The Acropolis Museum: Where the Marbles Belong

Opened in 2009 and designed by Bernard Tschumi, the Acropolis Museum sits at the foot of the Acropolis rock and houses the finest collection of ancient Greek sculpture from the monuments above. It’s one of the great museum buildings of the 21st century — and the argument it makes for the return of the Elgin Marbles is built into its very architecture.

The collection

The museum’s three floors follow a logical narrative: the Archaic Gallery on the first floor displays statues and architectural fragments from earlier temples on the Acropolis, including the remarkable kore (maiden) figures of the 6th century BC. The Parthenon Gallery on the top floor is the centerpiece — a glass-enclosed room oriented to align exactly with the Parthenon above, displaying the surviving metopes, frieze blocks, and pediment sculptures. Crucially, it displays the original Greek pieces alongside white plaster casts of the blocks held in London, providing a visceral sense of the frieze as it would have appeared in its entirety.

Visiting practical information

The museum is open daily; hours are extended in summer. Admission is €20 for general entry (separate from any archaeological site ticket). The ground floor restaurant and café offer one of the better meals near the tourist center, with views directly onto the Acropolis. There’s a museum shop with quality reproductions. The museum also has a glass floor in the entrance area revealing the ancient Athenian neighborhood excavated beneath the building during construction.

Why visit both

The Acropolis and its Museum work best visited together or on consecutive days. The monuments make most sense when you understand what the original sculptures looked like; the museum makes most sense when you’ve stood on the Rock and can place the fragments in architectural context. Most visitors find the Museum enriches their experience of the Acropolis significantly.