Any suggestions on things to do/see in Greece...may bring my 7 year old with.?

Question

I am traveling to Greece in September for work and my husband is considering flying over with my 7 year old son. I will be working in Athens but will have my weekends to spend with them. My son would miss 6 days of school (they would spend 2 weekends & the week between the two in Greece). Our justification for taking him out of school is that he would probably learn just as much sight-seeing and taking in the Greek culture as he would that week of school, and he could always write a report or do make-up work while we are there. Any suggestions as to things that we should definitely do/see while there? These can be things we can do together on the weekends or my husband can do during the week while I am at work. Thank you.

Answer 1

That's a no-brainer.  You'll be in Athens, I presume?  You MUSTTTT see the Acropolis and its museum.   And I'm sure your son would have fun feeding the pigeons while watching the changing of the guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.

Answer 2

As the two ladies before me have said visiting Museums and archaeological sites may be the thing to do.

However, a young boy of 7 can take so much of historical facts and sights.

I would limit the visiting to the Acropolis and Parthenon as well as to the nearby sites and those is a fast visit so as not to tire him. Maybe if he is a child that can be interested in Culture take him to the Archaeological Museum and then again for a few hours. Not more than 3.

His interest will soon be over after a couple of hours.

Take also in consideration that the sun in September is still quite hot and he will be needing protection from heat and a lot of sun protection cream.



I would take him to the change of the guards in the Unknown Soldiers Monument in Constitution square . I would take him to Piraeus to watch the boats on the jetties and then to Pasalimani to walk alongside the yachts moored there.

I would take him to Lycabettus to have a panoramic view of Athens.

I could arrange a daily cruise on the Saronic islands.

You could also have a weekend on one of them for the whole family. Visit the close by beaches mostly on the South-east of Athens. Make a visit to the Corinth Canal. Impressive and huge for his eyes.Equally educational.

If you haven't a zoo where you live, a visit to the Attiko Parko is a very educational and he would love it.

Spending as much time in the open will be more impressive on him than anything else that is about the dead past.

After all he is a youngster and he is bound to loose interest soon.

Answer 3

I understand that your husband and son will also be staying in Athens, right? So:

1) The Acropolis and the theatre of Dionysus.

2) Kerameikos  (ancient cemetery).

3) The National Museum.

4) The new Acropolis museum which is scheduled to open in late 2008. If it has opened, definitely take him there.  

I think these are the musts for sighteseeing. You can also go to:

4) The National Garden, next to Syntagma Square in the centre of Athens. It's a park which used to be the garden of the palace, it's beautiful.

5) The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Syntagma Square, he can see the monument, watch the changing of the guards and feed the pigeons.

6) Lycabettus Hill, from the top of which you can see Athens, it has an amazing view. You should definitely take him there.

7) A beautiful place is also the hill of Pnyka, from which you'll have a very good view of  the Acropolis. It's in Pnyka that the Assembly of the Citizens (main governing body of the city-sate of Athens) took place in ancient times.  

8) The ancient theatre of Dionysus I mentioned is where the works of Aeschylus, Sophocles, Euripides and Aristophanes were presented for the first time and it is very near the Acropolis. You could take your son there in order to give him an idea of what ancient theatres were like but be careful where you walk because the stones can be slippery.

9) In the Metro Station "Syntagma" there is a glass window which displays a historical-geological cut, it's very interesting because it shows ancient findings (they were found during the metro excavations) from different eras and in which layer of the ground they were found. It's interesting.

10) The Cycladic Art Museum

11) Check out the website of IME.  http://www.fhw.gr/fhw/index.php?lg=2

They organize interesting exhibitions and fun activities for children (for example, some years ago I remember that they had 3D  presentations about the ancient temples). If you have time, it is worth ckecking it out.

ADDED: After airpole's excellent suggestions, I have nothing more to add!

Answer 4

All those suggestions are wonderful.  Just keep in mind that it's a lot of walking and may be a bit much for a 7 year old.  We took our now 10 year old last year and she complained about her feet hurting, being hungry and tired.  Being awestruck with all the ancient wonders is lost on young children.  However, don't let that stop you.  Just pace yourself.  I think if you let your child help plan it and talking about the history, the more he/she may be vested in the "adventure".  As far as school, you are right, s/he would get a hands-on experience that would rival anything s/he could learn in school.  We take our daughter out of school 3-5 days early every year to visit family in Greece.