The Acropolis of Athens overlooks the city of Athens. As you wander around the city, all you have to do is to look up and you will see the Acropolis up on the hill. It is a beautiful structure even from afar. We got to visit the site and luckily on the day where it was the World Museum Day where entry was free :)
Warning: Photo Heavy Post
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| Acropolis |
There are two entrances to get to the top where the Acropolis is. The main entrance, which is by the car park is more popular for the obvious reason. During the height of summer and the cruise ship seasons, that entrance gets overcrowded, so a tip is to get to the Acropolis via the 2nd entrance.
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| Chaos at the Acropolis Entrance |
Going in via this entrance is advantageous as because of its distance from the carpark, far fewer people uses it and you don't even have to queue for your tickets. Another advantage of this 2nd entrance is you will see much more than going in via the main entrance. Here you will get to see the Dionysus Sanctuary and the Theatre.
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| View from the South East Entrance |
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| Where we entered - via the south slope |
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| Walking through the Dionysus Sanctuary |
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| Dionysus Theatre |
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| Another view of the theatre |
It's a bit of a climb uphill. Luckily for us, it was in may and the temperature was bearable, have it been in the height of summer with the Greek heat, I wouldn't have lasted really long :p
Good thing was - as you climbed up, the views kept getting better and the archaeological remains got more and more spectacular.
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| View over to the Acropolis Museum |
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| View up to the Temple of Athena Nike |
As we climbed up, we came across an amazing site, which is the Odeon of Herodes Atticus. This theatre is still used in the present day for Athens Art Festival during May to October.
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| Odeon of Herodes Atticus |
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| Birds eye view of the Odeon of Herodes Atticus |
Finally after about a 20 minute walk, we were at the top at the Acropolis with a great 360 degree view of Athens.
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| View over Athens |
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| Another view over Athens |
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| Athens |
At the top, this is where people from both entrances crossing path. Be careful when you walk up the steps here, as the floor is made up of marble that has smoothen over loads of feet that had trodden over them.
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| Tourist everywhere!!! at the entrance |
At the entrance or the Propylaea where loads of tourists are climbing their way to see the Parthenon.
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| More tourists making their way up the Propylaea |
Finally after you get up the steps, you will see the Parthenon, the largest temple in the Acropolis and a sight to behold.
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| Parthenon |
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| The side of the Parthenon with less scaffolding |
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| Close up of the Parthenon |
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| The grand Parthenon against the beautiful blue skies of Athens |
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| Another view of Athens from the Acropolis |
Another temple of the Acropolis site is the Temple of Athena Nike.
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| Temple of Athena Nike |
The final temple at the Acropolis is the Erechtheion.
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| The Porch of the Caryatids on the south side of the Erechtheion |
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| View of the Temple of Zeus |
After we were done at the Acropolis, we went to check out the Acropolis Museum. It was a great way to spend a few hours, or actually even more if you are into Greek history. It is also a great way to escape the heat too. Unfortunately, no photos were allowed in there. But it is still worth your money and your time to check out some of the artifacts inside.
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| Acropolis Museum |
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| Acropolis Museum |
The museum lies on the archaeological site of Makrygianni and the ruins of a part of Roman and early Byzantine Athens which you can see in the picture above.
All in all, we spent a fantastic day at the Acropolis, a not to be missed when you visit Athens.
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