Acropolis of Athens

UNESCO World Heritage Site: Acropolis, Athens (1987) The Parthenon, Erechtheion, Propylaia And Temple Of Athena Nike, Fifth Century BC · Athens, Attica

The Acropolis is the limestone rock in the middle of Athens that carries the most famous group of buildings of the ancient Greek world, raised in the fifth century BC under Pericles after the Persians had burned the older sanctuary. On its flat summit stand the Parthenon, the great Doric temple of Athena; the Erechtheion with its porch of Caryatids; the Propylaia, the monumental marble gateway; and the small Ionic Temple of Athena Nike on its bastion. The south slope holds the Theatre of Dionysus, where the plays of Aeschylus, Sophocles and Euripides were staged, and the Roman Odeon of Herodes Atticus, still used for summer performances. People come because this is where Western ideas of architecture, civic pride and drama took visible shape, and because the view over Athens to the sea is superb. The honest caveats: entry is by a timed one-hour slot and summer slots sell out, the polished marble paths are slippery and have almost no shade, midday heat can be brutal, and restoration never stops, so some building is usually fenced or under a crane.

Dionysiou Areopagitou, Athens 105 58; main entrance on the west slope, second entrance on the south slope by the Acropolis Museum, Athens, Attica, Greece

Open daily all year except the main state holidays (1 January, 25 March, 1 May, Easter Sunday, 25 and 26 December), with shorter hours on some other holidays. Summer hours run roughly 08:00 to about 19:30-20:00, winter hours roughly 08:00 to 17:00, last entry about 30 minutes before closing; in official heatwaves the site has closed in the middle of the day. Every ticket carries a one-hour entry slot: buy it from the official Hellenic Heritage e-ticket system days ahead in summer and weeks ahead for the 08:00 hour. Walk from Akropoli metro (line 2) to the south slope entrance, or from Monastiraki or Thissio to the west entrance. Confirm current hours and prices.

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