Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Center

The Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Center, known as the SNFCC, is the most ambitious modern building project in Athens. Designed by Renzo Piano and funded by the Stavros Niarchos Foundation, it was completed in 2016 and handed to the Greek state in 2017. It brings together the National Library of Greece and the Greek National Opera on the edge of Faliro Bay, about six kilometres south of the centre, and the grounds are open to everyone.

The complex is built into an artificial hill. The library's roof follows the slope, planted with native Greek plants, and at the top sits the opera house, beneath a huge canopy covered in solar panels and supported on slender steel columns. On the top floor is the Lighthouse, with views over the Saronic Gulf, central Athens and, after dark, the floodlit Parthenon. The opera house opened in 2017 with Richard Strauss's Elektra and stages opera, ballet and children's performances, while the library holds more than a million books and manuscripts dating back to the 9th century.

Most visitors come for the Stavros Niarchos Park, which covers around 21 hectares and is one of the largest publicly accessible Mediterranean parks in the world. It has a labyrinth, playgrounds, water jets, a running track, an outdoor gym and the Great Lawn, where summer events are held. A 400-metre canal runs along the front of the buildings, used for sailing and kayaking, and there is a cycle path with bikes for hire.

Access to the grounds and many activities is free, with tickets charged separately for performances, bike hire and some activities. The centre runs a full calendar of free events, including outdoor concerts, film screenings, talks and sports. Weekday mornings are quietest; weekends are popular with Athenian families. Avoid midday in summer, as there is little shade. Allow one to two hours for a walk round, or longer with an event or a meal. There are cafés, canteens, a ground-floor bistro and the Delta fine-dining restaurant, and the site is fully accessible.

A free shuttle bus runs between Syntagma Square, at the corner of Ermou Street, and the south side of the canal, stopping at Syngrou-Fix metro station. A taxi from the centre takes about 15 minutes. The museum ship Averof is moored about two kilometres along the coast.