37.65° N · 24.02° E
An afternoon excursion from Athens: the coast road to the Temple of Poseidon, a swim on the way and sunset over the Saronic Gulf. How to get there, opening hours and tickets.
What to do
Each plan says how long it takes, who it's for and whether you can book.
Visit · 1 h · The Doric temple of the mid-5th century BC on the cliff, with the temple of Athena and the wall; €20, from 9:30 to sunset
Viewpoint · 1 h · The sun sets behind the Saronic islands with the temple in front; inside the site or from the bay
Drive · 70 km · Glyfada, Vouliagmeni, Varkiza and Lagonisi with the sea on your right, as far as the cape
Itineraries
Days and weekends already planned out, with how to get between each stop and who to book with.
Plan the trip
Each choice narrows the next: the season shapes how best to travel, and how you travel decides where you stay and where you eat.
When to go
All year, because the site stays open until sunset in winter too. The best times are spring and October: sunset light, water warm enough to swim on the coast and fewer coaches than in July and August. In winter the sun sets around 17:15 and the day is short.
How you travel
Choose how you're travelling and we'll tell you where to stay, how to get around, where to eat and which services you'll need. We only show the ways of travelling that make sense here.
By car you do Sounion as you should: along the coast road, with a swim in Lake Vouliagmeni or in a Varkiza cove, and you reach the temple for sunset. From the centre of Athens it is about 70 km and a little over an hour. On the way back, the inland motorway is faster.
Sounion is visited by flying to Athens: there are direct flights all year from Madrid, Barcelona and Malaga, and in season from other Spanish cities. The cape is closer to Eleftherios Venizelos airport than to the centre: about 35 to 40 minutes by car to the south. You can do it as an afternoon excursion from Athens or as the first or last night of the trip, by the sea.
Who you're with
A trip with a toddler is not the same as one with a teenager. Pick yours to see what works and what to bear in mind.
Sounion works for families because it mixes things: a swim in Lake Vouliagmeni or in the bay, a short climb to the temple and the sun dropping into the sea. Children cope well because the visit to the site lasts less than an hour.
For a teenager, Sounion is less museum and more stage: the temple on the cliff as the sun sets, a drive with the sea beside you and a lake to swim in even in November.
Where to stay
We show you what suits the way you travel.Change how you travel
Why we like it: A resort of bungalows, suites and villas with private pools on a pine-covered slope facing the temple of Poseidon, with three beaches and eight restaurants and bars.
Why we like it: A hotel on the shore of Sounion bay, at the foot of the temple, with rooms with a sea or temple view, taverna, terrace and beach bars.
Services for this trip
Where to eat
From set lunch menus to Michelin stars. We mark the price level and what to order at each place.
What to order: something grilled and a salad on the terrace, before or after going up to the temple
What to order: grilled fish or meat with the house salads, at midday, to see the temple in daylight
Map
The places to stay and services on the map are the ones for the way you travel. Turn on the layers you want and tap a point to see its details.
Nearby
The closest places, whichever country they are in.
Tips
The site closes with the sun and the last entry is 20 minutes before.
The coast at night is slow and winding; the inland route is quicker.
Lake Vouliagmeni and the coves of Varkiza are on the way.
It blows almost constantly on the cape and gets cool when the sun goes down.
They all arrive at the same time and fill the site. By car you can go earlier or stay on afterwards in the bay.
Cape Sounion is the southern tip of Attica, about 70 km from the centre of Athens, and the most classic half-day excursion from the capital. At the top of the cliff stands the Temple of Poseidon, from the mid-5th century BC, and from there you watch the sun set over the Saronic Gulf. Part of the charm is also the journey: the coast road, with beaches and a warm-water lake right beside the road.
By car, about 65 minutes from the centre. The pretty route is the coast one, through Glyfada, Vouliagmeni, Varkiza and Lagonisi, with the sea on your right; on the way back, at night, it is quicker to go up via Lavrio and Keratea to the Attiki Odos motorway. There is parking next to the entrance to the site, which fills up in summer around sunset.
By bus, the KTEL intercity buses leave from Aigyptou Square, next to Pedion tou Areos park, and take about two hours along the coast. It is cheap but slow, and on the way back, after sunset, they are full: check the return timetable before setting out.
From the airport, the cape is closer than central Athens: about 35 or 40 minutes by car. That is why it works well as the first or last night of a trip.
The Temple of Poseidon is Doric, of marble, and was built on the ruins of another that the Persians destroyed before it was finished. Its frieze told of the fight between Lapiths and centaurs and of gods and giants, and some slabs are in the Lavrio museum. Look on the columns for Byron's name, carved in the early 19th century. On the hill opposite are the foundations of the Temple of Athena, and on the landward side, remains of the wall with which Athens turned the cape into a lookout post over the grain route and the silver mines.
The visit takes less than an hour. What stretches the afternoon is the rest: a swim in Lake Vouliagmeni on the way, the beach at Sounion at the foot of the temple and the sunset from the cape.
Admission costs €20, and reduced, €10. It is bought at the ticket office or at tickets.hh.gr, the official portal. The site opens every day from 9:30 until sunset, in summer and in winter, and the last entry is 20 minutes before closing. It is free on 6 March, 18 April, 18 May, the last weekend of September, 28 October and, from November to March, on the first and third Sunday of each month. It closes on 1 January, 25 March, 1 May, Orthodox Easter Sunday and 25 and 26 December.
With a car, leave Athens around 13:00 or 14:00 depending on the season. Swim for a couple of hours at Vouliagmeni or in a cove at Varkiza, carry on along the coast and reach the cape an hour before sunset. Go up to the temple, stay until the sun touches the sea and have dinner in the bay, at the Aegeon Taverna, before heading back. You have the full plan in the day trip to Sounion from Athens.
If you have one more morning, sleeping here lets you see the temple in the first light, almost without people, and go over to Lavrio for the Thorikos theatre and the museum.
Two options in the same bay. The Aegeon Beach Hotel is on the shore, below the temple, with rooms with a sea or temple view and family rooms. The Cape Sounio resort, by Grecotel, occupies the pine-covered slope opposite, with villas with private pools and the temple in view: it is an expensive treat for the last night before the flight.
Sounion is the free afternoon of a trip to Athens: two days of Acropolis and museums, and the third afternoon, the coast. From the port of Lavrio, ten minutes away, ferries leave for Kea and some of the Cyclades. If you are going on to the Peloponnese or the Saronic islands, such as Aegina or Hydra, leave Sounion for the last afternoon: the airport is less than 40 minutes away.
Questions
About 65 minutes by car from the centre. On the KTEL bus, about two hours.
€20, and €10 reduced. From November to March it is free on the first and third Sunday of each month.
At sunset, all year. The last entry is 20 minutes before.
Yes, on the KTEL bus from Aigyptou Square. Check the return timetable before setting out.
If you want to see the temple at sunset and first thing in the morning, or if your flight leaves early: the airport is about 35–40 minutes away.
Carved on one of the temple's columns; it can be seen from the visitor route, which does not go inside.
Geocaliahttps://www.geocalia.com/en/greece/attica/cape-sounion
