Visit Athens Guide
The Odeon of Herodes Atticus
The Odeon of Herodes Atticus is the steep Roman theatre cut into the south slope of the Acropolis — the arched stone wall you see from Dionysiou Areopagitou. It is two things at once: an archaeological monument inside the Acropolis fence, covered by the €30 site ticket and viewed from above, and a working concert venue where you can only sit by buying a ticket to a performance. This page separates the two as checked in Q3 2026. The rock is on the Acropolis page, and the wider plan on the Athens city guide homepage.
Quick answer Two entirely different ways in
By day the Odeon is part of the Acropolis archaeological site, seen from the south slope path on the €30 ticket, and you cannot walk onto the floor. By night in summer it is a concert venue, and a performance ticket is the only way to sit in it.
Key takeaways
- There is no separate daytime ticket and never has been — the two ways in explains what each gets you.
- The performance season runs roughly from late May to early October and is programmed by the Athens Epidaurus Festival; the festival's own site publishes the dates.
- During set-up the monument is closed even to Acropolis ticket-holders, which in July is a lot of days. The Acropolis page has the site's own hours.
- You get the best free view of it from the pedestrian avenue below, at any hour, lit at night.
- Sitting in it is one of the two or three things worth reorganising an Athens trip around; what it is like says why.
Key facts
Opening hours
| As part of the Acropolis, 1 Apr – 31 Aug | 08:00–20:00 |
|---|---|
| As part of the Acropolis, 1 Nov – 31 Mar | 08:00–17:00 |
| Performances, roughly | late May–early October |
Closed 1 January, 25 March, 1 May, Orthodox Easter Sunday, 25 and 26 December, with the rest of the site
Admission
- Adult
- €30 as part of the Acropolis site ticket
- Reduced
- €15
- Free
- On the state free-entry days
Planning it
- Time needed
- Not stated; our routing: ten minutes to look at it, an evening to sit in it
- Book ahead
- Essential — weeks ahead
- Address
- South slope of the Acropolis, Dionysiou Areopagitou, Athens
The two ways in, with prices read on hh.gr on 1 September 2026. Performance prices are set per event by the festival and are not published as a standing rate.
| Way in | Price | What you get | When | Book |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Acropolis site ticket | €30 full / €15 reduced | The theatre seen from the south-slope path, from above | Site hours, when not closed for set-up | Official site |
| A performance ticket | Set per event by the festival | A seat on the tiers, and the floor | Roughly late May to early October | Official site |
| Reseller Acropolis entry | Listed at €36 | The same view from the same path | Site hours | Check Availability |
| Ancient Greek theatre performance | From €30 | A 75-minute show in English at the foot of the Acropolis | Evenings; not staged in this monument | Check Availability |
The last row is there to prevent a common mix-up: the ticketed English-language theatre performance sold to visitors is staged near the Acropolis, not inside the Odeon. What plays in the Odeon is the festival programme, and that is booked through the festival.
Ways to see it
The cards behind the table, with the operator's own rating and review count.
from €36
Athens: Acropolis Ticket with Optional Audio or Live Guide
Pre-booked Acropolis entry sent to your phone, with two audio-guide options and no fixed guide to keep up with. The official price is €30; this is the reseller version of the same timed slot.
Check Availability
from €30
Athens: Ancient Greek Theater Performance
A 75-minute performance in English at the foot of the Acropolis, staging ancient Greek theatre with modern projection.
Check Availability
from €27
Athens: First Access Acropolis and Parthenon Guided Tour
An early-morning guided walk that goes to the Parthenon before the coach groups, then the Theatre of Dionysus on the south slope. Two to four hours depending on the option.
Check AvailabilityPrices, ratings and details are the platform's own, checked in Q3 2026; euro figures are the listed prices — the platform bills in your account's currency.
The two ways in
They are so different that people who have done one often think they have done the other.
By day, from above
The south-slope path inside the Acropolis fence runs along the rim of the theatre, so you look down into the whole bowl — the tiers, the orchestra, the three-storey stage wall with its arches. You cannot go down into it. Ten minutes, and it is on the way up from the south entrance, so almost everyone with an Acropolis ticket sees it whether they meant to or not.
By night, from inside
For about four months a year the Odeon is a working venue with a few thousand seats, and a ticket to a performance is the only way onto the tiers. The programme is the Athens Epidaurus Festival's — classical drama, opera, orchestras, and a handful of international names each summer — and it is published on the festival's own site by date. Seats are stone; cushions are sold or hired at the gate and are worth having.
And the closure nobody warns you about
When a performance is being rigged, the monument is closed to daytime visitors — which through July and August is a substantial share of days. Your Acropolis ticket still works for the rest of the site; you simply will not be able to look into the theatre. Nothing on the ticket page warns of this in advance.
What it is, and what it is like to sit in
A private memorial that became the best concert hall in Greece.
Built for a wife, in AD 161
Herodes Atticus was an Athenian magnate, a Roman consul and the richest private citizen in Greece, and he built the Odeon in memory of his wife Aspasia Annia Regilla. It held about five thousand people, had a cedar roof over the seating — an enormous span for a Roman building — and a three-storey stage wall faced in marble. The Herulians burned it in AD 267, about a century after it opened.
What survives, and what was rebuilt
The stage wall stands to most of its height, and the arcading in it is the face the theatre shows the city. The seating you sit on is a mid-twentieth-century restoration in Pentelic marble, laid on the ancient foundations; the roof was never replaced, which is why the venue is open-air and seasonal.
What it is like
The stage wall is behind the performers and the Acropolis is directly above and behind you, floodlit, for the whole evening. The acoustics are dry and very clear. It is cold on the stone after about ten at night even in July, so take a layer; and the climb to the upper tiers is steep, so a lower-tier seat is worth the difference if stairs are a problem.
Odeon map: where to look at it from
The theatre, the path above it and the free viewpoint below.
Next stop from the Odeon
Walk minutes are our estimates from the GPS distances.
The Acropolis
The path from the theatre climbs straight to the Propylaea. The Acropolis is €30 with a declared hour.
10 min up the slopePhilopappos Hill
West and up for the free Parthenon view. Philopappos has no gate and no closing time.
12 min walkOdeon of Herodes Atticus questions
Can you go inside the Odeon of Herodes Atticus?
Only with a ticket to a performance. By day it is an archaeological monument inside the Acropolis fence, seen from the south-slope path above it — the two ways in explains both.
Is there a separate ticket for it?
No. Daytime access is part of the €30 Acropolis site ticket, and there has never been a standalone one. Evening access is a festival ticket priced per event.
What is on there in summer?
The Athens Epidaurus Festival programme — classical drama, opera, orchestral concerts and a handful of international names, roughly from late May to early October. The festival publishes the dates on its own site.
Why was it closed when I visited?
Almost certainly a performance set-up. The monument closes to daytime visitors while a show is being rigged, which through the summer is a good share of days, and nothing on the ticket page warns of it in advance.
Where is the best free view?
From Dionysiou Areopagitou directly below, where the arched stage wall faces the avenue. It is lit at night and costs nothing to stand in front of.
Should I take a cushion?
The seating is marble and cushions are sold or hired at the gate; take a layer as well, because the stone loses heat quickly after dark even in July.
Reviewed Q3 2026 (July–September 2026); next review Q4 2026. Prices, hours and terms are set by the venue or operator and confirmed at checkout.
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