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Full Moon Eclipse over Parthenon, originally uploaded by greek58.

UPDATE FOR 2011 –  Lots of sites will be open on August 13, just not the Acropolis! See the latest post for a complete list.

The Acropolis after dark? Check out the August Full Moon Festival
Every August, on the eve of the full moon, several archeological sites in Greece stay open late for a full moon festival. This year, 2011, due to the large crowds that showed up last year, the Acropolis itself won’t be open. But there will be other activities in the area so you can enjoy the historic center of Athens under the light of the full moon. The Acropolis Museum will be open until midnight and there may be a free concert along the Grand Promenade.

You won’t be as lucky as we were when I shot this photo in 2008, as a total ecplipse suddenly hid the entire moon, leaving us in total darkness until the lights slowly came up from inside the Parthenon.

For a look at a previous year Full Moon Celebration at the Acropolis, visit our Gallery.

By Athensguide

How does a little girl from Skokie, Illinois find herself in historical Athens, leading curious explorers through the winding streets of Plaka, down "pezodromos" to hidden ouzeries for tempting mezedhes and homemade barrel wine? The journey began more than twenty years ago, and regardless of whether the wanderlust comes from the spiritual and culture DNA flowing through my veins, or the alignment of the stars on that cold mid-December day this Sagitterian came into the world, I never seem to tire of exploring my adopted homeland of Greece. Here you'll join me as I explore Athens: be it the back streets of Psirri and Gazi, or through the National Gardens and Zappeio where a family of turtles makes their home, or down wide, treelined Imittou Street in Pagrati, which pulses with Athenian life 24 hours a day. And while Athens has stolen my heart, the rest of Greece vies for my curiousity and wanderlust. My two guys (that'd be the Greek God, Vasilis and our Greek dog, Scruffy) and I can often be found settling in for a long weekend in some charming mountain village, or a quaint fishing port on a nearby island, or learning how Greek vitners are producing wines that rival some of Napa Valley's finests productions, or celebrating a panayeri in Epirus or sharing in the festivities as a family of Cretan sheepherders come together to sheer their 1500 sheep in the spring ... And if you happen to find yourself heading to Athens, consider finding yourself a real home for your stay. Living amongst the locals, be it for 3 nights or 3 weeks, will offer you the chance to experience true Athens, beyond the Acropolis. Choose from one of our 5 beautiful penthouse and historical homes, and who knows, I may be leading you down that winding "pezodromo" to our favorite hidden ouzerie!