A monument that constitutes the symbol of  Greece worldwide, stands on the "sacred rock" of Athens, the Acropolis. The Parthenon, a marble temple dedicated to Goddess Athena, along with the other monuments of the Acropolis, are all excellent pieces of art, reflecting the Classical period and the Golden Age of ancient Athens in the 5th and 4th centuries BC.

The Acropolis Museum is an archaeological site-specific museum, housing the most famous works of classical antiquity. These works are artistic expressions of a deep political change that transformed the ancient city of Athens during the 5th century BC, subsequently marking entire eras  from antiquity to modernity. The exhibition program aims to  provide visitors with all the key information gleaned from the  archaeological finds from the Acropolis. Exhibits are presented not  solely as works of art, but also as evidence of the historical and social context of the period from which they developed.  The exhibition is organized with topographic, chronological and thematic  clustering of the collections. The sculptural adornments and various votives enable visitors to become familiar with the sanctuaries and  monuments of the Athenian Acropolis, and assisted by the Museum narrative they have the opportunity to achieve a comprehensive understanding of the entire history of the Acropolis in antiquity. The Museum presents works with distinctive characteristics from the Archaic Period and its collection from this period includes significant works by famous artists. These works ceased to be visible after the Persian invasion of 480 BC, which destroyed the Acropolis. After the Persian destruction, the Athenians buried many of the surviving votive statues in pits on the Sacred Rock.  These works represent the Athens of Solon, Peisistratos, and Kleisthenes; the Athens of the 6th century BC with the economic developments and social realignments that led to the birth of democracy. Many of the nineteenth century archaeological finds from these pits are presented in the Archaic Gallery on the first floor. The exhibition also includes archaeological evidence from the first human settlements on the slopes of the Acropolis and from the Sanctuaries which developed on the slopes of the Hill. Finally, the exhibition program includes the original remains of an ancient Athenian neighborhood located in the lower levels of the Museum. Extensive archaeological excavations conducted during preparations for the Museum's construction revealed private houses, bathhouses, shops, workshops, and roads. Portable finds are exhibited  on the same level as the excavation in a specially designed  exhibition area. Visitors are also able to walk at close proximity to the excavation, over a network of metal ramps.

Website: www.theacropolismuseum.gr
ADDRESS: Dionyssiou Areopagitou 15 str., Athens
METRO STATION: ACROPOLIS (line 2-red line)

A visit to the Acropolis Museum
Watch a video from the official YouTube channel of The Acropolis Museum

The Athens and Epidaurus Festival is the city’s annual arts festival and a highlight of the Greek summer calendar. With a legacy that spans more than sixty years, today it incorporates a full program of music, theatre, dance and visual arts. Performances at the two ancient theatres of the Odeon Herodes Atticus and the Ancient Theatre of Epidaurus are highlights of the festival. Both are famous for their exemplary acoustics and many of the great works of classical playwrights, such as Sophocles, premiered at the Epidaurus Theatre in ancient times.

Website: www.aefestival.gr
LOCATION : Various venues around Athens & Epidaurus

The Olympic Games from Antiquity to date; the spirit of fair play as a universal value; Greece's critical role in promoting Olympism and Athens' promotion as an Olympic Capital; paying tribute to Greek athletes and presenting the Greek Olympic and Paralympic Champions who have won medals. These are the basic imperatives for the foundation of the Athens Olympic Museum, together with offering an unprecedented experience to the visitors, an idea that was born during the 2004 period.

Website: athensolympicmuseum.org
ADDRESS: 37a Kifissias Av., Marousi, 151 23
BUS STATION: 550 (stop Olympic Stadium)  / NERATZIOTISSA (line 1-green line)

The B & M Theocharakis Foundation for the Fine Arts and Music was founded as a non-profit-making foundation for the public good in 2004 and ratified by Presidential Decree. The Foundation is primarily concerned with music and the fine arts by staging periodical concerts, exhibitions, lectures and many other activities with a focus on the emergence and development of the Modern.

Website: thf.gr
ADDRESS: Vasilissis Sofias & 1 Merlin, Kolonaki, Athens
METRO STATION: SYNTAGMA (all lines)

In less than 5-minutes walking from the Panathenaic Stadium, the Basil and Elise Foundation is one of the most prominent private art collections in Greece with numerous sculptures, paintings, and sketches from artists of the late 19th and early 20th century among which are Picasso, Cezanne, Van Gogh, Monet, Degas, Pollock, Liechtenstein, Bacon, and Chagall. Visitors can also explore the two floors dedicated to modern and contemporary Greek art. In the same building, there is an auditorium, a 6,000-volume art library with a reading room, as well as a gift shop and a modern café.

Website: www.goulandris.gr
ADDRESS: 13 Eratosthenous, Pangrati, Athens
TRAM STATION: ZAPPEION

The Byzantine Museum is dedicated exclusively to the art style, which flourished since the founding of the city of Constantinople (330 AC), the capital of the Byzantine Empire, until its fall in 1453. The museum has been recently restored and almost tripled in size.

Website: www.byzantinemuseum.gr
ADDRESS: 22 Vasilissis Sofias Av., Athens, 106 75
METRO STATION: EVANGELISMOS (line 3-blue line)

Held annually from June to August, the Athens Epidaurus Festival is one of the oldest performing arts festivals in Europe, offering both classical performances, including ancient Greek drama, and cutting-edge, avant-garde productions.
The Festival takes place at four unique venues connecting the past, present, and future: in Athens the awe-inspiring Odeon of Herodes and the former industrial complex of Peiraios 260, and, about two hours away from the capital, the mesmerizing Ancient Theatre of Epidaurus and the Little Theatre of Ancient Epidaurus.

Website: www.aefestival.gr

The Museum Herakleidon was founded in 2004 by Mr. and Mrs. Firos and extends to two buildings in the historic district of Thissio, one of the busiest neighborhoods of Athens. The first ten years of its operation, the Museum had a focus on artistic activities and exhibitions with artworks of artists such as M.C. Escher, Victor Vasarely, Carol Wax, Constantine Xenakis, Adolf Luther, Francesco Scavullo, and others. Today the Museum has evolved to an interactive center of science popularization and to a technological museum that focuses on antiquity, with emphasis on the achievements of the ancient Greeks.

Watch a video from the official YouTube channel of Herakleidon Museum

Website: www.herakleidon-gr.org
ADDRESS: 1st Building: 16 Herakleidon, Thissio, 118 51 / 2nd Building: 37 Apostolou Pavlou, Thissio, 118 51
METRO STATION: THISSIO (line 1-green line)

Built in 161 AD by Tiberius Claudius Atticus Herodes, the Odeon was built in the memory of his late wife. Today, concerts, plays and ballets are still performed in it. You can either admire its beauty and architecture in the morning or treat yourself with the lifetime experience of attending a concert. Herodeon's natural setting of the Arcades in front, the Parthenon in the back and the moon up in the sky will certainly fascinate you!

ADDRESS: Dionyssiou Areopagitou str., Athens
METRO STATION: ACROPOLIS (line 2-red line)

   

The Jewish Museum of Greece was founded in 1977, to collect, preserve, research and exhibit the material evidence of more than 2,300 years of Jewish life in Greece. The Collections and Archives of the JMG contain more than 10,000 artefacts pertaining to the domestic and religious life, as well as the history of the Greek Jews. The permanent home of the Museum houses its rich collections and visitor services in permanent exhibition areas with thematic modular exhibits, an art gallery, a periodic exhibition space, a research library, a space for educational programmes, a photo archive and laboratory and a conservation laboratory. The JMG initiated Holocaust Education in Greece in 2001 and still works at the forefront of all relevant initiatives and actions.

Website: www.jewishmuseum.gr
ADDRESS: 39 Nikis, Syntagma, 105 57
METRO STATION: SYNTAGMA (all lines)

The Kotsanas Museum of Ancient Greek Technology studies, highlights and presents the technology of ancient Greeks. The visitors will have the opportunity to get to know a relatively unknown aspect of Ancient Greek culture through the exhibition "Ancient Greece – The Origins of Technologies" with approximately 100 selected exhibits, from the robot-servant and the "cinema" of Philon to the automatic theater of Heron, and from the Hydraulic Clock of Ktesibios to the Antikythera Mechanism. The Museum's Shop offers handmade models, copies of the exhibits of the museum that the visitors can purchase.

Website: www.kotsanasmuseum.com
ADDRESS:Pindarou 6 & Akademias, Kolonaki, 106 71
METRO STATION: SYNTAGMA (all lines)

The Megaron Mousikis opened in 1991 with two concert halls. Two smaller performance spaces have since been added in a new annex, which also has extensive conference facilities. The Athens Concert Hall offers a comprehensive range of facilities for all sorts of cultural activities, designed to the very highest specifications and one of the most impressive venues of its kind anywhere in the world. It offers a forum for all sorts of cultural activities – both artistic and educational.

Website: www.megaron.gr
ADDRESS: Vas. Sofias & Kokkali 1, Athens, 115 21
METRO STATION: MEGARO MOUSSIKIS (line 3-blue line)

Devoted to the study and promotion of ancient Greek art, the Museum of Cycladic Art hosts two permanent collections. The Cycladic Collection, with marble statuettes and ceramic pots from the prehistoric period of the Cycladic islands (3200-2000 B.C.), and the Ancient Greek Collection, which exhibits objects of art from the 15th century BC to the 4th century AD. The museum also hosts several temporary collections in its new wing, which is housed in the magnificent neo-classical Stathatos Mansion.

Website: cycladic.gr
ADDRESS: 4 Neophytou Douka, Kolonaki
METRO STATION: SYNTAGMA (all lines)  / EVANGELISMOS (line 3-blue line)

The Museum of Greek Children's Art is a pioneering Museum, one of the very few worldwide that exhibits exclusively more than 10,000 drawings and 3D artworks created by children 5 to 14 years old. Children can participate in art and craft activities and workshops where they can develop their interest in art and also express themselves through it. The gift shop offers books, posters, art games and a variety of gifts featuring art from its collections.

Website: www.childrensartmuseum.gr
ADDRESS: 9 Kodrou, Plaka, 105 58
METRO STATION: SYNTAGMA (all lines)

Right in the heart of Athens, in September 2018, the Museum of Illusions opened its doors for the public. A different kind of museum with many illusions and exhibits that combine both entertaining and educational goals not only for adults but also for children. You can take photos and test your intellect and patience with many Dilemma games, brain teasers etc. which you can all find at the gift shop.

Watch a video from the official YouTube channel of Museum of Illusions Athens

Website: museumofillusions.gr
ADDRESS: 119 Ermou (entrance from 12 Astiggos), Monastiraki, Athens
METRO STATION: MONASTIRAKI (line 1-green line and line 3-blue line)

After 8 years of renovation, the National Gallery opened its door on the 24th of March 2021, a day before the 200th Anniversary of the Greek Independence War. The museum is devoted to Greek and European art from the 14th to 20th century. By showcasing 20.000 art pieces, the National Gallery is a source of knowledge, inviting visitors to dive in the Greek artistic evolution but also enjoy masterpieces from Auguste Rodin, Francisco Goya and Antoine Bourdelle, among many. Situated in the Hilton area, visitors can walk around the sculpture park outside the building of the National Gallery and enjoy the impressive sculpture of Dromeas (the Runner), which was created by Costas Varotsos and is considered part of the National Gallery collection.

Website: www.nationalgallery.gr
ADDRESS: 50 Vasileos Konstantinou Av., Athens
METRO STATION: EVANGELISMOS (line 3-blue line)

Inaugurated in July 2004, the twin buildings of the former royal stables at the Army Park, Goudi, house the first National Glyptotheque of Greece, an annex of the National Gallery. The studies that enabled the renovation project to be included in the 3rd CSF were funded by the Stavros S. Niarchos Foundation. The installation of the permanent collection of 19th and 20th century sculpture in one of the two buildings and in the 6,500-square metre garden was also funded by the Stavros S. Niarchos Foundation. The permanent sculpture collection of the National Gallery was inaugurated by the President of the Hellenic Republic, Mr. Karolos Papoulias, on June 27, 2006. Temporary exhibitions, mostly of sculpture, are held in the second building.

Website: national-glyptotheque
ADDRESS: Army Park, Goudi, Athens, 115 25  / Entrance from Panagiotis Kanellopoulos Av. (Katechaki Avenue)
METRO STATION: KATECHAKI (line 3-blue line)

Formerly housing the Bavarian Fix family-former brewery factory, EMST was designed by Takis Zanetos. Even though founded in 1997, the museum opened for the public in 2016. The permanent exhibition showcases remarkable pieces of contemporary conceptual and political art, including names like Jannis Kounellis, Carlos Motta, Andrea Bowers, Lynda Benglis.

Website: www.emst.gr
ADDRESS: Kallirois Av. & Amvrosiou Frantzi, Koukaki, 117 43
METRO STATION: SYNGROU FIX (line 2-red line)

NEON is a nonprofit organization that works to bring contemporary culture closer to everyone. It is committed to broadening the appreciation, understanding, and creation of contemporary art in Greece and to the firm belief that this is a key tool for growth and development. NEON, founded in 2013 by collector and entrepreneur Dimitris Daskalopoulos, breaks with the conventional model of a contemporary art foundation limited to a single location. Acting within a multitude of initiatives, spaces, and civic and social contexts, it seeks to expose the power of contemporary art to stimulate, inspire, and affect both the individual and society at large. NEON constructively collaborates with public and private cultural institutions and supports programs that increase access and interaction with contemporary art.


Website: neon.org.gr
ADDRESS: Check NEON website for our different locations of exhibition.

Onassis Cultural Centre opened in 2010 and it covers an entire block of Syngrou Avenue. Architecture Studio's bold design is a glass cube cloaked in rows of white marble that glow at night. All locals call it Onassis Stegi (roof), the building hosts theatre, dance, and musical performances by Greek and many international artists, as well as boundary-pushing exhibitions that often extend off-site. Someone can have a drink and/or dinner at its top-floor bar and restaurant, named Hytra. One of Greece's most prolific and ground-breaking cultural venues, the Onassis Stegi is a platform for emerging local talent, as well as cultivating international collaborations that challenge the boundaries between art and science, gender and technology.

Website: www.onassis.org
ADDRESS: 107-109 Syngrou Av., Neos Kosmos, Athens
METRO STATION: SYNGROU FIX (line 2-red line) 

Originally built in the 4th century BC for the athletic competitions of the Great Panathinaia (ancient Greek festivities), the Panathinaikon Stadium took its final form during its most recent restoration at the end of the 19th century. It is made of marble and the Greeks also call it "Kallimarmaron" (meaning "made of beautiful marble"). It was the venue for the first modern Olympic Games, in 1896.

Information: www.thisisathens.org/antiquities/panathenaic-stadium
ADDRESS: Vasileos Konstantinou Av., Pangrati, 116 35
TRAM STATION: ZAPPEION

The Foundation is headquartered in an apartment building designed by Panayotis Michelis. Also housed in this building are the Foundation’s Library of Aesthetics, which is open to the public, and its Exhibition and Events Hall, which houses a permanent exhibition of paintings by Effie Michelis, as well as by other naive artists, whose works have been donated to the Foundation to augment its Greek Naïve Art Collection.

WEBSITE: www.michelisfoundation.gr
ADDRESS: 79 Vassilissis Sofias Ave., Athens, 115 21
METRO STATION: MEGARO MOUSSIKIS (line 3-blue line)

The Greek National Opera (GNO), founded in 1940 is the country's state lyric opera company, responsible for a wide variety of activities, including the presentation of opera performances, ballet, and musical theatre; in addition, symphony concerts, special presentations of opera and ballet performances for children, and the Opera and Ballet Studio help young artists achieve professional standards. In March 2017, the Greek National Opera relocated to the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Center (SNFCC). Covering an area of 28,000 m², the new premises of the Greek National Opera can only be compared with the most modern opera houses in the world.



The high aesthetics, state-of-the-art acoustics, as well as the installations of the Main Stage bolster a high-caliber artistic program. Furthermore, the Alternative Stage is a hub of research and creativity in the field of education, community and contemporary creation, with special emphasis in all forms of the musical theatre. The Stavros Niarchos Foundation also includes the new building for the National Library of Greece and the Stavros Niarchos Park, all designed by renowned Italian architect Renzo Piano. During the summer several performances of GNO take place in the outdoor spaces of the Park and the Canal.

Website: www.snfcc.org
ADDRESS: 364 Syngrou Av., Kallithea, 176 74
SHUTTLE BUS SERVICE: Departs from SYNTAGMA and makes a stop at SYNGROY FIX metro station

The War Museum is located in one of the most central parts of Athens, at the intersection of Vasilissis Sofias and Rizari streets. The well-known architect, Thucydides Valentis, designed the building with the then-modern international standards provided for museums and has an influence by the German school of Bauhaus. The inauguration of the War Museum took place on July 18, 1975. The museum exhibits include part of the objects of the great exhibition on the War History of the Greeks, held in Zappeion in 1968, the priceless collection of Petros Saroglou, which consisted of thousands of rare weapons and weapons' components from various historical periods and later proceeded with the purchase, by individuals and by various institutions, of a number of works of art, archives or relics related to the object of its exhibition spaces.

Website: www.warmuseum.gr
ADDRESS: 2 Rizari, Athens
METRO STATION: EVANGELISMOS (line 3-blue line) 

Zoumboulakis Gallery was established in 1966 and its current exhibition space was inaugurated in 1973 with the first solo exhibition of Greek sculptor Takis. It has presented and continues to showcase exhibitions by Greek and foreign contemporary artists in alignment with its long history. In collaboration with galleries such as Alexandre Iolas and Denise René, Zoumboulakis introduced the Greek art audience to movements such as Neo-realism, and Kinetic Art to name but a few. It has hosted works by international artists, including Dali, Magritte, DeChirico, Picasso and Warhol, as well as works by Greek artists such as Y. Moralis, Y. Tsarouhis, Takis, A. Akrithakis, Pavlos, Chryssa and Fassianos.

Website: www.zoumboulakis.gr
ADDRESS: 20 Filikis Eterias, Kolonaki, 106 73
METRO STATION: SYNTAGMA (all lines)