Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Center

Opened in 2016 on the site of the old Faliro racecourse, the centre was designed by Renzo Piano as a single artificial hill: a 210,000 square metre park planted with Mediterranean species climbs over the buildings, so that visitors walk up a green slope and arrive on a roof terrace 32 metres above sea level with the Saronic Gulf on one side and the Acropolis on the other. Beneath it sit the Greek National Opera and the National Library of Greece, whose reading rooms are open to the public. A long shallow canal runs the length of the park, used for kayaking and remote-control sailing, and the whole complex is powered in part by a photovoltaic canopy over the opera house. Free events, concerts, film screenings, yoga, running groups, fill the calendar most of the year.

What you actually see

• The roof terrace - the Lighthouse viewpoint over the sea and the city.
• The park - terraced Mediterranean gardens covering the buildings.
• The canal - a 400-metre water channel with small-boat activity.
• The library and opera - public reading rooms and a modern opera house.

When to go

Late afternoon and evening, when Athenians arrive to walk, run and sit out. Summer brings a heavy programme of free outdoor events; winter is quiet but the interiors stay open.

Honest expectations

It is a fair way from the historic centre, about twenty-five minutes by bus, and the park is young enough that shade is patchy in high summer. The architecture is the attraction; those hoping for a conventional museum will not find one.

Nearby

Faliro Bay and the coastal tram line are alongside; Piraeus lies west along the shore.