Acropolis Tickets: What They Cost, Where to Buy, and When to Go

A single Acropolis ticket is valid for one entry, and the Acropolis and Slopes ticket covers the hilltop along with the slopes. Book online, choose your hour, and you walk past a ticket-office queue that grows long in summer. Here is what the ticket covers, where to buy it, and how to time your visit.

How much do Acropolis tickets cost?

The ticket is called "Acropolis and Slopes," and the name tells you what it covers. You get the hilltop with the Parthenon and the Erechtheion, plus the North and South Slopes, where the Theatre of Dionysus sits. The Odeon of Herodes Atticus is not included, though a path above it gives you a good look inside. The Acropolis Museum isn't included either and sells its own tickets.

Your ticket works for a single entry, so plan to see the hill in one go. Once you leave the hilltop or the South Slope, the same ticket won't get you back into either. To reach the South Slope without exiting, follow the signs left after the Beulé Gate and take the path down to the South Exit and the South Slope entrance.

Is there free or reduced entry?

Yes. Entry is free on March 6, April 18, May 18, the last weekend of September, and October 28. Those days draw big crowds. If the savings matter to you, go late in the day, because many tour groups arrive early.

Reduced entry goes to seniors 65 and over from Greece and other EU and EEA countries and to teachers on school visits, so American seniors pay full price.

Should you buy Acropolis tickets online or at the gate?

Buy online if you can. The official ticket store sells timed-entry tickets and includes the Digital Guide app. Tickets are non-refundable, but you can change them up to 2 hours before entry, with a maximum of 2 changes per ticket.

Reputable resellers such as GetYourGuide and Tiqets sell the same timed entry for a little more, usually bundled with an audio or digital guide you play on your own phone. They also sell guided tours that include entry, such as a one-and-a-half-hour walk with a local guide.

If you buy at the gate, there are two ticket offices. The main one sits just below the western entrance. A smaller kiosk stands at the south entrance, near the Theatre of Dionysus and across from the Acropolis Museum. The two are about a ten-minute walk apart, and in busy periods their queues run about the same length. At the south entrance, people with advance tickets use a separate line that has no queue.

Do you need to pick a time slot, and is there a skip-the-line ticket?

Slots run hourly, and you can arrive up to 15 minutes early or 15 minutes late. Outside that window, your entry time is strictly enforced. Once you're in, you can stay until the site closes.

Some resellers advertise "skip-the-line" tickets, but no ticket of any kind lets you jump the entry line. Booking ahead lets you skip the ticket-office line, which makes the start of your visit smoother.

Are there combined tickets with the Acropolis Museum or other sites?

The old five-day combo ticket that covered the Acropolis and six other ancient sites ended in April 2025. Each site now sells its own ticket. That includes the Acropolis Museum, whose ticket you buy at the museum's desk or on its website. Buy from the museum's own site ending in ".gr". A lookalike site ending in ".org" has been taking money for fake tickets.

Resellers still sell bundles. Common packages pair the Acropolis with the museum, sometimes with an audio guide to the Old Town. Others add the National Archaeological Museum, five more ancient sites, a museum pass, or a hop-on hop-off bus. Some bundles save you money, while others cost about the same as buying each ticket separately, so add up the individual prices before you book.

When should you go to avoid the lines?

Go early or late, when queues are much shorter. At those hours the south entrance is usually the quicker of the two. On one early-October visit at about 10 a.m., the wait at both gates was 45 to 50 minutes, and April brings similar lines. From May through September, the wait to buy a ticket can stretch to two hours.

For a calmer visit, some guided tours enter first thing in the morning and others close to last entry, when the evening light comes in.

What are the opening hours and closures?

2026 hours: in summer the site is open 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., with last entrance at 7:30 p.m. In winter it is open 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. and last entrance is at 4:30 p.m.

In September and October, closing time moves earlier in steps as the days get shorter. In early September the site closes at 7:30 p.m., and in the second half of September at 7 p.m. In the first half of October the closing time is 6:30 p.m., and in the second half 6 p.m. Last entry is 30 minutes before closing time.

The site is closed on January 1, March 25, May 1, Easter Sunday, December 25 and December 26. On Good Friday it opens from noon to 5 p.m., and on Holy Saturday from 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.

What should you know about getting in, with luggage or mobility needs?

Bring your ticket on your phone or printed. The cloakroom just outside the site, north of the main entrance, won't take large bags either, so leave suitcases at your hotel. The paths are uneven, so wear sturdy walking shoes.

The elevator has its own entrance north of the main gate, at the end of a route about 1,150 feet (350 m) long. It also serves a parent visiting alone with two or more infants. It rises about 82 feet (25 m) and lets you out on the plateau north of the Erechtheion, and trained staff accompany wheelchair users. Call the Acropolis Guards' Office at 2131317762 an hour before you arrive. The elevator doesn't run in severe weather or strong wind. Accessible toilets are at the Information Centre, 18-20 Dionysiou Areopagitou Street, 164 feet (50 m) east of the South Slope entrance.

To get there, take Metro Line 2 to Acropolis station and walk up Dionysiou Areopagitou Street. From Monastiraki station, walk up through the Ancient Agora or the Plaka district.