The award-winning Acropolis Museum, located in the historic heart of the Greek capital, is a wonderful place to visit at any time of the year. But at Christmastime, it’s fair to say that the ultra-modern modern museum, which houses a vast collection of artifacts spanning the millennia from the Greek Bronze Age to the Byzantine empire, imbues an extra special, magical atmosphere.

As ever, the hard-working staff at the Museum have come up with a packed program of special events for visitors to enjoy over the Christmas and New Year holidays, including fun activities for the kids, a guided tour of the latest temporary exhibition, plus plenty of musical, culinary, and other festive happenings.

Guided Tours

Museum archaeologists will be offering guided tours of the latest temporary exhibition, “NoHMATA ‘Meanings’. Personifications and Allegories from Antiquity to Today,” every Tuesday and Thursday at 12 noon, and every Saturday and Sunday at 10am and at 12 noon. Together, visitors will explore 164 spectacular artworks loaned to the Acropolis Museum from collections in Greece and abroad, including eight priceless artifacts from the British Museum. These masterpieces, which include the famous Meidias Hydria, a red-figure water vase from 420 BC, and Rubens’ “Saturn Devouring His Children” (1636-1638), personify various concepts, allegories, and human passions and emotions, forming a connective thread that runs from Antiquity, through Byzantium, the Renaissance, to today.

To reserve a place on this incredible tour, click here.

Festive Program for Children: “Giving shape and form … to a unique celebration!”

This Christmas, young visitors can come together with members of the Museum’s Department of Education to explore how and why the ancient Athenians developed human personifications for concepts such as the four seasons, the sun, love, victory, and more. Children will be able to get creative with paper, paints, and scissors to give a face, a shape and form, to a beloved concept: the feast!

If you have children aged between 4 and 10, come and join in the fun on Saturday December 23rd, Sunday 24th, Thursday 28th, Friday 29th, and Sunday 31st. The sessions take place at 11am and 1pm.

Click here to reserve a place. 

Christmas Tunes

Every Friday this holiday season, the Museum will extend its opening hours to 10pm. Also, the Museum Restaurant will stay open until midnight every Friday and Saturday, giving visitors the opportunity to enjoy a festive meal with spectacular views of the flood-lit Acropolis. For restaurant reservations, Tel. (+30) 210.900.0915.

Don’t forget to combine your visit with a coffee and dessert at the Museum Café, on the ground floor. The café will also host a series of musical events over the coming weeks:

On Friday, December 22, at 6pm, the Orchestra and Choir of the Greek Music Center “Phoivos Anogianakis,” in collaboration with the Department of Music Studies of the University of Athens, will perform traditional carols and songs from the various regions of Greece, arranged and conducted by Elenis Bailis and Evangelias Chaldaiakis.

On Saturday, December 23, at 12 noon, the Vrakoforos Club of Rethymno, Crete will present traditional dances and Cretan carols. On Thursday 28th, at 12 noon, the Museum will host the University of Athens’ modern music ensemble, “Music Odyssey,” which will perform Christmas classics and a whole variety of other popular songs, conducted by their professor-instructor, Giannis Malafi.

Gifts for the Holidays

Before you leave the Museum, be sure to stop by the Gift Shop on the ground floor, where you will find a collection of beautiful souvenirs inspired by the NoHMATA ‘Meanings’ exhibition. Also, you’ll be able to browse some specially designed decorative items, perfect as Christmas gifts for your loved ones. Among them is the Museum Charm for 2024, a traditional Greek gift inspired by a small copper wheel, dedicated to the Sanctuary of the Acropolis sometime between 480-470 BC. In ancient Greece, the wheel was considered a symbol of luck, representing the unpredictable nature of life.

For more information on this year’s festive program at the Acropolis Museum, please visit the website.