MuseumClosed 1 January, 25 March, Orthodox Easter Sunday, 1 May, 25 December, 26 December

National Archaeological Museum

#7of 10 places to visit in AthensAthens, Attica, Greece

Also known as Ethniko Archaiologiko Mouseio

Quick answer

Opening hours: 08:00–20:00 and 13:00–20:00, last entry 19:30. Entry: €20. Allow 2.5 hrs. Best time: Weekday mornings right at opening.

Updated 18 September 2026 · Compiled by Traveliac, AI-assisted · 4 min read

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Photo: Thomas Wolf, www.foto-tw.de / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0 de

Opening hours: 08:00–20:00; Wednesday–Monday 08:00–20:00, last entry 19:30; Tuesday 13:00–20:00, last entry 19:30 (May–November schedule; winter hours run shorter and should be checked seasonally)
Entry fee: €20; Ticket from
Time needed: 2.5 hrs
Best time of day: Weekday mornings right at opening
Best months: Apr – Jun, Sep – Oct
Address: 44 Patission Street (28is Oktovriou), 10682 Athens, Greece

About National Archaeological Museum

The National Archaeological Museum holds the single largest collection of ancient Greek artefacts anywhere in the world, spanning roughly 5,000 years from Neolithic figurines through Roman-era Egyptian mummies, arranged across more than 8,000 square metres of exhibition space. Its best-known object is the Mask of Agamemnon, a beaten gold funerary mask excavated by Heinrich Schliemann at Mycenae in 1876 and dated to around 1550-1500 BCE — several centuries before the historical Trojan War era it was popularly, and almost certainly wrongly, associated with when Schliemann first announced the find. The museum's Antikythera mechanism, a bronze geared astronomical calculator recovered from a shipwreck in 1901, is displayed with an accompanying reconstruction that makes its function as an eclipse-and-calendar computer legible to non-specialists.

Best time of day: Weekday mornings right at opening. Before school groups and coach tours arrive; Tuesday's later 13:00 opening tends to draw a smaller crowd overall since many visitors assume the museum is shut that day.

National Archaeological Museum timings

Opening hours: 08:00–20:00; Mon–Sun 08:00–20:00 and 13:00–20:00; Wednesday–Monday 08:00–20:00, last entry 19:30; Tuesday 13:00–20:00, last entry 19:30 (May–November schedule; winter hours run shorter and should be checked seasonally)
Closed on: 1 January, 25 March, Orthodox Easter Sunday, 1 May, 25 December, 26 December

Mon–Sun	08:00–20:00 and 13:00–20:00

Good to know: Winter months (roughly December–April) typically close earlier, around 17:00; confirm exact dates on the official site before visiting outside peak season.

Opening hours compiled from namuseum.gr and public records, last updated 18 September 2026. They change without notice — confirm before you travel. How we write these guides

National Archaeological Museum ticket price

Entry fees for National Archaeological Museum
Ticket	Price
Standard ticket	€20
Concession (student / senior)	€10
Children	Free

Adult admission set at €20 flat rate from 1 January 2026, removing the previous winter/summer price split reported by Greek press (Tornos News). Reduced rate applies to students, seniors and other documented categories; EU citizens under 25 enter free with ID. Confirm current pricing and any temporary exhibition surcharge at namuseum.gr.

Prices compiled from namuseum.gr and public records, last updated 18 September 2026. They change without notice — confirm before you travel. How we write these guides

Best time to visit National Archaeological Museum

Quiet
Moderate
Busy

08:00 – 10:00
Morning OpeningBest time to go
Quietest window; independent travellers and researchers favour this slot.
Quiet
10:00 – 13:00
School & Tour Groups
Greek school groups and organised tours concentrate here, particularly around the Mycenaean and Antikythera galleries.
Busy
13:00 – 17:00
Afternoon
A steadier, thinner flow of visitors; a comfortable window for unhurried viewing.
Moderate
17:00 – 20:00
Late Opening
Extended evening hours on non-Tuesday days draw fewer visitors, especially after 18:00.
Quiet

History of National Archaeological Museum

The museum's founding dates to 1829, when the newly formed Greek state, still fighting its war of independence from Ottoman rule, established a central repository to prevent further export of antiquities abroad — a direct response to decades of removal by foreign collectors, most notably Lord Elgin's earlier acquisition of Parthenon sculptures. The current neoclassical building on Patission Street, designed by architect Ludwig Lange and completed in phases between 1866 and 1889, was funded partly by wealthy Greek diaspora donors, the same pattern of private philanthropy that funded the Panathenaic Stadium's reconstruction a few years later. The collection expanded dramatically through 19th and 20th-century excavations across the Greek mainland and islands, including Heinrich Schliemann's Mycenae finds, Cycladic-era marble figurines that directly influenced early 20th-century modernist sculptors, and the Antikythera shipwreck cargo recovered by sponge divers in 1900-1901. The museum underwent a major renovation and reopened its full galleries in 2004 ahead of the Athens Olympics that year.

Rules & etiquette at National Archaeological Museum

Photography without flash is permitted in most permanent galleries, though the Antikythera mechanism display and some temporary exhibitions restrict photography to protect fragile materials — signage at each gallery entrance specifies the local rule. Large bags and backpacks must go through the cloakroom before entering; this is enforced more strictly than at the outdoor archaeological sites. The museum is substantial, and visitors attempting to cover all galleries in under two hours typically leave with a rushed, thin impression of the Mycenaean and Cycladic collections specifically, which reward slower viewing.

Tips for visiting National Archaeological Museum

1
Prioritising the ground-floor Mycenaean Hall, the Cycladic figurine collection, and the Antikythera mechanism room covers the museum's most historically significant objects in around 90 minutes if time is limited. The museum sits north of the main tourist core around the Acropolis, in the Exarchia-adjacent Patission Street corridor, so it makes more sense as a dedicated half-day trip than a stop tacked onto an Acropolis-Plaka circuit. The ground-floor café, in a quiet interior courtyard, is a reasonable rest stop mid-visit and less crowded than cafés in the central tourist district. Guided tours in English run at scheduled times during peak season and are worth checking at the entrance desk, since gallery labelling, while present, assumes some prior familiarity with Greek historical periods.

How to reach National Archaeological Museum

The red star is National Archaeological Museum; the numbered pins are the 8 nearest places in our guides, each showing its rank in its city. Tap a pin for details.

44 Patission Street (28is Oktovriou), 10682 Athens, GreeceDirections in Google Maps

From Athens International Airport (ATH)
30 km · 45-55 min
€9 single airport fare
From Syntagma Square
2 km · 20 min
€1.20 standard metro fare
From Omonoia Square
0.9 km · 12 min walk
Free (walking)

Nearest airport

From Athens International Airport Eleftherios Venizelos (ATH)

30 km, approximately 45–55 minutes via metro Line 3 to Victoria then a short walk.

Nearest station

From Victoria metro station (Line 1, green line)

500 m, a 6-minute walk south on Patission Street; Omonoia metro station (Lines 1 and 2) – 900 m.

National Archaeological Museum FAQs

Is the Mask of Agamemnon actually from the Trojan War era?

No, the gold mask dates to approximately 1550-1500 BCE, several centuries before the traditionally dated Trojan War of around 1200 BCE. Heinrich Schliemann's 1876 attribution to Agamemnon was a romantic overreach that modern archaeology does not support, though the name has stuck as a conventional label.

How much time should I budget for the National Archaeological Museum?

Two to three hours covers the main highlights — Mycenaean gold, Cycladic figurines, and the Antikythera mechanism — at a reasonable pace. A full, gallery-by-gallery visit for specialists can take a full day given the museum's size.

Is the museum open on Tuesdays?

Yes, unlike many European museums that close entirely on Tuesdays, this museum opens later that day at 13:00 rather than closing, running until 20:00.

How do I get to the National Archaeological Museum from the Acropolis area?

The most direct route is metro Line 2 from Akropoli or Syntagma to Omonoia, then a 12-minute walk north on Patission Street, or a taxi covering the roughly 2.5 km in about 10 minutes depending on traffic.

Compiled with AI assistance from official sources and public records, and published only after the checks in How we write these guides. Nobody from Traveliac has visited this place. Last updated 18 September 2026. How we rank and check places