This is a complete guide to all the museums in Athens. The guide came about as a personal project to visit every museum in Athens. In the beginning, I had a list of 60 museums to choose from. Now, this list of museums in Athens has 77 places, and I discover more each month!
Museums in Athens
Apart from the popular museums such as the Acropolis Museum, and the National Archaeological Museum, few visitors to Athens are aware of just how many more there are. There are dozens upon dozens of museums in Athens, but these smaller ones just slip off the radar. This means that most visitors to Athens will never get to see such gems as the Shadow Puppet Museum, or the Numismatic Museum, which if I were to judge by just the name alone, would surely be the best! Even if they did know about them, visiting them all could take weeks.
Visiting All The Museums In Athens
Which is where I come in. Whilst I am living in Greece, I do have time to visit all the museums in Athens. Not in one go though, obviously. My intention is to visit one a week, and then write about it on this travel blog. This way, it will become a regular weekly feature, and hopefully a resource to anyone who is thinking of visiting Athens.
Note – Choosing how to define ‘Athens' is no easy task. For the sake of simplicity, I have decided it is the greater metropolitan area, which also includes Piraeus.
Choosing the Museums in Athens
How do I go about choosing which museums in Athens to visit first then? I suppose I could just go by the most popular ones first. That's a bit boring and predictable though. Instead, I think I will use a lottery system, and give each museum a number. I will then use an online randomizer to pick a number from a ‘virtual hat'. (Did that sound massively geeky?).
A List Of Museums in Athens
This is where I face a bit of a problem. Putting together a comprehensive list of museums in Athens is no easy task. Part of the reason for this, is that some are run by the Hellenic Ministry of Culture and Tourism, some by The City of Athens, and others run by who knows! It goes without saying that there is no official list of all the museums in Athens. This is the real Greece baby!
So, think of the list below not quite as the definitive one, but more of a work in progress. As I discover more, I will add them to the list. If you think I have left any out, or know of any I should add, then please leave a comment below. The underlined museums are linked to full blog posts about each one. If you see a museum not underlined, that's because I haven't been there yet.
Central Athens
- Acropolis Museum
- Archaeological Museum of Kerameikos
- Epigraphical Museum
- Museum of Cycladic Art
- Museum of the Ancient Agora + Stoa of Attalos
- Museum of the Center for the Acropolis Studies
- National Archaeological Museum of Athens
Old Acropolis Museum– CLOSED- Numismatic Museum of Athens
- Syntagma Metro Station Archaeological Collection
- Byzantine and Christian Museum (of Athens)
- Benaki Museum -Main Building
- Eleftherios Venizelos Historical Museum
- Jewish Museum of Greece
- Museum of Pavlos and Alexandra Kanellopoulou
- Museum of the City of Athens
- National Historical Museum of Greece (Old Parliament House)
- Centre for the Study of Traditional Pottery
- Ilias Lalaounis Jewelry Museum
- Museum of Greek Folk Art
- Museum of Popular Music Instruments
- Museum of the History of the Greek Costume
- Athinais Culture Center
- Bernier-Iliadis Gallery Museum
- City of Athens Cultural Center
- Design Museum of the 20th Century
- Frissiras Museum
- Gounaropoulos Museum
- Herakleidon Art Museum (Main Building)
- The Herakleidon Museum in Athens – Annex Building
- Museum of Engravings and Graphic Arts
- Marika Kotopouli Museum
- Haridimos Shadow Puppet Museum
- Municipal Gallery of Athens
- Museum of Children's Art in Plaka
- National Glyptotheque
- National Museum of Contemporary Art, Athens
- Paxinou-Minotis Museum
- Pieridis Museum of Ancient Cypriot Greek Art & Contemporary Art
- The N. Chatzikiriakos-Gkikas Art Gallery
- Technopolis Industrial Gas Museum
- Theatrical Museum of Greece
- Zoumboulaki Gallery
- Athens War Museum
- Museum of the Athens-Piraeus Electric Railways
- Museum of Anthropology, University of Athens
- Museum of Geology and Paleontology of the Athens University
- Zoological Museum of the University of Athens
- Athens University Museum
- Hellenic Children's Museum
- Postal & Philatelic Museum of Greece
- Deste Foundation (exhibition area)
- Drossinis Museum
- Spathario Museum
- Yiannis Tsarouchis Foundation Museum
- OTE Museum of Telecommunications, Kifisia
- Gaia Center
- Goulandris Natural History Museum
- Evgenidio Foundation (Planetarium and Science museum)
- Greek armored cruiser Georgios Averof
- Tactual Museum of Athens
- Archaeological (Piraeus)
- Archaeological Museum of Piraeus
- Municipal Art Gallery of Piraeus
- Panos Aravantinos Decor Museum
- Hellenic Maritime Museum (Piraeus)
- Hellenic Motor Museum
- The Bath House of the Winds (Annex of the Museum of Greek Folk Art)
- Museum on Panos Street (Annex of the Museum of Greek Folk Art)
- Ai Stratis Political Exile Museum
- Makronisos Political Exile Museum
- Museum of Greek Gastronomy
- Destroyer Velos D-16
- Museum of Criminology
- Atelier Spyros Vassiliou' Museum
- The Museum of Islamic Art in Athens (Benaki Museum in Kerameikos)
Joyce says
Here is my third list and apologies if there are any repetitions.
1. Plato: Digital Museum
This is a very small digital museum with a good overview of the history of the time, Plato’s philosophy and Plato’s Academy.
Even better, just across the road is the Archaeological Park of Plato’s Academy.
Go and sit under a tree and philosophize in the same place that Plato did!
2. Museum of Paleontology and Geology of the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens
I have not been yet. Maybe it is by an appointments only. Maybe it has closed down.
I emailed them twice (in English), re opening times, but they never replied.
I this museum really exists I want to know.
3. Fire Brigade Museum (Pallini)
http://museum.fireservice.gr/
4. Municipal Gallery of Piraeus
Care! The opening times have changed so phone before going.
I think they open Mon to Fri 10 – 2pm
5. Merchant Shipping History Institute exhibition (Piraeus)
Small and specialized.
6. Alexis Minotis Bequest in Memory of Katina Paxinou (A famous Greek Actress)
https://www.miet.gr/en/klirodotima-a-minioti
This was on your list but note it is BY APPOINTMENT ONLY
7. The Panathenaic Stadium (also known as the Kallimármaro) and Museum
http://www.panathenaicstadium.gr/visit/tabid/87/language/en-us/default.aspx
8. The Mansion of Aghia Filothei (Also known as Logothetis Mansion)
It is the oldest house in Athens. It only opened in early 2017
Dave Briggs says
Thanks for the additional info!
I think there are one or two doubled up, so I’ll leave this extra list of museums in Athens here in the comments, and then update the main article list over the next few weeks. Thanks once again for the contribution!
Joyce says
You are right, the Greeks do not realise they are sitting on a wealth of museums rarely visited by foreigners.
I have the same aim as you: to visit all museums in Athens and the surrounds.
I am so happy to have found you blog.
I send you information some museums missing from your list.
There are others, which I will send later.
1. History of Athens University Museum (in the original building)
It is an interesting museum especially for people with an interest in the sciences.
The building is very charming.
Often it also has a very small temporary exhibition.
http://www.historymuseum.uoa.gr/
2. “Spathario”, the Museum of Shadow Theatre in Marousi
http://www.karagiozismuseum.gr/en/presentation/index.htm
I have not been yet been.
3. Museum of Natural History Marousi
Well presented
4. National Observatory Museum Thision Centre
(There is also a centre on Pendeli, but it is not a museum. They do however have the occasional ‘open day’, which is very interesting. The next is on Sunday 26th Nov.
http://www.noa.gr/index.php?lang=en
5. Memorial Site 1941-1944 Korai 4
Very small museum, in a basement. The basement was used by the Kommandantur and the Gestapo
Building is hard to fine because coffee shops have chairs in front of it. The locals do not seem to know it exists.
https://korai4.gr/?lang=en
6. In the Korai Arcade there is an art gallery STOart
https://www.facebook.com/stoartkorai/
I have not been yet. It is hard to find information on the place.
7. Folk Art Museum Marousi (Amarousi)
http://www.maroussi.gr/default.aspx?lang=en-GB&page=212
Outside it looks like it is not open, but ring the bell and someone will come down and open the door.
Unfortunately the man on duty the day I went did not speak English. Even so it is very interesting.
8. Theatre Museum
Cultural centre of Athen 50 Acadamias
It took me a long time to track this museum. It is under the Cultural Centre
The entrance is ‘hidden behind a statute and just under the grand staircases that lead to the main building.
Then having found the museum it was then even more difficult to find it open.
Well this is two months work for you.
Enjoy
Dave Briggs says
Hi Joyce,
Nice to meet someone else who loves the museums in Athens as well! I’ve left the list you added in this comments section, and will work them into the main article over time. If you come across any more, I’d be happy to know about them!
Marvin says
Oh, to live in Athens and be able to visit all of these museums! We’ve only been to two of them, but luckily they were among the top museums in the world. Can’t wait to go back and use this post as an index to which museum to visit next!
celeste says
This is a great list Dave! Bravo! Unbelievable that there is no such official list. Well, now there is yours! Thank you
Francesca @onegrloneworld says
There are SO many interesting museums in Athens! I regret not going when I had the chance! A friend told me that there was nothing to do there so I went to Santorini which didn’t have much to “do” either! Oh well, now I’ll be well equipped with an extensive list of museums next time I get the chance to go ^_^
Ralph says
Great list. I have a friend in Greece right now. Going to send her the link to this post!
Dave Briggs says
Cheers. If your friend needs any help, tips, or anything else, ask them to get in touch 😉
Sophie says
Wow that’s a lot of museums! Must get to Athens and start on the list!
jen says
I am surprised by the number of museums in Athens – but probably shouldn’t be. Great feature and resource – Thanks Dave!
Orana says
wow, 67 museums already in that list! Thats more than a year worth of museums. What a great idea Dave. I think Museum Mondays is just right too. Cant wait for the first one!
Dave Briggs says
It will be late monday… but it WILL be Monday! 🙂
Dana says
I didn’t realize there were so many museums in Athens. I like your system to assign each a number and visit randomly.
Fiona @ London-Unattached says
LOL what a lot of museums to see! We tend to associate athens with outdoors – the Acropolis etc. not with seeing things indoors – but of course it can snow in winter too!
Dave Briggs says
The museums are pretty handy to go to during the peak heat of the day 😉
Betsy Wuebker | PassingThru says
Holy buckets! That’s an incredible number of museums! It will be fun to see the highlights of your visits!
Lesley says
Great list. I’m adding some of these to my 2016 list now. 🙂
Toni | 2 Aussie Travellers says
Who knew there were so many museums in Athens! A museum a week for 14 months, that in itself could be an interesting challenge – enjoy
Michele TravelwithMrsT says
What a great idea! I never knew there were so many smaller museums, and I lived in Athens for 4 years, and visit quite often. Due for a visit this summer! I’ll meet you at a museum!
Dave Briggs says
It’s a deal!