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Acropolis, Athens

Ancient Athens and the Acropolis Museum

Acropolis, Athens

Visible from all over Athens, the Parthenon sits at the highest point of the Acropolis, lording over the city since ancient times. Exploring the extensive site with a private guide, over half a day, offers a far better understanding of the ruins and their historical significance. Your guide will lead you through 2,500 years of history, as you hear about the function of each building, the construction techniques, the roles of the monuments and the complex’s importance as the hub of classical society.

Your private guide will pick you up at your hotel in Athens at the start of your tour. As you make your way up to the Acropolis, you’ll get an introduction to the origins of this great city of temples and the importance of Pericles, the Greek statesman who masterminded the construction of the Acropolis’s main structures.

The architectural and historic significance of the site has stretched through the millennia since its construction in the 5th-century BC. As your guide leads you around the monuments, you’ll begin to understand the power and influence the Athens Acropolis held. Your guide will offer you a window into the genius of the ancient Greeks and their complex culture as you wander through the storied remains.

The site’s crowning glory, and the symbol of Athens and Greece as a whole, is the Parthenon. Centrally placed on the Acropolis, this temple of Athena is the epitome of the Doric style of temple building.

After visiting the crumbling, yet highly impressive, remains of the Acropolis with your guide, you’ll head down the hill on foot to the sleek contemporary building that houses the Acropolis Museum.

This modern construction opened in 2009 and exhibits many of the original remains of the site in an airy, light-filled setting.

With your guide, you’ll see much of the original sculpture from the Parthenon, as well as archaeological finds from the Acropolis, dating to several different periods.

Once you’ve had some time to examine the displays, your guide will lead you to a historic bakery nearby to enjoy a local pastry before ending the tour.

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Audley Travel Specialist Alana

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Experience it for yourself

You can enjoy this activity as part of the suggested tours below, or we can weave it into a trip shaped entirely around you.