Benaki Museum, Major cultural museum in Kolonaki district, Athens, Greece
The Benaki Museum displays over 100,000 artifacts spanning from prehistoric to modern times across multiple floors in a former mansion building.
Antonis Benakis established the museum in 1931 by donating his family mansion and 37,000 Islamic and Byzantine objects to preserve Greek heritage.
The museum collection includes reconstructed 18th-century northern Greek parlors with wooden panels, traditional costumes, and religious artifacts from different periods.
The museum operates Thursday through Sunday from 10:00 to 18:00, with extended hours until 22:00 on Fridays and Saturdays at Koumbari Street.
The institution maintains specialized satellite locations throughout Athens, including a dedicated Islamic art branch and contemporary galleries on Pireos Street.
Location: Athens Municipality
Inception: 1930
Founders: Antonis Benakis
Official opening: 1931
Address: Коумбари 1, Атина 118 54
Opening Hours: Sunday, Thursday 10:00-18:00; Friday-Saturday 10:00-22:00; Monday-Wednesday off
Phone: +302103453111
Website: https://benaki.org/index.php?lang=en
GPS coordinates: 37.97594,23.74041
Latest update: May 27, 2025 11:46
Private art museums and galleries of international importance offer direct access to significant contemporary collections. These institutions, operated by foundations, collectors, or corporations, present works outside the traditional public museum landscape. Many of these venues occupy converted industrial buildings, historic residences, or purpose-built structures that connect art with architecture. The selection includes establishments such as Benesse Art Site Naoshima on the Japanese island of Naoshima, where museum buildings by Tadao Ando house works by contemporary artists. Dia:Beacon, north of New York City, displays minimalist and conceptual art in a former 1920s Nabisco factory. In Berlin, Sammlung Boros opens its doors in a converted World War II bunker. Additional examples include Fondation Beyeler in Basel with works of classical modernism, Louisiana Museum of Modern Art north of Copenhagen overlooking the Øresund strait, and Museo Jumex in Mexico City for Latin American contemporary art.
The list presents photographic locations in Athens suitable for digital media. The sites include ancient temples, squares, markets, museums, and viewpoints. Each location offers historical architecture or urban views for photography.
National Observatory of Athens
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Technopolis City of Athens
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Kerameikos Archaeological Museum
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Dipylon
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Agia Marina church (Thisseio)
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Benaki Museum - Pireos
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Funerary naiskos of Aristonautes
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Etz Chaim Synagogue
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Melite
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Herakleidon Museum
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Koile
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Pompeion
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Kerameikos Way
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Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Greece in Athens
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Burial for Koroibos
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Agia Marina church
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Stellar Gastro Cinema
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Burial for Eubios of Patmos
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Stele of Samakion
2.1 km
Peace Globe
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Tritopatreion
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Burial for Makareus
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Escapepolis Αθήνα
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Agia Triada (Kerameikos)
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4keys
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138 Pireos St.
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Old clay works of Poulopoulou
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Asōmatōn
2 kmReviews
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