The 8 museums to visit in Athens

Passing to the Greek capital? Discover the eight must-see museums to visit in Athens, for a historical and cultural stay!

If Athens hosts as many visitors each year, it owes much to its historical and cultural heritage. From prehistory to the present day, to Ancient Greece and Byzantine domination, museums in Athens invite you to go back to time. It is also the opportunity to visit some of the most majestic archaeological remains of our planet, such as the Parthenon or the Acropolis . For the most motivated, almost all the museums in Athens are available on the .

Want to know more about Greece’s history? Follow the guide to discover the eight museums to visit in Athens.

1. The Acropolis Museum

The Acropolis Museum is one of the most beautiful museums in Athens. It houses the most beautiful works from archaeological excavations, carried out all around the Acropolis.

Dive into Ancient Greece through a five- thematic visit:

• The slopes of the Acropolis,
• The Parthenon,
• The Archaic Acropolis,
• The Classical Arcropolis,
• Other collections.

You will see a plaque from the temple dedicated to Athena Niké or four of the six caryatides of the Erechtéion.

2. The National Archaeological Museum of Athens

Among the most beautiful museums in Athens are another archaeological museum. The National Archaeological Museum is one of the largest collections of ancient Greeks in the world. Among all these works, we find the Idole d’Amorgos , a cycladic statue in perfect condition.

As in the Acropolis Museum, the visit is on five routes:

• Prehistory,
• The sculptures,
• Ceramics,
• Bronzes,
• Egyptian works.

3. The Byzantine and Christian Museum of Athens

The Byzantine and Christian Museum is one of the most important museums in Athens but also in Greece. The museum contains more than 25,000 testimonies of one of the largest epochs in the history of the peninsula. It contains everything: frescoes, mosaics, manuscripts etc.

During your visit, to help you chronologically, the museum separates in three phases:

• L’Art dans l’Antiquité tard,
• The Byzantine Medieval Age,
• Post-Byzantine Art.

4. The Museum of Cycladic Art

Joyau of the Goulandris collection, the Cycladic Art Museum is the most impressive in its genre. This place contains an important collection of works from Cyclades civilization as well as the most beautiful objects from the Goulandris collection.

The museum focuses on two types of works in particular: the works of the classical era and the works of the Bronze Age (IIIth millennium).

5. The Benaki Museum

Between all the must-see museums in Athens, the Benaki Museum stands out. Indeed, behind the name of a single museum is actually hidden... several museums. A precision that one discovers when one realizes that there are several buildings, all reserved for an art or a type of collection.

Thus, you will have the opportunity to discover seven Benaki museums:

• The Islamic Art Museum,
• The Greek History Museum,
• The building of the Hadjikyriakos-Ghika collection,
• The Museum of the Child,
• The studio Yannis Pappas,
• The Penelope Delta House and Historical Archives,
• The Archives and Architecture Museum.

In total, more than 100,000 works are exhibited in these cultural places of the Greek capital.

6. The Goulandris Museum of Natural History

After the Museum of Cycladic Art, here is another museum from the Goulandris collection: the Museum of Natural History. This real natural art pepite aims to develop the various studies on biodiversity. All fields pass: geology, water and forests, mineralogy, agriculture etc. As a result, this museum is not the only purpose of tourism, but it contributes to the creation of data banks and environmental impact studies. Finally, it facilitates the dissemination of scientific knowledge by working with many school curricula.

The flagship work of the Museum of Natural History remains that created by Constantin Goulimis. It is a herbarium dedicated to the various wild flora of the Greek peninsula.

7. The War Museum

The Athens War Museum will delight the greatest fans of military history. Inside, find a huge collection of armours, weapons, flags and ammunition from different eras. Three collections are highlighted:

• The Greek Army,
• China Antique,
• Antique Japan.

It should be noted that between 1888 and 2000 branches, located in Thessaloniki, Tripoli, La Canée and Nauplie , have seen the day.

8. The Numismatic Museum of Athens

We finish our tour of the must-see museums in Athens with the numismatic museum. It is one of the largest museums dedicated to the study of ancient currencies. There are plethora collections of coins, ranging from Antique Greece to today. The opportunity to see the most beautiful pieces hit by the Greek cities but also by the Roman Empire or the Byzantine Empire.

If the Numismatic Museum of Athens stands out, it does not only contain pieces. We can also admire the Byzantine lead seals or precious stones from the first civilizations of our era.

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