Athens Attractions

Athens art galleries

Athens historical buildings

Athens museums

Athens places

Acropolis

The Acropolis is the most well known of Greek's treasures. An ancient monument to the resourcefulness and knowledge of the forefathers of the nation, this structure proudly stands with the Parthenon, the Erechtheion, the temple of Athena and the Propylaea. From the top of the rock on which sits these monuments, one can see the city of Athens spread out on all sides along with a marvelous view of the Mediterranean Sea. A memorable scene indeed! The Acropoli as the locals call it, is one of the most elegant and imposing landmarks remaining from ancient times.

Museum of Cycladic Art

A world class gem, as this museum is described by previous visitors, it is located at 4, Neophytou Douka Street in Athens. This site displays a large collection of white Cycladic figurines and has a small café and shop where visitors can buy reproductions of the displays.

Museum of Greek Children's Art

This Museum host temporary exhibitions of Children's Art. Three dimensional artworks and paintings by children (up to 14yrs) are displayed in this museum. It is located on Koudrou Street in Plaka.

Benaki Museum

Interesting exhibition of the old and the new culture of Athens located at Koumbari St and Vas. Sofias Ave in Athens. Visitors can browse through the ancient Greek costumes of royalty and commoners as well as enjoy a meal at the restaurant atop the museum.

The Jewish Museum

Housed in a building in Central Athens, this museum chronicles the history of Jews who lived in Greece from their early settlements to the time when close to 90% of them were killed by the Nazis. It also includes inspiring details about the Greek Bishops who tried to shield and protect the Jewish population from Hitler's madness.

Panathinaiko Stadium

Kallimarmaron, as this stadium is knows to the Greeks, is the only stadium in the world constructed using white marble. This stadium was originally built in 566BC and had a seating capacity of 50,000 when it was renovated in 140AD. This was the stadium used for the Olympic games of 1870, 1875 and 1896 (the first modern day Olympic Games) and now can seat about 70,000 spectators.

National and Zappion Gardens

A 15.5 hectare piece of land in the center of the Greek Capital has been designated as a refuge and protected area. The gardens are the result of the creative ideas of Amalia, the first Queen of Greece. In this park, there is a small zoo with animals such as wolves from Bulgaria, peacocks, hawks, buzzards, canaries, monkey and supposedly a lion! Surrounded by miles of concrete jungles which appear as the plane swoops down to the Athens airport, this oasis in the middle of Athens is indeed a naturally serene bit of paradise. Zappion gardens are to the south of the National Gardens. The roads in this garden are all tree lined with the imposing Zappion building.

Hellenic Folk-Art Gallery

Located in the Ipatias Street in Athens, this gallery is devoted to the study and investigation of Greek culture. Collections for display include Embroidery, Weaving, Costumes, Masquerades, Shadow Theater, Silver work, Metal work, Pottery, Wood carving, Folk Painting, Stone Carving. These collections date all the way back to 1650AD.

Ilias Lalaounis Jewelry Museum

Located on Karyatidon and Kallisperi Streets, to the south of Acropolis, this museum is only a 2 minute walk from the Acropolis metro station. The collection includes over four thousand pieces of jewelry and micro sculptures from over fifty collections. These collections are mostly designed by the founder of the museum, Ilias Lalaounis who created them between 1940 and 2000. Ilias revived Greek Jewelry by designing new collections inspired by ancient and antique Greek Gold Jewelry artifacts. His grasp of early civilizations of Europe led to a set of “archaeological” collections based on the cultures of Europe, Asia and the Americas.

National Archaeological Museum

This museum chronicles the life and culture of the Minoan tribe of people who inhabited and dominated the Aegean Sea. There are incredible artifacts in this museum including ancient statues and artifacts from Egypt which includes a mummy and a wooden statue that is 8000 years old.

Byzantine Museum

This collection of Greek cultural artifacts and information located in Thessaloniki sheds light on the Early Christian, Byzantine and PostByzantine periods. Coins, plates and jars, stoppers for wine or oil amphorae, marble and lime objects and various pieces of jewelry allows us to reflect on the Byzantine people's lifestyle and customs.

War Museum

This museum is located in the middle of the cluster of museums on Vassilissis Sophias Avenue. This location focuses on weaponry and warfare. Primitive weapons used in stone age, bronze age weapons, weapons used during the classical and medieval period and even fighter planes are on display. These weapons cover periods of thousands of years.

Syntagma (Constitution) Square

This attraction is located in Central Athens at the intersection of Vassileos Georgiou street, Othonos Street, Filellinon Street and Amalias Avenue. The metro station is right below this street and a large fountain with pigeons can be found in the center of the square. All around this square are monuments, galleries, museums, hotels, shopping galleries and restaurants. One can spend an entire day strolling around this square. Many of the local tours start and end on this popular destination.

The Hellenic (Greek) Parliament overlooks the Syntagma Square in the center of Athens. The parliament was established in 1843 and a revision of the Constitution since that time has allowed the citizens of Greece stronger human rights including the right to vote and the ability to challenge or contest the workings of the government. This building was used as the Royal Palace until the abolition of monarchy in 1974.

The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier

The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier is guarded by the Evzones of the Presidential Guard. Evzones are part of the historical elite ceremonial Light infantry and mountain units of the Greek Army. Their uniform includes fustanella, a kilt like garment. They parade in front of the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier and allow tourists to take pictures at the time of Changing of the guard ceremony.

National Gallery

The Alexander Soutzos Museum (Ethniki Pinakothiki) is devoted to modern Greek and European art from the 14 th century to the 20 th century. In addition to post-Byzantine Greek Art, it also has a valuable collection of paintings from the Renaissance. This building is located on Vassilissis Sofias Avenue, close to the Hilton Athens.

Hadrian's Arch

This monumental gateway spanned the road from Athens to the complex of structures that included the temple of Zeus. This arch was believed to be built to celebrate the arrival of Roman Emperor Hadrian. This monument is made of marble which was acquired from Mount Pentelikon.

Catholic Cathedral

The Agios Dionysios Areopagitis Cathedral was built to celebrate the first convert to the Catholic religion who was later canonized. This beautiful landmark on Panepistimiou Street commemorates the arrival of Apostle Paul to Athens in 52AD.

Schlieman's House

This mansion has columns of Pentelic marble and paintings all over the interior. It is believed to be built for Heinrich Schliemann who discovered Troy and Mycenaean culture. The name of this building is “Palace of Ilion. There is also a museum at this site which contains collections of coins of Alexander as well as the Corycian Caves.

Athens University

The first university founded in 1837 on the northeast side of the Acropolis was called the Othonian University. When it started, it had four departments, Theology, Law, Medicine and Arts. Soon afterwards, the name was changed to National and Capodistrian University of Athens. This is the first university of its kind in the Eastern Mediterranean.

National Library

The Vallianios National Library has three separate buildings connected by a Doric-style row of columns designed similar to the Temple of Hephaestus. The reading room of this library is surrounded by Ionian-style columns and it also has a glass ceiling! Books are stored in cast iron “shelves” and the way to the reading room is adorned by a curved double staircase in Renaissance style. Overall, this is an attraction worth visiting.

Omonia Square

This square is called Platia Omonias by the locals and is served by the metro. A fountain and a number of trees decorate the square along with a large number of neoclassical buildings within Athinas Street. Many celebrations are held in Omonia Square by the local residents, for example, Greece's victory in the Euro2005 and Eurobasket 2005.

Temple of Olympian Zeus

The still standing massive columns of this ancient site overwhelms the visitors even today. One an also get a view of the Acropolis from this site. Photographers need to go early in the morning to avoid the rush as well.

Theatre of Herodus Atticus

On this site is located an open air second century theatre which seats about 5000 spectators. This theatre was built by Herodes Atticus; a Greek rhetorician who was born in Marathon, Attica and is currently used for summer festivals and Italian Operas. Herodes also founded Odeon, baths at Thermopylae, an aqueduct in Italy and an exedra at Olympia.

Athens Concert Hall

Megaron, as this concert hall is also known, has an exceptional acoustic arrangement. This hall is situated in the Mavili region of Athens. Many famous stars persorm in one of the two concert halls, the larger of which seats 2,000 spectators. The exterior of this building is made of marble and along with the interior makes this hall a top-notch venue for exceptional performances.

Agora

Flea market and small museum built on the site of an ancient market which was the meeting place for the political, cultural and financial transactions. This site is located in the middle of Athens near the bottom of the Acropolis hill alongside the streets of Plaka and Monastiraki.

Caves

Over 6000 caves have been found in Greece, mostly in the island of Crete. Some of these caves were used in prehistoric times and many of them have not yet been explored by humans. The stalagmites and stalactites found in many of these caves are very interesting to many visitors while others admire the underground rivers and sacred Minoan finds hidden for so long from humanity.