Best Museums of Athens
National Archaeological Musem
Well, you made it to the land that gave birth to Classical culture and deeply shaped modern thinking. And visiting one, two, or even more museums during your stay in Athens can give you knowledge and information that are way more valuable than anything else. There is so much variety, that everyone, from students to tourists, from researchers to families with children can enjoy some quality time in one of the museums of the city. At the end of the post we added for your convenience some tips and details about the days with free entry to museums and archaeological sites through the year and some package deals that will give you access to multiple museums with one comprehensive ticket. Enjoy!
#1 National Archaeological Museum
We start with the biggest and oldest museum in Greece, which is also very close to the Nubian Hostel! After a ten-minute walk you will find yourself outside the most important cultural venues of the country with collections that take you back to the pre-historical age up to the 5th Century AD. Given its magnitude, some people find it tiring to see the whole of it at one go, but, as soon as you realise the contribution of these ancient objects to our modern world, these exhibits will become truly awe-inspiring.
The ticket fee varies depending on the time of the year, but do consider hiring a guide if you are not on a tight budget. Many visitor categories, like EU students, have free admission; visit the museum’s website to check if you are entitled to free entrance!
#2 The Acropolis Museum
Open to the public since 2009, this very modern museum is provided with big windows so that, from almost every corner of it, you will be able to enjoy the view of the Parthenon on the backdrop. The Acropolis Museum is indeed a highlight on your museum list when you come to Athens: the findings unearthed during the excavations around the citadel are wisely displayed so the visitor can relate to the culture and everyday life of the peoples who have dwelled in this part of the city since the Greek Bronze Age. There has been much talk about whether some exhibits – stolen or lost through the years and ended up in foreign museums, such as the Elgin marbles of the Parthenon – should be given back to Greece; for the time being, the visitor will be able to appreciate beautifully crafted copies replacing the originals for the sake of completeness.
#3 National Museum of Contemporary Art (EMST)
If you are into contemporary art, then the EMST is the one museum you should visit in Athens. Although it was founded in 1997, just in 2015 it finally got its permanent location. After years of wandering in temporary exhibition areas of the city, this museum in now well established in the hearts of Athenian art lovers and its located in one of the most modern buildings of the Greek capital. Check the website of the museum to find out about its permanent and temporary exhibitions.
#4 National Gallery (Alexandros Soutsos Museum)
There’s only one museum in Athens where you can discover the history of Greek modern art. After its expansion in 2021 in a new building complex in the heart of the city, the National Gallery is the flagship of the new era of Athenian museums. In its permises guests can get familiar with all the important Greek artists of modern art at the permanent or the temporary collections, also at the garden-outdoor sculpture gallery.
The National Gallery - Alexandros Soutsos Museum is part of the seven locations that constitute the Greek National Gallery.
#5 Benaki Museums
Under its administration there are 5 museums, and one more is about to open where you will be able to see more than 120 thousand(!) artworks from the Paleolithic period up to this day. The magnitude of these exhibitions can be regarded as crazy, but the Benaki foundation has taken its mission very seriously. The main building is in the city center – very close to Syntagma square – and hosts one of the most interesting museums in Athens, thanks to its unique variety of collections, including Cycladic art and Modern Greek folklore.
From Greek culture to Islamic Art, anyone can enjoy a day or two spent at one of the Benaki museums wandering around the exhibits, participating in the workshops, visiting the libraries or just relaxing at one of the cafés. Please make sure you check the different locations before your visit, as the Benaki museums are spread all over the city.
#6 Cycladic Art Museum
Started as a private collection, the museum is focused on ancient Aegean cultures (Greece and Cyprus) with artifacts older than 5000 years old in its premises. The three permanent collections of the museum displays Cycladic and Ancient Greek Art, but very often special exhibitions of contemporary painters, sculptors and artists from around the globe take place. This museum will amaze you when you realize the extent of the artistic and cultural production in this small dot of the planet, a heritage that makes it a living cultural institution despite its size. This museum is definitively one of our top picks! Keep in mind that there are two entrances, one for the permanent and one for the temporary exhibitions. The buildings are interconnected so one ticket will give you full access to any exhibition.
#7 Numismatic Museum
Hosting a stunning collection of coins from Ancient to Modern Greece and from the whole world, the Numismatic Museum is hosted in the former house of the archaeologist Heinrich Schliemann and was designed by the architect Ernst Ziller. The museum shows the history of money and trade from antiquity up to today: coins, medals, stamps and many more objects are arranged in a ‘time travel sequence’ from the 14th century BC till the modern era, and many of them are stored in the museum’s laboratory. The garden is a gathering point for the Athenians for a coffee or a lunch break during the day while jazz concerts, held from time to time in the summer, are a bonus. The museum is only a 10 minutes’ walk from Nubian Hostel; while strolling on Panepistimiou Street you can’t miss the metal gates that lead you to the museum.
#8 Epigraphic Museum
In the south wing of the National Archeological Museum, this special museum is the largest of its kind. The inscriptions hosted here were written during Greece’s archaic period up to the Roman Imperial era and were mostly found in Attica, the region of Athens, but not only. A translation into English and a description of the exhibits are displayed in some of the rooms of the museum, and the visitors can access more information at the museum’s library using the reference number of each inscription. Kind of specific this one, but a very interesting museum!
#9 Archeological Museum of Piraeus
Last one, and a bit out of track since it is in Piraeus, the main port of Athens. Its main purpose is to introduce you to sculptures and artifacts that were discovered in the area of Piraeus and on the coasts of Attica. The exhibitions date mostly back to the Bronze Age, the Classical period and the Roman Times. Two of the ten most important large-scale Classical bronze sculptures in the world, one of Artemis and one of Athena, are hosted in this modest but very important museum, which displays several exhibits that you will not be able to find anywhere else. With a short trip by the train from Omonoia station, only 10’ from Nubian Hostel, you will have an absolutely enjoyable experience, especially if you have some spare time for the outdoor areas of the museum.
