Sunday at Marathon from Athens: Tumulus, Nea Makri, Schinias

The plan

The day at a glance

Any part can be swapped for another without spoiling the day.

09:15
Leave Athens 45 min by car
From the north of Athens, via Dionysos and the lake
10:00 1
The marble dam of Lake Marathon
Free; the dam faced with Pentelic marble
12 min by car8 km
10:45 2
Marathon Archaeological Museum and the Plataean mound
€5; the trophy, Herodes Atticus and the Egyptian statues from Brexiza
10 min by car5 km
12:15 3
The Marathon tumulus of the Athenians
€5; closes at 15:30
9 min by car4,8 km
13:30 4
Argo, Ouzeri and Fish Taverna
Open every day from 11:30; you choose the fish at the counter. Book on 22940 92111

Leoforos Poseidonos, final, 19005 Nea Makri · +30 22940 92111

Restaurant €€
Book
14 min by car8,9 km
16:00 5
Schinias beach and pine wood
A swim or a walk under the pines
15 min on foot
18:00 6
Moraitis Beach, a Beach Club at Schinias
A coffee on the sand before heading back; closes at sunset

Poseidonos 210, 19007 Schinias-Marathon · +30 22940 55965

Bar €€
Book
18:45
Back home
Along Marathonos Avenue; in Athens around 19:45

Approximate cost About €40–70 per person

Adds up the activities and meals in the plan at their published prices; travel and accommodation not included.

The route

The marble dam of Lake Marathon

The other Marathon excursion is a long day with Rhamnous and dinner in Athens. This one is gentler and more Sunday-like: two history stops in the morning, a long fish lunch on the Nea Makri coast, as Athenians do at the weekend, and the afternoon on Schinias beach. You are home before dinner.

The day, hour by hour

9:15 · Leave Athens. If you leave from the north of the city, go via Dionysos: you reach Lake Marathon from the west. From the centre, also by Marathonos Avenue, and leave the dam for the way back.

10:00 · The Lake Marathon dam. A wall from the late twenties faced with Pentelic marble, from the mountain that gave the marble for the Parthenon. It is free and takes half an hour.

10:45 · The museum, at Vrana. The victory trophy of 490 BC, the busts of Herodes Atticus and the colossal Egyptian-style statues from his sanctuary at Brexiza. Next to the museum, the tumulus of the Plataeans. €5.

12:15 · The tumulus of the Athenians. The Soros: nine metres of earth over the fallen hoplites, in the middle of the fields. €5. Arrive before 15:30, when it closes.

13:30 · Lunch at Argo. At the end of the Nea Makri promenade, on the sand. You choose the fish of the day at the counter, it is weighed in front of you and goes on the coals. Otherwise, portions of marida or sardines, at €9, and starters at €5. Open every day; book at weekends.

16:00 · Schinias beach. Several kilometres of sand with a pine forest behind, in the bay where the Persian fleet anchored. In summer, swimming; the rest of the year, a stroll.

18:00 · Coffee at Moraitis Beach. A beach club on the sand of Schinias itself, open all year until sunset.

18:45 · Back to Athens. An hour along Marathonos Avenue.

Time30 min

The Marathon dam, faced in marble, with the reservoir behind

Vitaly · CC BY-SA 3.0

Change the route

With young children, if it rains or if you fancy something else: another stop that fits the same day.

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

If Argo is full: another family fish taverna on the same Nea Makri avenue, since 1981: I Trata, Fish TavernaA family fish taverna in Nea Makri since 1981, facing the sea: grilled or fried fish, home-made starters and halva on the house at the end.

The remains of the temples of Nemesis and Themis at Rhamnous

If you have already seen the museum: the sanctuary of Nemesis above the sea, 20 minutes north; closes at 15:30: Rhamnous, the sanctuary of Nemesis above the seaSite · 1 h 30 · €5 · The temple of Nemesis and Themis, the Street of Tombs and the fortress beside the Euboean strait, at the far north of Attica

Where to eat

Where to eat?

Lunch is half the plan: book before you set off.

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

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

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

The wooden bar and deck of the beach club among pines and reeds

Moraitis Beach, a Beach Club at Schinias

Bar · Schinias · €€€€

What to order: a coffee or something light in the mid-afternoon, after the ruins, before or after a swim

Map

The stops, in order

With where to park at each one.

What to do Eat 88 €Stay Services

Getting there

By car or without one?

By car

40 km from central Athens, about 50 minutes. Between stops, 5 to 20 minutes.

Without a car

It does not work well: the sites are spread out. If you do not drive, a taxi for half a day is better.

When to go

When to go to Marathon

Designed for a Sunday, but any day works except Tuesday, when the sites close. On the first and third Sunday from November to March admission is free. In summer, Schinias beach is the high point; in winter, a walk along the sand and the pine forest.

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Best timeGood timeLow season

Tips

Worth knowing first

1
Never on a Tuesday
The museum and the tumulus are closed.
2
Free Sundays in winter
From November to March, on the first and third Sunday of the month admission to the sites is free.
3
Book lunch
The Nea Makri coast fills with Athenians on Sundays.