Last Monday, workers removed the scaffolding off the entrance of the Athens Acropolis, the successful culmination of a marathon 9-year restoration project.

The New Acropolis Museum in Athens, Greece

The $9.3 billion Propylaea restoration project involved the dismantling and reassembly of 600 tons of blocks, in order to take out metal pins used by some pinheads during an earlier restoration attempt.

The project is part of an on-going effort to preserve the most important structures of the Acropolis, built in the 5th century BC, during Athens’ Golden Age of Democracy. The restoration work on the Parthenon and the Temple of Athena Nike is scheduled for completion in 2010.

The renewed interest in the Acropolis as one of the foremost tourist attractions in the world has also contributed to the buzz surrounding the opening of the New Acropolis Museum – an incongruous structure of glass and concrete which has managed to live up to the awesome task of serving as a museum to display the heritage of the Gods.

In a sure sign that the Goddess Athena – protector of Athens, approves of the museum being built on her abode, the museum was coincidentally selected to be built on top of a 5000 year old settlement, and when the site below was uncovered, it was left untouched. Visitors can now look down on the archaeological excavation below through the glass floor of the museum.

Take a virtual tour of the New Acropolis Museum here, and if you’re looking for a hotel in Athens with a view of the Acropolis, head straight for the Athens Marriott Ledra.

Photo by nenyaki