelos International Airport
Gas stations like AVIN
Libraries and cultural centers like Stavros Niarchos
And more that we found while wandering the streets…
In addition, the vast majority of cafes and restaurants have their own Wi-Fi, protected by a password, so you can order a coffee and ask for the password.
We know that other providers of free Wi-Fi hotspots exist online, but unfortunately, they are not up to date.
If you find free Wi-Fi hotspots during your trip that are not on this list, please let us know and we will add them.
To access this collection of points of interest, you need an offline map app.
In addition, most cafes and restaurants have their own password-protected Wi-Fi, so you can order a coffee and ask for the password. We recommend OrganicMaps because it’s lightweight, fast, open source (it doesn’t spy on you), and supports large files. For more information, you can visit our FAQ section for maps and audio guides.
Athens, upon arrival, can be a challenging city due to the lack of a shared language and alphabet.
And like many cities, it doesn’t have a large or well-publicized public restroom infrastructure.
If you urgently need to use the restroom, you can always buy a coffee at a café and go there, although there are times when this is undesirable, perhaps because you’ve just finished a meal, don’t want to spend more money, or are in a hurry due to another commitment. For these reasons, it’s very useful to have an offline map showing the nearest public restrooms.
This list includes the most well-known establishments with easily accessible restrooms, which are:
Some international food chains like McDonald’s and local chains like BreadFactory
Some supermarkets belonging to the German chain LIDL and all supermarkets belonging to the Greek chain AB Bassilopoulos
All shopping malls (although there aren’t any in the center of Athens)
Some cafes in large department stores like Marks & Spencer and Public.
Bus stations, the ports of Piraeus and Faliro, and Eleftherios Benizelos International Airport
Large stores like Leroy Merlin, Praktiker, and IKEA, and the Jumbo chain (though not all locations)
In the center of Athens: the Roman Agora, the Acropolis Museum, and Philopappos Church
In public libraries, including the Stavros Niarchos National Library
In public universities
And more that we’ve found while wandering the streets…
If you visit any public restrooms during your trip that aren’t on this list, please let us know and we’ll add them.
To access this collection of points of interest, you’ll need an offline map app.
We recommend OrganicMaps because it’s lightweight, fast, and open source. For more information, you can visit our FAQ section for maps and audio guides.
In recent years, the trend of painting large murals as a way to beautify cities has become popular, and Athens has embraced this trend wholeheartedly. Many tourists enjoy this open-air gallery; however, no organization had yet created a map documenting the locations of these works, which is what we have done.
This map includes murals by renowned Greek artists, as well as international artists such as INO, Soteur, Same84, Nikolaos Tsounakas, Aristeidis Lappas, Leonidas Giannakopulos, Robert Vargas, Alex Martinez, Billy Gee, Tristan Eaton, STMTS, Ruin, Cacao Rocks, Taxis, Paparazzi Art Studio, Mister Achilles, Eleni Psyllaki, Kes, Dreyk the Pirate, BirdCap, Kyle Holbrook, MiteArt, Chionis George, Platon, The krah, 101 Crew, Sotiris Fen, Koustenas, Lalas, Frank25, Barbadee, Onebran, Aleks, and more.
To access this collection of points of interest, you need an offline map app.
We recommend OrganicMaps because it’s lightweight, fast, open source (it doesn’t spy on you), and supports large files.
We walk the second day of a potential maritime variant of the Saint Andrew’s Path, walking the 17kms between Piraeus and Megara, crossing the island of Salamis on foot.
We also visited the remains of Ancient Salamis and the monastery of the Dormition of the Virgin, to take a second ferry and join the main route in the Megara wetland.
If you want to help us face the costs of the experience, we have an account on ko-fi, where we accept donations: ko-fi.com/aventurasapie
This video presents a possible two-day maritime variant, where instead of following the sacred path to Eleusis and then to Megara along the coast, you go in the direction of Piraeus to reach Megara via Salamina.
Additionally, we cover the first stage, Athens-Piraeus, which is only 10km long, visiting the ruins of the Long Walls, an ancient defensive fortification built by order of General Themistocles in the 5th century BC, to repel a Persian invasion.
If you want to help us face the costs of the experience, we have an account on ko-fi, where we accept donations: ko-fi.com/aventurasapie
We walk the fourth day of the potential Way of St. Andrew, walking the 15kms between Agioi Theodori and Istmia, following in part the tracks of the old narrow-gauge train.
The day consists of walking by beaches and alongside industrial polygons, making it the least interesting of all the stages so far.
The good thing about the stage is the end, where we arrive at the Corinth Canal, one of the longest civil engineering works in history, completed 1800 years after its start.
Furthermore this area is very rich in historical heritage, as it has the archaeological site of Istmia and the Byzantine wall of Examilia.
If you want to help us face the costs of the experience, we have an account on ko-fi, where we accept donations: ko-fi.com/aventurasapie
We travel the third day of the potential Camino de San Andres, traveling the 23kms between Megara and Agioi Theodori, partly following the tracks of the old narrow-gauge train.
We pass by a monumental tomb from the third century BC, known as the tomb of King Kar, in addition to multiple German bunkers from World War II. The landscapes of this stage are beautiful and if you do it in spring, summer and autumn, you can enjoy excellent beaches.
If you want to help us cover the costs of the experience, we have a ko-fi account, where we accept donations: ko-fi.com/aventurasapie
We walk the second day of the potential San Andres Path, walking the 26kms between Eleusis and Megara, following in part the tracks of the old narrow-gauge train.
We pass in front of the MS Mediterranean Sky, through the towns of Loutropirgos, Neraki, Nea Peramos and Pachi, as well as the Megara wetland, which is a bird refuge where you can see storks and flamingos.
If you want to help us face the costs of the experience, we have an account on ko-fi, where we accept donations: ko-fi.com/aventurasapie
