I recently visited the museum and took lots of photos, so here is everything you need to know:
The National Historical Museum is located in Athens downtown (Stadiou Street), very close to Syntagma Square, and its building is basically the old Greek Parliament (the existing parliament used to be the Royal Palace)
The National Historical Museum of Athens basically hosts a ton of items and artefacts about the 1821 Greek War of Independence and the early days of Greece as an independent country after the Ottoman Empire occupation of more than 400 years. The building that hosts the Museum used to be Greece’s First Parliament, which stopped being in use back in the 1930’s. The National Historical Museum of Athens opened its doors in 1962 with thousands of items from modern Greece and the Greek Revolution.
The museum is located in the heart of Athens on Stadiou Street at Kolokotroni Square.
Is it actually worth visiting this Museum?
100%. You will get to know modern Greek history and see a different nation than what you see in Acropolis or Delphi. This is what shaped Greece as a country and as a nation over the last 300 years, and this is what we Greeks are being taught in history lessons in school aside from ancient Greek history. Personally, as a Greek, I feel closer to the people you will see in this museum than Socrates, Pericles or other prominent ancient Greeks.
The building of the museum is literally the old parliament of Greece, which is a cool fact in itself
Athens Metro Map: for the National Historical Museum, you have to get off at the “Syntagma” stop on the red or blue line
The best way to get to the museum is by the underground metro RED LINE (Line 2) or the BLUE LINE (Line 3) and stop at “Syntagma Station” (on Google Maps). The Museum is literally a 5 minutes walk from Syntagma station on Stadiou Street and the best ticket to get is the ATH.ENA Card for public transport within Athens.
If you live close to the centre of Athens in areas such as Kolonaki, Koukaki, Syntagma Square, Monastiraki, Plaka, Thission you can literally walk to the National Historical Museum as it’s about a 15-20 mins walk from all those areas.
The ticket for the museum costs 10 euros per adult person and 5 euros reduced for children, 65+ and students
The best website to book a guided tour is Get Your Guide, with hundreds of available tours that you can actually book online
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⛴️ Ferryhopperis the best website to book your ferry tickets or check the timetables for Santorini, Mykonos , Crete & all greek islands
🎫 Get Your Guide has the best and largest variety of Tours in Athens and the greek islands (Santorini, Mykonos, Crete etc)
🚗 Rentalcarsis the easiest way to rent a car or a quad for Greece with thousands of available options
✈️ Booking.com Flights has all the available flights to and from the greek islands
🚕 Book Your Driver (Taxi) directly with booking.com’s large and safe platform of available certified drivers
The National Historical Museum
This is not a museum with long queues and lines to enter, so you won’t have any issues getting a ticket (there is no need to book anything in advance). Just walk to the door and go to the ticket booth, where a lady will print out the ticket for you after paying.
There are many canons and cannonballs from the 1800sjust outside the museum.The ticket box of the Museum is just at the entranceThere is never a long line to get your ticket from the entrance lady as it’s not a very well-advertised museum and it’s never busy.The ticket for the Museum: unfortunately, there is no way to buy your ticket online in advance but there is no need to do that, to be totally honest…
The Temporary Exhibition
The museum hosts an exhibition every few years with a different topic and focus. This is located mainly close to the entrance of the museum on the right and left of the ticket booth as you enter.
One of the first things you will see as you enter on the right is the temporary exhibition of photos and artefacts from the last century of Greece’s modern history, including WW1, the catastrophe of Smyrna (1922) and the refugee crisis after that.Greece’s turbulent 20th century in all of its gloryThere are lots of interesting items and photos from the early 1900sMaps showing the Greece-Turkey war progression in 1920 This exhibition is temporary but it lasts for a few years, usuallyLots of stunning photos from Greece’s wars of the early 20th century, mainly in Minor AsiaThe destruction of the city of Smyrna (Izmir) in 1922Thousands of refugees flooded mainland Greece after Smyrna’s destruction from the Turks.Smyrna’s entire Greek population (hundreds of thousands of people) was extradited brutally from the city of Smyrna within a couple of days Not all heroes wear capes…
The Permanent Exhibition
Traditional Greek Clothes
The permanent exhibition of the National Historical Museum of Athens has a whole section dedicated to the Greek traditional clothing and costumes that were worn not only on special occasions like weddings and dances but also in the daily lives of men and women.
There is a vast section of the museum dedicated to traditional Greek clothingThere are costumes and clothes from different areas of GreeceThe variety of traditional Greek clothing is astonishing.Some lovely details of the costumes Children’s clothing was equally beautiful and well-decoratedSuper cute Playmobil dolls wearing the traditional Greek costumes These have to be the cutest exhibits in the whole museum.Most of the items are also accompanied by photos of real people wearing specific costumes (mainly for weddings or other occasions) A typical drawer of a Greek house always had lots of handmade towels and ornaments Yes, the children had to wear traditional clothes too!
Greek War of Independence
The vast majority of the museum is dedicated to the Greek Revolution of 1821 against the Ottoman Empire, with armaments, guns, clothing, portraits and other items of generals and other people who actually fought during those wars.
80% of the exhibits are dedicated to the 1821 Greek War of Independence against the Ottoman Empire This was the motto of the Greek Revolution that was present in almost all flags: “FREEDOM OR DEATH”Konstantinos Kanaris was a Greek admiral and one of the most important figures in the Greek war of Independence; he then became a Prime Minister of Greece after the independence. There are hundreds of portraits of important figures and flags of Greece from the 1800sTo be honest, the whole museum feels a bit dated, without any modern features or technology used Portraits of Greek Revolution generals and admiralsImagine all those flags literally being in live battles of the 1800sThere are also lots of guns and memorabilia from 1821 admirals and soldiers.There are notes in English and in Greek in every room and item, explaining what you are seeing This is one of the most important maps ever created for Greece back in 1797 from Rigas Ferraios in Vienna, where he captured all the areas where Greeks lived up to that time; believe it or not, there was no Greece as a country before 1830Clothes and other personal items of Ioannis Makrygiannis, a military officer and political figure of the 1800s Armaments of senior figures, generals and admirals of the Greek Independence War of 1821 Laskarina Bouboulina was a Greek naval commander and a prominent figure in the Greek War of Independence; she is one of the most important women in modern GreeceThe interior of the museum is covered completely with photos, portraits and paintings of important figures and battles of the Greek Revolution of 1821As you enter this corridor (halfway through the museum’s main path) you will see another Playmobil installation on your rightThe Playmobil dolls installation shows a representation of the Missolonghi seize and battle; super cute (the Playmobils…not the actual battle…) A portrait of Dionysios Solomos, the national poet of Greece (he literally wrote the Greek anthem)A massive copy of a famous Delacroix painting depicting a battle of the Greek war of independence
Modern Greece and 20th-Century Politics
The museum hosts a lot of items, photos and documents of the turbulent first 100 years of Greece as an independent country.
The First King of Greece, Otto and his wife Amalia used to sit on these chairs; thankfully, Greece has had no royals since 1973 (they were never Greeks anyway but were imported from Germany and Denmark in 1831)A piece of the once-royal boatStatues of Otto (the first king of Greece) and his wife Amalia (both imported from Germany, and they had no connection with Greece)The throne and some personal items (socks!) of Otto and his wifeA portrait of Eleftherios Venizelos (yes, Athens International Airport is named after him); Greek Prime Minister of the early 1900s and controversial politicianPersonal items and photos of Eleftherios VenizelosThe hat of the patriarch of Smyrna city (that got burned by the Turks in 1922)Personal items of Ioannis Kapodistrias, the first governor of modern GreeceCanons and posters from WWI and WWIIMemorabilia from WWI, the Balkan Wars and WWIIFlags, photos, statues and furniture from the first 100 years of politics in GreecePocket watches of Greek politicians of the 1800sThis is possibly the funniest item in the whole museum: a plaque from a tower clock that Lord Elgin gifted to the city of Athens after he stole the famous Elgin marbles from the AcropolisIn 1814, Thomas Elgin donated a tower clock to the city of Athens after stealing the marbles from Acropolis; these are now located in the British Museum in London but the clock was destroyed in a fire in 1884.
The Old Parliament
The building of the museum itself used to be the first parliament of Greece, and that is basically the reason there are so many personal items and furniture of Greek politicians. The parliament was also used for a famous trial back in the 1910s.
The first parliament of GreeceIt’s a beautiful room with lovely ceilingsThe place is still used today for lectures.There is a small exhibition in regards to the famous “Trial of the Six” of September 1922 after the Asia Minor catastrophe of the Greek-Turkish war of 1919-1922The famous “Trial of Six” that took place in the parliament itselfDocuments and newspapers from the trialDocuments, sketches and photos from the trial
The Museum’s Shop
Unfortunately, the museum shop is very small, with only a few items and memorabilia for sale.
The museum shop is very small, with nothing interesting to buy, in my opinion
Conclusion
So…do I recommend this Museum to anyone visiting Athens? 10000%!
Not only the building itself is of great significance for modern Greece but you will also get to see and learn about the people, the stories and the battles that shaped what Greece is today. Admittedly, this looks and feels like a museum that definitely needs a bit of modernization and funding, to be honest. However, the fact that you will be sitting in the first parliament of Greece is by itself great and there is so much history, politics and art in this building that is a “must” see for any history buff (but not only).
AUTHOR
Pavlos Inglesis
Greek, born and raised in Athens. I have been to almost every greek island and pretty much in every region of mainland Greece. I have also been eating souvlaki and gyros since the 80s. I love being a dad to my 2 beautiful daughters and also taking great photos of the places I visit. This is my blog to help you out explore the places I have visited with my inside tips as a Greek, knowing the ins and outs of my country and culture. Feel free to ask any questions in the comments section under the post you are interested in and I wIll try my best to respond asap.
RECOMMENDED WEBSITES FOR GREECE:
🛏️ Booking.comis the website with the most available rooms and Private Villas in Athens, Santorini , Mykonos & Crete (more than Airbnb!)
⛴️ Ferryhopperis the best website to book your ferry tickets or check the timetables for Santorini, Mykonos , Crete & all greek islands
🎫 Get Your Guide has the best and largest variety of Tours in Athens and the greek islands (Santorini, Mykonos, Crete etc)
🚗 Rentalcarsis the easiest way to rent a car or a quad for Greece with thousands of available options
✈️ Booking.com Flights has all the available flights to and from the greek islands
🚕 Book Your Driver (Taxi) directly with booking.com's large and safe platform of available certified drivers
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My other travel blogs:
Crete Travel Blog: all you need to know about the largest island in Greece and one of the biggest in the world
Mykonos Travel Blog: all you need to know about the island with the most amazing beaches in Greece
Athens Travel Blog: the capital of Greece is a foodie's and culture lovers' paradise
Santorini Travel Blog: everything you need to know about the most famous and romantic greek island
Amorgos Travel Blog: a complete travel guide for one of the most underrated greek islands
ABOUT ME:
My name is Pavlos and I come from the beautiful country called Greece. You can follow me on Twitter here and I will try to do my best to respond to you personally. This is my blog to help you plan your next holidays to Greece and the greek islands, whether it is Santorini, Mykonos, Crete or even Athens. I was actually born in Athens and I have been to almost all of the greek islands and pretty much most of mainland Greece. I know the ins and outs of my country and hopefully my travel blog will help you make the most of your holidays.
