Are you looking for the top museums not to miss in Athens? We’ve put together a small selection of the must-see museums in Athens, the best museums with all the information you need to know to plan your visits… in short, the best-of!
- 1 – The Acropolis Museum
- 2 – The National Archaeological Museum of Athens
- 3 – Museum of Cycladic Art
- 4 – The Benaki Museum
- 5 – The Byzantine Museum of Athens
- 6 – The National Gallery of Athens
- 7 – EMST: the National Museum of Contemporary Art
- 8 – The Basil and Elise Goulandris Foundation Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art
- 9 – The Kotsanas Museum of Ancient Greek Technology
- 10 – The Museum of Illusions
1 – The Acropolis Museum
First of all, the Acropolis Museum is the most visited museum in Greece! Opened in 2009, this modern building houses 4,000 objects taken exclusively from the Acropolis hill opposite. As soon as you arrive in front of the museum, you’ll discover beneath your feet one of the oldest residential areas in Athens, this archaeological site is also open to the public.
Then discover the collection of everyday objects, funerary offerings, archaic statues and the Parthenon gallery, not forgetting the famous caryatids! The caryatids on the Acropolis hill are replicas. This museum is generally very popular with children.
How to get there?
Address: 15 Street Dionysiou Areopagitou -11742 Athens
The museum is located at the foot of the Acropolis, just off the Acropolis metro exit, line 2 Anthoupoli-Ellèniko.
In fact, once there, you can continue with a visit to the Acropolis or a stroll around Plaka and Anafiotika.
Opening days and hours
Timetables can also be consulted on the Acropolis Museum website, which is regularly updated.
November 1 to March 31 (winter opening hours)
Monday to Thursday: 9am-5pm / Friday 9am-10pm / Saturday and Sunday 9am-8pm
April 1 to October 31 (summer opening hours)
Monday: 9am-5pm / Tuesday to Sunday 9am-8pm / Friday 9am-10pm
Admission tickets (rates valid March 2023)
| November 1 to March 31 | April 1 to October 31 | |
| Full Rate | 10€ | 15€ |
| Reduced rate | 5€ | 10€ |
Reduced rate for European citizens over 65 and non-EU citizens under 18. Free for EU citizens under 18. Upon presentation of proof of identity
Admission tickets can be purchased :
- at the ticket office at the museum entrance
- directly online
- or on Civitatis, an easy-to-use website
- you can also buy a ticket for the Acropolis Museum with audioguide in english or a combined ticket for the Acropolis + Acropolis Museum
- If you’re planning to visit several sites and museums, we also recommend buying a City Pass. We’ve devoted an article to it, detailing its advantages All you need to know about the Athens City Pass with the Acropolis.
To make the most of it
There’s nothing more frustrating than spending time in a museum, only to come out with the impression that you don’t know any more than when you went in.
We suggest a few solutions:
- a small-group guided tour in English with Alternative Athens
- this private or shared tour to Acropolis and the Acropolis museum. We didn’t try it but it had very good reviews
- or those e-tickets for Acropolis and the Acropolis museum with audio guide in English
2 – The National Archaeological Museum of Athens
The Athens Archaeological Museum houses over 20,000 objects from all over Greece, dating from prehistoric times to the end of Antiquity. It is the largest collection of Greek antiquities in the world.
And for children, those curious about mythology will be delighted to find statues of Zeus, Poseidon, Athena, Aphrodite, Pan…
How to get there?
Address: 28is Oktovriou 44 – 106 82 Athens
Located in the Omonia district, it’s a little off the beaten track from Athens’ other sites and monuments.
You can get there by metro: Omonia stop (lines 1 or 2) or Victoria stop (line 1). Another option is to use one of the 3 Hop-on Hop-off buses of Athens that drop you off right in front of the museum.
Opening days and hours
Be sure to check the timetable on the National Archaeological Museum of Athens website before your visit, as it changes regularly.
Winter schedule
Tuesday: 1pm-8pm / Wednesday to Monday: 8:30am-3:30pm
Summer opening hours
Tuesday: 1pm-8pm / Wednesday to Monday: 8am-8pm
Admission tickets (Rates in force March 2023)
April 1 to October 31: €12 / November 1 to March 31: €6
Admission is free for EU citizens under 25.
There’s also a special three-day ticket for €15, valid for the National Archaeological Museum, the Epigraphic Museum, the Numismatic Museum and the Byzantine and Christian Museum of Athens.
Tickets can be purchased at the museum entrance, online on Get Your Guide full-price ticket with or without audioguide or on the official website.
To make the most of it
We also recommend a private guided tour of the archaeological museum with Christos Theodoropoulos an english-speaking tour guides with very good reviews.
3 – Museum of Cycladic Art
Located in the Kolonaki district of Athens, the Museum of Cycladic Art is particularly famous for its sleek white marble statuettes, carved in the Cycladic islands and dating back several millennia BC.
Spread over 4 levels, it also features ancient pottery and artefacts, some of which have been recreated to show how life was in ancient times. A production that’s particularly popular with children, but also with adults!
How to get there?
Address: Neofitou Douka 4, Athens 106 74
Located close to Kolonaki Square and the National Garden, the museum is easily accessible by metro, with a 10-minute walk between the Evangelismos (line 3) and Syntagma (lines 2 and 3) stops. Some Hop On Hop Off tourist bus routes also serve the museum.
Opening days and hours
Opening times are subject to change, so please check the Museum of Cycladic Art website before visiting.
Monday – Wednesday – Friday – Saturday: 10am-5pm
Thursday: 10am-8pm / Sunday: 11am-5pm / Tuesday: Closed
Admission tickets (March 2023 prices)
Full price: €12
Reduced rate: €9 (for seniors over 65, students and young people aged 19 to 26)
Free admission for under-18s, disabled persons and accompanying adults
Tickets can be purchased on site, on Civitatis via the museum itself, online with Get Your Guide or via the City Pass. To find out more about the advantages of the City Pass, don’t miss our article All about the Athens City Pass with the Acropolis.
4 – The Benaki Museum
The Benaki Museum traces the art and history of Greece from ancient times to the early 20th century. You’ll discover Cycladic figurines and busts from Antiquity, icons from the Byzantine period, costumes and reconstructions of post-Byzantine living rooms, and precious metal objects and weapons from the Independence period.
How to get there?
Address: Koumpari 1 and Avenue Vassilis Sofias, Athens 106 74
Located in the Kolonaki near avenue Vassilis Sofias and opposite the National Garden, the Benaki Museum is also easily accessible by metro: Syntagma stop (lines 2 and 3) or Evangelismos stop (line 3). And with Athens tourist buses.
Opening days and hours
Before you go, we advise you to check the Benaki Museum website, as opening times and days are subject to change.
Monday-Wednesday-Friday-Saturday: 10 a.m.-6 p.m.
Thursday: 10h-00h / Sunday: 10h-16h / Tuesday: Closed
Admission tickets (March 2023 prices)
Full price: €12
Reduced rate: €9 (for over-65s and students)
Free admission for children and young people under 22, and for the disabled.
Free admission also every Thursday from 6 pm to midnight, except for organized tours and guided group visits.
Tickets can be purchased :
- at the museum entrance
- online at Get Your Guide: full-price ticket, selecting the Benaki Museum of Greek Culture.
- on the official website
- or buy a City Pass: combined ticket for the Acropolis, several museums and sites, and tourist buses. Further information All about the Athens City Pass with Acropolis.
5 – The Byzantine Museum of Athens
The Museum of Byzantine and Christian Art houses over 25,000 works, tracing the history of the Byzantine world as well as the pre- and post-Byzantine periods (3rd to 20th centuries). You’ll find icons, frescoes and sculptures, as well as goldsmith’s and silversmith’s objects, clothes, ceramics…
How to get there?
Address: Leoforos Vasilissis Sofias 22, Athens 106 75
Located in the Kolonaki next to the Athens War Museum, the Byzantine Museum is a 3-minute walk from Evangelismos metro station (line 3), and 12 minutes from Syntagma (lines 2 and 3).
The red line tourist bus also has a stop nearby.
Opening days and hours
Before you visit, we recommend you check the opening times and days on the Byzantine and Christian Art Museum website.
Monday: 8am-8pm / Tuesday: 1pm-8pm / Wednesday to Sunday: 8am-8pm
Admission tickets (March 2023 prices)
April 1 to October 31: €8
November 1 to March 31: €4
Free for European Union citizens aged 6 to 25.
There’s also a combined ticket for €15, valid for 3 days, which allows you to visit the Byzantine and Christian Museum, the Archaeological Museum of Athens, as well as the Numismatic and Epigraphic Museums. Tickets can also be purchased at the museum entrance.
6 – The National Gallery of Athens
The National Gallery of Athens, founded in 1900, is the most important art museum in Greece. Also known as the Alexandros Soutsos Museum, it features more than 20,000 works of art spread over its 20,760 m² of exhibition space.
These include a remarkable collection of Greek paintings and sculptures from the 19th, 20th and 21st centuries. The great European artists are also featured, with works by Eugène Delacroix, Auguste Rodin, Albrecht Dürer and Francisco de Goya.
The National Gallery of Athens houses an amphitheatre, a store and an art conservation laboratory. Don’t forget to take a detour to the sculpture garden to admire works by Rodin and Costas Varotsos!
How do I get there?
Address: 50 Vasileos Konstantinou, opposite the Hilton hotel. Evangelismos metro station.
Opening days and hours
Wednesday: 10 a.m.-9 p.m./Thursday to Monday: 10 a.m.-5 p.m./Sunday: 10 a.m.-6 p.m./Closed Tuesdays.
Admission tickets (March 2023 prices)
Full price: 10 euros.
Reduced rate: €5 for students and over-65s.
Free admission for children under 12 years old.
The museum is also wheelchair accessible.
Tickets can be purchased in this way:
- at the museum reception desk;
- online on the National Gallery of Athens website.
7 – EMST: the National Museum of Contemporary Art
Founded in 1997, EMST moved into the former premises of the iconic Fix brewery in 2020, with the support of the Stavros Niarchos Foundation. After almost 20 years of nomadic exhibitions, the museum’s contemporary art collections are now on show in a magnificent 20,000 m² space.
The building itself is well worth a visit, with its industrial design and roof top offering a magnificent view of the city and the Parthenon. The museum’s permanent collection includes over 170 works by contemporary Greek and international artists.
EMST ‘s ambition is to give Greece the place it deserves on the international contemporary art scene. The challenge has been met with this bold body of work, which tackles the most sensitive subjects and contemporary societal issues head-on.
How do I get there?
Address: the building is on the corner of avenue Kallirois and rue Ambrosiou Frantzi in Athens. It’s less than 800 m from the Acropolis Museum, in the Koukaki district. The Syngrou-Fix metro station is 280 m away, and the Fix tramway station is 300 m away.
Opening days and hours
Thursday: 11 am – 10 pm/Friday to Tuesday: 11 am – 7 pm/Monday closed.
Also wheelchair accessible.
Admission tickets (March 2023 prices)
Full price: €8.
Reduced rate: 4 € for 13-18 year-olds, students, groups of 10 or more and over-65s.
Tickets can be purchased at the museum reception desk.
To make the most of it
A visit to the museum takes 1 to 2 hours. An iOS and Android mobile app lets you find out more about the works and their authors during your visit.
Please note that the museum does not offer parking! The nearest parking lot is at the Syngrou – Fix metro station.
8 – The Basil and Elise Goulandris Foundation Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art
The Basil and Elise Goulandris Foundation opened this new museum of modern and contemporary art in Athens in 2019. It occupies 7,000 m² on 9 levels in a neoclassical building in the Pangrati district.
The Goulandris Foundation Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art exhibits the superb private collection of the Goulandris couple. Works by the greatest artists of the 19ᵉ and 20ᵉ centuries are on display, including Monet, Picasso, Rodin, Van Gogh, Kandinsky, Modigliani, Chagall, Matisse and Miro.
The museum also offers the opportunity to discover some of Greece’s great modern artists, such as Konstantin Byzantios, Yannis Moralis and Alekos Fassianos.
How do I get there?
Address: Eratosthenous 13, Athens. Evangelismo metro station.
The Goulandris Foundation is located in the Pangrati district, a stone’s throw from the National Garden and the Panathenaeus Stadium.
Opening days and hours
Friday: 10 a.m.-8 p.m./Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday: 10 a.m.-6 p.m./Closed Tuesday.
Admission tickets (2023 rates)
Full price: €10 for permanent collections.
Reduced rate: €7 for students, over-65s and young people aged 13 to 26.
Free admission for children under 12 years old.
Tickets can be purchased :
- at the museum reception desk;
- on the Get Your Guide website: full price ticket + audioguide or guided tour in English
- online on the Basil and Elise Goulandris Foundation website.
9 – The Kotsanas Museum of Ancient Greek Technology
The Kotsanas Museum of Ancient Greek Technology opened its doors in 2018 in the district of Kolonaki. In fact, it reveals the astonishing inventiveness of engineers from 2000 BC to the end of ancient Greece, in various fields: astronomy, communication, time measurement and also the automation of everyday tasks.
On the program: copies of inventions, various instruments and astonishing machines. The exhibits are also accompanied by audiovisual and educational aids, many of them interactive. The Ancient Greek Technology Museum is the perfect place to spend some fun family time learning!
How do I get there?
Address: Pindarou 6 and Akademias, Athens. Metro Evangelismo or Syntagma.
Opening days and hours
Daily from 10 am to 6 pm. Check opening times on the Kotsanas Museum of Technology website .
Admission tickets (Prices in 2023)
Full price: €5 or €10 for an interactive tour.
Reduced rate: 3.5 € for students, jobseekers, over-65s, military personnel and children aged 6 to 17.
Free admission for school groups and children under 6.
Tickets can be purchased :
- at the museum reception desk;
- online on Civitatis
- or on Get Your Guide
To make the most of it
A visit to the museum alone takes about an hour. We recommend that you book a guided tour here, in English.
10 – The Museum of Illusions
The Museum of Illusions opened its doors near Monastiraki Square in 2018. The goal? Have fun and challenge your perception of reality!
The Athens Museum of Illusions features around 70 animations in various experimental areas. You’ll find games, holograms, optical illusions, kaleidoscopes and other marvels that will make you lose your usual bearings.
This resolutely playful museum is also perfect for an outing with children: they can explore their 5 senses and learn while having fun. In short, it’s an ideal outing for all ages!
How do I get there?
Address: 119 Ermou Street, Athens. Monastiraki metro station. The entrance is at number 12, rue Astiggo.
Opening days and hours :
Monday to Friday: 10 am – 9 pm/Saturday – Sunday: 10 am – 10 pm. Timetables are also available on the Museum of illusions website.
Admission tickets (2023 rates)
Full price: €11
Reduced rate: €8 for children aged 4 to 15, €9 for students, €8 for the unemployed and the disabled.
Free admission for children under 4.
Tickets can be purchased :
- at the museum reception desk;
- online at Civitatis;
- or on the website Get Your Guide;
- by purchasing a City Pass : combined ticket for the Acropolis, several museums and sites, and tourist buses.
To make the most of it
Depending on the number of visitors and the time spent on each activity, the visit lasts between 45 min and 1 h 30. In fact, it’s best to go in the morning, as it’s less crowded!
In addition, the museum is not suitable for wheelchair users.
We hope our Top 10 museums to visit in Athens has enlightened you on the must-sees during your stay in Greece.
Last but not least, don’t miss a gourmet or refreshing break in one of Athens’ museum cafes, many of which are among our favorites!
Virginie W. and Sandra B.
Updated February 16, 2024
