Can i visit the parthenon

Just to be clear, having an advance ticket or multi-site pass only lets you skip the line for the ticket booth. Bring appropriate ID if you plan to claim one of these discounted tickets. Entrance is free on a few specific days each year, as below. The Acropolis has two different sets of opening hours, one for the summer season from the start of April until the end of October, and one for the winter season that covers the rest of the year.

In summer, the Acropolis is open from a. Plan to arrive by a. From November through March, the Acropolis is open from a. No matter what time of year you visit, the last entry is half an hour before closing time.

The Acropolis is closed entirely on many public holidays, as below. Going early during the summer months has another advantage beyond beating the crowds: it beats the worst of the heat as well. It was relatively cool when we walked through the gates at am, but by the time we left 90 minutes later, the sun was out in full force.

Take plenty of water with you, along with appropriate sun protection. Warm clothing and a rain jacket are important at that time of year. No matter which direction you enter from, expect to encounter some uneven steps and rough ground along the way. As a result, whatever the weather, wear enclosed shoes with plenty of grip and padding. Sneakers with decent tread are much better than flip-flops or high heels.

A new elevator that lets people in wheelchairs skip the ten-minute climb was opened at the end of December , along with improved wheelchair-friendly paths around the summit. The area on the top of the hill has housed many buildings over the years, some of which remain reasonably intact, some that are little more than excavated foundations. I explored the largest first, making my way slowly from the entrance past the Temple of Athena Nike, Parthenon, and Erechtheion, to the raised terrace with glorious views over the city at the rear.

Once the crowds started appearing, I then went back to the smaller buildings and ruins. That approach worked pretty well, as most visitors understandably make a beeline straight for the Parthenon when they arrive. When even those areas became uncomfortably busy, I pushed back through the tour groups at the entrance, and explored the remainder of the northern and southern slopes.

The Temple of Dionysus was almost deserted, which was a wonderful surprise. The old Acropolis Museum used to be housed onsite, at the top of the hill.

In , however, it moved to a brand-new building nearby on Dionysiou Areopagitou. The museum is not covered by the Athens multi-site ticket, but like the ancient sites, discounts are available in winter and for various groups. The lines were short when we arrived mid-morning, but longer when we left a couple of hours later. In the XIX century, it was plundered by Lord Elgin who took away many pieces of art and marble decorations that are still displayed in the British Museum.

What remains of its statues and decorations is still visible in the local Acropolis Museum. Another sacred place hosting many rituals and religious festivals was this temple built in Ionic style between and B. It was the last great work of the Pericles Era before Athens fell prey to the Spartan and its Golden Age came to an end.

This temple is located on the northern side of the Acropolis and it takes its name from King Erechtheus, but it was dedicated to both Athena and Poseidon.

Its main feature is its arcade lined with 6 huge statues representing some female figures named caryatids. Today, you can only see their copies, while the original ones are kept in the Acropolis museum, except one that is kept in London. This temple was dedicated to Pandrosus, who was the daughter of Cecrops, the first King of Attica. In its courtyard, there was once an altar dedicated to Zeus Herkeios the protector of the hearth and the sacred olive tree of Athena.

It was once the main temple of the Acropolis, at least until the construction of the Parthenon. It was dedicated to Athena Polias who was the patron goddess of the city. It is located in the middle of the Acropolis, just in front of the Erechtheion, and it was built upon the remains of an ancient Mycenean royal palace. This temple was completely destroyed by the Persians in B.

C and it was only rediscovered in Odeon of Herodes Atticus. In the foothills of the Acropolis, you can see an ancient theater that is still in use today! Here you can watch some classical plays and tragedies during the summer months for information visit the Athens Festival site here. It dates back to the Roman period and it was built by the philosopher and teacher Erodes Atticus in the memory of his wife. Theatre of Dionysus. It dates back to the VI century B. Dionysus was the protector of wine and it is said that the first theatrical performances in history originated from the celebrations held in Athens in his honor.

Around the V century, some wooden benches were placed there to let people watch the first plays, then a stone staircase and an altar were built and finally a real theater hosting the first classical tragedies. Now, this archeological site has no secrets left for you, so get ready to dive in ancient history and get to know the Olympians and their myths!

Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. Table of Content show. The inbox frequently fills up and so new emails are rejected. These are not scare tactics. Data protection and privacy prevents me showing actual screencaps of these emails I receive. It is a sad truth, buying from the official website is not reliable. Quite simply, they are taking your reservation, they are buying in bulk and they buy as required on the day.

In my opinion, based on the substantial feedback I get from readers, a few Euros extra is worth it. If you are sure of your dates, however, and you are careful — a step-by-step guide to assist you through the process, taking you from the Greek language landing page to the final page in the process can be found at the end of this page.

Queues at both entrances to the Acropolis can be long — and not only during the summer months. You can avoid the queues at the two entrances to the Acropolis by either taking a guided tour or buying a skip-the-line ticket.

These are available, quite legitimately, via third party service providers. We recommend specific tickets in the next section. Buying genuine Skip-the-Line Tickets for the Acropolis is possible, and can be done quite easily and safely online. For reliability and security, we recommend our partners GetYourGuide and Tiqets. The difference in the prices reflect the conditions of the tickets: the GetYourGuide ticket includes free cancellation up to 24 hours before with a full refund.

And remember, there is no guided tour included. No audio tour. Just a straight-forward, regular priced, skip-the-line ticket. And applies only to a single entry ticket to the Acropolis and its North and South Slopes. Once purchased, confirmation and further instructions are emailed to you immediately. If you purchase your ticket through Tiqets the ticket is emailed to you, you then print it out or download it to your mobile device and show it at the entrance to the Acropolis, following the fast track lines.

About three minutes walk from the Acropolis Metro Station. Here you will be given your ticket — you will not be required to pay any further booking fee. Then head to the South Entrance of the Acropolis Dionysus Theatre — not even metres away — and bypass the queues. Please note: Besides being able to avoid standing in a queue, you can also cancel this booking up to 24 hours in advance and get a full refund. So, if you find you have made a mistake with your dates this happens — I get emails about it or your plans change, you can get a full refund as long as you cancel at least 24 hours in advance.

There is no refund for such errors or changes of plans if you buy your tickets on the official website. You need to decide whether the time saved and peace of mind is worth the booking fee — only you can make that decision. Please Note: The Combo ticket is not recommended if you are visiting Athens during the winter months November to March.

It is cheaper to buy the tickets individually. See below for a fuller explanation. If you are also going to be visiting some of the other main archaeology sites in Athens, then I recommend getting yourself a Combination or Special Package Ticket — via GetYourGuide free cancellation included or Tiqets free cancellation is not included. First, you can cancel your GetYourGuide ticket with no questions asked and get a full refund up to 24 hours at no extra charge to you.

No queues to pick up a paper ticket are required. When you purchase a ticket on the Greek website you will receive a confirmation of your order via email. You are then required to take the ticket to the ticket office standing in the queues and get the actual ticket that you then present to enter the sites. With the GetYourGuide ticket you can skip-the-line at all seven sites, including the Acropolis. The Greek website is unreliable.

Read their Terms and Conditions, if anything goes wrong while purchasing your tickets, you will have to send an email and wait for a reply. The GetYourGuide website is available in many languages, and you can pay in many currencies and, most importantly, they have very responsive customer services should anything go wrong with your purchase. There is no added advantage of being able to get a refund. If you buy the combo ticket at the Acropolis, this is what you get ticket is pictured to the right of the photograph.

The other sites then stamp the back of the ticket — as you are only allowed in each of the participating sites listed at the bottom of the ticket and on this page once over 5 consecutive days. If you buy your ticket at one of the other sites, you still get the old ticket, a central image with stubs that are removed at each site you visit. And with this particular ticket package, there is a significant difference between summer and winter prices.

As would visiting the Acropolis and any two of the other seven sites included in the scheme. There is no reduction during winter on the price of the Combo Ticket. If you only intend to visit three or four sites during a visit in winter, the Special Ticket Package is not worth it. If you visit all but the Archaeological Site of Lykeion, you will break even.

The sacred rock in the city of modern day Athens is one of the most well known archaeological sites in the World, and the most visited attraction in Athens. For ancient Athenians, it was the most important religious centre. Although occupied since the Neolithic, it was not until the 11th century BC that the Acropolis became the home of the cult of Athena. The monuments we visit today are much more recent, dating to the 5th century when Athens was at the height of its power.

There are a number of religious buildings on top of the Acropolis, the most iconic of which is the Parthenon. The other well known structure is the Erechtheion. While most visitors to the Acropolis head straight for the top, there is much to see on the Northern and Southern Slopes of the Acropolis.

The buildings on the slopes of the Acropolis reflect the religious and cultural importance this area had in Athens during the Archaic and Classical periods. Besides the relatively well preserved Odeon of Herodes Atticus and the Theatre of Dionysus, both slopes have a number of sanctuaries, churches and sacred caves.

There are two separate entrances, the two slopes are joined by the Ancient Peripatos Street, so both the north and south slope count as a single site. For Athenians, the Agora was not just a market place where they came daily to buy food and goods, it was also the political and judicial centre of the city. The reason it is has survived so well is because it became a church in the 7th century AD.

There are great views over the Agora to the Acropolis from the temple. The Entry to the Agora includes entry to the Museum of the Ancient Agora — housed in the restored Stoa of Attalos, which has a vast and impressive collection of artefacts. The agora was a large courtyard surrounded by stoas, shops and other commercial buildings. Just beyond the agora, but within the boundary of the site as it is today are the remains of the public toilets and the octagonal Tower of the Winds, built for astronomical purposes housing a hydraulic clock.

On the northwestern fringes of the ancient city of Athens is Kerameikos. As the name suggests this was an area that was once inhabited by potters. But it is also the site of the oldest and largest Attic cemetery. Walls surround an enormous archaeological site that has a wide range of ancient funerary monuments and structures, from a tumulus mound to family tombs and individual columns.

On site, and included in the entry fee is the Archaeological Museum of Kerameikos. The museum houses the artefacts recovered from archaeological excavations, and are displayed to show the changing funerary practices in ancient Athens. During recent rescue excavations the remains of an ancient palaestra were discovered. This was the legendary Gymnasium of Lykeion Lyceum. The name comes from the sanctuary of Apollo Lykeios, which was built sometime before the gymnasium.

But sadly this temple was not found during the archaeological investigation of this site. For visitors today a surface area of 0. Hadrian was an ardent cultural Hellenophile, and he did much to leave his mark here. The library was a rectangular peristyle structure with an interior courtyard, by 82 metres. A small onsite exhibition room houses a colossal statue of Nike and some other artefacts recovered.

The main attraction of the Olympieion is the colossal Temple of Olympian Zeus — one of the largest temples in the ancient world. Despite its size, you can not gaze at this monument through the fence, you have to stand at the foot of these massive columns 16 of the are still standing to appreciate just how big they are.

Entry fees to these museums are not expensive. If you want to visit both the Acropolis and the Acropolis Museum and not the other sites , there is an option to skip-the-line at both attractions and explore both in your own time — via GetYourGuide includes free cancellation or Tiqets does not include free cancellation. This ticket includes entry to the Acropolis, allows you to skip any queues, and a one and a half hour tour with a local guide. GetYourGuide has a number of different walking tours to choose from.

These vary in length, and what sites are included on the tour. Taking these does allow you to skip the lines, but entry fees are not always included. The reason being some people might already have a multi-site pass, or be eligible for discounts.

A popular option, suited to those who want a guide of some kind but not a guided tour with a person, is the skip-the-line ticket with audio tour. For a small additional cost you can buy a skip-the-line ticket that comes with an audio tour of the Acropolis. All you need is your own smartphone, with headphones. You get to avoid any queues, and an audio tour of the Acropolis with supporting information and an interactive map that you can access without requiring an internet connection.

By far one of the most popular tickets, and I think the best value and so the tour I recommend for throughout the year is the five hour tour of Athens, the Acropolis and the new Acropolis Museum. And, this certified walking tour can be booked online at GetYourGuide. With a choice of over 60 ticket and guided tour options , see our recommendations for the Best Acropolis Tours and Skip-the-Line Tickets. There are a couple of city passes available.

Full disclosure: I have not tried and tested any of these. But just doing the maths, none of them add up for me. First, most attractions are already quite cheap. Second, and more importantly, you would be hard pushed to do everything, or enough, in the time allotted before you start making a savings. There is the Combo Ticket Pass for Museums , which gives you three days access to 15 different museums and galleries, including the Acropolis and the new Acropolis Museum. For more information, and to buy your pass, go to the Tiqets Website.

Certain groups of people are qualify for free entry throughout the year. If this applies to you, ensure you have all the necessary documents that prove you are eligible. The reduction only applies in the summer, during the winter the entry fees are reduced for everyone. The reduction does not apply to the Combo Ticket. Again, be sure to have valid documents and ID to demonstrate you are eligible for such a discount. If you are booking online a step-by-step account is given below and are eligible for a reduced or free ticket, make this choice while booking your ticket.

A voucher will be sent via e-mail. Take this voucher to the ticket office of the site you are visiting, and with proof of eligibility you will be given your ticket. You will be able to join a fast-track line at the ticket office.

Step Four: a box to the right will open that allows you to choose the site you want to visit. Choose your date. Step Six: the option to choose a time will appear below the calendar. You need to choose the correct date, but not the correct time. Then click continue.

Step Seven: this is where you choose the type of ticket you want, and how many. Take note of the restrictions below the box. Visiting Athens? Or looking for more information about the Acropolis? Having visited over countries on six of the seven continents I am often surprised by the limited information available for archaeological sites in many travel guides.

With my passion for travel and professional background in archaeology, I started Archaeology Travel. Here I share my experiences of seeing truly spectacular places, as well as offering my tips and recommendations. Other websites and guides may appear to cover more areas and attractions, but the information on this website is based on first-hand experiences, not copied from other, sometimes misleading sources. Read More About Archaeology Travel. If you buy the combo ticket and the Museum Unlimited Pass, that is 85 Euros — not only you could visit the Acropolis twice experience it at different times , and you could spread out your visits over your 7 days better, as you would not buy them both on the same day.

And there is the Hop-on-Hop-Off bus — a great way to see the city from an open air bus. The reason you can not buy tickets for April to October now is because during those months the ticket price is different to now summer price versus winter price.

And the web designers have just not managed to work out how you and many others can buy tickets now but pay the summer prices. I am not sure when that will get resolved as this website only came into being in September I can not believe that anyone will only be able to buy tickets for April to October from 1 April.

So I will keep an eye out on this issue and keep you all updated. Great to hear from Vienna!