The Museums of Athens

Athens is known for its archaeological sites and museums. From the Acropolis to the new museums of Contemporary Art there is something for everyone. Question is, where to start? A visitor will definitely want to see ancient art. Greece is famous for that. But what about the history of Greece in the middle ages? Or after the liberation from the Ottomans. Greek history is rich and so are the findings that you will find in the museums.

In this post, I’ve all the museums and galleries I’ve visited in Athens . These museums exhibit artifacts from 3200 BC until the 20th century! I’ve summed up what you are going to see in each of these museums. That way you can pick and choose which ones to visit. So without further ado…

Acropolis Museum

The Acropolis museum was designed by Bernard Tschumi and Michael Fotiadis and opened to the public on 20th June 2009. It showcases exhibits excavated in the Acropolis in an area of 14.000 square meters. The museum’s highlight is Parthenon’s original frieze (and some recreated parts). Here you are also going to see the original Caryatids from Erechtheion.

Tip: If you have time to visit only one of the museums in Athens, I highly suggest it’s this one!

Practical Information:  The museum is located on 15, Dionysiou Areopagitou Street. The nearest metro station is Acropolis. More information about opening hours and tickets is available on  the museum’s website .

National Archaeological Museum

The museum has two levels: the ground floor and a smaller first floor. The ground floor exhibits artifacts from Neolithic settlements, Cycladic islands, and Mycenae. It also houses sculptures mostly from the region of Attica.  On the first floor, there is a vast collection of vases, frescoes, and findings from the archaeological site of Akrotiri in Santorini.

The museum’s highlights are the Antikythera mechanism and the golden artifacts from Mycenae. The former is the world’s first analog computer. The latter are linked to Agamemnon, King of Mycenae, who took part in the Troyan war.

Tip: If you are interested in visiting more museums in Athens, buy the combined ticket. It is valid for the Byzantine & Christian Museum, Numismatic Museum and Epigraphic Museum as well. It lasts for 3 days, so no hurry there.

Practical Information: The museum is located on 44, Patision (28th of October) street. The nearest metro station is Omonoia. More information about opening hours and tickets is available on the museum’s website.

Benaki Museum

Benaki Museum’s houses exhibits from Greece from the antiquity all the way to the 20th century. The highlight of the collection is the neo-Hellenic secular art. It covers the chronological period from the fall of the Byzantine Empire in 1453 to the end of the 19th century.

The collection is of outstanding quality, number, and variety. You also have the opportunity to see unique reconstructions of wood-panelled rooms from houses in Kozani, Siatista, and Hydra, as well as a 19th -century loom from Crete. You will also see a collection of Greek costumes from different regions of Greece.

Practical Information: The museum is located on  1 Koumbari street (corner with Vasilissis Sofias avenue). The nearest metro station is Syntagma and Evangelismos. More information about opening hours and tickets is available on the museum’s website.

Byzantine and Christian Museum

Byzantine and Christian Museum houses over 30,000 artifacts. They date from the 3rd century AD to the 21st century AD. They include icons, wall paintings, manuscripts, ceramics, textiles, paintings, mosaics, and copies. Those artifacts stem mostly from the Byzantine period (hence the name). There are of course exhibits that date after the fall of the Byzantine empire (1453).

Villa Ilissia, the two-story building on the courtyard, housed the museum originally. It belonged to the Duchess of Plaisance (Piacenza). Now the museum is underground and I must admit that it’s very well laid out.

Practical Information: The museum is located on Vasilissis Sofias Avenue, 22. The nearest metro station is Evangelismos. More information about opening hours and tickets is available on the  museum’s website .

Museum of Cycladic Art

The Museum of Cycladic Art houses over 400 creations of the Early Cycladic culture. The civilization flourished in the Cycladic islands between 3200 and 2000 BC. These artifacts are made from clay, stone, marble, metal, obsidian and other materials. Artifacts of Ancient Greek Art are on display on the museum’s second floor. Those artifacts also stem from the Aegean islands as well.

The Cycladic and Ancient Greek artifacts belong to the collection of Nicholaos and Dolly Goulandris. The latter founded the museum in 1986.  The museum added a large part of Thanos N. Zintilis collection of Cypriot Antiquities to its permanent collection in 2002

Practical Information: The museum is located on 4, Neophytou Douka street, Kolonaki. he nearest metro station is Evangelismos. More information about opening hours and tickets is available on the museum’s website for more information.

Museum of the City of Athens

The name is somewhat misleading. Initially, I thought that it was a museum about Athens’ history throughout the centuries. Not so. The museum building was King Otto’s first residence in Athens. When the palace (now serving as the Greek Parliament) was finally finished the royal couple moved there, and the original residence was turned into a museum so that we today can get a small glimpse into the life of Greece’s first royals back in the day. Apart from the royal memorabilia, you get to see how the houses of affluent Athenians were outfitted in late 19^th – early 20^th century, thanks to various donations.

My favorite rooms in the museum can be seen in the photo above. The far room (the one with the painting) contains donations from the Papastratos family, the owners of a large Greek tobacco company. In that room, you can see several paintings of Kiki Papastratos as well as love letters from Greek writer Kostas Ouranis to her.

Practical Information: The museum is located on 5 Paparrigopoulou street. The closest metro station is Panepistimio and the entrance fee is 5€. More information about opening times and days can be found on the museum’s website.

National Historical Museum

A few blocks up from the Museum of the City of Athens lies the National Historical Museum. The museum building served as the Parliament of Greece from 1875 to 1935, and that’s why locals refer to it as the “Old Parliament”. The museum covers the history of Greece from the fall of the Byzantine Empire in 1453 up to the Greek-Italian War of 1940-41. Most notably it covers the Greek War of Independence from Ottoman rule, which began in 1821. The story is told through paintings and engravings, flags and weapons, personal items of historical figures, documents, utensils and traditional costumes. Aside from the exhibits, you can also see the old Parliament hall.

Practical Information: The museum is located on 13 Stadiou street. The closest metro stations are Syntagma and Panepistimio. The entrance fee is 3€. More information about opening times and days can be found on the museum’s website.

Ilias Lalaounis Jewelry Museum

Ilias Lalaounis was a renowned Greek jeweler.  He created his brand back in the 60s and through the years expanded to Europe, Asia and America. He also became the first goldsmith to be honored by the Institut de France, Academie des Beaux Arts et des Lettres.

The museum houses over 4000 pieces of jewelry designed by Ilias Lalaounis between 1994 and 2000. The jewelry is inspired by Greek history, foreign cultures, flora, space etc. It’s a small museum but totally worth visiting.

Practical Information: The museum is located on Karyatidon street near the Acropolis museum. Closest metro station is Acropolis. The entrance fee is 5€. More information about opening times and days can be found on the museum’s website.

Museum of Islamic Art

This is my favorite of all the museums included in this post, probably because it deals with culture and art so different to the Ancient and Folk Greek ones. Plus, I love Islamic art. Whenever I visited Victoria & Albert Museum in London (which is more than once) I was always drawn to the Islamic art exhibits.

The museum has artifacts from Iran, Iraq, the Middle East, North Africa and many other countries that were conquered by the Ottomans and Arabs. Antonis Benakis initially started collecting them in Egypt at the beginning of the 20th century. His collection was then enriched with other donations.

Practical information: The Museum of Islamic Art is located on 22 Agion Asomaton street. Closest metro station is Thisseio. More information about opening times and days can be found on the museum’s website.

Benaki Museum 138 Pireos street

This is an annex to Benaki museum that houses temporary exhibitions. When I visited I saw some of Documenta 14 exhibits and video installations called Paratoxic Paradoxic. More information about this exhibition can be found here.

Practical information: the museum is located on 138 Pireos street. The closest metro station is Kerameikos. Then you can walk (it’s a 10-minute walk) or take a bus. More information about opening times and days can be found on the museum’s website.

Numismatic Museum Athens

The Numismatic museum is housed in the former residence of renowned German archaeologist Heinrich Schliemann, designed by the famous German architect Ernst Ziller. The former is known for his excavations and the discovery of Troy and Mycenae, the latter for his neoclassical style.

The museum houses over 500.000 coins dating from 14^th century BCE to this day. Most of the coins are from the 6^th BCE to the 5^th century CE. What I enjoyed more than the exhibits is the building itself. It’s beautifully decorated with frescoes, even in the balconies outside (see photo here).

Practical Information: the museum is located on 12 El. Venizelou (Panepistimiou) street. The closest metro station is Syntagma. More information about opening times and days can be found on the museum’s website.

Basil & Elise Gouladris foundation

The Basil and Elise Goulandris Foundation was established in 1979. Initially it had a museum of art on the island of Andros. In 2019, the museum in Athens also opened its doors to the public.

It houses the collection of Basil and Elise Gouladris. The collection features modern and contemporary art from Greek and foreign artists. Within the 4 floors of exhibitions you will come across creations by Cézanne, van Gogh, Gauguin, Monet, Degas, Rodin, Toulouse-Lautrec, Picasso, Braque and Miró. There are also works by Greek painters like Parthenis, Hadjikyriakos-Ghika, Tsarouchis, Moralis, Tetsis and others.

Practical Information: The museum is located on 13 Eratosthenous str. The closest metro station is Evangelismos. More information about opening times and days can be found on the museum’s website.

National Gallery – Alexandros Soutsos Museum

My first visit to the National Gallery was in 1993. I visited the exhibition “From El Greco to Cezanne”. When it reopened in 2021, I visited again.

The National Gallery collections include more than 20,000 works of Modern Greek art, from the post-Byzantine times until today. It also owns a remarkable collection of Western European paintings. My favorite part of the collection is the work of Hadjikyriakos-Ghikas. I also enjoyed the contemporary art floor.

Practical Information: The museum is located on 50 Vasileos Konstantinou str.. The closest metro station is Evangelismos. More information about opening times and days can be found on the gallery’s website.

EMST – National Museum of Contemporary Art

The museum is housed in the former Fix brewery. It highlights contemporary art and has both a permanent collection and temporary exhibits. When I visited (May 2023) I saw an exhibition by Hannah Toticki, a collective exhibition called Modern Love and the permanent collection.

Practical Information: The museum is located on the corner of Kallirois and Frantzi streets. The closest Metro station is Syggrou – Fix. More information about opening times and days can be found on the museum’s website.

Loverdos Museum

Let’s start with the museum’s building. It was designed by Ernst Ziller in the late 19th century and served as his house until 1912. Dionysios Loverdos, a banker bought it and used it as both his house and a museum. He owned one of the largest and most important collections of post Byzantine art in Greece. This collection is now exhibited in the museum which is a branch of the Byzantine and Christian museum.

Practical Information: The museum is located on 6, Mavromichali str. The closest Metro station is Panepistimio. More information about opening times and days can be found on the museum’s website.

So here you have it! Here are all the museums and galleries I’ve visited in Athens. Sure there isn’t time for them all, but I hope I gave you enough information to choose which ones you’d like to visit. I also created a map with all the museums so you can pinpoint their location and see which ones are close by!