Travelling with kids can be a challenging experience especially in Athens, Greece. While you want to spend the day exploring the ancient sites, children will lose their attention quickly. If you’re looking for different way to discover the city of Athens with your family or group, then you need to check out Athens Insiders.

Athens Insiders provide private and tailor-made travel experiences that are a step above the traditional touring company. The Insiders will personalize your travel with unique insights and knowledge so you can experience Athens as a local.

I had the opportunity to enjoy their morning tour, In Pericles’ Times, with my children and my mom. This tour is geared towards families with a focus on keeping learning fun for kids. Insiders Alexandra and Natalie greeted us for a walk through Plaka to the base of the Acropolis. Then, the games began!

 

The kids became Athenians for the morning. They learned how the ancient Greeks dressed – and rather than just hear about it, the Insiders showed my boys what Athenians wore. Oh yes, they dressed up with headbands, κεκρύφαλος, and each wore one of the two styles of what men and women wore – the tunic, and the chiton χιτώνας.

They then learned how Athenians would be named and greeted by others; it would be the person’s first name, followed by their father’s name and then the name of their city. So I would be Maria of Grigorios of Agrinio. Then they learned how they greeted others when passing by, and what the family traditions were during those times.

What did the Athenians do for fun? The kids then learned how to play some games that Athenians would play. Frozen Statues, or “Agalmata Akounita”, was a popular game.

Another game was the spinning top, used with an hourglass to see time who could spin it the longest.

After playing some games, we left the base of the Acropolis and headed to Πνύκα, Pnyka or The Pnyx. I had never visited this area before and it was lovely because there were no tourists here! I don’t think regular tour guides take visitors this route – the views are incredible from here.

Beginning as early as 507 BC, the Athenians gathered on the Pnyx to host their popular assemblies, thus making the hill one of the earliest and most important sites in the creation of democracy. The steps pictured below were the podium where the Athenians would voice their opinions about matters concerning Athens.

Each citizen had equal amount of time to share their view without interruption. We also learned how the debates would occur. Alexandra and Natalie acted out a debate, both with equal amount of time to plead their case. We then had an opportunity to vote as Athenians would – by writing on pieces of pottery. The votes would then be counted and the winner would be chosen.

The kids also learned about ancient Greek pottery, how pottery was made, and some of the images used to decorate. They had the chance to try their hand at making their own pottery design.

 

 

What a fun way to learn about Athens and a lovely introduction to Greek history for my children. I loved the hands-on experience of learning, and knowledge the Insiders’ offered. Alexandra and Natalie were warm, passionate and knowledgeable. They answered our questions and provided interesting historical and cultural context.

Alexandra and Natalie provided us with wonderful insight to the history and architecture, and offered recommendations on best times to visit other sites, good restaurants to visit and other things to do during our stay in Athens.

Make sure to visit Athens Insiders before planning your trip to Athens, and visit Discover Greece for more information on Greek destinations.

Thank you to Discover Greece and Athens Insiders for this amazing experience!