May 25, 2023 
8 mins to read Most people are lured to Athens with sunny days, cocktails in rooftop bars and long days on the beach. But when you live in Athen you also get to experience it outside the tourist season when winter transforms the whole city. This is however the best time to visit some of the popular tourist attractions because you will not find endless queues and many places have reduced prices during ‘winter season’. Athens has more than 70 museums so there are a lot of websites to scan to figure out where to go, what the price is and when they are open. That is why we have made this overview of the most popular museums in Athens with opening hours and the price of general admission.
Acropolis Museum
This is at the top of almost every list about Athens. It was built to exhibit archeological findings from the site of the acropolis, celebrating Athens’ history.
The museum building in itself is a beautiful piece of architecture and with its modern look it stands in perfect contrast to the ancient statues and artifacts. During the summer it gets a lot of visitors, so it is definitely worth it to wait and visit in the winter. You will have more space and admission prices are even reduced.
| Winter (November 1st until March 31st) | |
| General Admission | €5 |
| Monday | 9 am – 5 pm |
| Tuesday | 9 am – 5 pm |
| Wednesday | 9 am – 5 pm |
| Thursday | 9 am – 5 pm |
| Friday | 9 am – 10 pm |
| Saturday | 9 am – 8 pm |
| Sunday | 9 am – 8 pm |
| Summer (April 1st until October 31st) | |
| General Admission | €10 |
| Monday | 8 am – 4 pm |
| Tuesday | 8 am – 8 pm |
| Wednesday | 8 am – 8 pm |
| Thursday | 8 am – 8 pm |
| Friday | 8 am – 10 pm |
| Saturday | 8 am – 8 pm |
| Sunday | |
National Archaeological Museum (NAM)
It is considered one of the world’s greatest museums because of its unparalleled collection of Greek Antiquity artifacts and the size of the collection. You might think that it is just a copy of the Acropolis Museum, but you would be wrong. Whilst the Acropolis museum exhibits artefacts related to the acropolis (no big surprise there), the NAM exhibits all of Greece’s history with artefacts coming from all of the country.
| Winter (November 1st until March 31st) | |
| General Admission | €6 |
| Monday | 8.30 am – 3.30 pm |
| Tuesday | 1 pm – 8 pm |
| Wednesday | 8.30 am – 3.30 pm |
| Thursday | 8.30 am – 3.30 pm |
| Friday | 8.30 am – 3.30 pm |
| Saturday | 8.30 am – 3.30 pm |
| Sunday | 8.30 am – 3.30 pm |
| Summer (April 1st until October 31st) | |
| General Admission | €12 |
| Monday | 8 am – 8 pm |
| Tuesday | 1 pm – 8 pm |
| Wednesday | 8 am – 8 pm |
| Thursday | 8 am – 8 pm |
| Friday | 8 am – 8 pm |
| Saturday | 8 am – 8 pm |
| Sunday | 8 am – 8 pm |
Basil & Elise Goulandris Foundation
If you don’t want to look at marble statues or 1000 year old artefacts this museum might be for you. Basil Goulandris and his wife Elise collected art that is valued to be worth 3 billion USD. In the collection you’ll find artwork by names you’ve probably heard before: Picasso, Matisse, Renoir, Kadinsky, and the list goes on. If you’d like to be able to drop some names of famous painters at your next work event, just go here and get a free audio tour.
| All Year | |
| General Admission | €8 |
| Monday | Closed |
| Tuesday | Closed |
| Wednesday | 10 am – 6 pm |
| Thursday | 10 am – 6 pm |
| Friday | 10 am – 8 pm |
| Saturday | 10 am – 6 pm |
| Sunday | 10 am – 6 pm |
Museum of Illusions
If you are not feeling like looking at art this museum is the answer you are looking for. It is an interactive museum with optical illusions and you won’t find any “Do not touch” signs. It is a lot of fun to play around in this museum and you should definitely bring your camera because it has a lot of places perfect for your next instagram post.
| All Year | |
| General Admission | €9 |
| Monday | 11 am – 9 pm |
| Tuesday | 11 am – 9 pm |
| Wednesday | 11 am – 9 pm |
| Thursday | 11 am – 9 pm |
| Friday | 11 am – 9 pm |
| Saturday | 11 am – 10 pm |
| Sunday | 11 am – 10 pm |
The Benaki Museums
If you are looking for a museum to visit in Athens you will most likely come across Benaki Museum. It started out with Antonis Benaki’s private collection that included islamic art, Byzantine art, Chinese porcelain and toys. But as the organization grew they expanded to more locations each with a specific focus. Depending on your interest you can choose to visit a single museum or work your way through all of them. They offer a package ticket called “Benaki Museum Experience” for €30. This gives you entrance to all* of the museums once within three month (*Excluded from the package ticked).
The organization has 10 sites in total:
- Museum of Greek Art
- Pireos 138
- Museum of Islamic art
- The Ghika Gallery
- The Yannis Pappas Studio
- ‘Nema’
- Toy Museum
- Delta House
- The Leigh Fermor House*
- The Valadoros Collection*
You can find more info on all of their museums on their website www.benaki.org but to start with we have included two sites below.
Museum of Greek Art
Once it was the private collection of Antonis Benakis but was donated to the Greek nation. It holds art pieces from prehistoric times up until the 20th century and everything is laid out in chronological order. This gives you a unique sense of walking through history when you visit the museum
| All Year | |
| General Admission | €12 |
| Pro Tip: You can buy a “Benaki Museum Experience” ticket for €30. It is valid for a visit to each of the Benaki Museums within 3 months. | |
| Monday | 10 am – 6 pm |
| Tuesday | Closed |
| Wednesday | 10 am – 6 pm |
| Thursday | 10 am – 00am |
| Friday | 10 am – 6 pm |
| Saturday | 10 am – 6 pm |
| Sunday | 10 am – 4 pm |
PIRAEUS 138
This is the newest edition to the Benaki Museums in Athens. It has a total area of 8,200 m2 (which is 1100 m2 bigger than a professional football field) and has changing contemporary art exhibitions. If you don’t have the money to fly to New York and visit MoMa this is the Athenian take on a modern art experience.
| All Year | |
| General Admission | €5-15 |
| Pro Tip: You can buy a “Benaki Museum Experience” ticket for €30. It is valid for a visit to each of the Benaki Museums within 3 months. | |
| Monday | Closed |
| Tuesday | Closed |
| Wednesday | Closed |
| Thursday | 10 am – 6 pm |
| Friday | 10 am – 10 pm |
| Saturday | 10 am – 10 pm |
| Sunday | 10 am – 6 pm |
Museum of Cycladic Art
The Cyclades are an island group of more than 200 islands. They once held an ancient civilization that was first dismissed as being primitive and non important but with archeological excavations archeologists have found figurines and artefact that indicate that this civilization might have been more sophisticated than we first believed.
If you are thinking of going island hopping, the Cyclades is a great choice because there are tons of islands to discover with changing scenery and small local towns. And before you go, you should stop by the museum of Cycladic art that will introduce you to the Aegean Civilization (from 6000 BC) that once inhabited the Cyclades islands.
| All Year | |
| General Admission | €8 |
| Monday | 10 am – 5 pm |
| Tuesday | Closed |
| Wednesday | 10 am – 5 pm |
| Thursday | 10 am – 8 pm |
| Friday | 10 am – 5 pm |
| Saturday | 10 am – 5 pm |
| Sunday | 11 am – 5 pm |
National Museum of Contemporary Art Athens (EMST)
Like most other contemporary art museums you have to look at what exhibitions are on the calendar. They have changing exhibitions by Greek and international artists that will strike up a conversation. They also have a permanent collection which includes 172 artworks created by 78 Greek and foreign artists which are focused on the following topics: Memories – Claims – Political narratives, Limits and passages and Eterotopias – Mythology of the familiar – New perspectives.
| All Year | |
| General Admission | €8 |
| Monday | Closed |
| Tuesday | 11 am – 7 pm |
| Wednesday | 11 am – 7 pm |
| Thursday | 11 am – 10 pm |
| Friday | 11 am – 7 pm |
| Saturday | 11 am – 7 pm |
| Sunday | 11 am – 7 pm |
Museum of Ancient Greek Technology
Greece is the cradle of much technology and has centuries of important scientific discoveries on their resume. The aim of the museum is to highlight a relatively unknown aspect of the Ancient Greek culture and demonstrate that the technology of the ancient Greeks was very similar to the beginnings of our modern technology. You can see a 5000 year old robot, learn about how they ‘telecommuted’ 3000 years ago, and what ships they used to master the seas 11.000 years ago. To put this into perspective – Christopher Columbus rediscovered America only 530 years ago.
| All Year | |
| General Admission | €5 |
| Monday | 10 am – 6 pm |
| Tuesday | 10 am – 6 pm |
| Wednesday | 10 am – 6 pm |
| Thursday | 10 am – 6 pm |
| Friday | 10 am – 6 pm |
| Saturday | 10 am – 6 pm |
| Sunday | 10 am – 6 pm |
War Museum
Greece has been in many battles through time and this museum is dedicated to commemorate some of the wars they have fought in. You will find everything from prehistoric weapons to modern warfare. If Netflix suggests movies such as Saving Private Ryan, The Hurt Locker and Full Metal Jacket this is definitely your go-to-museum
| All Year | |
| General Admission | €6 |
| Pro tip: Free on the first Sunday of each month, from November 1 to March 31. | |
| Monday | Closed |
| Tuesday | 10 am – 5 pm |
| Wednesday | 10 am – 5 pm |
| Thursday | 10 am – 5 pm |
| Friday | 10 am – 5 pm |
| Saturday | 10 am – 5 pm |
| Sunday | 10 am – 5 pm |
Hellenic Motor Museum (HMM)
Do you love cars? If the answer is yes, you should go here.They have a huge car collection of more than 110 cars including antiques, veterans, classics, and modern cars. Their collection is spread out over 3 floors so there is plenty to see and it is a great alternative to some of the more ‘classic’ museums in Athens.
| All Year | |
| General Admission | €10 |
| Monday | Closed |
| Tuesday | 10 am – 2 pm |
| Wednesday | 10 am – 2 pm |
| Thursday | 10 am – 2 pm |
| Friday | 10 am – 2 pm |
| Saturday | 11 am – 6 pm |
| Sunday | 11 am – 6 pm |
