Five Museums and Galleries in Athens

Athens is the perfect place for history and art lovers and has a wide range of museums and galleries. Here are details of just some of them:

The Acropolis Museum (15 Dionysiou Areopagitou Street, Athens 11742)

The new Acropolis Museum in Dionysiou  Areopagitou Street, Athens, opened in July 2009 and was constructed as a replacement for the old Acropolis Museum, which had stood on the site of the Acropolis since the late 1800s. The new museum has more than 14,000 square metres of exhibition space and was designed by Bernard Tschumi.  

The museum’s permanent collection includes: The Gallery of the Slopes of the Acropolis, which houses a range of artifacts discovered during excavations of the Acropolis hill;  the Archaic Gallery, which houses artifacts dating from the 7th century B.C. until the end of the Persian Wars, including sculptures from the pediment of the Temple of Athena Polias; and the Parthenon Gallery, where you can see sections of the frieze and sculptures from the Parthenon.

The Acropolis Museum also holds temporary exhibitions, and you’ll find a cafe, a restaurant and a shop there.

Image: Tilemahos Efthimiadis

The National Gallery – Alexandros Soutzos Museum (50 Vassileos Konstantinou, Athens)

First opened to the public in 1900, the National Gallery – Alexandros Soutzos Museum houses a large collection of Greek and Western European art works dating from the Post-Byzantine period to the present day. The collection is housed in two buildings. Works showing the history of Greek sculpture are displayed in the National Glyptotheque (Army Park, Goudi, Athens), whilst the rest of the collection is housed in the main museum building (50 Vassileos Konstantinou).

The Railway Museum of Athens (4 Siokou Street, Athens)

The Railway Museum of Athens opened in 1979 and is the only museum of its kind in Greece. It houses a small collection of rolling stock, including a number of steam locomotives, as well as other railway-related exhibits, such as photos, tickets and railway workers’ uniforms. Admission to the museum is free of charge.

The National Museum of Contemporary Art (Vassileos Georgiou B 17 – 19 & Rigillis Street, Athens)

The National Museum of Contemporary Art is currently being housed in the Athens Conservatory while its own building is being renovated. It’s due to move back to its original location in 2011.

The museum’s permanent collection includes a wide range of works by both Greek and international artists. Works include paintings, 3D objects, installations, photographs and video art. The museum also holds regular temporary exhibitions.  

The National Archaeological Museum of Athens (44 Patission Street, Athens 10682)

Originally designed to house items found during excavations in and near Athens during the nineteenth century, the National Archaeological Museum of Athens now houses artefacts discovered throughout Greece, and is the largest museum in the country.

Its permanent collection is divided into five main sections: the Prehistoric Collection; the Sculptures Collection; the Vase and Minor Objects Collection; the Metallurgy Collection; and the Egyptian and Near Eastern Antiquities Collection.

The museum also holds regular temporary exhibitions, and there is a cafe and a shop on site.

Image: Lucretius

Tags: Acropolis Museum, Alexander Soutzos Museum, Athens, museums, National Archaeological Museum of Athens, National Gallery, National Museum of Contemporary Art, Railway Museum of Athens