Athens: the Greek capital offering sun, history and modernity

Wherever you go in Athens, you’ll discover incredible historical and architectural treasures. The Acropolis is a must see, but there are also other sites that are untouched by time (and that aren’t as touristy), such as the Temple of Poseidon, which is also sure to impress you. Athens is certainly the ideal city to organise an event where history is involved: an incentive trip with a theme inspired by Greek civilisation, treasure hunt style team-building events exploring the whole city… The good news is that the area where most of the historical remains can be found is not huge and can be covered on foot.

Wherever you look in Athens, you’ll see the sea. The feeling of being surrounded by the sea no matter where you are in the city ensures that you can escape, relax, even concentrate and think with greater clarity, which is what you need if you’re organising a training event. For a more artistic event, there are new art galleries in the city’s western districts.

If you’re looking for the best backdrop, we recommend the panoramic views of the sea and the city (including the Acropolis) from Mount Lycabettus, which you can climb on foot or with a funicular railway.

Accessibility

The quickest and most convenient way to reach Athens is by plane (just two hours from Rome or Milan, three hours from Paris or Madrid and just over three hours from London), flying to Athens International Airport, which is 20 kilometres from the city and well connected to the centre with metro and bus links.

You can also reach Athens by boat from Venice, Bari, Ancona or Brindisi, for example. However, you will arrive at the port in Patras, a city 200 kilometres west of Athens. Mediterranean cruise ships arrive and depart from Athens’ own port, the Port of Piraeus, and there are also several ferry services to the Greek islands.

From Athens, you can easily travel around the whole country by train using the routes that cross the eastern part of Greece, close to the Aegean Sea and around the Peloponnese.

The Accor network in Athens

Our network has four locations spanning the luxury range to the economy range: 1 Sofitel, 1 MGallery, 1 Novotel and 1 ibis Styles.

In total, this makes 807 rooms available for you and gives you a wide range of options for your events. For example, in the Sofitel Athens Airport there are 12 different event rooms to host up to 600 participants.

Incentive activity ideas in Athens

Try a pottery or perfume-making workshop in the Kolonaki neighbourhood (the most luxurious one), a private tasting at secret spots in Athens (like the rooftop of the Benaki Museum) or a workout session in the impressive National Garden (160,000 m2 of gardens including a zoo and a neoclassical-style conference centre).

Are you looking for more immersion in local traditions? You can do this with a cooking class in a traditional house in the neighbourhood of Plaka. 

Do you want a few more ideas? Take a day trip by boat to Hydra, Poros and Aegina (among the most beautiful of the 6000 Greek islands) or even to Angristi, a natural paradise covered in pine trees (87% of the land!) and with crystal clear water. Relax in hammocks, get massages, do water sports… You can do it all on private beaches! Or go to the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Centre (a landmark of Athens’ creative boom in the west of the city) that also has a canal where you can kayak or sail. You also have the Panathenaic Stadium, one of the oldest stadiums in the world, where you can organise a team-building trip.

And to satisfy your hunger and try out authentic Greek delicacies, there’s nothing better than exploring one of Athens’ liveliest places: the Central Market.