Acropolis closed to tourists temporarily as heatwave grips Greece

A tourist takes a selfie as a couple sit under an umbrella in front of the Acropolis (AP Photo/Petros Giannakouris)

Disgruntled tourists have bemoaned the temporary closing of the Acropolis in Athens as authorities shut the monument’s gates between noon and early evening amid a heatwave gripping southern Europe.

Red Cross staff handed out bottled water to tourists wilting in long queues hoping to beat the closure and scale the steps up to the gleaming Parthenon temple as temperatures were expected to peak above 40C in the Greek capital.