Last Updated on 15 August 2025 by Colette
This post features a hosted stay
I don’t think you can really spend a weekend in Athens and not pay a visit to the Parthenon and the Acropolis. We had read that the best time to visit the Acropolis was first thing in the morning or last thing at night so we planned to get up, have breakfast and catch the Metro to Acropolis to start our exploring there.
The Acropolis opens at 8am all year round, the closing time varies by season. You can pre-book timed entry slots for the Acropolis, and I would recommend if you are visiting at peak times that you do this. We arrived at the Acropolis shortly before 10am and bought our tickets on the gate (€10) – there was no queue when we had arrived but by the time we had bought our tickets, there was suddenly a lot of people lining up – I assume these were people with a 10am time slot.
Now if, like us, you thought 10am on a random Friday in early March would be a quiet time to visit the Acropolis, you’d be wrong!
We overheard one of the guides saying that this actually was quiet so I can’t even being to imagine the crowds in peak season. I have since spoken to people who have visited in the summer and said it didn’t look like this and I’ve also spoken to someone who went in April and said it was just the same as when we visited last week. I think we managed to time our visit with a number of school trips and organised groups so I think that 8am opening time might have been a win or Sam from North East Family Fun suggests visiting at sunset to avoid large groups and the heat of the midday sun!
I’ve obviously only included the worst bits in this video but there’s plenty of bottle necks around the site so you do find yourself shuffling about a bit and waiting for people to move on!
Top tip: wear sturdy shoes with good grip, there’s a lot of stairs, uneven ground and slippy surfaces to navigate
I have taught the odd lesson on Ancient Greece over the years so I knew more than Dave but the information I did have was very rusty so I regretted not refreshing my knowledge before we went. There are plenty of information boards dotted around the site (typically in Greek and English) but these were long and I didn’t really feel I could spend too much time reading when there were so many other people, that said, I found it fascinating to read about the repairs and maintenance that have been made to the Parthenon and other structures at the Acropolis over the years.
We spent around an hour at the Acropolis – I think had it been less busy we’d have spent longer there, reading the information boards and taking photos etc but we felt that we’d ticked the box and were ready to leave and get something to drink. We were both dying of thirst so were pleased to spot a vending machine selling bottled water near the exit – we fully expected to be paying about €4 for the privilege of a cold drink but were stunned to find it was only 50¢! We grabbed two bottles and made our way up onto the Areopagus where we sat to drink our water and take in the views. (It’s worth noting you are not allowed to take food and drink into the Acropolis to prevent litter and potential damage – you are permitted to take refillable water bottles and there are apparently water fountains available for refills but we didn’t see those!)
f you’re planning to explore Athens and beyond, a private car transfer service like Daytrip can be a relaxing alternative to public transport. The drivers are locals and speak English. Plus, if you’re travelling between cities, you’ll have the flexibility to stop at scenic spots and charming towns on the way to your next destination.
Once you have exited the site, you cannot re-enter without purchasing a new ticket so do make sure you’ve seen everything you wanted to before you leave!
You can read more about our short break in Athens here:
We stayed at The Modernist Athens
- Our flights and accommodation for this trip were covered by Jet2CityBreaks
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I loved visiting the Acropolis. We visited the museum first which provided loads of info and context.