Benaki Museum - Museum of Greek Culture

Benaki Museum - Museum of Greek Culture

Benaki Museum - Museum of Greek Culture
4.5
Monday
10:00 AM - 6:00 PM
Wednesday
10:00 AM - 6:00 PM
Thursday
10:00 AM - 11:30 PM
Friday
10:00 AM - 6:00 PM
Saturday
10:00 AM - 6:00 PM
Sunday
10:00 AM - 4:00 PM
About
The Benaki Museum is among the most extensive and innovative cultural organizations in Europa. Diverse cultures from all historical periods and geographical areas meet contemporary art across a network of venues all over Athens – and beyond. The Benaki Museum of Greek Culture presents the history and art of the Greek world from prehistory to the 20th century, through 6.000 objects arranged over four floors. Antonis Benakis (1873-1954) was a passionate art collector. He belonged to a cosmopolitan circle of connoisseurs and intellectuals in Alexandria, Egypt. Following his return to Athens and the death of his benefactor father Emmanuel, Antonis bequeathed to Greece his collections and parental home, which opened in April 1931 as the Benaki Museum. After a comprehensive refurbishment, the building reopened on 7 June 2000 as the Benaki Museum of Greek Culture while the remaining diverse collections have since been housed in new buildings (see Benaki Museum of Islamic Art).
Duration: 1-2 hours
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Admission tickets
from £10.45
All you need to step foot in the door.
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Top ways to experience Benaki Museum - Museum of Greek Culture and nearby attractions

The area
Address
Neighbourhood: Kolonaki / Lykavittos
By far the ritziest neighbourhood in town, Kolonaki is home to most of the chic boutiques and designer label stores. Here, the wealthy say no to austerity by dressing in their finest and spending hours in the trendy cafés around Kolonaki Square, sipping the most expensive coffee in Europe. The area also contains a couple of notable museums and cultural institutions, which add to the air of nobility. The leafy upper reaches of Kolonaki transition into Lykavittos Hill, the highest point in central Athens. Climb the paths through its wooded slopes to the tiny chapel at the top, from where you are rewarded with stunning views across the Acropolis to the sea and even the mountains of the Peloponnese on a clear day. The wooden amphitheater up here hosts regular concerts during the summer.
How to get there
  • Syntagma • 6 min walk
  • Nomismatokopio • 6 min walk
Reach out directly
See what travellers are saying
  • Procaccia
    Ness Ziona, Israel392 contributions
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    A pleasant museum with a very rich collection
    This is a lovely museum that is not too big, full of interesting and high quality antiquities, art and folklore. Very strong is the section of icons, a pleasure to behold. Starting with late byzantine 14th century and ending three-four centuries later, the icon collection is one of the best to be seen anywhere in the world. The Greek antiquities are also good, but the National museum has more. The Greek folk dresses, textiles and utensils is also rich and worthwhile for those who are interested in this, On the whole, highly recommended.
    Visited July 2023
    Travelled with family
    Written 22 July 2023
  • advisorj
    393 contributions
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    Small Museum covering a lot of History
    Museum has an interesting collection covering all areas of Athens history from prehistoric to modern. Well worth a visit and not too busy on a Monday. Cafe is on the top level and has a great turkey sandwich.
    Visited September 2023
    Travelled as a couple
    Written 29 September 2023
  • Joan C
    Reserve, New Mexico874 contributions
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    Gigantic Fascinating Collection
    If you have any interest at all in any aspect of Greek culture, go here. The collection is housed in the Benaki mansion, which is a thing to see in and of itself. The collection includes neolithic objects, ceramics, paintings, sculpture, jewelry, costumes, textiles, farm implements, icons, and several reconstructed entire rooms. I spent four hours here and skimmed about half of it simply from being overwhelmed. Highly recommend!
    Visited October 2023
    Travelled solo
    Written 9 October 2023
  • sssteveg
    Haifa, Israel1,743 contributions
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    Great small museum in Athens!
    We’ve been to quite a few museums in Athens. This is one of the best. It’s small and intimate with a wonderful collection of Greek art, from ancient times almost to modern times. All the exhibits had clear descriptions in Greek and English. It’s a short walk from Syntagma.
    Visited October 2023
    Travelled as a couple
    Written 15 October 2023
  • knowsnyc
    327 contributions
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    Beautiful Building
    Go straight to the second floor to see entire rooms saved from the 1700s and amazing costumes. The first floor has pots and religious art. The cafe is not as expensive as US museum restaurants and has a beautiful terrace, perhaps covered.
    Visited February 2024
    Travelled as a couple
    Written 14 February 2024
  • becklambert
    149 contributions
    5.0 of 5 bubbles
    A really great museum.
    A really well laid out museum covering Egyptian, Greek and Roman. I liked this museum a great deal. The Byzantium mosaics were particularly beautiful, the costumes interesting to see and some great art as well. It has a very nice restaurant and enjoyed taking a break to sit outside on the terrace with a coffee. Highly recommend this museum.
    Visited March 2024
    Travelled as a couple
    Written 17 March 2024
These reviews are the subjective opinion of Tripadvisor members and not of TripAdvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.

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4.5
4.5 of 5 bubbles1,584 reviews
Excellent
1,083
Very good
362
Average
110
Poor
20
Terrible
9

becklambert
Brighton149 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Mar 2024 • Couples
A really well laid out museum covering Egyptian, Greek and Roman. I liked this museum a great deal. The Byzantium mosaics were particularly beautiful, the costumes interesting to see and some great art as well. It has a very nice restaurant and enjoyed taking a break to sit outside on the terrace with a coffee. Highly recommend this museum.
Written 17 March 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Pete S
L1,765 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Mar 2024 • Couples
What a super museum- reduced admission for over 65s; friendly helpful staff and several floors of such a wide variety of artefacts.
An El Greco, statues, mosaics, icons, clothing. Unfortunately the Greek history section was closed for renovation. The restaurant is stunning on the rooftop and very reasonably priced
Written 7 March 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

knowsnyc
327 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Feb 2024 • Couples
Go straight to the second floor to see entire rooms saved from the 1700s and amazing costumes.
The first floor has pots and religious art.
The cafe is not as expensive as US museum restaurants and has a beautiful terrace, perhaps covered.
Written 14 February 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Martin C
Hluboka nad Vltavou, Czech Republic12 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Feb 2024 • Family
Better than National Archeological Museum. You get a more complex picture of Greek history and development of culture.
Written 8 February 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

maryam d
2 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Dec 2023 • Solo
This musuem was really interesting for me, all type of dressings from many cities in greece and many arts, i really enjoyed.
Written 2 January 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Loretta A
Toronto, Canada3 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Nov 2023 • Couples
A must see when in Athens.
So much to learn beyond ancient greece. It offers a wonderful caffe too overlooking the national garden.
Written 18 December 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

TravelbugVietnam
Vietnam1,697 contributions
3.0 of 5 bubbles
Oct 2023 • Solo
In 1930 after decades of collecting, Antonis Benaki turned the family home into a museum. Now it is many rooms larger and presents all facets of
Greek culture through the ages. There are seven satellite museums devoted to Islamic art, porcelain and even toys. It is a brilliant collection but was spoilt for me by the lack of readable signs. The signs in Greek were in bold black font. However, the English signs underneath were in a washed out grey that was impossible to read. I was disappointed I could not learn what each exhibit was. I spoke to a staff member about this , but he just shrugged his shoulders.
Written 28 November 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

screennamenotallowed
Berlin, Germany28 contributions
3.0 of 5 bubbles
Nov 2023 • Couples
Overview of Greek history and culture in a sophisticated villa in the embassy district. The exhibition is well structured and not too overloaded. If you want, you can find out more about the exhibits with the audio guide, but you can also get a lot of information without it. Unfortunately, the staff is not very helpful and rather arrogant, which detracts from the impression. Free admission on Thursdays from 6pm (open until 11:30pm).
Written 23 November 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Joanna R
2 contributions
4.0 of 5 bubbles
Jul 2023 • Friends
A lot to see and good insight into Greek art. Very broad ranch of art pieces. The museum itself is a treasure in a posh neighborhood
Written 6 November 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

sssteveg
Haifa, Israel1,743 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Oct 2023 • Couples
We’ve been to quite a few museums in Athens. This is one of the best. It’s small and intimate with a wonderful collection of Greek art, from ancient times almost to modern times. All the exhibits had clear descriptions in Greek and English. It’s a short walk from Syntagma.
Written 16 October 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

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BENAKI MUSEUM - MUSEUM OF GREEK CULTURE: All You Need to Know BEFORE You Go (with Photos)

Frequently Asked Questions about Benaki Museum - Museum of Greek Culture

Benaki Museum - Museum of Greek Culture admission prices can vary. Entrance tickets currently cost £10.37, while a popular guided tour starts around £19.87 per person.

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