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Photo: Thomas Wolf, www.foto-tw.de, CC BY-SA 3.0 de via Wikimedia Commons
This is the largest and most popular of Athens' many museums, and is usually very crowded. Its vast collection includes treasures unearthed from Mycenae by Heinrich Schliemann; a staggering array of sculpture including the earliest known Greek figurines dating from around 2,000 BCE; frescoes from the volcanic island of Santorini; and remains of Antikythera mechanism, the oldest known mechanical computer. Plan to make several visits to absorb it all.
The National Archaeological Museum in Athens houses some of the most important artifacts from a variety of archaeological locations around Greece from prehistory to late antiquity. It is considered one of the greatest museums in the world and contains the richest collection of Greek Antiquity artifacts worldwide. It is situated in the Exarcheia area in central Athens between Epirus Street, Bouboulinas Street and Tositsas Street while its entrance is on the Patission Street, adjacent to the historical building of the National Technical University of Athens.
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Field of Mars
Covers 27.7 hectares, near the National Archaeological Museum.
A low but imposing building erected between 1882 and 1890 by architect Ernst Ziller in the eclectic style of that age, commissioned by King George I.
A 200m hill bordering the Kolonaki district. You can reach the top by walking (the path starts 15 minutes from Evangelismos metro stop, and will take 30 minutes to walk up the winding, but paved and not steep, path) or by a funicular railway (€10 single/€13 return trip). From halfway up looking towards the sea there are astonishing views of the Parthenon with the blue of the sea glimpsed between its columns. And from the top you can see the whole city, the port of Piraeus and, on a clear day, the island of Aegina and the Peloponnese. Have a drink at the cafe there, and visit the chapel of St George.
The building of the museum is one of the most beautiful in Athens, and was built by Ernst Ziller and was used as the residence in Athens of Schliemann. The collection contains thousands of ancient coins and ancient Greek, Roman, Byzantine, Medieval figurines.