On a budget, Kerameikos still earns its price.
€8 (summer) / €4 winter; included in €30 combo ticket
This is the quiet connoisseur's site: tortoises in the grass, carved grave stelae, the ancient Sacred Way, and almost no crowds even in peak season. The catch: it's low-key and atmospheric rather than monumental, so visitors expecting another Acropolis-scale spectacle leave underwhelmed.