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The burial mound of the Athenians at MarathonGeorge Fournaris · CC BY-SA 4.0

Itinerary · 1 night

One night on Marathon Bay, half an hour from Athens airport.

Fly to Athens and half an hour by car: the museum and tumulus of the battle, Rhamnous above the sea, the afternoon at Schinias, fish in Nea Makri and a night facing the harbour.

Part of Marathon

The planMap1. When to go2. How you travel3. Where to stay4. Where to eatQuestions
Duration1 night
From SpainDirect flight to Athens from Madrid or Barcelona
From the airportAbout 25 min by car
Tickets€5 each site
Best timeApril – June · September – October

The plan

The plan, hour by hour

Designed for the start or end of a trip to Greece, or for a long weekend from Spain. You land in Athens, pick up the hire car at the airport and in half an hour you are on the Marathon coast, without entering the city. Never on a Tuesday, when the sites close.

Saturday

  1. 110:00Arrival in Athens and car

    From the airport, half an hour to the Marathon coast.

  2. 211:00The museum, at Vrana

    The battle trophy, Herodes Atticus and the Egyptian statues from Brexiza. €5.

  3. 312:30The tumulus of the Athenians

    Nine metres of earth over the fallen of 490 BC. €5; closes at 15:30.

  4. 414:00Lunch at Argo

    Fish from the counter grilled, at the end of the Nea Makri promenade.

  5. 517:00Hotel and beach

    Leave your bag, swim on the beach in front or in the pool.

  6. 621:00Dinner on the promenade

    At Trata, the Bellos family's fish taverna since 1981, or in the hotel taverna.

Sunday

  1. 108:30Rhamnous

    First thing, in the cool: the temples of Nemesis and Themis and the path of tombs down to the sea. €5.

  2. 211:00Schinias

    A swim under the pines, in the bay where the Persian fleet anchored, and coffee at Moraitis Beach.

  3. 314:00Return via the lake dam

    The Pentelic marble dam, on the way to the airport or Athens.

Marathon is usually seen on a quick excursion from Athens. With one night it changes: you see the ruins without watching the clock, eat fish at leisure on the Nea Makri coast and wake up with the sea in front of you. And since the bay is half an hour from the airport, it is a good first or last night of a trip to Greece: you do not need to enter Athens.

How do you get there from Spain?

By air to Athens: there are direct flights from Madrid and Barcelona. At the airport you hire a car: it is about 22 km to Nea Makri, about 25 minutes according to the hotel. The Marathon sites are 4 to 15 km apart, so a car is what works.

Without a car you can reach Nea Makri on the KTEL bus or OASA line 314, but then it will be hard to move between the museum, the tumulus and Rhamnous. If you do not drive, count on taxis.

Where to sleep?

AccommodationAreaWho it suits
Marathon Beach ResortNea Makri, next to the harbourA beach hotel with a saltwater pool and family suites
NLH Mati SeafrontMati, on the seaRooms with a balcony over the Aegean, the closest to the airport
Ballos ApartmentsNea Makri, on the promenadeFamily apartments with a kitchen and terrace

And with another night?

Stay another night and head down the coast to Cape Sounion, with the Temple of Poseidon at sunset, or go up to Athens and give a day to the Acropolis: you have everything in Athens.

Map

The stops, in order

What to do Eat 88 €Stay Services

Plan the trip

Marathon, step by step

Each choice narrows the next: the season shapes how best to travel, and how you travel decides where you stay and where you eat.

  1. 11. When to go
  2. 22. How you travel
  3. 33. Where to stay
  4. 44. Where to eat

When to go

When to go to Marathon

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Best timeGood timeLow season

How you travel

The same break, your way

The plan stays the same. What changes is where you sleep, how you get there and how much you spend.

By Car Around the Plain and the Bay

Marathon is toured by car: the museum, the tumulus, Rhamnous, the dam and Schinias beach are 4 to 15 km apart, and no public transport links them. From central Athens it is about 40 km and 50 minutes along Marathonos Avenue; from the airport, half an hour via Rafina and Nea Makri. To stay, the coast of Nea Makri and Mati, with a beach hotel or an apartment.

80–170 €per person per day, approximate
  • Where to stayMarathon Beach Resort, in Nea…
  • Getting aroundMarathonos Avenue from Athens; via…
  • Where to eatArgo and Trata, fish tavernas…
  • ServicesSite tickets at tickets.hh.gr or…

Where to stay

  • Marathon Beach Resort, in Nea Makri, with free parking
  • NLH Mati Seafront, on the sea at Mati
  • Ballos Apartments, with a kitchen, on the Nea Makri promenade

Getting around

  • Marathonos Avenue from Athens; via Dionysos if you come from the north
  • Between sites, 10 to 25 minutes

Where to eat

  • Argo and Trata, fish tavernas in Nea Makri, €20 to €30 per person without fish by weight
  • Moraitis Beach, for a coffee on the sand at Schinias

Services

  • Site tickets at tickets.hh.gr or at the ticket office
  • Everything closes on Tuesdays

How much does it cost?

People2
Nights1

Approximate, for 2 people and 1 night: staying, eating and getting around there for each way of travelling. Getting there is not included.

Where to stay

Where to stay if you're driving

We show you what suits the way you travel.Change how you travel

Aerial view of the hotel with its pool, the sandy beach with parasols and the Nea Makri marina next to it© Marathon Beach ResortHotel

Marathon Beach Resort

Seafront · saltwater pool · family suites

Dogs welcome

Why we like it: A beach hotel in Nea Makri, next to the marina, with 74 rooms, a saltwater pool, a Greek taverna and family suites, a few minutes from the tumulus.

View details
Overhead view of the hotel on the rocky coast of Mati, with the heart-shaped pool and the sun loungers© NLH HotelsHotel

NLH Mati Seafront

On the sea · all with a balcony · two-bedroom family suites

Why we like it: A renovated hotel on the sea at Mati, between Rafina and Nea Makri, with 82 rooms with balconies, a pool with beach access and suites for four.

View details
A bedroom with two beds, a blue wall and the door open onto a garden with palm trees© Ballos ApartmentsApartment

Ballos Apartments

Family business for 30 years · kitchen and living room · spacious terrace

Why we like it: Family one-bedroom apartments with a kitchen and terrace on the Nea Makri promenade, for two to four people, with a view of the sea or Mount Penteli.

View details

Services for this trip

Marathon and Rhamnous online ticketsOfficial Ministry of Culture sales at tickets.hh.gr · tumulus, museum, Brexiza and Rhamnous at €5 each · closed on Tuesdays

Where to eat

Where to eat in Marathon

The covered terrace with checked tablecloths, and in front the promenade, parasols and the sea© Argó

Argo, Ouzeri and Fish Taverna

Restaurant · Nea Makri · €€€€

What to order: some dips to share, a portion of grilled marida or sardines and a fish of the day by weight, with a carafe of ouzo or tsipouro

The taverna terrace with blue tablecloths, flowers on the tables and trees in front© I Trata

I Trata, Fish Taverna

Restaurant · Nea Makri · €€€€

What to order: grilled aubergine and house taramosalata, the boiled "Trata" salad to share, sardines or red mullet, and in winter the fish soup

Tips

Worth knowing first

  1. 1
    Never on a Tuesday

    The museum, tumulus and Rhamnous are closed.

  2. 2
    Ruins in the morning

    Everything closes at 15:30; leave the beach for the afternoon.

  3. 3
    Book Saturday's lunch

    The Nea Makri coast fills with Athenians at the weekend.

Questions

Frequently asked questions

How long does it take from Athens airport to Marathon?

About 25 minutes by car to Nea Makri.

Are there direct flights from Spain?

Yes, from Madrid and from Barcelona.

How much do tickets cost?

€5 each site: museum, tumulus and Rhamnous.

Where to sleep?

In Nea Makri or Mati, on the coast, a few minutes from the sites.


if you're driving
See places to stay

Geocaliahttps://www.geocalia.com/en/greece/attica/marathon/itineraries/one-night-tumulus-and-rhamnous