Must Visit Museum in Athens

The Hellenic Motor Museum is a car museum located on the top three floors of the Athenian Capitol shopping mall. It is only a few minutes away by foot from Victoria metro station. It spans over 4000 sqm and contains over 300 cars ranging from the 1920s to the 1970s. About 110 cars are displayed at a time. It also contains an F1 simulator which is great fun for all ages. Guided Tour in English is available upon request.

Museum of Illusions Athens is an interactive optical illusion museum located in the Monastiraki neighbourhood in Athens. It is one of the most interactive places in the city that houses exhibits like inverted room, chair illusion, rotating vortex, infinity room and much more. It is a fun place to visit for people of all ages.

Opened in 1983 by its President and Founder, Ian Vorres, Vorres Museum displays over 6000 pieces of folk and contemporary Greek art in Paiania, Athens. The vision behind the museum-cum-gallery was to promote Greek culture and art following the massive upsurge of urbanisation after World War II.

The Museum of Greek Children's Art is a museum dedicated solely to displaying artwork made by children aged 5-14 years. Located in Plaka, it is housed in a neoclassical building. Every year it collects over 10,000 drawings by children and exhibits them in its building which is visited by over 7,000 primary school students and teachers. Its gift shop offers handcrafted products featuring children's artwork.

The Epigraphic Museum in Athens is one of a kind. Located in Tossitsa, it is situated in the south wing of the National Archaeological Museum. However, the Epigraphic Museum has its own separate entrance. With more than 14,000 inscriptions, most of which are in Greek, the Epigraphic Museum has an enviable collection. These inscriptions date back to the early historical times till the Late Roman period.

Athens University History Museum, or the Old University, is a museum in Plaka. It houses historical relics and collections of the former university like preserved manuscripts, scientific instruments, portraits and even diplomas. These provide a great insight into the university’s history and its contribution to Greek science and art. It offers splendid views of the Acropolis and is a 2-minute walk from Erechtheion.

Industrial Gas Museum is a historic landmark situated in Pireos, Athens. It houses information about the history of old Athens Gasworks. Visitors can explore the steam machines and the exhibits of various old gas apparatuses and enjoy the recently launched interactive tours. The top floor of the New Watergas building is a must-visit as it provides a panoramic 360° view of the city.

Athens War Museum is the largest military history museum in Greece, located on Rizari Street in Athens. It houses Greek military relics and documents the numerous conflicts in which the Greek nation took part throughout the centuries. In addition, there are exhibitions of weapon artefacts on 4 distinct floors and weaponry from other ancient civilizations such as Ancient China and Japan on display.

The Museum of Ancient Greek Technology exhibits cutting-edge ancient Greek technology. It is located in the Katakolo town of Elis near Athens. The museum was founded by Kostas Kotsanas and houses hundreds of objects and replicas made by him. The main attractions are Plato’s hydraulic alarm clock and a working replica of the Antikythera Mechanism, the oldest known analogue computer.

Acropolis museum is an archaeological museum which contains the artifacts found in Acropolis. It contains over 4000 objects starting from the Greek Bronze Age and up to Byzantine Greece.

Highlighting the historic Olympic trajectory of Greece on the world’s map, the Athens Olympic museum is located on the first floor of the Golden Hall in Maroussi. It sheds light on the unique journey of the Olympic games through history. The major highlights include the glamorous Kotinos, an amalgamation of olive leaves, the office of Demetrios Vekelos, and the silver medal of Leonidas Kokas.

The Ilias Lalaounis Jewelry Museum or ILJM is the first museum in Greece focused on the art of jewelry making. Located under the Acropolis hill and at the corner of the Kallisperi and Karyatidon streets, ILJM is created by world-renowned jewelry artist and designer Illias Lalaounis. Though there are different types of creative jewelry exhibits, the emphasis is mostly on goldsmithing, silver, and contemporary jewelry.

One of the most important museums in Greece, the Numismatic Museum houses one of the greatest collections of coins in the world. It is situated on Panepistimiou Street, near Syntagma Square in Athens. The museum has an astounding collection of more than 500,000 coins, stamps, gems, weights, medals, etc., dating back to the 1400BC.

The Benaki Museum is the oldest and largest museum in Greece that features Greek artworks from the prehistoric period to the contemporary era. The museum is lodged in a complex of elegant buildings in the historical heart of Athens. It is located at the corner of Agion Asomaton and Dipylou streets in the Kerameikos district.

Nestled at the Neophytou Douka Street in the heart of Athens, the Museum of Cycladic Art (MCA) is a lively cultural institute. The museum is dedicated specifically to the Cycladic art of the 30th century BC. It also has one of the best private collections of artefacts & sculptures of Cycladic Art. Moreover, the classic Cypriot antiquities in this museum represent one of the largest collections outside Cyprus across the globe.

The Byzantine and Christian Museum of Athens, located on the Vassilissis Sofias Avenue, represents the best of Byzantine Art in Greece. Containing more than 30,000 artworks, including frescoes, sculpture, pottery, ceramics, textile, and jewellery, it was built in 1948 in Tuscan Renaissance style.

Basil & Elise Goulandris Foundation, also referred to as Goulandris Museum of Contemporary Art, is a recently opened modern art museum on Eratosthenous Street, Pangrati. This 11 storey masterpiece houses art collections from the 19th and 20th centuries, such as Van Gogh, Monet and Picasso, and contemporary Greek art. Guided tours are available.

National Archaeological museum consists of artifacts from the Greek history. Considered to be the best museum in the world, it exhibits a rich collection of objects. The museum contains prehistoric collections, sculptures- most famous being a bronze statue of Zeus, vases, Santorini findings, metallurgy collections, Egyptian arts. etc.