Overall assessment of Athens –

Aside from a few areas and a few specific sites, we weren’t all that enamored with Athens as a whole. It wasn’t bad, just not our favorite. That said, we only had a couple days there and were pretty jet lagged during our first few days, and had really crummy weather our final day (at the end of our cruise) all of which definitely factor into our appeal for a destination. I also think that with additional time, we could have done some really cool day trips to some of the incredible monasteries and surrounding towns and ancient ruins that we simply didn’t have time or energy to do. It is reasonably priced by US standards. We didn’t think the people were the friendliest, but we always felt safe.

All that to say, any trip to Greece probably requires some time in Athens for arrival and departure, and it is worth a couple days… maybe more if you want to explore more of the mainland.