In Athens, several museums have free admission one day a week, while the most popular
archeological sites (Acropolis, Ancient Agora, Kerameikos, Olympeion) are free.
Free admission days for public museums and archaeological sites are the first sunday of every month from November to March and:
6 March, 18 April, 25 March, 18 May (International Museums Day), 5 June, the last weekend of September for European Heritage Days and 28 October. All archaeological monuments are free on a full moon night, until the early hours of the following morning.
Every Thursday excluding organised tours and guided group visits of over 5 people.
The Benaki Museum is a network of seven sites across Athens city center but also in other areas of this dynamic and extraordinary city. Throughout its galleries, different cultures and historical periods meet modern art moves, while rich historical archives bring past wisdom into our contemporary world. Its varied and rare Collection is surrounded by an impressive array of cultural activities. Numerous temporary exhibitions, publications, conferences, concerts and educational programmes make the Benaki Museum a multifarious art institution of the 21st century.
Islamic art Benaki Museum.
Every Thursday, 9.00-17.00. One of the world’s most significant collections of Islamic art. Housed in two restored neoclassical mansions near Keramikos (metro Thisseio), it exhibits more than 8000 items representing the 12th to 19th centuries, including weavings, carvings, prayer rugs, tiles and ceramics. In the basement you can see part of the Themistoklean wall.
Every day, closed on Monday. Opening hours 10:00-13:00 and 18:00-20:00 daily, except Mondays and Sunday evenings. The museum is located within an independent building next to the Eleftherias Park Art Centre. The museum hosts a permanent exhibition on the Greek statesman Eleftherios Venizelos. It features a remarkable personal collection of books and written material, referring to him and the era in which he lived and to significant historical events of the 1864-1936 period.
Saturday (except for special tours). Free all days for kids and young persons under 18, people with special needs with their companion, archaeologists, teachers, artists, jourmalists, members of Diplomatic Corps, members of ICOM, qualified guides. The permanent collections include Ilias Lalaounis’ designs in 50 collections. The fifty collections have been organised in 6 sections within the galleries on the 1st floor. “The Golden Dawn Of Art”, “The History of Ancient Greek Art”, “Jewelry Inspired From Other Civilizations”, “Collections Inspired From Nature”, “Collections Inspired From Space, Biology and Modern Technology”, “Special Commissions and Private Collections”, are the six sections supported by an Info Kiosk in 7 languages, DVDs playing all day, Maps and Wall Texts. On the 2nd floor, microscupltures from the permanent collections storage, alternate with special temporary exhibitions with decorative arts objects. The Museum also houses the archives of the Ilias Lalaounis Collections which include models, designs, photographs, and digital data.
Open Monday until Friday 10.00-15.00. A museum dedicated to opera great Maria Callas in central Athens. The visitor will have a unique experience. One floor is dedicated to her voice. We will hear “Traviata”, “Medea”, “Tosca” and “Norma” in an audio visual setting. In another floor her personal objects and memorabilia will be displayed, as well as photos from all periods of her life and singing career.
Open Tuesday to Saturday 10:00-14:00 and 17:00-21:00, Sunday 10:00-14:00. Monday closed. The gallery’s collections feature the visual works of 3,000 artists – most of them Greek, with few exceptions – which are representative of the trends, foreign influences and fruitful discussions which have marked the journey of Greek art. The Municipal Gallery’s activities include an exceptionally rich programme of free guided tours of archaeological and other cultural sites, with themes such as “Old neighbourhoods of Athens”, “The Athens of Kostis Palamas”, “The 1st Cemetery”, “Acropolis” and many others (the programme is not conducted during summer).
Musical Folk Instruments.
Tuesday to Sunday 10.00-15.00, Monday closed, is located at Plaka Diogenous 1-3, tel 2103250198. Comprises the collection of about 1200 Greek popular musical instruments dating from the 18th century to the present day, the fruit of a half century of research and study by the musicologist Fivos Anoyanakis. The musical instruments have been selected on the criterion not only of their aesthetic and decorative value but, in particular, of their ethnological and musicological interest. The permanent exhibition is spread over three floors and divided into four sections, corresponding to the groups of musical instruments recognized in ethnomusicology and determined by the material that is made to vibrate in order to produce sound.