Greece Athens Odeon of Herodes Atticus Entry Tickets

The 2026 Odeon programme as part of the Athens and Epidaurus Festival runs throughout June 2026. Confirmed highlights include Víkingur Ólafsson performing Bach and Beethoven on 3 June, a Blade Runner Live screening with live orchestra on 4 June, Lysistrata performed as a comic opera by Stamatis Kraounakis on 12 and 13 June, and a performance of Mahler's Symphony No. 8 by the Athens State Orchestra on 29 June, among other productions. Check aefestival.gr for the complete programme.

The Athens and Epidaurus Festival is Greece's most prestigious annual cultural institution, founded in 1955. It presents a programme of music, theatre, opera, and dance across several historic venues in Athens and at the ancient Theatre of Epidaurus in the Peloponnese. The festival runs from June to August each year and has hosted virtually every major artist of the post-war cultural world from Maria Callas and Rudolf Nureyev to the Berliner Philharmoniker and the Bolshoi Ballet.

Official tickets for performances at the Odeon of Herodes Atticus are available through the Athens and Epidaurus Festival website at aefestival.gr and through the Hellenic Festival box office in Athens. Tickets can also be purchased through authorised third-party booking platforms. Buying from unofficial resellers risks counterfeit tickets and is strongly discouraged. The Hellenic Festival box office is located at Panepistimiou 39 in central Athens.

The Odeon of Herodes Atticus will close for a major conservation and restoration programme beginning in July 2026. The works are expected to last approximately three years, meaning the Herodeon will not be available for performances until approximately 2029. The June 2026 Athens and Epidaurus Festival programme at the Odeon represents the last opportunity to attend a performance at this venue for several years.

The Odeon of Herodes Atticus is located on the southern slopes of the Acropolis with entry from Dionysiou Areopagitou Street, the pedestrianised walkway linking Athens' main archaeological sites. The nearest Metro station is Akropoli on Line 2 (Red Line), approximately a 5-minute walk from the Odeon entrance. On performance evenings Dionysiou Areopagitou Street fills with audience members so arriving early is strongly recommended.

The Odeon is most suitable for older children and adults with an interest in classical music, theatre, opera, or dance. Performances typically begin at 21:00, which is late for younger children. The seating is on marble steps with cushions available for hire and performances last between 90 minutes and 2.5 hours. For families visiting Athens who want to experience the Odeon's setting, the view of the exterior from Dionysiou Areopagitou Street below is spectacular and freely accessible at any time.

No. The Odeon of Herodes Atticus is exclusively a performance venue and does not offer general daytime visitor admission. Entry is only possible with a valid performance ticket for a specific event. The Odeon operates during the Athens and Epidaurus Festival season, which in 2026 runs in June only before the venue closes for restoration works beginning in July.

The Odeon was built between 160 and 174 AD by Herodes Atticus, a wealthy Athenian statesman and philosopher of the Roman Empire, in memory of his wife Aspasia Annia Regilla. The Roman writer Pausanias described it as the finest building of its type. Destroyed by the Herulian invasion in 267 AD and abandoned for centuries, it was excavated and restored in the 1950s and hosted its first modern performance as part of the Athens Festival in August 1955.