The blog is taking a short break from the posts related to the Thailand trip and sharing some of the sights of a bike tour of central Athens in October 2021.
I booked the tour online for $40. The tour lasted three hours and departed from a quiet location near the Acropolis metro station. The tour supplied E- bikes, helmets, and a knowledgeable English-speaking guide. The electric bicycles were easy to operate after two minutes of instruction. There were only three tourists on the tour including me. The maximum group size for this tour is 12.

Pnyx
The first stop was the Pnyx, on a small hill near the Acropolis. I’d heard about this place but had no idea that it was named the Pynx.

The Pynx is one of the earliest and most important sites in the history of democracy. The stone steps is where orators and politicians such as Pericles, Aristides and Alcibiades and any Athenian who wished to speak addressed the citizenry.
Wikpedia states:
As such, the Pnyx is the material embodiment of the principle of isēgoría (Greek: ἰσηγορία), “equal speech”, i.e. the equal right of every citizen to debate matters of policy. The other two principles of democracy were isonomía (Greek: ἰσονομία), equality under the law, and isopoliteía (Greek: ἰσοπολιτεία), equality of vote and equal opportunity to assume political office. The right of isēgoría was expressed by the presiding officer of the Pnyx assembly, who formally opened each debate with the open invitation “Tís agoreúein boúletai?” (Greek: “Τίς ἀγορεύειν βούλεται;“, “Who wishes to speak to the Popular Assembly?”).
Those principles were radical for their time and are still not universally accepted today.

The Pnyx now supports a population of tortoises.

Odeon of Herodes Atticus
From the Pynx we pedaled on to the Odeon of Herodes Atticus, a Roman theater on the southern slope of the Acropolis. The Odeon was completed in 161 AD and renovated in 1950.

The Odeon now serves as the main venue of the annual Athens Festival, which runs from May through October and features a variety of well-known Greek and international performers. The theater was built to hold an audience of 5,000.

It would have been nice to see the inside, but the bike tour didn’t enter any of the buildings. I assume that was to save time and there didn’t appear to be secure places to leave the bikes.
We proceeded past the Acropolis Museum. This is a fantastic museum built over ancient ruins. Patrons walk over glass floors that reveal the ongoing excavations below. I saw this museum on a prior visit to Athens. It is a must-see for any visit to the Greek capital.

Hadrian’s Gate and National Garden
It is a short ride from the museum to Hadrian’s Gate or Arch. The gate sits on a busy Athens thoroughfare next to the Temple of Olympian Zeus. (The E-bike power assist came in handy in quickly crossing the street.) The gate was built to commemorate the visit to Athens by the Roman Emperor Hadrian to dedicate the nearby temple complex in 131 AD. The Athenians were probably very happy to have Hadrian’s assistance in completing the temple that had been started more than 600 years earlier.


The tour then entered the National Garden for views of the grounds and the Zappeion. As mentioned in a previous post, the Zappeion was built in the late 19th century AD as a result of Evangelis Zappas‘ vision of reviving Greek tradition and starting the modern Olympic Games in Greece.

Presidential Palace Changing of the Guards
The Greek Presidential Guard or Evzones are a group of elite Greek soldiers who are trained to perform ceremonial duties. They stand guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier and the Presidential Palace and also raise and lower the flag at the Acropolis.
To see the Evzones perform the changing of the guard most tourists flock to The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, which is located at the parliament and close to Syntagma Square. The bike tour took us to the Presidential Palace where the ceremony can be observed almost in private.

The changing of the guard occurs every hour on the hour. The guards wear dress uniforms for the ceremony on Sunday at 11:00 at the Tomb of The Unknown Soldier.
Panathenaic Stadium
The original stadium was built of limestone in 330 BC to host the Panathenaic Games, an event that consisted of a religious festival, athletic competitions, and cultural events. Herodes Atticus refurbished the stadium replacing all of the stone with marble. It is the world’s only stadium built almost entirely of marble.

The Panathenaic Stadium fell into disuse for more than 1,000 years until 1869 when Evangelis Zappas proposed that it be revitalized as part of his dream to host a modern Olympic Games. The stadium hosted the opening and closing ceremonies of the first modern Olympics in 1896 and was the venue for 4 of the 9 contested sports. This stadium also hosted the archery competition and was the finish line for the marathons for men and women in the 2004 Summer Olympics.
The Ancient And Roman Agoras
The tour then visited the Athenian Agora, an area that functioned as a commercial center and the site of political assemblies, courts and public debates. Socrates, Plato, Aristotle and their kind hung out here and formulated the foundations of modern western civilization.
The Temple of Hephaestus and the Church of the Holy Apostles, a Byzantine structure, are the only buildings in the Agora that survive on their original foundations.



During Rome’s control of Athens several Roman buildings were added to the Ancient Agora.

The Tower of the Winds is an octagonal marble tower in the Roman Agora in Athens. It measured time with sundials and a water clock. A weather vane on top displayed the wind direction. It is considered the world’s first meteorological station.

Overall Impression
This was a great tour that I highly recommend to anyone who can ride a bike. The small size of the group facilitated interacting with the guide and asking questions. The route avoided heavy traffic and hard-to-navigate passages. While not entering any of the buildings was slightly disappointing, during Covid that’s not a bad thing. On the day of this tour it was better to be outside anyway.
Have you tried bike tours or would give them a try in the future?
im not sure about the riding – chaffing is no fun! But wow – you get to see so many wonderful historic spots! Still yet to see Athens. One day!
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This looks like a fascinating tour and a great way to travel. It’s so nice when there’s a tiny tour group. I’ve been a few places where I’ve booked a day tour to find it was just me or two of us when I travelled with my son.
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Private tours are wonderful because you get to control the itinerary (usually). Getting a private tour at a group price is a great deal. Thanks for stopping by, Ruth. John
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Walking tours have always been my first bookings upon arrival in a new city, but this makes me want to try an e-bike tour. Much better than a scooter or hover board tour! I’d certainly end up in an ER if I attempted one of those.
I’m looking forward to visiting Greece after my move to Portugal.
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I’ve thought about doing a segway tour — maybe one of these days. My travel medical insurance is good. Greece will be easy to get to from Portugal.
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This bike tour seems so cool SWT, looks like you had a good time with some fitness roped in. Bike tours are real fun. I like to bike at every feasible opportunity!
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I don’t bike at home; so bike tours are always a treat!😄
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I barely know anybody who does that unless they have some gym equipment home.
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This bike tour sounds great! I really need to visit Greece, this is one of the few countries in Europe I still haven’t visited. I love bike tours for sightseeing, although it’s been a while since I took one.
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Greece reminds me of Spain and Mallorca in some ways. I think you’d enjoy Greece and a bike tour. 😊
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Looks like a great tour to get an overview of all the sites, and then you can go back to whichever ones you think are worth more time. I also love the tortoises 🙂
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The tortoises are cute in their own way😄
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I don’t cycle so this wouldn’t suit me but it sounds an excellent way of seeing the sights for those who can.
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There is also a great Athens walking tour that I took in 2018. The walking tour went in the Acropolis Museum and up to the Acropolis.😃
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This sounds like such a neat tour and a great way to see more of the city and learn about its history. Thanks for sharing. Linda
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It was fun to go back and learn more about these places for the post. Thanks for taking the time to read and comment, Linda. John
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The only guided bicycle tour I’ve taken was in Amsterdam. Our group was inconspicuous and blended in well with the natives.
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I know what you mean about blending in with the natives in Amsterdam. It is almost dangerous to be a pedestrian there.
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True.
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Wow John, what a great tour and cool experience to take a bike right. . I didn’t see one bike when I was there! I wish I’d have known about. 💖
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The tour benefitted from the pandemic in that getting around on a bike in Athens would be harder with a normal volume of tourists clogging things up. I’m glad you had a chance to check out the post. Be well Cindy❣ 💓💖
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Oh what a great concept. I love that. It was awesome John! I my friend and you too.. xo thanks 💖
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What an impressive tour! I wish I were there. Two of my buddies have electric bikes, and they like them quite a bit. I’m sure many would function fine with a regular bicycle, but e-bikes solve the issue of different fitness levels.
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I’ve done tours with E-bikes and regular bikes and prefer the E-bikes. Both are fun. The E-bikes help with acceleration in traffic and going up hill.
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Wow! Amazing, great and beautiful photos! I went to Athens, many years ago, you makes me remember some things. I love the turtles photo. Thanks for share John.
Have a wonderful time!
Elvira
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Athens is a great city. I love the history and food. It is good you didn’t have to worry about Covid restrictions on your visit. Be well! John
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Yes it is a great city, food and history amazing!
I agree with you. that’s great!
Be well too!
Thanks John.
Elvira
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Haven’t biked but roaming around by foot in Athens was an amazing place to see. Great images .
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Roaming by foot is probably even better. It just takes more effort. 😊
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😆😆
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I’m pissed off the medieval Greeks looted the history of the past to get some measly stone. That ruined part of the story for me, and it was a good one otherwise.
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Yep. It happened in Greece and the Roman Empire and other places too probably.
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What an excellent way to get an overview and a bit of history John. The E-bikes would certainly make it easier and if you had time, you could always go back to go into the venues. And the price for that length of tour is reasonable. Thanks for sharing. Allan
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Hi Allan! Bike and walking tours provide excellent bang for the buck. Take care and have great week!. John
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What a cool way to see Athens! I always think it’s good to have someone so knowledgeable explain the importance of everything you see. We did a tour of the Acropolis and Odeon. It’s so crazy how we can see and walk through such important sites that are still intact. I also remember that museum was a nice reprieve from the hot air.
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I agree. A knowledgeable local makes all the difference. With a small group like this it is possible to have a conversation with the guide to get a good basic understanding of the places we visited.
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I’ve never done a bike tour, but this makes it look really appealing, especially with an electric bike. Did you have any issues with the bike? Was it safe to lock it up at the various stops?
I’ve got to get to Greece – so much history…
great post, John!
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The bike was very easy to operate. I appreciated the electric assist going uphill. We stayed on our with the bikes the whole time. There were no locks or any place to keep the bikes that I saw. There is an overwhelming sense of history here.
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