5 Must-See Museums in Athens for first-timers
I honestly can’t recall how many times I’ve visited the Greek capital. Yet, every time I’m there it seems that there is something new and interesting happening, like an exciting arts festival, a trendy bar opening or a knock dead gallery exhibition. I guess that’s due to the restless Greek psyche, always wanting to experience and create something new.
Athens is a vibrant metropolis, full of things to see and do but if you are a culture buff like myself, and you want to get a good feel of the city’s history, there are a number of places you must visit – apart from the Acropolis. The Greek capital has a plethora of museums and historical sites to see, but here are 5 must-see museums, I believe you must pay a visit, especially if you are in the city for the first time:
The Acropolis Museum
A long-awaited and much-talked-about project, the Acropolis Museum holds one of the most important historical treasures of the Greek nation, the Parthenon sculptures. To be honest, this place is on top of my list, not just because of its collection’s national importance, but because it is a state of the art, efficiently laid out functional museum, that completes your visit to the nearby famed Acropolis. It comes as no surprise that it is consistently rated as one of the best museums in the world. Its 14,000 m2 exhibition space is divided into three levels and it is exquisitely filled with more than 4,250 sculptures and artefacts from ancient Athens and particularly from the Acropolis.
Its first level showcases the archaeological discoveries made at the foothills of the Acropolis, while at the second level one finds items from the Archaic period of the Acropolis, same as further down the hall, whereas further down sculptures from the Athena Nike, the Erechtheion and the Propylaia temple are found. The top third floor focuses on the Parthenon sculptures, featuring both the original as well as replicas of all its missing parts. This floor is cleverly designed on the same visual axis as the Parthenon (which you can see from the hall’s large glass panels) and it also has the exact same dimensions in order to display the entire Parthenon frieze as it would have been on site. If you only have time for just one museum in the city, this is the one to visit.
Location: 15 Dionysiou Areopagitou St., 11742 Athens.
Tickets: €5 (winter season)/ €10 (summer season)
More info: https://www.theacropolismuseum.gr
National Archaeological Museum
If you have long admired the ancient Greek civilisation or you simply want to understand why Greece is referred to as the cradle of western civilisation, then this museum must be on the top of your bucket list. The imposing neoclassical building housing the Museum’s collections opened its gates to the public in 1889. Since then, it has expanded and enriched its collections with artefacts from all over Greece, as well as other regions of the world, that were once under the ancient Greek sphere of influence.
The Museum is the largest in Greece and its five permanent collections count more than 11,000 items. Visitors will have the chance to explore all of Greece’s ancient history through statues, figurines, gravestones, tools, weapons and items of everyday life. Prepare yourselves to come face to face with some very familiar works of art, such as the bronze statue of Poseidon (or Zeus), the statuette of Athena and the marble statue of Diadoumenos. The collection of this Museum is a proper feast for the eyes, one worthy of the Gods.
Location: 44, 28th of October (Patission) str. Athens, Greece
Tickets: 12€ (April 1st – October 31st), 6€ (November 1st – March 31st)
More info: https://www.namuseum.gr
Basil & Elise Goulandris Foundation
If you want a break from the wonders of ancient Greek art, then you can pay a visit to this rather small but still quite charming and remarkable museum. It is one of the city’s newest additions – it opened in October 2019 – and it owns a very prestigious collection of Impressionist, Modernist and post-war art from both Greece and the world.
The Museum was a life-long dream of Basil and Elise Goulandris, a Greek ship-owning couple, who collected items of artistic value, from paintings to sculptures, to drawings and furniture. Their exquisite art collection, estimated to be worth $3 billion, includes rare artworks by Picasso, Cézanne, Monet, Van Gogh, Chagall, Miró, Pollock and many other Art masters. The museum’s first two floors include 19th and 20th-century art, while the next two floors are dedicated to Greek art of the 20th century. This museum is a real gem and definitely a personal favourite.
Location: 13 Eratosthenous str. Pagkrati, Athens
Tickets: €8
More info: https://goulandris.gr/en/
National Museum of Contemporary Art
The Greek art scene has come a long way since the Golden Age of Pericles, so if you want to discover its recent art history under one roof, the National Museum of Contemporary Art is the place to go. The Museum’s collection was founded in 2000 and after being housed in various locations around the city, in 2020 it found its home in an iconic former brewery located in the lively Koukaki neighbourhood. The fully-revamped 1950s Fix old brewery, now features 172 permanent works of art by 78 modern Greek and international artists in its 18,142m2 space.
If you are a fan of Greek contemporary art you will certainly recognise some of the big names featured in the museum’s spaces, such as one of the forefathers of the Arte Povera movement Jannis Kounellis, the light-art pioneer Chryssa, the star sculptor Costas Varotsos, the highly-acclaimed painter Rena Papaspyrou and the art provocateur Costas Tsoclis. Walking through the museum’s wide, industrial areas you will enjoy almost all forms of contemporary art, such as painting, 3D artworks, installations, videos, photography and industrial design.
Location: Kallirrois Avenue & Amvr. Frantzi Str, former Fix factory, Athens.
Tickets: €8
More info: https://www.emst.gr/en/
National Gallery
Last but not least, the counterpart of the National Archaeological Museum when it comes to art, is without a doubt the Greek National Gallery. What started in 1878 as a small exhibition of 117 works in Athens University, gradually expanded into today’s massive collection of 20,000 artworks that are splendidly housed in a modern building that was unveiled in March 2021.
The Gallery’s collection boasts paintings and engravings from Greek and European artists of the 14th century to the 20th century. Some of the collection’s local stars are Dominikos Theotokopoulos (aka El Greco), Nikolaos Gyzis, Theophilos, Konstantinos Parthenis, Nikos Engonopoulos and Yannis Tsarouchis. When it comes to great western European painters, Francisco Goya, Rembrandt, Giovanni Battista Tiepolo, Eugene Delacroix and Albrecht Durer, are also an important part of the museum’s permanent collection. What I really enjoyed was the informative and comprehensive information regarding the Greek Art timeline, found in every section of the Museum. I believe it is important to understand why people created particular works of art and how the socioeconomic and political factors of each time period and area affected their art.
Location: 50 Vassileos Konstantinou Street, Athens
Tickets: €10
More info: https://www.nationalgallery.gr/en
The 5 Museums on this list are only a part of the city’s rich cultural map. In the last few years, Athens has enjoyed numerous cultural additions, all astoundingly important and impressive. Should you have more time during your stay, don’t miss the opportunity to visit the equally renowned Onassis Cultural Centre, the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Centre, which is also home to the Greek National Opera and the National Library of Greece, as well as the Benakis Museum, the Athens War Museum or the Museum of Cycladic Art.
