Tour of Athens, one of the most visited capitals in Europe. The charm of the Acropolis and the Parthenon has no equal in the world. Let's discover the most important museums.
La Greece capital, Athens, is undoubtedly one of the most sought after destinations for cultural tourism not only in Europe but throughout the world, which recognizes one of the symbols of Western culture in its ancient past, embodied in the Acropolis and the Parthenon.
This magnetic charm has attracted visitors for centuries and has been enriched in recent years with a dense network of museums and cultural centers that allow us to expand the scope of simple postcard tourism to enter a true circuit of knowledge that since the time of Homer reaches the present day with the history of the Greek Republic.
Although the economic crisis has affected Greece, The cultural offer of the capital has expanded, offering travelers arriving from all over the world a wide range of museums, there are more than 40 that allow you to discover every detail of the history of this nation that has so marked the history of thought. . of art, science and politics.
In this brief guide we will show you some of the most important and interesting museums that you can visit on a trip to the capital of Greece, Athens.
National Archaeological Museum, is one of the most important museums in the world and in particular of Western culture, the place with the highest concentration of finds from the Hellenic civilization and the most complete collection of material and artistic evidence from the classical era. This museum is the largest and most visited Greek museum in the country, with its collections that trace the history of Greek culture from its origins, through the Mycenaean era and the Homeric heroes and then reaching the heart of the splendor of the classical era . Periclean era and Athenian democracy. There are hardly any words to describe the wonders that can be seen just a few meters away: the mask of Agamemnon, the Cronidae of Cape Artemisio or the Diadumenus. Nor should we forget the rooms that tourists often overlook, such as the Cycladic collections or the jewels of the Hellenistic period.
Acropolis Museum, inaugurated in 2009 after a few years of closure, this museum brings together a monographic collection on the Acropolis of Athens, with a chronological itinerary that covers the entire history of this hill in Attica where the city of Athens was born from the union of small towns. The rooms house sculptural works of capital importance for the history of art such as the Kore with the Peplos, the Moscophoros or the Knight Rodin and in the highest part of the exhibition route you can admire the copies of the Parthenon frieze, the originals of which are today the British Museum, London. Below the current headquarters it is possible to visit the excavations of the old structures that came to light during the construction of the new structure.
National Museum of Contemporary Art, also called EMST, is the capital's museum dedicated to contemporary art, both Greek and international, and houses two main collections, a historical one that covers the artistic events of the 20th century and another current one where the latest works acquired by the artist himself are found. museum. exposed. Today, part of the headquarters is being expanded to allow the acquisition of more works related to the Greek art scene and for artists to donate their archives and documentation to ensure its usability in the future.
Museum of Cycladic Art, a museum dedicated to the mysterious and fascinating Cycladic civilization, which flourished between 3200 and 2000 BC. in the Cyclades archipelago in the central Aegean Sea. In this museum you can admire collections of typical Cycladic sculptures made of the wonderful Paros marble and characterized by inscrutable stylized faces. The museum is also equipped with state-of-the-art services that allow visitors to learn about the history of this often little-known civilization in an attractive and interactive way and the bookstore at the end of the tour allows you to purchase reproductions of works created by artisans who still work in the Cyclades.
Byzantine Museum, the museum institution that traces the long history of the capital during the Middle Ages, a history often little known by tourists focused on classical Greece but equally interesting and fascinating. The collections allow you to travel through more than 2.000 years of history through artistic masterpieces from across the Byzantine Empire and rediscover the history of Athens during the Middle Ages.
war museum, a museum often forgotten by tourists but which allows you to visit one of the largest collections of weapons and objects related to the war in Europe. In a journey that goes through all eras, from prehistory to the contemporary, in the museum it is possible to observe the technological evolution and the social and cultural impact of weapons and war, with special attention to classical Greek culture.
Gazi Technopolis Manos HatzidakisMore than a museum in the strict sense, it is a large cultural center dedicated to contemporary Greek culture and, in particular, the Greek composer Manos Hadjidakis and the opera singer Maria Callas. This cultural center of the capital was built from the redevelopment of an abandoned industrial area in the Gazi district and today is one of the beating hearts of the Greek art scene thanks to a wide variety of exhibition halls, auditoriums and dedicated spaces to teaching arts and music. The Tecnópolis is often used for the creation of national and international photography and contemporary art exhibitions. Inside the center there is also the Maria Callas Museum where you can listen to original recordings of the most famous Greek singer and visit a very rich exhibition of documents, photographs and objects that belonged to Callas and are now donated to the museum.
