Best Museums in Athens
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From the classic Benaki Museum and National Archaeological Museum, to lesser-known spots worth adding to your trip.
★ 4.7 · 8,084 reviews
Step into the Benaki Museum, a former family mansion packed with Greek history. Wander rooms from the Bronze Age to the 19th century, pausing at the richly displayed folk costumes.
★ 4.6 · 39,571 reviews
Explore the National Archaeological Museum, the city's great repository of ancient Greek art. Walk through halls of sculpture, vases, metalwork and jewelry, each explained with clear, concise labels inside a grand neoclassical building.
★ 4.7 · 86,077 reviews
Step into the Acropolis Museum, the glass-and-steel showcase at the foot of the sacred rock. Walk its bright galleries of sculptures and artifacts, ending at the top-floor Parthenon hall where the frieze is displayed.
★ 4.7 · 40,936 reviews
Wander the Ancient Agora, where Athenians once traded, debated and voted. Stroll among the ruins, admire the Temple of Hephaestus and browse the artefacts inside the Stoa of Attalos.
★ 4.7 · 5,106 reviews
Discover the Museum of Cycladic Art and its renowned collection of ancient Cycladic sculpture. Study well-documented artifacts from Greece and Cyprus, and see what temporary exhibition is on during your visit.
★ 4.8 · 6,091 reviews
Discover the Basil & Elise Goulandris Foundation, an elegant home for a private art collection. Move through rooms of Impressionist and modern masters plus Greek artists, then catch the current temporary exhibition.
★ 4.8 · 4,264 reviews
Try the Museum of Ancient Greek Technology Kotsanas for a hands-on look at ancient ingenuity. Operate reconstructed machines, learn the physics behind them, and follow friendly staff through the exhibits.
★ 4.6 · 6,213 reviews
Discover the National Gallery, Athens' home for Greek and European art from the 1400s onward. Move through quiet renovated galleries of paintings, statues and engravings, with Konstantinos Parthenis a highlight among the Greek masters.
★ 4.7 · 3,868 reviews
Walk through the Stoa of Attalos, a rebuilt ancient colonnade at the edge of the Agora. Browse the museum's artifacts of Athenian daily life, then step to the upper floor for views over the site.
★ 4.7 · 4,904 reviews
Walk into the National Historical Museum, installed in Athens' Old Parliament building. Each room presents a defining moment in Greek history from the 1700s to 1945 through artefacts, weapons, documents and paintings.
★ 4.7 · 4,412 reviews
Explore the War Museum Athens, where Greek military history unfolds from the Bronze Age to World War II. Examine uniforms and weapons indoors, then see fighter planes and helicopters outside.
★ 4.8 · 3,716 reviews
Climb aboard the Battleship HS Georgios Averof, a floating naval museum in Palaio Faliro. Explore decks and quarters below, then see the nearby trireme replica and other vessels moored beside it.
★ 4.7 · 1,041 reviews
Step into the Maria Callas Museum and meet the voice behind some of opera's greatest nights. Move through rooms inspired by her best-known roles while headphones play her recordings.
★ 4.4 · 7,695 reviews
Explore Hadrian's Library, a Roman learning centre beside Monastiraki. Walk the foundations of its courtyard and reading halls and study the surviving colonnade that hints at its original scale.
★ 4.6 · 5,098 reviews
Enter the Byzantine & Christian Museum, a cool, quiet home for centuries of sacred art. See frescoes, icons and sculpture, then step out to the open-air exhibition in the backyard.
★ 4.5 · 15,203 reviews
Wander into the Roman Agora, Athens' marketplace from the time of Roman rule. Look down on the ruined columns and the octagonal Tower of the Winds, then continue into the nearby streets of Plaka.
★ 4.7 · 4,464 reviews
Rev up your Athens itinerary at the Hellenic Motor Museum, where more than a hundred rare cars fill three floors. Browse classic Italian and German machines, spot the red sports cars, and take a turn on the F1 simulator.
★ 4.4 · 709 reviews
Step into the Museum of Modern Greek Culture, housed in the domed Tzistarakis Mosque from 1759. Over two levels you will see monuments and archaeological finds that trace the story of modern Greek identity, with an audio app as your guide.
★ 4.6 · 1,920 reviews
Head out to the Archaeological Museum of Piraeus, a small gem near the port. Stand face to face with ancient bronze statues and ship remnants in calm, airy galleries.
★ 4.6 · 586 reviews
Wander into the Museum of Greek Folk Musical Instruments and hear Greece's musical heritage up close. See around 1,200 traditional instruments and listen to each one's sound through headphones.
★ 4.4 · 5,490 reviews
Head to EMST, Athens' contemporary art museum inside a former brewery. Wander installation-heavy galleries of Greek and international work, and don't miss the audio space and the temporary exhibitions.
★ 4.7 · 677 reviews
Enter the Ilias Lalaounis Jewelry Museum and see how inspiration becomes adornment. Wander themed galleries of exquisite pieces and gems, learn how they were made, and perhaps sketch a design of your own.
★ 4.6 · 2,361 reviews
Step inside the Numismatic Museum, set in Heinrich Schliemann's neoclassical mansion. Follow Greek history through coins and medals from antiquity onward, in rooms that are worth seeing in their own right.
★ 4.7 · 2,051 reviews
Escape the city noise at Kaisariani Monastery, a medieval retreat tucked into the pine-covered slopes of Mount Hymettus. Wander the quiet courtyard and small church, then follow the nearby forest paths for a peaceful hour in nature.
★ 4.7 · 4,264 reviews
Visit the Benaki Museum - Pireos, the institution's contemporary annexe. Browse rotating exhibitions and festival shows in a spacious modern venue that stays open late.
★ 4.6 · 561 reviews
Visit the Jewish Museum of Greece for a close look at Jewish life across Greece. Browse artifacts spanning from 325 A.D. to today, and follow the community's story of endurance through well-curated displays.
★ 4.6 · 5,010 reviews
Visit the Goulandris Natural History Museum in Kifisia, a compact favourite for families. See wildlife displays, fossils and a full triceratops skeleton, then explore the Gaia Centre and finish at the cafe.
★ 4.7 · 4,802 reviews
Explore the Hellenic Cosmos Cultural Center in Tavros, where technology meets ancient Greece. Put on a virtual reality headset to see the Acropolis in a new way, then browse the current exhibition.
★ 4.3 · 533 reviews
Bend your sense of reality at the Museum of Illusions in Athens. Test sixty interactive illusions, from the infinity room to the inverted room, and capture playful perspective photos with friends or family.
★ 4.6 · 1,203 reviews
Duck into the Herakleidon Museum for an inventive break from the Athens sun. Handle replicas of ancient Greek machines, from clocks to cranes and astronomy tools, and browse the art exhibition on show.
Athens · 🎨 Museum
Benaki Museum
1h30
National Archaeological Museum
2h
Acropolis Museum
Athens · 🏛️ Landmark
Ancient Agora of Athens
Museum of Cycladic Art
1h15
Basil & Elise Goulandris Foundation
Museum of Ancient Greek Technology Kotsanas
1h
National Gallery - Alexandros Soutsos Museum
Stoa of Attalos - Museum of the Ancient Agora
45 min
National Historical Museum - Old Parliament House
War Museum Athens
Battleship HS Georgios Averof Naval Museum
Maria Callas Museum
Hadrian's Library
30 min
Byzantine & Christian Museum
Roman Forum of Athens (Roman Agora)
Hellenic Motor Museum
Museum of Modern Greek Culture (Tzistarakis Mosque)
Archaeological Museum of Piraeus
Museum of Greek Folk Musical Instruments "Fivos Anoyanakis" - Centre for Ethnomusicology
National Museum of Contemporary Art Athens (EMST)
Ilias Lalaounis Jewelry Museum
Numismatic Museum of Athens
Kaisariani Monastery
Benaki Museum - Pireos
The Jewish Museum of Greece
National Museum of Natural History Goulandris
Athens · 🎭 Entertainment
Hellenic Cosmos Cultural Center (Museum & Theater complex)
Museum of Illusions Ticket
Herakleidon Museum
