One of the Hottest Landmarks Offers Private, Pricey Tours

Come April, pay up to $5.5K at Athens' Acropolis and have it all to yourself (along with a few others)
By Newser Editors and Wire Services
Posted Jan 6, 2024 3:00 PM CST
Want a Private Tour of the Acropolis? That Option Is Near
Tourists visit the Parthenon atop the Acropolis in Athens, Greece, on July 4.   (AP Photo/Thanassis Stavrakis, File)

Fancy seeing the ancient Acropolis uncluttered by thousands of selfie-snappers? A solution is in the works, but it will set you back up to $5,500. Starting April 1, Greece plans to offer exclusive guided tours of its most powerful tourist magnet to handfuls of well-heeled visitors outside normal opening hours, per the AP. The measure is part of an overhaul of ticketing policy for Greece's archaeological sites and museums, which will see across-the-board increases as of April 2025. The new Acropolis service will apply to a maximum of four groups, of up to five people each. It will cost $5,500 per group, although individuals prepared to cover the full group fee are welcome to visit on their own.

The visits, with certified guides, will last up to two hours: from 7am-9am local time, just before the site opens, or 8pm-10pm, after it closes. The new ticket policy will include a 50% increase in prices for ordinary Acropolis tickets, from about $22 to $33, although the number of free entry days during the winter will be doubled to two a month. Dominating the Athens skyline, the Acropolis and its 2,500-year-old marble monuments—including the Parthenon temple—is Greece's most-visited ancient site. Amid a surge of tourist arrivals in the country, it attracted more than 3 million people in 2022. The press of up to 23,000 daily visitors drove the Culture Ministry in September to announce caps on entry numbers and other restrictions starting in 2024.

(More Greece stories.)

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