Athens Museums

 National Archaeological Museum. The National Archaeological Museum’s collection consists almost exclusively of masterpieces. Countless spectacular objects trace the development of Greek art through its many periods. Heinrich Schliemann’s golden Mask of Agamemnon shines brilliantly, though it actually belonged to a king who lived at least 300 years before the mythic Mycenaean leader. A female Cycladic statue stands as not only the most intact but the largest such sculpture to survive, topping 1.5m. Abundant kouroi from the 8th century BC onward lead toward the Classical bronze spear thrower who represents either Poseidon or Zeus. In the museum’s lovely basement garden, mosaics and more sculptures line a cafe. (Patission 44. Walk 20min. from Pl. Syndagma down Stadiou to Aiolou. Turn right onto Patission; or, take trolley #2, 4, 5, 9, 11, 15, or 18 from the uphill side of Syndagma or trolley #3 or 13 from the north side of Vas. Sofias. From the Victoria metro stop, walk straight to the 1st street, 28 Oktovriou; turn right and walk 5 blocks. ☎21082 17 717. Open Apr.-Oct. Tu-Su 8:30am-3pm; Nov.-Mar. M 10:30am-5pm, Tu-Su 8:30am-3pm. €7, students and EU seniors €3, EU students and under 19 free. No flash photography.)

 Benaki Museum. Over the course of his travels, philanthropist Antoine Benaki assembled a formidable collection of artwork and artifacts. They’re now displayed (along with numerous additions) in his former home: a looming, white Neoclassical structure that is something of a masterpiece itself. Among the media represented are Neolithic, Classical, and Roman Period sculpture, Geometric pottery, traditional Greek costumes, and wonderfully recreated Byzantine period rooms. The museum also exhibits metalwork, jewelry, and paintings, which focus primarily on the Greek War of Independence. Check out the impressive and extensive gift shop before you leave. (Vas. Sofias and Koumbari 1 in Kolonaki. ☎21036 71 000; www.benaki.gr. Open M, W, and F-Sa 9am-5pm, Th 9am-midnight, Su 9am-3pm. €6; seniors and adults with children €3; students with ISIC or university ID, teachers, and journalists free.)

 Benaki Museum Of Islamic Art. Large glass windows, spotless marble staircases, and sparkling white walls give a newly minted sheen to this fabulous museum, which opened in 2005. Organized chronologically, brilliantly colored, well-preserved tiles, metalwork, and tapestries document the history of the Islamic world from the 12th to 18th centuries. The exhibit includes many examples of pottery and text with elegant Kufic inscriptions, as well as a marble reception room transported from a 17th-century Cairo mansion. The basement exhibits ruins as exciting as it is out of place: during the construction of the museum, builders discovered parts of the famed Themistoclean Wall, which the Greeks built in 478 BC to defend against Persian invaders. (Ag. Asomaton 22 on Dipylou, in Psiri near the Thissiou metro. ☎21032 51 311; www.benaki.gr. Open Tu and Th-Su 9am-3pm, W 9am-9pm. €5, students and seniors €3. W free.)

 Byzantine And Christian Museum. Within its newly renovated glass and marble interior, this well-organized museum documents the political, religious, and day-to-day aspects of life during the Byzantine Empire. Its collection of metalware, mosaics, sculpture, and painted icons presents Christianity in its earliest stages. One display describes the conversion of the Parthenon into the Church of Agia Sofia. Videos and photographs of the artifacts’ original locations put them in context. (Vas. Sofias 22. ☎21072 11 027. Open Tu-Su 8:30am-3pm. €4; students and seniors €2; EU students, under 18, disabled persons, families with 3 or more children, members of the Chamber of Fine Arts of Greece, military, and classicists free.)

 Popular Musical Instruments Museum. This interactive museum is no place for silent contemplation. Audio headsets reproduce the music of the kementzes (bottle-shaped lyres) and tsambouras (goat-skin bagpipes) on display. Exhibits showcase antique instruments from the 18th, 19th, and 20th centuries. (Diogenous 1-2 in Plaka. Going uphill on Pelopida, it’s the door on your left just after you pass the Roman Agora. ☎21032 50 198. Open Tu and Th-Su 10am-2pm, W noon-6pm. Free.)

Goulandris Museum Of Cycladic And Ancient Greek Art. This 19-year-old museum houses a collection of early Aegean art, ranging from 3000 BC to AD 300. Clay pots, painted amphoras, and pieces of jewelry fill the compact space. The celebrated marble Cycladic figurines, one of them almost life-size, are prized possessions. A glass corridor leads visitors to the extension, a recently renovated Neoclassical house that holds further information and temporary exhibitions. (Neophytou Douka 4. Walk 10-15min. toward Kolonaki from Syndagma on Vas. Sofias; turn left on Neophytou Douka. ☎21072 28 321. Open M and W-F 10am-4pm, Su 10am-3pm. €5, seniors €2.50, ages 18-26 €1, archaeologists and archaeology students free with university pass.)

National Gallery. The Gallery, also known as the “Alexander Soutzos Museum,” traces Greek artists’ experiments with Orientalism, Impressionism, Symbolism, Cubism, and more, from the 18th to the 21st centuries. Greece’s War of Independence is memorialized in the ground floor’s 19th-century portraits and other images. This floor also houses a handful of older paintings by masters from Italy, France, the Netherlands, and Spain, including several notable works by Domenikos Theotokopoulos, whose peers in late Renaissance Toledo found his Cretan origin notable enough to dub him “El Greco.” The 2nd floor shows more conceptual contemporary works and has space for temporary exhibitions. (Vas. Konstantinou 50, where Vas. Konstantinou meets Vas. Sofias by the Hilton. ☎21072 35 857 or 21072 35 937. Open M and W-Sa 9am-3pm, Su 10am-2pm; temporary exhibitions also open M and W 6-9pm. €6.50, students and seniors €3.50, under 12 free.)

War Museum. The War Museum, in a fittingly fortress-like building, documents Greece’s martial history with weapons and uniforms from ancient times through the present. Newspaper clippings, letters from soldiers, flags, and photographs complement descriptions of battles. A small room contains artifacts from the extended conflict in Cyprus. The outside of the museum is guarded by tanks, cannons, and fighter jets that visitors can explore. (Rizari 2, next to the Byzantine Museum, slightly off Vas. Sofias. ☎21072 52 974. Open Tu-Sa 9am-2pm, Su 9:30am-2pm. Free.)

Ilias Lalaounis Jewelry Museum. The site of this unusual museum was home to 20th-century Greek jeweler and goldsmith Lalaounis. He created masterpieces inspired by civilizations from the Byzantines to the Vikings, as well as by structures as basic as the web-like pattern formed by microscopic human cells. His designs are joined here by the gleaming adornments worn by people through the ages—“from prehistoric man to contemporary woman.” Keep an eye out for handcrafters demonstrating ancient jewelry-making techniques. (Kallisperi 12, south of the Acropolis. ☎21092 21 044. Open M and Th-Sa 9am-4pm, W 9am-9pm, Su 11am-4pm. €3, students and seniors €2.30. Free W 3-9pm, Sa 9-11am.)

Folk Art Museum. For a crash course in Greek cultural history, visit this well-organized collection of traditional costumes, metalwork, ceramics, embroidery, and other art created outside the academy. One room, covered in murals by folk artist Theophilos Chatzimichael, has been transported intact from its original house. The informative, enchanting little museum also hosts temporary exhibitions. (Kydatheneon 17, in Plaka. ☎21032 13 018. Open Tu-Su 10am-2pm. €2, students €1, EU students and children free.)

Frissiras Museum Of Contemporary European Painting. This marvelously modern museum’s location in the center of the Old City makes its white galleries and asymmetrical architecture still more striking. The collection rotates, and is comprised of contemporary painting that focuses on the human figure. The 2nd building, about 70m from the first, houses temporary exhibitions. (Monis Asteriou 3 and 7, off Kydatheneon in Plaka. ☎21032 34 678; www.frissirasmuseum.com. Open W-F 10am-5pm, Sa-Su 11am-5pm. €6; AICA, groups of 4 or more, members of the Chamber of Arts, over 65, and under 25 €3; guides, members of ICOM, fine arts students, and disabled persons free.)

Jewish Museum. This collection documents over two millennia of Jewish life in Greece with letters, costumes, photographs, religious items, and reconstructed spaces including the interior of Patras’s old synagogue and a living room from the Ottoman period. The museum’s fourth floor memorializes the tens of thousands of Greek Jews murdered by the Nazis and the resistance groups who fought to save them. An exhibit highlights the Jewish community of about 5000 living in Greece today. (Nikis 39, in Plaka. }/fax 21032 25 582. Open M-F 9am-2:30pm, Su 10am-2pm. Library open Tu and Th 11am-1pm or by appointment. €5, students and seniors €3.)