A Day Trip From Athens to Mycenae

Mycenae is an ancient fortified citadel featuring 9 ‘beehive tombs’ (tholos tombs) located in the northeast Peloponnese.

It was the center of the powerful Mycenaean civilization that dominated mainland Greece, its islands, and the shores of Asia Minor for 4 centuries.

How to get from Athens to Mycenae

Rent a Car Make your own way to Mycenae so that you can decide when you depart, where to stop en route, and how long to spend at the archeological site.

Also known as the Tomb of Agamemnon, this remarkable Bronze Age vaulted tomb known as a beehive tomb (tholos) is located on Panagistsa Hill just outside the main archeological site.

Treasury of Atreus

Lions’ Gate

The main entrance of the citadel since the 13th century, the imposing Lion’s Gate, which measures 10 feet wide, gets its name from the 2 relief sculptures of lions that have been carved into the triangular stone above.

The Palace of Mycenae

Centrally located on top of the hill with huge terraces on 2 sides of the slopes, very little of what would have been a lavishly decorated palace with grand state rooms arranged around a courtyard exists today with just a modern reconstruction of the terracing to be seen.

Lion Tomb

This small Beehive tomb (tholos) is memorable due to the collapse of the dome which enables visitors a wide-open view from above. Thought to date back to 1350BC it contained 3 empty pit graves with inlays of lions found inside.

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