ATHENS – Authorities in Greece have decided to limit the number of visitors to its historic monument of the Acropolis.
If you are also planning to visit the site, you must know that a limited number of daily visitors will be permitted to enter the Acropolis from September 4 onwards and the entry will be organized into time zones.
Lina Mendoni, the Culture Minister, detailed that daily visitors to the Athens monument will be limited to 20,000 visitors per day, while entry will be permitted from 8 am until 8 pm.
“There is a very high demand and it is completely normal and understandable. The Acropolis… is a world symbol. Therefore, anyone who comes to Athens wants to visit it,” Mendoni said recently.
The minister admitted that tourism was beneficial for the country’s economy, but highlighted that it was crucial “to see how over-tourism will not damage the monument.”
The national plan to implement an entry system that limits the time daily visitors can enter the monument comes as 22,000 to 23,000 visitors were recorded at Acropolis in one day alone.
The new plan foresees that visitor numbers will be limited by the hour, with some visitors being permitted to enter from 8 am to 9 am; however, the minister has confirmed that visitors will be allowed to spend as much time at the site as they want.
The minister detailed that half of the Acropolis’ foot traffic currently arrives between 8 a.m. and noon and under the new system, 3,000 people will be granted access from 8-9 a.m., 2,000 during the next hour and the allowed number of visitors will vary during the rest of the day.
“The measure will address the need to protect the monument, which is the main thing for us, as well as (improving) visitors’ experience of the site,” she added.
The minister said similar caps will be imposed for other popular archaeological sites and added that for the Acropolis, the decision was made after consultations with tour and cruise operators.
The Acropolis of Athens, Greece, is a remarkable ancient citadel perched on a rocky outcrop. Dominated by the iconic Parthenon, a temple dedicated to the goddess Athena, the site boasts unparalleled architectural and historical significance, offering a glimpse into the rich cultural heritage of ancient Greece. Greece’s statistical authority estimated that over 3 million people visited the site last year.
