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Byzantine and Christian Museum
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Written by RuinMyTrip Editorial from published research and official sources, not from a personal trip. It is not a traveler review and is never counted in the community rating. How we research.
What it is
A state museum on Vasilissis Sofias holding Greece's national collection of Byzantine and post-Byzantine art, from the fourth century to the nineteenth, in and beneath a nineteenth-century villa.
Why travelers go
Because the thousand years between the Parthenon and Greek independence are the part of Athens nobody explains, and this is where they are explained. The icons alone are worth the eight euros.
What is genuinely good
A world-class collection at a fraction of Acropolis prices. Cool underground galleries. Reconstructed church interiors that give the objects their context. Free on the first Sunday of the month from November to March.
Downsides and tourist traps
Little introduction for a newcomer to Byzantine art. Early closing on most days. Closed Tuesdays. The mansion above ground is used mostly for offices and temporary shows.
Best for
Anyone staying in Athens more than two days, and anyone interested in religious art, icons or the eastern empire.
Consider skipping if
You have one day and it is Acropolis day. This is the second or third visit, not the first.
Practical advice
Go in the morning, because most days end at 15:30. Combine it with the War Museum and the Benaki, which are both within a few minutes' walk along the same avenue.
Tickets and reservations
Regular 8 euros, reduced 4 euros. Free for EU citizens up to 25, and free for everyone on the first Sunday of each month from 1 November to 31 March and on a list of national dates.
Getting there
Metro line 3 to Evangelismos, then two minutes on foot. It is a fifteen-minute walk from Syntagma along Vasilissis Sofias.
Where it sits
Vasilissis Sofias, the embassy avenue running north-east from Syntagma, alongside the Benaki Museum, the War Museum and the National Gallery.
How long to allow
Ninety minutes to two hours.
Accessibility
The underground galleries are served by lifts and ramps and are largely step-free.
The RuinMyTrip verdict
Eight euros for the millennium Athens leaves out. Go in the morning, not the afternoon, and never on a Tuesday.
Sources
Every figure above was checked against these before publication. If one has since changed, tell us and we will correct it.
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A regular ticket is 8 euros and a reduced ticket is 4 euros. source
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The museum opens Monday 8:30 to 15:30 and is closed on Tuesdays. source
From the RuinMyTrip team
Written by RuinMyTrip Editorial from published research and official sources, not from a personal trip. It is not a traveler review and is never counted in the community rating. How we research.
The Byzantine and Christian Museum charges 8 euros for a regular ticket and 4 euros reduced. It opens Monday 8:30 to 15:30 and is closed on Tuesdays. Athens sells itself on the classical fifth century, and then most visitors leave without noticing that the city spent the following thousand years as part of a Christian empire that produced its own extraordinary art. This is the museum for that millennium: icons…
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