I go on with two other strategic points, which offer the best views of the Acropolis: the hill of Philopappou and the archaeological site of the Pnyx. Both are easily accessible and always open, even if for the Pnyx you need to know a little secret 😉
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The Pnyx
(free entrance)
The Pnyx (Pnìca in greek) is located on a hill west of the Acropolis, offering a ‘postcard’ view, with a perfect light from early afternoon until the last light. Here were held the meetings of the Ecclesia, or the assembly of the Athenians and you could say that these rocks have seen the birth of democracy. Unfortunately, despite the historical importance of the site, there is not much to see … apart from the view.
Sometimes it may happen to see a group of Dodecatheists making one of their strange, but interesting ceremonies.
And here is the view of the Acropolis, with a fairly long telephoto (300mm).
In the map on the right, the two blue placeholder show the ‘official’ entrances of the Pnyx, if you find them closed, the yellow placeholder indicates another passage, go up the hill from the parking lot of the observatory, where a stone staircase leads to the old observatory (pictured above) and from there proceeding a few tens of meters you will reach the site.
The green placeholder indicates the beginning of the path that leads up the hill Philopappou
Philopappou
(free entrance)
Philopappou hill is also west of the Acropolis, but a little more to the north and offers a higher point of view, therefore different from that of the Pnyx. The monument it nothing special, so here it is worth climbing ‘only’ for the view and in my humble opinion, it is not to be missed!
To the left of the path leading to the top of the hill, to the right and below: ancient and modern Athens.
Left: the roof of the new and modern Acropolis museum, in the background the columns of the Temple of Olympian Zeus. Above: the Temple of Hephaestus, part of the Agora of Athens, now swallowed by the city.
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