The SNFCC, on the coast at Faliro south of central Athens, is the home of the Greek National Opera and the National Library of Greece and the most ambitious piece of architecture built in the city since the Olympic projects of 2004. Renzo Piano's complex combines a vast park, an artificial canal, a glass library, and an opera house under a single thin photovoltaic canopy that tilts up to face the sea.
The 170,000 square metre park rolls up over the buildings on a vast grass roof, climbing 30 metres above sea level to give a long view back to the Acropolis. Free to enter and excellent for a walk, a picnic, or one of the regular open-air screenings and concerts. Tram 7 from Syntagma reaches the gates.