New Acropolis Museum voted amongst the most amazing museums in the world--and rightly so!

You guys are getting a meaty post tomorrow, but today, I am announcing to you that the New Acropolis Museum in Athens has been included on a list of the twenty most amazing museums in the world, compiled by the editors of online architectural magazine Archdaily. The list was announced in honour of International Museum Day. The focus of the contest was not so much the collection as the actual building.

The museum is located in the historic Makryianni district, and stands less than 1,000 feet southeast of the Parthenon. The top-floor Parthenon Gallery offers a 360-degree panoramic view of the Acropolis and modern Athens. The Museum is entered from the Dionysios Areopagitou pedestrian street, which links it to the Acropolis and other key archaeological sites in Athens. With 8,000 square meters (90,000 square feet) of exhibition space and a full range of visitor amenities, the Acropolis Museum tells the story of life on the Athenian Acropolis and its surroundings by uniting collections formerly dispersed in multiple institutions, including the small Acropolis Museum built in the 19th century.

The rich collections provide visitors with a comprehensive picture of the human presence on the Acropolis, from pre-historic times through late antiquity. Integral to this program is the display of an archeological excavation on the site: ruins from the 4th through 7th centuries A.D., left intact and protected beneath the building and made visible through the first floor. Other program facilities include a 200-seat auditorium. According to the editors of Archdaily:

"The Museum is deliberately non-monumental, focusing the visitor's attention on extraordinary works of art. With the greatest possible clarity, the design translates programmatic requirements into architecture."

As someone who has been dying to visit this museum, I am very happy to see it included in a list of museums that are, indeed, beautiful and acclaimed. As soon as I can get back to Greece, I'm visiting this cultural landmark for sure!