Acropolis of Athens

The Acropolis of Athens is the rocky citadel above the centre of the Greek capital, crowned by the Parthenon and other 5th-century BC temples to Athena. Plan two to three hours on the hill, ideally early or late in the day, and leave time for the Acropolis Museum 300 m from the south slope.

The Acropolis is a flat-topped limestone hill in the centre of Athens, rising about 150 metres above sea level. People lived on it in the Neolithic period, and by the Bronze Age it held a Mycenaean palace behind massive walls. Over time it became the city's main sanctuary of Athena, its patron goddess.

The Persians sacked the hill in 480 BC and destroyed the temples then standing. About thirty years later Pericles launched a rebuilding programme. The Parthenon was built between 447 and 438 BC by the architects Ictinus and Callicrates, with Phidias in charge of the sculpture. Later the temple served as a church and a mosque, and in 1687, during a Venetian bombardment, Ottoman gunpowder stored inside it exploded and blew out much of the centre. UNESCO listed the Acropolis in 1987.

The Propylaea, the monumental gateway begun in 437 BC to designs by Mnesicles, leads onto the summit. On its southwest bastion stands the small Ionic Temple of Athena Nike, finished between 421 and 409 BC. The Parthenon itself is a Doric temple about 69.5 by 30.9 metres at its top step, built of marble from Mount Pentelicus.

North of the Parthenon, the Erechtheion was built between 421 and 406 BC over ground linked to the contest between Athena and Poseidon for the city. Its Porch of the Caryatids has six columns carved as young women; the ones on the building are copies, and five originals are in the Acropolis Museum. The south slope holds the Theatre of Dionysus and the Odeon of Herodes Atticus from AD 161, still used for summer concerts.

Tickets use timed entry slots and are sold on the official Hellenic Heritage site and at the gates; the main entrance is on the west side and a second one on the south slope. Go at opening time or in the last two hours before closing to avoid the cruise-ship crowds and the worst heat. The marble paths are polished and slippery, so wear shoes with grip, and allow two to three hours, plus another two for the Acropolis Museum.

In the main season the site opens at 8:00 and closes at 19:00, with last entry 30 minutes before closing, and winter hours are shorter. It is closed on 1 January, 25 March, 1 May, Orthodox Easter Sunday and 25 and 26 December. Akropoli station on Metro Line 2 is 400 m from the south slope entrance, and from Monastiraki on Lines 1 and 3 the walk to the main west entrance passes the Ancient Agora. There is no visitor car park; the streets around the hill are pedestrianised. Entry is free on the first Sunday of each month from November to March and on commemorative days such as International Monuments Day in April.

The standard ticket has cost €30 all year since 1 April 2025, when Greece regrouped its archaeological sites into price bands. The same reform made entry free for visitors from outside the EU under 18 and for EU citizens under 25, raised the number of free-entry days to two a month, and added early-morning and late-evening slots along with a premium Personalized Visit outside regular hours.