List of all museums in Athens Greece

A city with a history that is lost in the centuries, Athens preserves modern and archaeological treasures of global scope in museums and cultural sites that characterize its special identity.

Almost all of them you have at least heard of, and most of them you probably visited at some point as a student. Unfortunately, your age then did not allow you to appreciate some things as perhaps you should, nor does it allow you now, after some years, to remember what you saw.

So here we have collected for you a short list of the “must see” museums in Athens, without of course that means that you have to limit yourself there!

NATIONAL ARCHAEOLOGICAL MUSEUM OF ATHENS

The National Archaeological Museum of Athens was founded in 1889 and is one of the most important Archaeological museums in the world as it houses the historical past of one of the greatest civilisations in the world .
In the museum there are findings from all the places of ancient Greece and the Greek world, the exhibits include, statues, vases, jewellery, sculpture, weapons, religious items from the Neolithic times, early Cycladic civilisation, the Minoan civilisation, the classical and Hellenistic period and the roman period.
Among the most significant items of the museum is the golden mask of Agamemnon and other treasures from Mycenae, the statue of Poseidon of Artemision, the statue of Zeus with thunder from Dodona, the lekithus of Myrrinae, the bronze statue of the riding boy , the Marathon boy, the statues of Asclepius, Demeter and Persephone,  a wonderful bronze statue of the young man from Antikythira, the statue of Aphrodite and Pan, the King Nestor’s cup and the mechanism of Antikythira that it was probably used for astronomical observations.

In the largest museum in Greece and one of the most important in the world, its rich collections count more than 11,000 exhibits, offering the visitor a panorama of ancient Greek culture from the beginning of prehistory to late antiquity.

The museum is housed in the imposing neoclassical building, built at the end of the 19th century. Tip: The periodic exhibition entitled “The Countless Aspects of Beauty” (until December 31, 2019), conveys how “beauty” is visually reflected in ancient works of art. The exhibition presents 340 ancient works from the museum’s collections dating from the Neolithic period to Late Antiquity.

In the museum there are also a huge collection of vases from the geometric period, a collection of frescoes and other items from the findings in Santorini (Thira) and a huge library. The Museum is located in Patission street next to the Athens Polytechnic school.

THE NEW ACROPOLIS MUSEUM

The new Acropolis Museum The new museum of the Acropolis is under the south slope of Acropolis in Dionyssiou Areopagitou street. The metro station Acropolis takes you at the gate of the museum. Contains mainly pediment sculpture, reliefs and statues found on the rock of the Acropolis, which formed part of the decoration of its buildings or were dedicated to the goddess Athena. Among the latter is the unique collection in the world of statues of female figures of the archaic era known as the “Korai” with the well known archaic smile, such as the Kore of Lyons, the Kore of Naxos, the Kore of Chios, the Peploforos Kore, the Kore of Antinor, the Kore of Euthidikos, etc. From the remaining votive offering sculptures, those of outstanding interest are the Moschoforos (man carrying a calf across his shoulders), Rampin’s horseman, a hunting dog, the Boy by Kritias, the head of the blonde youth, etc. There are also sphinxes, four-horse chariots and many votive reliefs such as that of Lenormant, Athena in Meditation, etc. see our collection of pictures from the Acropolis Museum

ANCIENT AGORA  TEMPLE OF HEPHESTUS  & STOA OF ATTALOS MUSEUM, inside the Stoa of Attalos, Tel. 210 321-0185. Inside one will find artefacts from the Agora (ancient market place)  upstairs the visitor will see miniature models of how the Acropolis and Agora looked during the ancient times. The Attalos stoa is located opposite Adrianou street in Monastiraki. From the main gate you have access to the Agora archaeological site just under the north slope of Acropolis and the museum.

THE HISTORICAL MUSEUM OF ATHENS

The museum use to be the old Parliament of Greece during the rein of King Otto, the first king of Greece after the war of independence (many Greeks refer to it as Palea Vouli (old parliament) . The building became the National historical museum of modern Greece in 1962.  Among its exhibits are items from the modern Greek history from the revolution of 1821 until the second world war. In the museum the visitor will see uniforms and weapons of the Greek revolution as well as uniforms and weapons from the Greek army during the Balkan wars and the 2 world wars. Portraits of the Greek leaders of the revolution, the dresses of King Otto and Amalia  and many other items from the modern history of Greece. The museum is at Stadiou street 13 a short walk from Syntagma square. Outside of the museum is the bronze statue of Theodoros Kolokotronis the Great general of the Greek revolution in 1821.

ATHENS CITY MUSEUM.

The Athens city Museum is about the modern history of Athens from the time that Athens became the Capital of Greece. It has many paintings, individual collections and artefacts from the the history, the culture and the way of life of the modern city of Athens from the early 19th century to the middle 20th century , is located at 7 Paparigopoulou St., Tel.210 324-6164

THE GOULANDRIS MUSEUM OF CYCLADIC AND ANCIENT GREEK ART

The well-organised museum was founded with the purpose of housing the “Goulandris” private collection of Cycladic Art. It is one of the leading museums in Athens. Exhibits. On the 1st floor you will find various relics of Cycladic civilisation, while on the 2nd floor are miniatures and other objects of the same period. On the 3rd floor are temporary exhibitions of the museum while on the 4th floor is the K. Politis collection of ancient Greek art. In 1992 a new wing was added to the Museum, at the Stathatos Mansion. In the new wing you can see the Academy of Athens collection of ancient Greek art. On the basement of the building at N. Douka you can buy replicas of museum exhibits.

THE BENAKIS MUSEUM

The museum was founded from Antonis Benakis Greek expatriate from Alexandria. created with passion and enthusiasm, the oldest private museum in the country, in 1929. The main museum is housed in the neoclassical building of the Benakis family, built in 1867-68, in Vas. art collections. In 2004, the cultural life of the city acquired a new space, on Piraeus Street, a lively cultural core with a wide range of alternative events.
the museum has many donations from various Greek collectors. Among its exhibits are various works of art and paintings, rare manuscripts and books, byzantine icons, items and archaeological findings from all the historic periods of Greece.

THE NUMISMATIC MUSEUM :It is one of the five most important numismatic museums in the world. It displays more than 600,000 coins, “treasures” (closed coin collections), standard weights, metals and precious stones, from the ancient Greek period, the Roman period, Byzantium, the western Middle Ages, and modernity. Location: Koumbari Str. and Vasilissis Sofias Avenue.

THE WAR MUSEUM OF ATHENS The museum exhibits are collections of the Greek Army, with material from the war history of Greece from the prehistoric times to nowadays as well as war artefacts from other countries. The museum is located at Rizari street 2.

THE EPIGRAPHICAL MUSEUM : This museum has about 13000 epigraphic collections with Greek inscriptions from the early historical times to the roman times and is located in the ground floor of the National archaeological museum of Athens.

THE MUSEUM OF GREEK TRADITIONAL INSTRUMENTS: The museum has a great collection of all kinds of traditional Greek instruments from many areas of Greece. Here you can see the Greek equivalent of the Scottish pipe the Tsampouna or Askos as it was called in the antiquity, the Greek taburas,  flute (flogera) , bouzouki, clarinets, santouri’s and all kind of instruments that are used in the Greek traditional music. The museum is located in Plaka at Diogenous street 1.

THE ARCHAEOLOGICAL COLLECTIONS IN THE METRO The biggest excavation ever in Greece was dug at the time of the construction of the metropolitan railway of Athens (1993-2000). Some of the approximately 50,000 finds that were uncovered in these excavations are exhibited in specially designed spaces in the metro stops “Panepistimio,” “Syntagma,” Akropoli” and “Evangelismos“.

TEMPLE OF THE OLYMPIAN ZEUS: The Temple of Zeus is a worth visiting area as it is at the centre of Athens next to the Zappeion exhibition centre. Within the area is the Hadrian’s Arch. Vas.Olgas  and Amalias Ave., Tel. 210 922-6330

LOCATIONS AND TELEPHONES

The National Archaeological Museum: 144, Patision Str. tel. 210 8217717, 210 8217724 The Acropolis Museum (in the archaeological area): tel. 210 3236665, 210 3210219 The Athens Ancient Agora Museum: Stoa tou Attalou, Archaea Agora; tel. 210 3210185 The Kerameikos Museum: 148, Ermou Str, tel. 210 3463552 The Epigraph Museum: 1, Tositsa Str, tel. 210 8217637 The Numismatic Museum: 12, Panepistimiou Str (“Iliou Melathron”) tel. 210 3643774, 210 3612540 website: www.nm.culture.gr The Goulandris Museum of Cycladic and Ancient Greek Art: 4, Neofytou Douka Str. tel. 210 7226321-3 website: www.cycladic-m.gr The Acropolis Research Centre: 2-4, Makriyianni Str. tel. 210 9239381 The National Historical and Ethnological Museum: 13, Stadiou Str, tel. 210 3237617 The Benaki Museum: 1, Koumbari Str. & Vas. Sofias Avenue tel. 210 3671000 website: www.benaki.gr – Piraeus Street building: 138, Pireaus Str. (Gazi) tel. 210 3453111 The Byzantine and Christian Museum: 22, Vas. Sofias Avenue, tel. 210 7211027, 210 7232178 The War Museum: 2, Rizari Str, tel. 210 7252974-6 The Museum of the City of Athens: 5-7, Paparrigopoulou Str. (Klafthmonos Square) tel. 210 3246164 website: www.athenscitymuseum.gr The National Gallery-Alexandros Soutzos Museum: Vasileos  Konstantinou Avenue tel. 210 7235857 The National Museum of Modern Art: Syngrou Avenue, FIX building; tel. 210 9242111-2 The Athens Municipal Gallery: Piraeus Str, Koumoundourou Square tel. 210 2231.841, 210 3240472 The Frissiras Museum: 3-7, Monis Asteriou Str, Plaka tel. 210 3234678 website: www.frissirasmuseum.com .The Greek Popular Art Museum: 17, Kythathinaeon Str, Plaka tel. 210 3229031, 210 3213018 The Greek Traditional Musical Instruments Museum: 1-3, Diogenous Str, Plaka tel. 210 3250198 210 3254119-129 The Ceramics Collection: Tzistaraki Mosque, Monastiraki tel. 210 3242006 The Greek Children’s Museum: 14, Kythatinaeon Str. tel. 210 3312995-6 website: www.hcm.gr The Historical Museum of the University of Athens: 5, Tholou Str, Plaka, tel. 210 3240861 The Kanellopoulos Museum: 12, Theorias Str & Panos Str, Plaka tel. 210 3212313 The Theatrical