The roof
The sea and the Acropolis in one view โ and free.
Jean Housen โ CC BY-SA 4.0 ยท Jean Housen โ CC BY-SA 4.0 ยท Jean Housen โ CC BY-SA 4.0 ยท Jeanhousen โ CC BY-SA 4.0
Worth it if you have **a spare day**, are with children, or want a different evening โ not worth it if you have two days in Athens. This is not an ancient site but a **contemporary public space**: a large park, a roof with a view and a cultural programme, all free. Its real merit is being **the one place in Athens that feels like a modern European city** and offers real green space. โ The condition: **check the events calendar** โ with a concert or activity the visit is excellent, without one it is a handsome park half an hour away.
The easiest is the **free shuttle bus** the foundation runs from **Syntagma Square** straight to the centre โ check its times on their site, as they are limited and change seasonally. Alternatives are ordinary city buses from Syntagma or from **Syngrou-Fix**, or the **tram** to a nearby stop and a short walk. The journey is about **20โ30 minutes** from the centre. By car there is underground parking. โ Don't try to walk โ it is about six kilometres along a fast road.
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Athens's newest landmark and the least like anything before it: a vast cultural complex opened in **2016** in the south of the city near the sea, designed by the Italian architect **Renzo Piano**, funded by a private foundation and then given to the Greek state. It houses the **Greek National Opera** and the **National Library** in one building, surrounded by a **park of some twenty-one hectares** โ the largest green space added to Athens in decades, planted with native Mediterranean species. The design idea is striking: the building sits on an artificial hill rising gradually until its roof reaches a height from which **the sea and the Acropolis can be seen together** โ impossible from this site otherwise. Above it a huge carbon-fibre canopy carries solar cells. In the park are a long **water canal**, running tracks, play areas and a **roof terrace open free to everyone**. โ Its most important feature is that it is **entirely free** โ the park, the roof, the library and most events โ in a city where everything else is ticketed.
The sea and the Acropolis in one view โ and free.
21 hectares of Mediterranean planting, a canal and walkways.
Concerts, activities and workshops year-round without tickets.
364 Syngrou Avenue, 17674 Kallithea, Athens