National Gallery of Athens, Art museum in Pangrati, Athens, Greece

The National Gallery of Athens stands on Vasilissis Sofias Avenue in Pangrati, opposite the Hilton. Its facade is a grid of vertical bays with pale mullions, dark window bands and panels, topped by a flat white roofline above a glass entrance. Inside, white partitions and a pale marble floor hold framed paintings, including a large multi-panel work of rows of figures.

The museum was founded in 1878 when the first collection of roughly 117 works was housed at Athens University. The institution grew considerably after Alexandros Soutzos left his large private art collection to it in 1896.

The museum's name comes from Alexandros Soutzos, a jurist and art lover who left his collection and estate to the Greek state in 1896; a 1954 law merged his bequest with the gallery, giving the double name Ethniki Pinakothiki - Mouseio Alexandrou Soutzou. The core of the collection is post-Byzantine Greek art, shown alongside European paintings, including Renaissance works.

The building is relatively easy to navigate with modern signage to help you find your way between galleries. Most areas are accessible, and guided tours in various languages are available to help you understand the collections.

The National Glyptotheque, the gallery's sculpture branch, occupies the former military installations at Alsos Stratou in Goudi, near Kanellopoulou Avenue and the Katehaki metro station. The gallery also has branches in Nafplio, Sparta and Corfu, plus the Christos Kapralos house-museum on Aegina, currently not open to visitors.