Things to do in Europe · Athens
Athens in October: the Acropolis in the right version, Sounion at sunset, and a free museum on Ohi Day
Which Acropolis ticket to buy, the Sounion sunset, Meteora and Delphi days, a food walk rated 4.9, an ancient-theatre show, plus the free Ohi Day museum.
- For Europeans
- For visitors from the US
- For visitors from East Asia
October is the month Athens becomes walkable again, and the Acropolis, which rations entry by the hour all summer, is at its calmest. The bookings below are from our partner's Athens catalogue, 349 experiences as read on October 1, ranked by how many people booked and how they rated them. Prices are "from" prices in euros. The month ends with Ohi Day on Wednesday October 28, a national holiday, when the National Archaeological Museum opens for nothing; it is in the free tail below.
While you're in Athens
A few things to do in Athens from our partner GetYourGuide. Booking happens on their site.
Glentio earns a small commission when you book through these links, at no extra cost to you. Prices as shown on GetYourGuide on 1 Oct 2026; today's price and availability are on their site. More things to do in Athens
The Acropolis, in three versions
- Acropolis, Parthenon and Acropolis Museum guided tour, from €29, two to four hours. Rated 4.8 by 13,800, the most-booked thing in the city, and the version that includes the museum, which is where the sculptures are.
- Acropolis premium two-hour small-group tour, maximum twelve, from €34, 4.9 from 500. The best-rated of the Acropolis tours; a small group on the rock is a different morning from a large one.
- Acropolis and Ancient Agora with all entrances, from €86, 4.9 from 560. The expensive one, and the only one that covers the Agora below, which is the better walk.
Go at opening, whichever you book. The hill is the point and the light at nine is the reason.
Sunset, and two long days
- Cape Sounion and the Temple of Poseidon at sunset, from €28, five and a half hours, 4.7 from 10,100. The second-most-booked experience in Athens, and October sunsets are earlier and better than August's. The Riviera version with swimming, from €78, is rated 5.0 by 600 and stops at the beaches on the way.
- Meteora monasteries day trip with sea stops, caves and lunch, from €84, fourteen hours, 4.7 from 6,100. The long day, and the one people call the best thing they did in Greece.
- Delphi, the museum and Arachova, from €26, ten hours, 4.6 from 6,000, the cheaper long day.
- Hydra, Poros and Aegina cruise with lunch, from €123, twelve hours, 4.1 from 5,300. The lowest rating on this page and the most expensive day; three islands in one day is too many, and the reviews say so.
Food, and a theatre
- Original Athens food tour with a full meal, from €69, 4.9 from 3,500, or the street-food tasting tour, from €59, 4.9 from 4,050. Rated identically; the first is lunch, the second is grazing.
- Greek cooking class and dinner on a rooftop, from €102, rated 5.0 by 510, the best-rated food experience in the catalogue, with the Acropolis lit in front of you.
- Ancient Greek theatre performance, from €30, 4.7 from 3,300. The only show on this page, and the right one for the city.
Booking happens on the partner's site; Glentio earns a small commission at no extra cost to you.
Free around it: openings, and Ohi Day
Athens' free October on Glentio is its gallery openings, and Thursday October 8 has four at once: Danae Stratou's first large Greek solo show in years at the Athens Concert Hall's annexM, a double opening at the Ileana Tounta centre in Ambelokipi with Nikos Komiotis's solo and a group show in the same building, and Theodora Hartmann's Fluctuations at Ersi Gallery above Kolonaki Square, all from 19:00. On Friday October 9 and Saturday October 10 the City of Athens hands Klafthmonos Square to a two-day mental-health festival, and the company (w)in the margins plays Easterman at the Michael Cacoyannis Foundation both nights at 20:00. On Thursday October 22 the Municipal Gallery in Metaxourgeio opens a Victoria Skarlatou retrospective from 18:00.
The date to plan around is Wednesday October 28, Ohi Day, when the National Archaeological Museum drops admission for everyone, 08:00 to 20:00, last entry 19:30: the Mycenaean gold, the Antikythera mechanism and the Santorini frescoes on a national holiday when the city is on the street for the parade. Book the Acropolis for another day; the rock is open but the morning belongs to the museum. The rest of the month is on Glentio's Athens page.
For Europeans
Athens is a short flight from most of the continent and October is the month to do it. Book the small-group Acropolis for the first morning and Sounion for the first evening; Meteora needs a full day and a 7 a.m. start. Rome is the same format for the other ancient capital.
For visitors from the US
Dates are written day first: 28/10 is October 28, the holiday. Prices above are in euros; the Acropolis tour costs about a museum ticket at home, Meteora about a day's car hire with a driver. Book the Acropolis and Meteora before you fly; the food tours take bookings the day before.
For visitors from East Asia
Mid-October is after Golden Week and after the Greek summer, so fares and hotels are at their calmest and the sea at Sounion is still warm. Greece applies a minimum purchase per receipt for a VAT refund; ask for the tax-free form at the till. The partner tours run in English; the Acropolis Museum's audio guide is in Japanese, Korean and Chinese; the openings need no language.
Sources
- The partner catalogue for Athens, as read on October 1, 2026, for every price, rating and review count.
- Culturenow.gr, checked October 5, 2026, for the openings and the festival; the National Archaeological Museum for Ohi Day.