Acropolis Museum, Athens

The Acropolis Museum is an archaeological museum devoted to objects from the Acropolis, and the building itself stands above remains of Roman and early Byzantine Athens. Its collections span the Greek Bronze Age through Roman and Byzantine Greece, bringing together material found on the sacred rock and its slopes. Bernard Tschumi and Michael Photiadis designed it in a minimalist modern style.

Look through the glass in the floor: excavated remains lie directly beneath the galleries, and part of that archaeological site can be visited through the courtyard. The museum opened to the public on 20 June 2009, and more than 4,250 objects are displayed across 14,000 square metres. The long hall devoted to the slopes has a rising floor that echoes the climb toward the Acropolis.

Higher in the building, the Parthenon gallery uses 48 columns to trace the temple’s outline, while glass walls admit natural light. Its arrangement presents the sculptures facing outward, recalling their original setting. From the north side of this gallery, the ancient temple itself comes into view above the Acropolis.