National Archaeological Museum Athens – What Not to Miss

The National Archaeological Museum of Athens – Greece's greatest collection

The National Archaeological Museum of Athens is the largest museum in Greece and one of the world's most important for ancient Greek art and culture. While the Acropolis Museum focuses on the Acropolis, here you'll find treasures from across the whole country – from prehistory through Mycenae and the classical age to Roman times. It occupies an imposing nineteenth-century neoclassical building just north of the centre, beside the Exarchia neighbourhood. It is perfect for a very hot or rainy day, and even people who don't consider themselves museum lovers tend to leave enchanted.

Treasures you shouldn't miss

There are thousands of exhibits, so it helps to know what you're looking for. The famous gold funerary mask known as the Mask of Agamemnon, from the royal graves of Mycenae. The Antikythera Mechanism, a two-thousand-year-old bronze device recovered from a shipwreck and often described as an ancient astronomical computer. The giant Artemision Bronze of Zeus or Poseidon, poised as if about to hurl something, and nearby the young jockey on his galloping horse. And don't skip the minimalist Cycladic figurines, which look startlingly modern.

The frescoes from Santorini

One of the museum's most moving sections holds the wall paintings from Akrotiri on Santorini – a Bronze Age town buried in volcanic ash by the island's colossal eruption and preserved like a Greek Pompeii. The colours still sing: boys carrying fish, blue monkeys, a spring landscape of lilies and swallows. If Santorini is on your itinerary, seeing these first gives your visit a whole new depth. Note that some galleries close for renovation from time to time, so not everything is always on display – worth checking in advance.

How to plan your visit

Allow at least two to three hours, and even then you won't see everything – which is fine. The best tip is to pick ten objects that interest you in advance and build your route around them, rather than trying to cover every room. An audio guide or a local guide transforms the experience. The museum is air-conditioned and has a pleasant inner courtyard for a break. Opening hours vary by season and holidays, and there is usually a day with shorter hours or closure, so check the official website before you go.

Visiting with children

Children can enjoy it too, as long as you don't overload them. Turn the visit into a game: hunt for the gold mask, count the horses in the sculptures, or guess what the ancient objects were used for. The Antikythera Mechanism and the big bronze statues especially impress school-age kids. Plan a shorter visit of about an hour and a half with a courtyard break, then follow it with something outdoors – a park or an ice cream – and everyone leaves happy.

Getting there and what to combine

The museum stands on a main avenue a little north of Omonia Square and is easy to reach by metro, taxi or on foot from the centre. Neighbouring Exarchia, with its street art and student cafés, is interesting for a short wander afterwards. Many of the finds come from the Argolid in the Peloponnese, so if you are planning the Nafplio and Corinth Canal day trip Yana organises with an English-speaking driver, this museum makes an excellent introduction. On a hot day, she can also arrange a private driver to drop you at the door.

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