Athens Museums / Acropolis / Acropolis entrances
Two public entrances, one lift, and a ticket that only lets you in once. Where to go in, where to come out, and what to sort out before your slot.
Tickets and tours
BestsellerThe easiest way to arrive at the right entrance: the voucher gives the exact meeting point, and the guide takes you from there through the Propylaia and up to the Parthenon in two hours.
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A booked slot with an app audio guide, for visitors who want to pick their own entrance and their own route through the site.
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All experiences →The Acropolis entrance you choose decides what you see first, how far you walk uphill and where you come out at the end. There are two public entrances to the hill. The Main Entrance, at the western tip, sends you up through the Beule Gate and into the Propylaia, the marble gatehouse that opens onto the summit. The South Slope entrance sits lower down, at the corner of Dionysiou Areopagitou and Thrasyllou Street, and starts you at the Theatre of Dionysus before the climb. A third, separate way in exists only for the lift used by wheelchair users and visitors with reduced mobility.
One ticket works at either of the two, and both routes finish on the same hilltop, beside the Parthenon, the Erechtheion and the little Temple of Athena Nike. What differs is the order of the visit, the length of the climb and the facilities around you before you go in. This page walks through each Acropolis entrance in turn, then the one rule that shapes every route: your ticket works once, so you cannot step out and come back.
The rock of the Acropolis is only accessible from the west, which is why the ancient builders put their monumental gateway here and why the Main Entrance still sits at this end today. The main Acropolis entrance has no published street address. Think of it as the west end of the hill, above the pedestrian street Dionysiou Areopagitou, and follow the signs and the stream of people uphill.
Once your ticket is scanned, the path takes you to the Beule Gate, a fortified gate built into the defences after the Herulian invasion of the third century AD. Beyond it the ramp and steps rise to the Propylaia, the Classical entrance hall designed by the architect Mnesikles. On a bastion to your right as you climb stands the small Temple of Athena Nike, one of the first monuments you pass on this route. The Propylaia is where the passage narrows and everyone slows down, whichever entrance they used. It is also where a good guide earns their fee, because the wait turns into the first ten minutes of the story.
Most of the practical facilities are clustered here, just outside the ticketed area. The baggage and stroller check-in is to the north of the Main Entrance. There are no working toilets on the rock while renovation continues. The Ministry points visitors to two sets outside: a permanent block on the south side of the Main Entrance, to your right as you face it, and portable cabins on the north side, to your left. A small shop by the entrance opens at 08:00 and closes at 19:30 in the summer season, 17:00 in winter. If you are travelling with anyone who needs a lift, a toilet stop or somewhere to leave a folded stroller, this is the entrance that has all three within a few metres.
The second Acropolis entrance lets you onto the South Slope where Thrasyllou Street meets Dionysiou Areopagitou, a short walk from Akropoli metro station. The South Slope is part of the same archaeological site and part of the same ticket, and it is where the ancient city had its theatres and sanctuaries rather than its temples.
Coming in this way, the Theatre of Dionysus is the first thing you reach: the ancient theatre built into the hillside below the rock. The path then climbs along the slope, with the Odeon of Herodes Atticus seen from above as you go, and joins the approach to the Propylaia near the top. From there the visit carries on exactly as it would from the west side.
The appeal of this entrance is sequence. You see the theatre fresh, at the start rather than on tired legs at the end, and the climb is spread out along the slope rather than packed into one ramp. Fifty metres east, at number 18-20 on the same street, the site's information centre has step-free toilets and makes an easy place to meet the rest of your group. The shop that used to operate on the South Slope is closed until further notice, so buy water before you leave the street.
Use the entrance your voucher names. A timed ticket or a guided tour may state where to go, and a tour will give its exact meeting point on the voucher. Where the choice is yours, it comes down to three questions.
Do you want the Parthenon first? Take the Main Entrance. It puts the Propylaia at the start of the visit, and it suits a first visit where the temples are the point. Do you want the theatre, a longer and gentler climb, and the Acropolis Museum right at the end? Take the South Slope. Do you need step-free access, the lift or ticket validation for a visitor with a disability? That happens only at the Main Entrance, not at the South Slope, so plan the day around the west side.
Whichever you pick, the ticket is the same. If you have not booked yet, our Acropolis tickets page compares the guided tour and the timed ticket side by side. The Acropolis map shows both entrances, the lift and the route between the theatre and the Propylaia on one screen, which helps if you are trying to picture the climb before you arrive.
The Acropolis and Slopes ticket is used once. If you leave either the Acropolis or the South Slope, you cannot go back into either site on the same ticket. That single rule turns the choice of Acropolis entrance into a choice of route.
The simplest plan runs downhill. Enter at the Main Entrance, see the Propylaia, the Parthenon and the Erechtheion while you are fresh, and then, after passing back through the Beule Gate, follow the signs to the left (south). The ascent path takes you down to the South Exit of the Acropolis and straight into the South Slope, so the Theatre of Dionysus becomes the end of the visit rather than a separate trip. You come out onto Dionysiou Areopagitou, and the Acropolis Museum is directly across the street, and the original Caryatids from the Erechtheion porch inside.
The reverse works too: in at the South Slope, up past the theatre, and out through the Beule Gate at the west end. That leaves you closer to Plaka and the Ancient Agora than to the Museum. The one route that does not work is stepping out mid-visit to fetch something, find a toilet or meet someone at the other entrance. Do those things before your ticket is scanned.
Akropoli, on metro Line 2, is the closest station. Come up to street level and turn onto Dionysiou Areopagitou, the broad pedestrian street that skirts the south side of the hill and passes both Acropolis entrances. Allow roughly five minutes to walk to the South Slope. The Main Entrance is further along the same street and then uphill, about ten to twelve minutes in total at an easy pace.
Monastiraki station is the other official approach. From there the Ministry's own directions run either through the Plaka district or through the archaeological site of the Ancient Agora up to the west side, which makes Monastiraki the natural start if you want to pair the Agora and the Acropolis in one morning. Allow about 12 to 15 minutes uphill to the Main Entrance through Plaka. From Syntagma Square the walk to the Main Entrance is roughly 1.5 kilometres, about 20 minutes.
However you arrive, the last stretch to either Acropolis entrance is on foot and uphill. The Ministry recommends walking footwear for the whole site, and the paths on the rock are marble and stepped, so trainers or sandals with grip beat anything with a smooth sole.
The Acropolis has had a lift for visitors with mobility difficulties since 2020. You reach it through a separate Acropolis entrance on the north side of the Main Entrance, then follow a step-free path of 350 metres to the foot of the lift, which climbs roughly 25 metres and lets you out on the summit just north of the Erechtheion. From there, marked routes lead past the Erechtheion towards the north side of the Parthenon and around its east end. Trained staff accompany every wheelchair user in the lift. It is also open to people with reduced mobility and to a parent on their own with two or more infants.
The lift does not run in severe weather or strong winds, and it is sometimes out of service. The Ministry posts its status as an urgent notice on the site's official page, and on 30 September 2026 that notice listed it as out of order. Ring the Acropolis Chief Guard's Office on 2131317762 one hour before you arrive to confirm it is working and to arrange the escort. Ticket validation and entry for visitors with disabilities take place only at the Main Entrance. Down on the South Slope, a wheelchair can go as far as the western edge of the Theatre of Dionysus and no further.
Small backpacks and handbags are allowed inside. Suitcases are another matter: they are refused on the site and refused at the baggage and stroller check-in as well, so they need to stay in your room. Expect to leave a stroller there too, since the paths are marble and stepped. Food and drink are not allowed on the site, smoking is banned, and pets are not admitted apart from assistance dogs. The partner tickets add their own conditions: bring the voucher on your phone with photo ID, and leave tripods and drones behind.
Timing matters as much as the Acropolis entrance you pick. The last entry is half an hour before closing, and the closing time steps back through September and October as the days shorten, so check the Acropolis opening hours for your date before you choose a slot. The timed ticket lets you enter up to 15 minutes before or after your booked time, according to the partner. Shade on the rock is scarce, and during past heatwaves the Ministry has shut the site for the hottest hours of the day, which makes a morning slot the sensible choice in summer.
Before you book
What people ask before they book.
Two are open to the public. The Main Entrance is at the western end of the hill and leads via the Beule Gate to the Propylaia. The South Slope entrance is where Thrasyllou Street meets Dionysiou Areopagitou, right by the Theatre of Dionysus. Visitors who need the lift use a third, separate way in on the north side of the Main Entrance.
On the west side of the hill, above the pedestrian street Dionysiou Areopagitou. There is no published street address. From Akropoli metro it is about ten to twelve minutes on foot along Dionysiou Areopagitou and then uphill.
The South Slope entrance. From Akropoli station (Line 2) it is roughly a five-minute walk west along Dionysiou Areopagitou, while the Main Entrance lies further on and higher up.
Yes. After the Beule Gate, signs lead south along the ascent path to the South Exit and into the South Slope, so you can enter at the Main Entrance and finish at the Theatre of Dionysus. What you cannot do is leave either site and come back in, because the ticket is single-use.
The Main Entrance. Ticket validation and entry for visitors with disabilities happen only there, and the lift is reached from a separate entrance north of it along a 350-metre path. Call the Chief Guard's Office on 2131317762 one hour before arrival, as the lift does not run in bad weather or strong winds and is sometimes out of service.
Yes, if it is small: backpacks and handbags of that size are fine. Suitcases are turned away both on the site and at the baggage and stroller check-in beside the Main Entrance, so leave them where you are staying.
Both entrances take the same Acropolis and Slopes ticket. Book an early slot and walk in from whichever side suits your route.