The next day in Athens we started with a morning walk up to the top of Mount Lycabettus, a limestone formation that is the highest point in central Athens. To get there, we followed streets through the neighborhoods of Kolonaki and Lycabettus, up stairs, and then up the trail that leads to the top. Like with any outing in Athens, we saw a lot of cats!
The view at the top of Mount Lycabettus was really amazing. That’s the acropolis and Parthenon right in the middle green area. There’s a nice small church at the top of Lycabettus too.
Later in the day, we went out to the Temple of Poseidon on the Sounion peninsula, which is a bit over an hour drive outside of Athens. We arrived in time to visit the site and watch the sunset there. The map below shows the region of Attica, with Athens circled at the 3, and the Sounion / Temple of Poseidon at the 1. (Map pointer 2 will be discussed in a future post when we take a trip to the Peloponnese!)
The site of the temple was at an ideal geographic position for watching for ships headed toward Athens. And the sunset was really lovely there, over the sea and with some beautiful warm light cast on the columns. When the sun slipped down into the ocean, everyone clapped!
We’d taken the route along the coast to get to Sounion, but after sunset we headed inland to a village that specializes in Greek barbecue. It was really, really good!
The map is helpful. You have some really nice family photos taken at places with panoramic views! The slanted light before sunset does enhance the scene.
Love the family selfies! (And sunsets, views and cats!)