The Acropolis of Athens. All photography is ours.
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Greece with Kids
If you’re planning Greece with kids, start in Athens and go up the Acropolis first. Everything else in the city makes more sense once you’ve stood under the Parthenon. Then eat souvlaki, walk the Plaka, and plan the islands from there. We did three nights over spring break in March 2022, in an apartment at the foot of the hill. Athens is Cadence’s favorite destination anywhere and Carrick’s favorite city. We really loved it.
Greece is the trip where the history kids learn in school is sitting right there on a hill above the city, and the food is cheap, fast, and good.
Destination guide · Updated November 2026 · Last visited March 2022
Best months
April–June and September–October
Fly into
ATH
How long
3 days for Athens, 7 to 10 with an island
Getting around
Metro and walking in Athens, ferries to the islands
Book ahead
Acropolis timed tickets · island ferries in summer · Santorini hotels
We flew in connecting via Paris and started with a four hour guided tour of the Acropolis, the Parthenon, and the Acropolis Museum. That evening we took a street food tour from Syntagma Square, and the next afternoon a private walking tour showed us the parts of Athens the big tours skip. We booked all three through GetYourGuide, and the Acropolis tour had a student rate for the kids.
The ancient sites are scattered through the modern city, so it’s easy to run into them everywhere you go. The islands and the mainland sites are still ahead of us. Keep reading for the Greece essentials and three ways to plan it.
Your Greece guide
Enjoy exploring Greece with kids!
Keep scrolling for the essentials, three ways to do Greece, and where to stay in Athens.
Essential Greece
Why we love Greece
We think you’ll love it too.
Greece is where we’d send a family that wants a history lesson they’ll actually remember. Climbing to the Parthenon with the city spread out below is the moment kids tie the stories to a place, and Athens around it is lively, relatively cheap to eat in, and easy to walk. It’s Cadence’s favorite destination and Carrick’s favorite city. Santorini, Crete, and Delphi are still on our list. Scroll down for the Greece essentials.
The Acropolis AftT Visit
The Acropolis is the hill above Athens with the Parthenon, the Erechtheion, and the theater of Dionysus on its slopes. We did it as a guided tour first thing in the morning, which handled the tickets and gave the kids the story at every stop. Ours went up the south slope past the Theatre of Dionysus and the Odeon of Herodes Atticus, through the Propylaea and past the Temple of Athena Nike to the Parthenon and the Erechtheion, with free time on top before the walk down Dionysiou Areopagitou to the museum. Timed tickets are required and the morning slots go first. There’s no shade on top.
The Parthenon AftT Visit
The temple to Athena finished in 438 BC, and the building every kid recognizes. It’s bigger up close than it looks from the city, and the view from the top takes in all of Athens to the sea.
Athens AftT Visit
Athens is a big, loud, friendly city with ancient sites in the middle of it. Monastiraki, Syntagma, and the Plaka are the neighborhoods to walk, and the metro connects the airport, the port, and the center.
Souvlaki AftT Visit
Souvlaki is grilled meat in a pita with tomato, onion, and tzatziki, sold from windows all over Athens for a few euros. It’s Carrick’s favorite bite in Greece. Kids can order it themselves and nobody goes hungry.
And the rest we’d cross the Aegean for
Loukoumades at Lukumades AftT Visit
Loukoumades are honey-soaked fried doughnuts, the Greek dessert kids figure out in one bite. The Lukumades shop near Monastiraki fries them to order and serves them with toppings at the window. It was a favorite from our trip and a cheap stop between the sites.
The changing of the guard at Syntagma AftT Visit
The Evzones in their pleated kilts and pom-pom shoes guard the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in front of Parliament, and the slow-motion changeover happens every hour on the hour. We watched it, and it’s free, five minutes, and the kind of thing kids remember. The big ceremony with the full band is Sunday at 11.
The Panathenaic Stadium AftT Visit
The all-marble stadium where the first modern Olympics were held in 1896, a short walk from the Plaka. We jogged the track and took photos on the medal platforms, which is exactly what it’s there for. The small museum underneath holds the Olympic torches from every Games since the relay began, and the torches were the part we went for.
Hard Rock Cafe Athens AftT Visit
A Hard Rock Cafe stop is a tradition for us on every trip, and Athens got one. We enjoyed a Legendary burger and picked up some drumsticks from the shop on the way out. It’s right in the center, so it’s an easy call on a night when the kids want something familiar.
The Acropolis Museum AftT Visit
The glass museum at the foot of the hill, built over an excavation you walk across. Our Acropolis tour ended here, and the top floor lines up the Parthenon marbles with the real thing out the window.
An Athens street food tour AftT Visit
We booked a private group through GetYourGuide for three hours of walking and tasting from Syntagma Square in the evening. Our stops included Kostarelos, a family dairy and deli going since 1937, for cheese, Street Souvlaki for the pita, and Smak for peinirli, the boat-shaped pizza. Food tours are how we get the kids to try things, and this one worked.
A walking tour of hidden Athens AftT Visit
A private three hour walk through the neighborhoods and side streets the big tours skip, booked through GetYourGuide. Worth it on a second day, once the kids have seen the Acropolis and want to see how the city actually lives.
The Ancient Agora
The marketplace below the Acropolis where Socrates taught, with the best-preserved temple in Greece and a museum in a rebuilt stoa.
The Plaka
The Plaka is the old neighborhood on the north slope of the Acropolis, with narrow streets, tavernas, and souvenir shops. It’s touristy, and still the place to eat dinner outside.
Delphi
Delphi is the oracle’s sanctuary on the side of Mount Parnassus, two and a half hours from Athens. It’s the most dramatic ancient site on the mainland.
Santorini
Santorini has the caldera, the blue domes, and the sunsets. It’s expensive and crowded, and it’s the one island everyone asks about. It’s a flight or a ferry from Athens.
Crete
Crete is the biggest island, with the Palace of Knossos, the Samaria Gorge, and beaches for a week. It’s a good family alternative to Santorini.
Nafplio and the Peloponnese
Nafplio is a seaside town with a Venetian fortress, and Mycenae and Epidaurus are nearby. It’s two hours from Athens and a good road trip base.
Meteora
Meteora has monasteries on top of rock pillars in central Greece. It’s a long day trip or an overnight from Athens.
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Routes
Three ways to do Greece
Athens is where every trip starts. Here’s the city on its own, plus two ways to add an island or the mainland. See all the best stops on a map.
Start
The Acropolis
Do it the first morning as a four hour guided tour. The tour passes the two theaters on the slope on the way up, then the Propylaea, Athena Nike, the Parthenon, and the Erechtheion on top, and ends with an hour and a half in the Acropolis Museum.
Then head to
The Plaka and Monastiraki
Walk down the hill for souvlaki and the Plaka, then a street food tour from Syntagma in the evening.
Finish
The rest of the city
A walking tour of the neighborhoods, the changing of the guard at Syntagma, and the Acropolis lit up at night from wherever you’re eating dinner.
Start
Athens
Give it three nights for the Acropolis and the city.
Then head to
Santorini or Naxos
It’s a short flight or a ferry from Piraeus. Naxos is the family-friendly pick with beaches and a walkable old town.
Finish
Back through Athens
Most island flights connect through ATH, so plan a last night in the city.
Start
Athens
Stay two nights, then pick up a car on the way out of town.
Then head to
Nafplio
Base here for three nights for Mycenae, Epidaurus, and the Palamidi fortress stairs.
Finish
Delphi
Head back north around the gulf to the oracle, then home to Athens.
When to go
Time your visits with the weather and the region
We went in March over spring break, which was mild, quiet, and easy for walking. Athens is hot from June through September, and the Acropolis has no shade. Summer is for the islands, when the ferries run most often and the water is warm.
Swipe the chart sideways to see the full year.
March – June
When we went, in March. Mild, green, and the sites are comfortable to walk with light crowds. Easter is a big deal in Greece and a reason to go.
July – August
It’s hot. The islands are at their best and the Acropolis is at its worst. Go up at opening or in the last hour.
September – October
The sea is still warm, the crowds thin out, and Athens cools down. This is our pick for a return trip.
November – March
It’s mild and often rainy in Athens, with the sites nearly empty. Island ferries drop to a few a week.
Where to stay
Pick a good base to start your Greece adventure
Stay within a walk of the Acropolis and you’ll see it every time you turn a corner. We rented an apartment right under the hill, and here’s how the neighborhoods compare.
Athens
The Plaka and Koukaki
We stayed three nights in an Airbnb on the slope of the Acropolis hill, a few minutes from the museum and the Plaka. The Plaka is right under the hill and busy at night. Koukaki, on the south side, is quieter and the same ten minute walk to the entrance.
- An apartment under the hill, which is what we did
- Plaka for the tavernas out the door
- Koukaki for a neighborhood feel
- Rooftop views of the Parthenon at night
Athens
Syntagma and the center
The big-brand points hotels sit around Syntagma Square, near parliament and the metro. It’s the practical choice for a family using points, and still a 15 minute walk to the Acropolis.
- Marriott and Hilton points hotels
- The metro to the airport and the port
- The changing of the guard across the square
The islands
Naxos or Crete
For a family week by the sea, Naxos has long sandy beaches and a walkable port town, and Crete has enough to fill a week on its own. Santorini is the splurge, but the cruise ship crowds have gotten out of control.
- Naxos for beaches and a quiet town
- Crete for Knossos and the gorge
- Book summer ferries and rooms early
Good to know
Questions families ask us about Greece
Greece at a glance
The practical stuff families ask us before they book.
Language: Greek, English widely spoken in Athens and the islands
Population: About 10.4 million
Capital: Athens
Currency: Euro (EUR), carry some cash for tavernas and islands
Power outlet: Types C and F, 230 V
Time difference: 8 hours ahead of Central
Entry for US passports: Visa-free up to 90 days, ETIAS expected late 2026
Driving: On the right, and don’t drive in Athens
Emergency number: 112
Tipping: Round up or leave 5 to 10 percent
It’s Cadence’s favorite destination and Carrick’s favorite city, so we’d say yes. We did three nights over spring break with a guided Acropolis tour, a street food tour, and a walking tour, and the city under the hill is walkable, cheap to eat in, and full of cats and stray ruins. Souvlaki solves lunch every day. Go up the hill early and drink a lot of water.
Yes, timed tickets are required year round and the early morning slots sell out in summer. We booked a guided tour that included them, which is the easy way with kids. Otherwise buy them on the official site ahead of your trip. Kids and teens from EU countries get in free, but US kids pay the reduced rate. The combined ticket adds the Agora and five other sites for a few euros more.
Three nights worked for us. That gave us one morning for the Acropolis and its museum, an evening for a street food tour, and an afternoon for a walking tour of the neighborhoods, with the Plaka and souvlaki in between. Day trips to Delphi or Cape Sounion each take a full day. Most families then head for an island.
We haven’t done the islands yet, so this is research rather than experience. Naxos comes up most for families, with sandy beaches, a walkable town, and lower prices than Santorini. Crete is big enough for a full week. Santorini is beautiful and expensive, with steep stairs everywhere.
Souvlaki, which is grilled meat in a pita and costs a few euros. Gyros, which is the same idea with shaved meat. Greek salad, feta, and loukoumades, the honey doughnuts, for dessert. The Lukumades shop near Monastiraki was a favorite of ours. Tavernas are relaxed about kids, and dinner starts late, so plan a big late lunch.
No, they don’t. Greece is in the Schengen area, so a passport gets you 90 days. Europe’s ETIAS authorization is expected to start in late 2026, so check the current rules before you fly.
Map
Essential Greece, mapped
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