MuseumClosed 1 January, Orthodox Easter Sunday, 1 May, 25 December, 26 December

Acropolis Museum

#2of 10 places to visit in AthensAthens, Attica, Greece

Also known as Mouseio Akropolis · New Acropolis Museum

Quick answer

Opening hours: 09:00–17:00 and 09:00–22:00 and 09:00–20:00 and 09:00–17:00 and 09:00–20:00 and 09:00–22:00. Entry: €20. Allow 2 hrs. Best time: Weekday mornings at opening.

Updated 18 September 2026 · Compiled by Traveliac, AI-assisted · 4 min read

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Photo: Jebulon / Wikimedia Commons, CC0

Opening hours: 09:00–22:00; Winter (1 Nov–31 Mar): Mon–Thu 09:00–17:00, Fri 09:00–22:00, Sat–Sun 09:00–20:00. Summer (1 Apr–31 Oct): Mon 09:00–17:00, Tue–Sun 09:00–20:00, Fri 09:00–22:00
Entry fee: €20; Ticket from
Time needed: 2 hrs
Best time of day: Weekday mornings at opening
Best months: Apr – Jun, Sep – Oct
Address: Dionysiou Areopagitou 15, 11742 Athens, Greece

About Acropolis Museum

The Acropolis Museum opened on 20 June 2009 on a site excavated first, then built over on 100 concrete pillars sunk between the ruins of an early Byzantine and Roman city quarter, which remains visible through glass floor panels in the entrance lobby. Swiss-American architect Bernard Tschumi designed the building in reinforced concrete and glass specifically to orient its top-floor gallery, the Parthenon Gallery, at the same compass alignment as the Parthenon itself, visible through floor-to-ceiling windows 300 metres up the hill. The gallery displays the surviving Parthenon frieze blocks in their original sequence, with plaster casts standing in for the sections held by the British Museum in London — a deliberate, unlabelled gap left as an argument for reunification.

Best time of day: Weekday mornings at opening. Or Friday evening after 18:00 when the museum stays open to 22:00 and the top-floor glass gallery catches sunset light over the Acropolis rock itself, visible through the windows.

Acropolis Museum timings

Opening hours: 09:00–22:00; Mon–Sun 09:00–17:00 and 09:00–22:00 and 09:00–20:00 and 09:00–17:00 and 09:00–20:00 and 09:00–22:00; Winter (1 Nov–31 Mar): Mon–Thu 09:00–17:00, Fri 09:00–22:00, Sat–Sun 09:00–20:00. Summer (1 Apr–31 Oct): Mon 09:00–17:00, Tue–Sun 09:00–20:00, Fri 09:00–22:00
Closed on: 1 January, Orthodox Easter Sunday, 1 May, 25 December, 26 December

Mon–Sun	09:00–17:00 and 09:00–22:00 and 09:00–20:00 and 09:00–17:00 and 09:00–20:00 and 09:00–22:00

Good to know: Reduced hours on Christmas Eve and New Year's Eve (09:00–15:00) and Orthodox Good Friday (12:00–18:00). Last entry is 30 minutes before closing.

Opening hours compiled from theacropolismuseum.gr and public records, last updated 18 September 2026. They change without notice — confirm before you travel. How we write these guides

Acropolis Museum ticket price

Entry fees for Acropolis Museum
Ticket	Price
Standard ticket	€20
Concession (student / senior)	€10
Children	Free

General admission €20, reduced €10, as of 2026 (checked at theacropolismuseum.gr). Free admission applies to EU citizens under 25 with ID, children under 5, and several other documented categories including students and the unemployed with proof; verify current exemptions at the official site before visiting.

Prices compiled from theacropolismuseum.gr and public records, last updated 18 September 2026. They change without notice — confirm before you travel. How we write these guides

Best time to visit Acropolis Museum

Quiet
Moderate
Very busy

09:00 – 10:30
Morning OpeningBest time to go
First entry window sees the smallest crowds; independent travellers and photographers favour this slot for unobstructed views of the ground-floor excavation.
Quiet
10:30 – 14:00
Coach Tour Peak
Guided groups arrive in waves after visiting the Acropolis itself; the Parthenon Gallery on the top floor gets the most congested during this window.
Very busy
14:00 – 17:00
Afternoon Ebb
Group tours thin out as they move to lunch or other sites; a comfortable window for slower, self-paced viewing.
Moderate
18:00 – 22:00 (Fri only)
Friday Late Opening
Extended Friday hours draw mostly locals and evening visitors; sunset light through the Parthenon Gallery windows is a distinct advantage of this slot.
Quiet

History of Acropolis Museum

Planning for a purpose-built Acropolis museum began in the 1970s, when Greek authorities judged the small 19th-century museum on the Acropolis rock itself inadequate for both crowd numbers and conservation standards. An international design competition, launched in 2000 after two earlier competitions failed over site disputes, selected Tschumi's design in 2001. Construction on Dionysiou Areopagitou Street began in 2004, directly above a residential and commercial quarter of ancient and Byzantine Athens; rather than relocate the archaeological layer, architects raised the museum on pillars threading between excavated walls, and the dig remains an active, viewable site beneath the lobby glass. The museum's most consequential curatorial decision was displaying the Parthenon Marbles it holds — roughly half the surviving sculptural programme — in the exact sequence they occupied on the temple, a presentation Greek officials have used consistently in the repatriation campaign for the London-held remainder since the museum opened in 2009.

Rules & etiquette at Acropolis Museum

Photography without flash is permitted throughout the permanent collection, though flash and tripods are restricted to protect the marble surfaces. The glass floor sections over the archaeological excavation in the entrance area require visitors to keep to marked walkways; stiletto heels are discouraged for the same reason and complimentary shoe covers are sometimes offered at the entrance. Large bags and backpacks go into the free lockers near the entrance before proceeding through security screening, which functions like an airport checkpoint with a metal detector. The top-floor Parthenon Gallery restaurant has a dress-code-free but reservation-advised policy given its limited seating and Acropolis view.

Tips for visiting Acropolis Museum

1
Buying a combined Acropolis-and-Museum ticket in advance is not currently offered as a single product, so the two admissions are booked separately at tickets.hh.gr and theacropolismuseum.gr respectively; visiting the archaeological site first and the museum afterward gives better context, since many labelled fragments in the museum are missing from the rock itself. The glass floor over the excavation is easy to rush past — pausing at the marked viewing points on the ground floor rewards visitors with a clear read of Byzantine-era street layout. Friday's extended hours to 22:00 are the single best window for avoiding coach-tour crowds, which dominate the late morning. The museum café on the ground floor, separate from the rooftop restaurant, is a reasonable and considerably cheaper option for a coffee break mid-visit.

How to reach Acropolis Museum

The red star is Acropolis Museum; the numbered pins are the 8 nearest places in our guides, each showing its rank in its city. Tap a pin for details.

Dionysiou Areopagitou 15, 11742 Athens, GreeceDirections in Google Maps

From Athens International Airport (ATH)
33 km · 45-55 min
€9 single airport fare
From Syntagma Square
1.5 km · 8 min
€1.20 standard metro fare
From Monastiraki
1.2 km · 15 min walk
Free (walking)

Nearest airport

From Athens International Airport Eleftherios Venizelos (ATH)

33 km, approximately 45–55 minutes via metro Line 3 to Syntagma then Line 2 to Akropoli.

Nearest station

From Akropoli metro station (Line 2)

directly beneath the museum, connected by an underground passage.

Acropolis Museum FAQs

Can I see the Parthenon frieze at the museum if the original is in London?

Yes, the Parthenon Gallery displays the full sculptural sequence: original marble blocks held in Athens are shown alongside plain plaster casts marking where London-held originals belong, making the division between the two collections visible rather than hidden.

Is the Acropolis Museum wheelchair accessible?

Yes, the building was designed with full step-free access, including lifts to all floors and accessible restrooms; the glass-floor excavation walkways in the lobby are also wheelchair-passable.

How long should I budget for a visit?

Two hours covers the permanent collection at a moderate pace; visitors with a strong interest in the Parthenon sculptures or the ground-floor excavation should allow closer to three hours.

Are the Acropolis and Acropolis Museum tickets combined?

No, as of 2026 they are sold separately through different platforms — tickets.hh.gr for the archaeological site and theacropolismuseum.gr for the museum — so budgeting for both admissions separately is necessary.

Compiled with AI assistance from official sources and public records, and published only after the checks in How we write these guides. Nobody from Traveliac has visited this place. Last updated 18 September 2026. How we rank and check places