The Best Museums in Athens Greece for Kids

The Acropolis Museum

We start our list with perhaps the most famous museum in Athens; The Acropolis Museum. A must-visit for anyone visiting the Greek capital and one of the most important museums in the world! The Acropolis Museum exhibits the important finds from the Acropolis, as well as objects that the ancient Athenians used in everyday life from all historic periods.  Recently, The Acropolis Museum opened the archaeological excavations underneath the museum to the public.

The Acropolis Museum is a family-orientated museum with good facilities and many opportunities to make a visit more interesting for kids. The museum provides a family activity pack, with educational materials, maps, and a mini-treasure hunt.

Kids will also enjoy the Lego Acropolis, the animated movie about the history of the Acropolis, the museum shop with many games, puzzles, and kids’ book corners, and the kids’ menu in the museum restaurant.

To make the most out of your family visit at The Acropolis Museum, we recommend our Acropolis Museum Family Guided Tour. In the company of a kid-friendly expert guide, kids will be engaged with stories and activities that bring the exhibits and the museum to life.

NOTE: The Lego in the Acropolis Museum is not available as of June 2021. Please check with the museum before visiting.

The National Archaeological Museum

The National Archaeological Museum is the biggest museum in Greece. Its collections cover all periods of antiquity. The museum is housed in a beautiful neoclassical building with exhibits dating from the prehistoric era to the Cycladic and Mycenaean civilizations. Large statues, beautiful sculptures, figurines, and pots from the Archaic Period to the Roman Period join with a section devoted to Ancient Egypt. The museum is huge and it is wise to decide beforehand which part you will see. Get a map of the museum and select the exhibitions that you wish to visit according to the age and the interests of your children. Young children will be impressed with Cycladic figurines and the tall sculptures. Older kids will like the famous Antikythira clock, the first actual computer of the world, the Egyptian collection, and also the antiquities from Thira (Santorini) island.

The Museum of Cycladic Art

The Museum of Cycladic Art is one of the most important museums of Athens displaying artifacts from the Cycladic civilizations. Your kids will love the large Cycladic statues and smaller figurines as well as the interactive exhibit about life in Ancient Greece. A film shows kids how the Athenians lived and gives them a real insight into Ancient Greece. During the winter months, the museum organizes weekend activities for kids as young as 2 years old.

Museum of Greek Folk Musical Instruments

This small but interesting museum is located in a beautiful old mansion in Plaka next to the Roman Agora. The Museum of Greek Folk Musical Instruments displays nearly 1,200 unusual instruments. The museum is especially interesting for children because they can listen to various instruments with headphones. The instruments are grouped by family (brass, strings, woodwind, percussion, keyboard). Your family will also learn more about Greek culture through its instruments such as the baglamas, a traditional Greek string instrument made of wood or tortoiseshell. 

The Hellenic Children’s Museum

The small innovative and interactive Hellenic Children’s Museum is located inside Plaka. It displays exhibits that help kids to experiment and understand the world around them. Kids will learn about the concept of geometry and in the playground are building materials to create different constructions. In the marketplace, they are taught about the concept of supply and demand, and in the kitchen, they experiment with food ingredients and recipes. While the programs are in Greek, they can also be conducted in English upon special request. The museum is closed in July and August.

School Life and Education Museum

If you want to find out what Greek school life used to look like, then visit the School Life and Education Museum in Plaka. Housed in a neoclassical building from the 19th century with exceptional ceiling paintings and a beautiful courtyard, the museum exhibits school publications, maps, and educational materials. Kids will love the old classroom with wooden school desks and blue school uniforms.

The Museum of Ancient Greek Technology

Perhaps not so well known, however, The Museum of Ancient Greek Technology is a must-visit when in Athens. The small museum is located in the city center and hosts two collections; the Ancient Greek Technology exhibition and the Ancient Greek Musical Instruments collection. Introducing them to the origins of technology, children can see, touch and operate ancient inventions. They will realize how many things that we still use today were invented by the ancient Greeks. The museum organizes workshops for adults and kids and a weekly musical play for families.

The Museum of Greek Children’s Art

If your kids like art and would like to get inspired, take them to the Museum of Greek Children’s Art. This Plaka located museum is a pioneering Museum, one of the very few worldwide that exhibits exclusively drawings and three-dimensional artworks created by children 5 to 14 years old. The Museum’s collections include more than 10,000 drawings and 3D artworks created by children, enriched each year.

The Museum of Illusions

Right of Monastiraki square in Athens center, you can find the Museum of Illusions. This small but fun museum is entertaining for the whole family and offers something different from the Greek monuments and ancient history. In the playroom of the museum, kids can tricker their brains with quality games and brain teasers such as puzzles, impossible knots, tricks, and mathematical games as well as other educational concepts. The rooms with optical illusions are great fun and very good for some family Instagram photos. Imagine shrinking your kids or walking upside down!

For more information about visiting the museums in Athens with kids, please contact us. We’d love to share our local knowledge with you and help you plan your family vacation!