Getaways from Athens: day trips and destinations close by.

The car, only to leave Athens

There are direct flights to Athens airport (ATH) from Madrid, Barcelona, Malaga and Bilbao. It is about 30 km from the centre by road, and you get there on metro line 3, the blue one, to Syntagma and Monastiraki, by train or on the X95 and X96 buses; the latter goes direct to Piraeus.

In the city a car is a nuisance: there is nowhere to park and traffic is slow. The historic centre of Athens is covered on foot and the metro reaches the rest. A hire car only makes sense for getting out to the coast, the Peloponnese or Delphi.

For the islands you do not need one. Metro line 1, the green one, runs from Monastiraki or Thissio to Piraeus without changing, and from there ferries and fast boats leave for the Saronic Gulf. Without a car you can also reach Sounion on the coastal KTEL bus, in about two hours, and Delphi by bus, in about three.

A whole day is barely enough for the Acropolis and the Agora

In the city, a whole day does not stretch beyond the essentials: the Acropolis in the first slot, the Ancient Agora, the Acropolis Museum and the Parthenon face on from Filopappou at sunset.

Up to an hour and a quarter by car are Attica and the isthmus. Marathon bay, 50 minutes away, combines the tumulus of the battle of 490 BC, the sanctuary of Nemesis at Rhamnous and Schinias beach. The Corinth Canal is an hour away, and Cape Sounion, 65 minutes along the coast road, with a swim in Lake Vouliagmeni on the way.

Between an hour and a quarter and two hours you enter the Peloponnese and the nearby islands. The wineries of Nemea are 80 minutes away; Aegina, 100, with the metro to Piraeus and the ferry; Nafplio, with Mycenae and Epidaurus, 110, and Hydra, the car-free island, and Arachova, on Parnassus, two hours.

Two and a half hours away are Delphi and, going down through olive groves to the sea, the harbour of Galaxidi. At the same distance is Poros, by ferry from Piraeus or by car to Galatas and a five-minute boat. These are days of twelve hours or more.

In summer you leave early and end up in the water

From March to May and in October and November the heat lets you walk at midday around Athens, and it is also the season for the Peloponnese sites and Delphi. September and October bring the Nemea grape harvest.

In summer you leave early and finish in the water: the Acropolis at 8:00, Mycenae first thing, Schinias beach in the afternoon, and the islands, with plenty of boats from May to October. At Hydra it is wise to book the return boat. In the Galaxidi pine forest there is shade and coves.

In winter the sites close early, at 15:30 at Delphi, Mycenae, Ancient Corinth and Marathon, which is why the plans put the ruins before lunch. On the first and third Sunday from November to March admission to the sites is free. At sea there are fewer boats, wind cancels the fast ones and many island tavernas close; on Parnassus, on the other hand, from December to March there is snow for skiing or snowshoeing. Watch out for Tuesdays: the Marathon sites close and, in winter, the sanctuary of Nemea and Ancient Corinth.

Hydra, the car-free island, by fast boat from Piraeus

• The first day, on foot: a day in Athens. The Acropolis in the first slot, the Agora, lunch on a Plaka rooftop, the Acropolis Museum and sunset on Filopappou.
• By boat, without a car: Hydra from Athens. A fast boat from Piraeus to the car-free island, captains' houses, a swim off the Spilia rocks and a walk to Kamini.
• By car, to the Peloponnese: Mycenae and Epidaurus from Athens. The Corinth Canal in passing, Mycenae in the morning, lunch in Nafplio's square and the theatre of Epidaurus in the afternoon.

For a half-day, Sounion along the coast, with the Temple of Poseidon at sunset. For the longest day, Delphi from Athens, with the mosaics of Osios Loukas and Arachova on the way back.