Museum of Cycladic Art: what to see, floor by floor

The Museum of Cycladic Art is smaller and quieter than the big museums of Athens, and that’s exactly its strength. The white marble figurines of the Cyclades, made almost five thousand years ago, look as if a 20th-century artist had designed them. You can see them in an hour without getting tired. From Ioulianou 50 you get there in 25 minutes, by metro to Evangelismos.

At a glance

🎟️ 12€

For the permanent collections. Reduced for over-65s, students and young people aged 19–25.

🕗 10:00–17:00

Thursday until 20:00, Sunday from 11:00. Closed on Tuesdays.

🚇 Evangelismos

Line 3. From the station, 6 minutes on foot.

⏱️ 1–2 hours

One hour for the figurines, two for all the floors.

What Cycladic art is

The Cyclades are the islands south-east of Athens: Naxos, Paros, Amorgos, Milos, Keros and others. In the Early Bronze Age, roughly from 3200 to 2000 BC, the people living there made small figurines from the islands’ white marble. The figures are simple: a face where only the nose stands out, arms folded below the chest, an almost geometric body.

Many were originally painted, with eyes, hair and jewellery. The paint has almost gone, but on some you can still see traces if you look closely. In the 20th century artists such as Brâncuși and Modigliani admired them, which is why they look so modern today. What exactly they were, goddesses, grave offerings or something else, we don’t know for sure. Most were found in graves.

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A marble Cycladic female figurine with folded arms, attributed to the Goulandris Sculptor — The classic figurine
Folded arms, tilted head, only a nose on the face.

A Spedos-type Cycladic figurine against a dark background at the Museum of Cycladic Art — Spedos type
The best-known type, around 2700–2300 BC.

A marble head of a Cycladic figurine with its prominent nose, against a dark background — A head
Look closely: some still carry traces of paint.

The torso of a Cycladic figurine with the arms folded below the chest — The arms
The right arm below the left, almost always.

A Neolithic Kilia-type figurine with a large head and slender neck, on a stand — The “stargazer”
A Neolithic figurine from Asia Minor, even older than the Cycladic ones.

Photos: public domain, ArchaiOptix (CC BY-SA 4.0), Zde (CC BY-SA 4.0) · Wikimedia Commons

Two buildings

The museum was founded in 1986 by Nicholas and Dolly Goulandris to house their own collection. It has two buildings linked by a glass corridor. The main building, at Neofytou Douka 4, is modern and holds the permanent collections on four floors. Next door, on the corner of Vasilissis Sofias and Irodotou, stands the Stathatos Mansion, an 1895 neoclassical house by Ernst Ziller, with the temporary exhibitions. Have a look at its rooms even if the exhibition doesn’t grab you: it’s one of the loveliest 19th-century houses in Athens.

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The neoclassical Stathatos Mansion with its flags and balconies, under a blue sky — The Stathatos Mansion
Ziller’s neoclassical house, on the corner of Vasilissis Sofias and Irodotou.

The Stathatos Mansion from the street corner, with its garden and railings — From the corner
One of the loveliest 19th-century houses in Athens.

The front of the Stathatos Mansion with exhibition banners and people on the pavement — The exhibitions
The banners show what’s on in the temporary exhibitions.

Photos: George E. Koronaios (CC BY-SA 4.0), Joyofmuseums (CC BY-SA 4.0) · Wikimedia Commons

Floor by floor

1st floor: Cycladic culture

The floor you came for. The display cases show how the figurines changed over time: from the earliest, almost abstract shapes to the well-known figurines with folded arms. Look for the very large pieces, the heads with traces of paint and the early Neolithic figurines at the start of the exhibition. If you only have an hour, stay here.

2nd floor: Ancient Greek art

From the Bronze Age to Roman times: vases, small figurines, helmets, jewellery. It feels more familiar if you’ve seen other archaeological museums, but it helps you place the Cycladic pieces in the rest of the Aegean’s history.

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Ancient Greek vases with black-figure and red-figure scenes in a display case at the Museum of Cycladic Art — Vases
Black-figure and red-figure vases, with myths and scenes of daily life.

A Geometric pyxis with meanders and four little horses on the lid — The pyxis with the horses
Geometric period: the little horses on the lid are the handle.

Three ancient bronze helmets in a red display case — Helmets
Bronze warriors’ helmets.

Two Mycenaean clay figurines of the Phi and Psi types, with painted stripes — Mycenaean figurines
Small clay figurines with their arms open or closed.

Photos: Tilemahos Efthimiadis (CC BY 2.0), Deiadameian (CC BY-SA 4.0), Joyofmuseums (CC BY-SA 4.0) · Wikimedia Commons

3rd floor: Ancient Cypriot art

One of the richest collections of Cypriot antiquities outside Cyprus: pottery, figurines like planks with faces, limestone sculptures. It shows an island between the Greek world, Egypt and the East. If you’re in a hurry, a quick round is enough.

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The dark room of Cypriot antiquities with its lit-up display cases — The Cypriot room
A dark room, lit-up display cases.

Flat, plank-shaped Cypriot figurines, around 1900 BC — Plank figurines
Cyprus, around 1900 BC. They look like planks with faces.

A limestone bust of a bearded man with a conical cap, Cypro-Archaic period — The bearded man
Cyprus, 6th century BC, with the tall cap.

Photos: Zde (CC BY-SA 4.0) · Wikimedia Commons

4th floor: Scenes from daily life

The floor children like best. The exhibition is arranged by theme: childhood, sport, the symposium, war, death. Here the objects get a story: who drank from this cup, who played with this toy.

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The entrance to the exhibition Scenes from Daily Life in Antiquity, with a painted ship — Scenes from daily life
The floor children like best.

A red-figure krater with young men dancing, in the exhibition on daily life — A krater
In vessels like this they mixed wine with water at symposia.

Photos: Gary Todd (CC0) · Wikimedia Commons

Opening hours and tickets 2026

Day	Hours
Monday, Wednesday, Friday, Saturday	10:00–17:00
Thursday	10:00–20:00
Sunday	11:00–17:00
Tuesday	Closed

Last entry is a quarter of an hour before closing. The museum is closed on 1 January, Clean Monday, 25 March, Easter Sunday and Monday, 1 May, Whit Monday, 15 August and 25 and 26 December.

The ticket for the permanent collections costs €12. With the temporary exhibition at the Stathatos Mansion the price goes up. Over-65s, students and young people aged 19–25 get a reduced ticket. The museum is private, so the free days of the state museums don’t apply. Prices change with the exhibitions, so have a look at cycladic.gr before you go.

💡 The café

The Cycladic Café, in the atrium between the two buildings, keeps the same hours as the museum. It’s quiet and full of light, a good stop before you carry on to the Benaki or the Byzantine Museum. The shop has very nice replicas of the figurines if you’re looking for a present.

🚇 How to get there from Ioulianou 50

One change, at Monastiraki. Allow about 25 minutes door to door.

Ioulianou 50 → Victoria station: 3 minutes on foot.
Line 1 (green), towards Piraeus: two stops, to Monastiraki.
Line 3 (blue), towards Doukissis Plakentias or the Airport: two stops, Syntagma and Evangelismos.
Evangelismos → museum: come out towards Vasilissis Sofias Avenue, walk west to the corner with Irodotou, where the Stathatos Mansion is, and turn right into Neofytou Douka.

Alternatively, from Syntagma you walk 10 minutes east along Vasilissis Sofias, past Parliament and the National Garden.

🚇 Ioulianou 50 → Museum of Cycladic Art by metro

Line 1 to Monastiraki, Line 3 to Evangelismos, and 6 minutes on foot.

Ioulianou 50 · on foot Line 1 Line 3 Museum of Cycladic Art · Neofytou Douka 4

🗺️ From Evangelismos to the Cycladic Museum, and the museums next door

The orange line is the way from the station to the entrance on Neofytou Douka, past the Stathatos Mansion. The purple lines show the two museums right next door: the Benaki to the west and the Byzantine to the east. Tap each number to see what it is.

Evangelismos station Museum of Cycladic Art The museums next door

Where it is in relation to the apartment

📍 From Angels Athens to the “Museum of Cycladic Art”

See at a glance how to get there from the apartment at Ioulianou 50. Drag the map and zoom in for details.

Angels Athens · Ioulianou 50 Museum of Cycladic Art

What to combine it with

The Cycladic Museum sits in the middle of the “museum mile”. Two minutes west is the Benaki Museum, with all of Greek history in one house. Five minutes east is the Byzantine Museum, with a garden for a rest. Behind the museum, the narrow streets of Kolonaki climb towards the square and Lycabettus. For a full museum day on Vasilissis Sofias, with a map and times, see our guide to the Byzantine Museum.

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The neoclassical façade of the Benaki Museum with the entrance columns and flags, among trees — The Benaki Museum
Two minutes west.

Villa Ilissia with its double loggias, a cypress and a fountain in front — The Byzantine Museum
Five minutes east, with a garden.

Photos: Joyofmuseums (CC BY-SA 4.0), Francesco Bini (CC BY-SA 4.0) · Wikimedia Commons

Frequently asked questions

How much time do I need?

One hour for the 1st floor with the Cycladic collection. Two hours for all the floors. Add half an hour if you also want the temporary exhibition.

Is it for children?

Yes. The 4th floor on daily life is designed so that children can follow it too, and the museum is small, so they don’t get tired.

Do the free museum days apply?

No. The Cycladic Museum is private and has its own prices.

When is it least busy?

Weekday mornings. Thursday afternoons, when it stays open until 20:00, are quiet too.

— Kathy