The New Acropolis Museum in Athens

What a way to start a new travel blog, with the opening of the New Acropolis Museum, which took place on Saturday, June 20, 2009.

The guests invited for this event were many and distinguished from all over the world. What was fascinating about them was that they radiated! Was it because they reflected the radiation of the marbles, was it because of what they saw, was it because they were proud to be among the very few worldwide to be at the official opening or was it because the the place and the marbles have some mysterious energy that brings out this charge. What ever may it be, we too felt it, watching it from the TV, from the Internet live stream or simply listening to the commentators from the radio.
I personally was driving home, actually racing home, to see it on TV – but while in the car I was listening to the radio, which was covering the event. It was as if I could see the whole thing.

Any attempt to reproduce, explain or summarize would be vandalism.

The only things that I can point out are the things one must see/investigate/research/explore on his/her own, and they are:

• the history behind the building itself – it starts from the mid ’70s
• the building’s architecture, position and symbolism
• the fact that it only contains items from the Acropolis and the immediate surrounding area
• the placement/layout of the artifacts
• the prototypes along side with the
• the missing marbles, which are in the British Museum in London

I think that anyone that wants to live this experience either has to do some homework before visiting the museum or get a tour guide – the ones that are at the museum itself.

But what really gets me, no matter how many times I go, is the Acropolis itself. Either before of after the New Acropolis Museum you have to go and visit the Acropolis. Its one of the things one must see at least once in a life time. The same holds for the Pyramids, the Chinese Wall, ancient Rome, the ruins of Palenque, among others.

To some practical issues. The New Acropolis Museum is close by the Acropolis and both are in the center of the capital of Greece – Athens. The city that held the 2004 Olympics. One can go to the museum either by bus, metro, tram, trolley or by foot if you are staying in one of the Athens city center hotels. The museum opens at 8:00 am and closes at 8:00 pm, daily, except for Mondays. If you intend to visit on any of the days its open, you will be admitted only if you are there before 7:30 pm. Its only natural and logical to have a cut off time, otherwise you would have to race through the corridors and you would not be giving yourself or the museum a fare chance – plus the fact that the people of the museum would have to chase you out – they too have to go home and rest. Enough giber-jabber.

Also the museum will be closed on the following dates: 1 January, 6 January, 25 March, Orthodox Good Friday, Easter Monday, 1 May, Whit Monday, 15 August, 28 October, 25 December & 26 December.

The cost of entry has been set for the rest of the year at 1 Euro. Its not been said but this is a symbolic, celebrating entrance fee, which will be adjusted on January 1, 2010. You can get your entrance ticket either at the cashiers’ desk at the entrance of the museum or you can purchase your ticket(s) from the Internet online.

Any and all relavant information can be found from the museums Internet site http://www.theacropolismuseum.gr

To help you make your hotel arrangements we have a link for you that will provide you with all the hotels in Athens, sorted by category and alphabetically. Also you can make your hotel reservation/booking.

So don’t waist time, visit the New Acropolis Museum site, make your hotel reservation book a flight and come and see how the ancient and contemporary stand side by side, showing us were we came from, were we are now and letting us imagine where we are going.

You owe it to yourself.