Museums in Greece...Museums you should visit

Museums in Greece you should visit.

NATIONAL ARCHAEOLOGICAL MUSEUM. The National Archaeological Museum is one of the largest in Greece and one of most important museums in the world devoted to ancient Greek art. The neoclassical Museum building was founded in 1866 on a plot donated by Eleni Tositsa and was brought to completion in 1889 under the supervision of the German architect Ernst Ziller. It was constructed to house unique works of art from Greek antiquity, and its galleries are a panorama of the long evolution of ancient Greek art from the prehistoric period to Late Roman antiquity. Patission 44 (28th October street.) Tel. 82. 17.717.

Opening days and hours for National Museum : Winter hours ( 16th October to 31st March) Tuesday - Sunday: 8:30 - 15:00. Monday: 10.30 - 17.00 and Holidays 8.30 - 15.00 Summer hours (1st April to 15th October) Tuesday- Sunday: 8.00 - 19:00 Monday 12.30. - 19.00 Holidays: 8.30 - 15.00. The Museum is closed on 1st January, 25th March, 1st May, Easter Sunday, Christmas and Boxing Day. Entrance fee 6 Euro. Minimum required time to visit a museum like this 2 hours.

CORINTH - ARCHAEOLOGICAL MUSEUM: The museum was established in 1912 . The collections consist of most of the pieces produced by the excavations. Corinth

DELPHI. Few statues have ever acquired so great and well deserved a fame as the bronze chariotee which originally belonged to a larger group which represented a chariot with four horses from which only small fragments survived. Its height is 1.8 m and is made up from six separate cast parts. Dedicated by Polyzalos, tyrant of the Sicilian city of Gela, for his victory in the race at the Pythian Games, probably in 474 BC. it is admired for its superb art. Delphi

Olympia Archaeological Museum

Olympic Games

Classical Tour

Olympia

SPARTA - ARCHAEOLOGICAL MUSEUM: The museum was established in 1874, in a building designed by the Greek architect Katsaros. The most important items of the museum are: Stele depicting couple of figures in relief, on both sides. On the one side perhaps there is the representation of Menelaus with Helen and on the other Agamemnon with Clytemnestra, dated to the end of the 6th century. Statue of Hoplitodromos (running Hoplite) with helmet of Attic type. It has been argued that the statue of a Spartan hoplite, the best known of the very few surviving Laconian sculptures portrays King Leonidas, leader of the Three Hundred warriors who fell heroically fighting against the Persians at Thermopile in 480 BC. According to another view, it represents Pausanias, victor of the battle of Plataeae, or even a competitor in a race for armed runners It was found in the temple Of Athena Chalkioikos at the acropolis of Sparta. It preserves the upper part of the body but hands are missing. It is dated to the second quarter of the 5th century BC. Sparta

Vargina -Aegae Museum

The museum which was inaugurated in 1993 was built in a way to protect the found tombs, exhibit the artifacts and show the tumulus as it was before the excavations. Inside the museum there are four tombs and one small temple the "Heroon" which was built as the temple of the great tomb of Philip II. The two most important graves were not sacked and contained the main treasures of the museum. Makedonia Thessaloníke

THE MUSEUM OF THE OLIVE: The museum of the Olive and Greek Olive Oil, in Sparta has been founded and designed by the Piraeus Bank Group Cultural Foundation (PIOP), which is also responsible for its operation and opened the doors to the public in December 2002. It is housed in the renovated premises of the old Electricity Company, which were made available by the Municipality of Sparta. The project was included by the EU Second Framework, after inclusion in the Regional Operational Programmers for the Peloponnesus and the Museum operates under the direction of the Piraeus Bank Group Cultural Foundation.

Opening Hours for Archaeological Sites, Museums and Monuments

October 15th - March 31st: Daily: 08.00-15.00

April 1st - October14th: Daily: 08.00 - 19.30

Holidays closed: December 25th to 26th, January 1st, March 25th, Good Friday (until 12.00), Easter Sunday, May 1st

Telephone: +30 - 2103214172 - 2103210219 - 2109238724

Days of free admission for all visitors

Sundays in the period between November 1st and March 31st
The first Sunday of every month, except for July, August and September, when the first Sunday is holiday, then the second is the free
January 6th (Epiphany)
Shrove Monday in March
March 6th (in memory of Melina Merkoure)
April 18th (International Monuments Day)
Easter Monday
May 18th (International Museums Day)
June 5th (International Environment Day)
Holy Spirit Day in June
August 15th: Religious day
The last weekend of September every year (European Heritage Days)
October 28th (National holiday)

The Museum of the Olive and Greek Olive Oil is part of a network of thematic museums of technology created by the Foundation, which comprises the Silk Museum at Soufli,(1990), the Open – air Water – Power Museum at Dimitsana, Arcadia (1997), the Museum of Industrial Olive Oil Production at Agia Paraskevi, on the island of Lesvos, The Roof tile and Brickworks Museum at Volos, the Museum of Marble Crafts, at Pyrgos on the island of Tinos and the Museum of Traditional Crafts and Environment of Stymfalia.

On the Museum's upper floor the age-old history on the two life-giving commodities, the olive and the olive oil, throughout Greece is presented, while, at the same time, their multiform impact on the country's life, in the fields of economy, diet hygiene, religious ritual and folk customs is pointed out in graphic detail.

On the ground floor the presentation of the technological developments of the oil-mill in Greece is continued, here the times from the Post-Byzantine period up to the Twentieth century are covered. Various pieces of machinery that have been preserved and/or restored, as well as large-scale working models that help the visitor acquire some knowledge of the traditional techniques involved in olive oil production, are on show. The exhibition is supported by digital shows. Further more, on the Museum's premises one can also find a cafe, a museum shop and a multipurpose hall.

In the outdoor exhibition the visitor will find references to the civilization of the olive tree and the harvesting of the olives as well as have the opportunity to examine from close up three oil-presses that have been installed on the museum grounds, dating respectively from Prehistoric, Classical and Byzantine times. During educational workshops and programmes, one can observe these presses in operation.

The Museum of the Olive and Greek Olive Oil is the first of its kind to be established in Greece. Following the example of other Mediterranean countries, which have already established museums and various other venues for promoting their own products, the Museum aims- among other things - to bring to the attention of the public the serious effort that is being made in Greece towards preserving the technology involved in oil production in times past and to promote the time less cultural role that the olive and the olive oil have played in Greek society.

Opening hours: From March 1st to October 15th Daily 10.00 am - 6.00 pm (closed on Tuesdays). From October 16th to February 28th Daily 10.00 am - 5.00 pm (closed on Tuesdays). The Museum will be closed on the following holidays: January 1st, Good Friday, Easter Sunday, May 1st, August 15th, November 26th, December 25ht & 26th. Admission: 5 euro.