Greece heatwave: UNESCO-listed sites including Acropolis closed as temperatures soar - affected attractions

Staff at the Acropolis, Greece’s most popular tourist attraction, will stop work for four hours a day from Thursday (July 20) in protest at working conditions during a heatwave, known as ‘Cerberus’, as temperatures dangerously exceeded 45C in recent days.

Greece, along with other countries in southern Europe, including Italy and Spain, is forecast to endure days with temperatures in excess of 40C during what has been dubbed a "week of hell," with red alerts in effect and wildfires sweeping across the country.

The Acropolis, one of the world’s top UNESCO-listed heritage sites, has seen a major rise in visitor numbers in recent months. But the closure means that it will only operate from 8am to 4pm, instead of 8pm as it normally does from Thursday to Sunday (July 23).

All ancient sites will also have work stoppages during the busiest hours, according to The Panhellenic Union of Antiquities Conservation Officers (Pevla). Additionally, it will hold a two-hour work stoppage at museums and archaeological sites that stay open until 3.30pm from 1.30pm to 3.30pm.

Pevla said: “In view of the problems we faced in archaeological sites and especially in the Acropolis in recent days, we unanimously decided on measures to protect the health of antiquities guards as well as visitors.

“Despite the extreme conditions faced by all the antiquities guards, amid temperatures above 45 degrees Celsius, we have tried to respond to our duties, ignoring the dangerousness of the phenomenon.”

Access to the Acropolis had already been restricted for three days by the authorities from last Friday (July 15), but the measures were lifted on Monday (July 17) as the thermometer dropped ahead of a new heatwave predicted from Thursday.

The World Meteorological Organization, the UN’s weather agency, has warned that the heatwave in Europe might last into August, and that the severe temperatures sweeping the globe are the new normal in a world warmed by climate change.

Since Monday, many wildfires have surged across the country, including one that forced the evacuation of 1,200 children from a summer camp. The most serious fires raged north of Athens in the Dervenochoria region. Others are still raging in the towns of Loutraki, near Corinth, and Kouvaras, south of the capital.

According to state-run news agency Amna, the Acropolis had more than “20 fainting visitors”, amid criticism and complaints by guards, tourist guides and visitors following long waiting hours to visit the site, which received an unprecedented number of visitors this summer.

Greece’s attractions set for closure due to heatwave

Pevla the union said the four-hour work stoppages will be in effect from Thursday (July 20) to Saturday (July 23) at all archaeological sites that operate until 8pm. The union has not provided a list of affected sites, but Greece is home to over 100 UNESCO-listed heritage sites spread across the country.

UK Foreign Office updates travel advice to Greece

The UK Foreign Office has updated its travel advice for those travelling to Greece following the heatwave. Travellers are urged to stay up to date by visiting the NHS website for information on how to take care in the heat and can register on the Greek government’s Emergency Communication Service to receive emergency alerts.

It says: “Localised or severe weather extremes can affect areas of Greece over the extended summer period and this can cause travel disruption.”

Travellers are urged to monitor local and international weather updates from the Greek Meteorological Service or European Meteorological Services, check with their travel provider and follow the advice of local authorities at all times.