Athens Museum of
Cycladic Art
The Athens Museum of Cycladic Art houses a remarkable collection of
Cycladic figurines and other items and is one of the best museums in Athens.
Athens Museum of Cycladic Art
Photo by C. Messier
This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license.
This first-class modern museum houses the remarkable private
collection of Nicholas and Dolly Goulandris. Nicholas Goulandris was a
shipowner and a patron of the arts and in the 1960s he and his wife started
collecting Greek antiques and art objects, and had a special interest in the unique
ancient art of the Cycladic islands. The museum was founded to house the
collection in 1986, with a new wing added in 1991.
Athens Museum of Cycladic Art: Highlights
The displays span many centuries of ancient Greek art –
vases, glassware and other items – but the central exhibits are the beautiful artefacts
from the Cycladic civilisation of 3000–2000 BC.
Cycladic Statues
Photo by Jean Housen
This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license.
The statues are especially memorable – the figures seem to
float in their display cabinets as subtle lighting brings out their shape and
texture. It will be a rare visitor who is not tempted to take home a copy from
the attractive museum shop.
Photo by Donna Dailey
The actual Cycladic items only take up one of the four
floors in the main building, and the rooms are quite small – just one main room
on each floor. The others are given over to a collection of Bronze Age items,
one from the Mycenean period and a remarkable collection of beautiful Cypriot
antiquities, the largest one in Greece.
Photo by Jean Housen
This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license.
Athens Museum of Cycladic Art: New Wing
On the corner of Irodotou and Vasilissis Sofias is the
entrance to the newer wing of the Cycladic Museum, joined to the main building
by a glass-covered walkway. This wing is as interesting for the building that
houses it as for its contents.
It was designed by and was the home of the German architect
Ernst Ziller, the man also responsible for the Olympic Stadium, the
Presidential Palace, and Heinrich Schliemann's house on Panepistimiou.
Some rooms of the museum display furniture and watercolours,
giving an impression of the mansion's appearance when Ziller lived in it during
the late 19th century. Other rooms contain an extension of the main Cycladic
collection. There is a shop downstairs, and space upstairs for temporary
exhibitions.
Cycladic Museum Shop
Photo by Jean Housen
This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license.
Where to Stay in Athens
Some other Athens pages
The Athens War Museum is a fascinating look at Greek history through the lens of warfare from ancient battles to the Greek War of Independence and World War II.
The Athens Agora or ancient market is a must-see site and one of the best things to do in Athens with its restored arcade building, the Stoa, and its museum.
Greece Travel Secrets visits the Monastiraki Flea Market, followed by Sunday lunch at Sigalas on Monastiraki Square
Syntagma Square or Constitution Square is the main square in Athens and has a metro station, the Greek Parliament building, hotels, cafes, and a post office.
The Pnyx hill near the Acropolis is one of Athens' true hidden gems, a place to wander freely away from the crowds and discover ancient places and mysteries.
A History of Athens from the first people to live on the Acropolis through the Golden Age of Pericles and Alexander the Great to the military junta.
Athens Food Tours are being introduced by new company The Greek Fork, and will include tours of the Central Market, and the best street food.
The Athens Byzantine and Christian Museum is housed in a beautiful villa with an underground wing and lovely gardens too.
Athens culinary tours are among the food walking tours offered by an unusual company, Culinary Backstreets.
Around Monastiraki is the flea market, Athens cathedral, Kerameikos Cemetery, the Benaki Museum of Islamic Art and the Psirri and Gazi nightlife districts.
Ten Fun Things to Do in Athens include eating in the Central Market, watching the sun set over the Acropolis and seeing one of the world's oldest theatres.
Athens Airport hotels include the luxury Sofitel at the terminals, Holiday Inn near the airport, and others close by like the Hotel Pantheon.
The beach resorts of Athens are easily reached from the city and also close are Cape Sounion with the Temple of Poseidon, ancient Marathon and Rafina's port.
This walk around the Kolonaki neighbourhood of Athens starts and ends in Syntagma Square and takes you to several museums, Kolonaki Square and Mount Lykabettos.
The Greece Travel Secrets guide to the original Athens Olympic Stadium, built for the 1896 Olympic Games and open to the public for jogging and photography.
The best views in Athens include views from the Acropolis and of the Acropolis from the top of some of the city’s several hills and from hotels and restaurants.
Athens in the rain isn’t something you’re likely to experience but here are suggestions for things to do in the rain in Athens including museums and shopping
The Changing of the Guard in Athens takes place outside the Parliament building at the top of Syntagma Square and is a must-see for visitors.
The best things to do in Athens, Greece, include top archaeological sites like the Acropolis and must-see attractions such as the National Archaeological Museum
Mount Lykabettos is the highest hill in Athens and provides some of the best views of the city, with a funicular cable car the easiest way to get to the top.
This extract of Artistic Athens in the Lonely Planet book Culture Trails takes visitors on a journey through the artistic side of Athens..
Greece Travel Secrets gives its choice of the best hotels in Athens from budget and moderate options through to 5-star luxury choices.
If visiting Athens it helps to know when major events and public holidays take place, as some shops and attractions may be closed, but to be there at times like Easter can make for a magical trip.
Athens Airport car rentals include Alamo/National Car Rental, Avis, Budget, Europcar, Hertz and Sixt, all with offices at the airport.
There's all kinds of entertainment in Athens whether you're interested in theatre, dance, classical music, jazz, Greek music, rock music, disco, opera or movies.
Enjoy this page? Please pay it forward. Here's how...
Would you prefer to share this page with others by linking to it?
- Click on the HTML link code below.
- Copy and paste it, adding a note of your own, into your blog, a Web page, forums, a blog comment,
your Facebook account, or anywhere that someone would find this page valuable.
-
In efforts to improve the passenger drop-off and pick-up experience and in view of the expected increase in international traveler arrivals, Athens International Airport (AIA) announced that it would…
Read More
-
Art lovers, active types and foodies are among the ‘travel tribes’ that select Thessaloniki, as their holiday destination, found a visitor profile study released this week by the Thessaloniki Hotels A…
Read More
-
The Greek Environment Ministry’s Central Council of Architecture (KESA) has decided to protect Athens’ Astor and Ideal cinemas designating the two historic landmarks as cultural monuments, said the Gr…
Read More
-
Thessaloniki’s highly anticipated metro, to serve almost 250,000 commuters a day once completed, is almost ready with the Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis taking a test ride this week. Mitsota…
Read More
-
The nightlife and food are two of Thessaloniki’s strong points attracting more visitors to the northern port city, found a satisfaction study released this week by the Thessaloniki Hotels Association…
Read More
-
Passenger arrivals across all airports in Greece marked a sharp increase in the first four months of the year up by 7.4 percent compared to pre-Covid 2019 and by 38.4 percent over the same period in 2…
Read More
-
British holidaymakers flying on easyJet are picking Greece this year, according to a poll conducted by the budget carrier. More specifically, according to the survey carried out on 2,000 British adult…
Read More
-
Ride-hailing company Uber recently announced that it will launch a new seasonal private charter boat service on the Greek island of Mykonos. Available from mid-June to October, “Boat” will be an on-de…
Read More
-
The Greek island of Mykonos is the top most searched for international destination by US travelers seeking Airbnb accommodation in the first quarter of the year, according to the Airbnb 2023 Summer re…
Read More
-
Greece’s 14 regional airports exceeded pre-Covid 2019 levels last month handling a total of 1.6 million passengers, said managing company Fraport Greece. More specifically, according to Fraport data…
Read More