Greece Will Soon Limit Daily Visitors to the Acropolis and Require Timed Entry — What to Know

Greece will limit daily visitors to its famous Acropolis next month in an effort to control crowding.

Starting Sept. 4, daily visitors to the Athens monument will be capped at 20,000 people as part of a pilot program, according to the Culture Minister Lina Mendoni. Entrance will be divided into time zones from 8 a.m. until 8 p.m.

The pilot is then expected to go into full force on a permanent basis on April 1, 2024, in all archaeological sites that utilize electronic tickets.

“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 during an interview, adding, “Obviously, tourism is desirable for the country, for all of us. But we have to see how over-tourism will not damage the monument.”

As part of the new plan, visitor numbers will be capped by the hour. For example, 3,000 visitors will be allowed to enter from 8. a.m. to 9 a.m. Some hourly slots will be more crowded than others.

Visitors will not be limited in how much time they spend at the site when they get there, but Mendoni said most travelers in organized groups tend to visit for about 45 minutes, while individual visitors tend to explore for up to an hour and a half.

Greece’s plan to implement a timed entry system comes as visitor numbers have reached as high as 22,000 to 23,000 on some days, Mendoni said. Overall, about 50 percent of visitors tend to want to enter the site in the mornings between 8 a.m. and 12 p.m., and that’s especially true for larger groups of 10 or more people.

Travelers hoping to avoid the crowds (and the heat) completely should consider visiting Greece during the winter when tourism numbers are significantly reduced and the weather tends to hover around 50 degrees Fahrenheit. 

Beyond controlling crowds, Greece has also taken steps to make the Acropolis more accessible to visitors with disabilities by installing an elevator.