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Photo: C messier, CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons
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.
The Numismatic Museum of Athens is one of the most important museums in Greece, holding a collection of over 500,000 coins, medals, engraved gems, weights, stamps and related artefacts from 1400 BC to modern times. The collection of Ancient Greek coinage is one of the richest in the world, paralleled by those of the British Museum in London, the Bibliothèque Nationale in Paris, the State Hermitage Museum in Saint Petersburg, the Bode Museum in Berlin, and the American Numismatic Society in New York City. The museum itself is housed in the former mansion of the archaeologist Heinrich Schliemann, formally known as Iliou Melathron.
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Old Parliament
In the old parliament building, this museum contains a large collection of historic documents such as the first constitution of Greece, furniture, equipment from the revolution. If you are lucky you may see the old session room.
Check out the Parliament building and the newly restored Grande Bretagne Hotel.
Catch the changing of the guards in front of the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in front of Parliament every hour on the hour. The guards are a fascinating sight; they wear distinctive uniforms with pleated kilts and leather clogs with pom-poms. The uniforms and the guards' unusual marching style are a tribute to the light infantry insurgents (evzones) who bravely fought the Greek War of Independence. Make sure you don't get too close or stand on the wrong side of them if you want to take a picture. If that occurs, they will knock their gun and, as they are not allowed to speak, another guard in regular military uniform will kindly ask you to change position. A more elaborate version of the ceremony takes place at 11:00 every Sunday, when it is accompanied by a marching military band.
This building is on the eastern side of the square. It was the former royal palace before Greece became a republic. At its base, facing the square, is the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.
Visit the beautiful Neoclassical main building which houses collections of Greek art, from ancient times through the Byzantine period and the modern state. Open late and for free on Thursday evenings. The museum shop is a good place to buy souvenirs. There is a small selection at high prices but the quality is excellent.
A Peaceful and beautiful park in the centre of Athens, easily the coolest place to hide from the summer sun. Wander around, check out the quirky art that seems to sprout up every now and again, look on in disbelief at the "zoo", sit on one of the benches, enjoy the luxuriant flowers and vegetation, marvel at the turtle and duck ponds, have a frappe in the cafe, and spot one of the resident tortoises exploring... it's a fun place to hang out.