The Acropolis Museum

The Acropolis Museum is a stunning modern building at the foot of the sacred rock, designed to display the original sculptures and treasures of the Acropolis in the light and setting for which they were made. Its glass-walled top floor recreates the Parthenon frieze at full scale with the temple itself framed through the windows, while the originals of the Caryatids stand safe below.

History

The first museum, on the Acropolis itself, was completed in 1874 and modestly enlarged in the 1950s, but excavations kept filling it beyond capacity. Competitions for a new museum in 1976 and 1979 failed because the sites chosen were unsuitable, and a third, international one in 1989 was won by Manfredi Nicoletti and Lucio Passarelli but stalled in the 1990s; the design finally built raised the building on pillars above the ancient remains found on the site. The museum was founded in 2003 and opened on 20 June 2009, showing more than 4,250 objects over 14,000 square metres (Wikipedia, Acropolis Museum).

Highlights

• The Parthenon Gallery - the frieze recreated with the temple framed through glass.
• The original Caryatids - the maidens brought in from the Erechtheion.
• The archaic sculptures - the coloured statues and offerings from the rock.
• The glass floor - the excavations of an ancient neighbourhood beneath.

When to go

Year-round; a fully indoor museum, ideal in poor weather or summer heat, and a perfect complement before or after climbing the Acropolis. Late opening on some evenings gives a quieter visit.

Before you go

It is best paired with the Acropolis itself, ideally the museum after the rock so the sculptures make sense. It is busy in peak season. The empty spaces where the British Museum's sculptures would go make a pointed political statement.

Nearby

The Acropolis rises directly above; the Plaka and the Ancient Agora are a short walk.

Key facts