Acropolis Museum, Athens: a practical visitor guide

More Acropolis Museum guides

• Museum in 2 hoursA 2-hour route through the Acropolis Museum: Caryatids, Moschophoros, Peplos Kore, the Parthenon frieze and the views, with timings and order.
• Hours and ticketsAcropolis Museum opening hours, ticket price (€20), who enters free, Friday evenings until 22:00 and the best time to visit to avoid crowds.
• Must-see worksThe 11 works not to miss at the Acropolis Museum: Parthenon sculptures, Caryatids, Peplos Kore, Moschophoros and Kritios Boy, with their story.
• Museum with kidsVisit the Acropolis Museum with kids: a 75-minute route, games for looking at statues, free entry for young children and practical family tips.

Why it is worth visiting

The museum stands at the foot of the Acropolis to hold what the site can no longer keep outdoors: archaic sculptures, the original Caryatids and the frieze, metopes and pediments of the Parthenon. Its top-floor glass hall is aligned like the temple itself, so you can compare the sculptures with the Parthenon seen through the windows. It is the best companion to a visit to the hill.

How to plan your visit

• Buy tickets on the official portal (etickets.theacropolismuseum.gr): they are named, with a date and time, and resold tickets usually cost more.
• Visit before or after the Acropolis, not in between: each needs its own booking and time.
• Start on the ground floor, work up through the galleries and finish in the Parthenon Gallery on the top level.
• Look down at the glass floor near the entrance: it shows excavations of an ancient Athenian neighbourhood under the building.
• Personal photography is allowed everywhere except the Archaic Gallery; no flash or tripods.
• Use the second-floor cafe-restaurant and its terrace facing the Acropolis for a break.

What to see and how to combine it

If you only have a morning in Athens, go up the Acropolis at opening time and save the museum for the hot afternoon. With a second day add the Ancient Agora and the National Archaeological Museum. With the AnyArt app you can point your camera at any kore, metope or frieze slab and hear its story, a light alternative to renting an audio guide.