10 Things to do Good for a Rainy Day in Athens That You Shouldn't Miss

Kotsanas Museum of Ancient Greek Technology in the heart of Athens. In a unique historic Art Nouveau building (Unfortunately there is no access for people with disabilities because the building has been listed and unfortunately no relevant intervention can be made), Pindarou 6 and Akadimias St. in Kolonaki, with a total area of 700 square meters, guests will have the unique opportunity to get to know a relatively unknown aspect of Ancient Greek culture through the exhibition "The Hi-Tech Inventions of Ancient Greece – The origins of our modern technology", which includes approximately 100 selected exhibits, reconstructed inventions, from the robot-servant and the "cinema" of Philon to the automatic theater of Heron, and from the Hydraulic Clock of Ktesibios to the Antikythera Mechanism. At the same time, the same building will permanently house the independent exhibition of Ancient Greek Musical Instruments with 42 fully functional, reassembled reconstructed musical instruments.

A dynamic cultural institution in the centre of Athens, the Museum of Cycladic Art focuses on promoting the ancient cultures of the Aegean and Cyprus, with particular emphasis on Cycladic art of the third millennium BC. The Museum’s permanent collections include 3000 Cycladic, ancient Greek, and ancient Cypriot artefacts, witnesses to the cultures that flourished in the Aegean and the Eastern Mediterranean from the fourth millennium BC to approximately the sixth century AD. The Museum of Cycladic Art’s temporary exhibitions focus on archaeology and modern and contemporary art with the aim to familiarize the public with important twentieth and twenty-first century artists and to explore the relations between ancient cultures and modern art. Salvador Dali, Pablo Picasso, Thomas Struth, Louise Bourgeois, Sarah Lucas, Ugo Rondinone, Jannis Kounellis, Mario Merz, Ai Weiwei, and Cy Twombly are among the artists hosted.

The Benaki Museum is among the most extensive and innovative cultural organizations in Europa. Diverse cultures from all historical periods and geographical areas meet contemporary art across a network of venues all over Athens – and beyond. The Benaki Museum of Greek Culture presents the history and art of the Greek world from prehistory to the 20th century, through 6.000 objects arranged over four floors. Antonis Benakis (1873-1954) was a passionate art collector. He belonged to a cosmopolitan circle of connoisseurs and intellectuals in Alexandria, Egypt. Following his return to Athens and the death of his benefactor father Emmanuel, Antonis bequeathed to Greece his collections and parental home, which opened in April 1931 as the Benaki Museum. After a comprehensive refurbishment, the building reopened on 7 June 2000 as the Benaki Museum of Greek Culture while the remaining diverse collections have since been housed in new buildings (see Benaki Museum of Islamic Art).

The ILJM is the only jewelry museum in Greece. It is a nonprofit cultural organization certified by the Greek Ministries of Finance and of Culture since 1993. The ILJMuseum is not government funded. The Museum strives to act as an international center for the continuation of traditional crafts especially the ancient art of silver and goldsmithery. In its twenty years of operation over 50 temporary exhibitions have been organized in Greece and abroad. 1200 specialized educational programs have reached over 90.000 children and 20.000 adults. Its future agenda includes introducing new initiatives on education of art and cultural education through fun and inspirational activities for both children and adults. Collaboration with international Museums, organizations and Educational institutions is needed more than ever to bring Greece in the front page of the international Cultural agenda.

In 1964, the Hellenic State decided to found the War Museum, wishing to honor all those who fought for our country and its freedom. The design of the museum was undertaken by a team of distinguished scientists, headed by Professor Thoukidides Valentis of the National Technical university of Athens (N.T.U.A). On July 18, 1975, the President of the Hellenic Republic H.E. Constantine Tsatsos and the Minister of National Defense Evangelos Averof-Tositsas inaugurated the Museum. Its various activities include the publication of books, the establishment and maintenance of monuments and memorials and the aid to services and agencies all over Greece. The Museum’s exhibition areas are distributed over four levels (floors) and present images of Greek history from antiquity to the present.