Greece has long been a popular holiday destination for Europeans, offering the perfect blend of superb climate, intriguing mythology and classic culture. But, now the impending opening of the long-awaited new Acropolis Museum in Athens is promising to provide a boost to the number of visitors to the country's capital.

Construction on the marvellous museum's new building began in November 2004 with the 13million Euros project expected to open in late 2008. Once open, almost 4,000 varied artefacts from ancient Greek history will be displayed over 14,000 square metres of exhibition space, including all the exhibits from the old 19th century museum, which the new building is designed to replace.

Located only 300 metres from the 5th Century BC Acropolis in the historic area of Makriyianni, the Museum will be directly linked to the Athens Metro at the Acropolis Station and visitors are being promised a real treat by the new museum's curators, with never before seen exhibits on display.

An exhibition is currently touring other countries including Germany and China, giving visitors a taste of what to expect at the new Acropolis Museum. The exhibition features intricate models which show how the remains of the ancient city will lie within the new Museum building.

As well as being the new home for the older museum's exhibits, other incredible finds have been unearthed as the excavations for the building's foundations progressed, including busts of philosophers Plato and Aristotle, and sculptures of the Gods Dias Heliopolitis and Isis Panthea. The ground floor of the Museum was opened to visitors on the 20th April, as the finishing touches are being made on the remaining floors.

Home of the new Acropolis Museum and the country's capital, Athens is located in the Peloponnese peninsula in southern Greece, containing a marvellous mix of scenic mountains and beaches and has long been popular for those looking for varied holidays in Greece.

Now, the country's tour operators are expecting an increase in requests for day excursions to Athens from customers based in the Peloponnese, who wish to combine a sunshine break with a few days of cultural enhancement. Indeed, taking a break from the beach to visit the new museum will be offered as a highlight to tourists in the next few years ahead, according to Greek tour guides.

There is no doubt that given the huge interest in the new Acropolis Museum, even visitors on the ever-popular island-hopping holidays may choose to add an extra excursion to Athens in order to view its mountain of exhibits.

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