Archaeological hub and museums in central Athens The city is a world centre of
archaeological research. Alongside national academic institutions, such as the
Athens University and the
Archaeological Society, it is home to multiple archaeological museums, taking in the
National Archaeological Museum, the
Cycladic Museum, the
Epigraphic Museum, the
Byzantine & Christian Museum, as well as museums at the ancient Agora,
Acropolis,
Kerameikos, and the
Kerameikos Archaeological Museum. The city is also the setting for the
Demokritos laboratory for
Archaeometry, alongside regional and national archaeological authorities forming part of the
Greek Department of Culture. Athens hosts 17
Foreign Archaeological Institutes which promote and facilitate research by scholars from their home countries. As a result, Athens has more than a dozen archaeological libraries and three specialised archaeological laboratories, and is the venue of several hundred specialised lectures, conferences and seminars, as well as dozens of archaeological exhibitions each year. At any given time, hundreds of international scholars and researchers in all disciplines of archaeology are to be found in the city. Athens's most important museums include: • the
National Archaeological Museum, the largest archaeological museum in the country, and one of the most important internationally, as it contains a vast collection of antiquities. Its artefacts cover a period of more than 5,000 years, from late
Neolithic Age to
Roman Greece; • the
Benaki Museum with its several branches for each of its collections including ancient, Byzantine, Ottoman-era, Chinese art and beyond; • the
Byzantine and Christian Museum, one of the most important museums of
Byzantine art; • the
National Art Gallery, the nation's eponymous leading gallery, which reopened in 2021 after renovation; • the
National Museum of Contemporary Art, which opened in 2000 in a former brewery building; • the
Goulandris Museum of Contemporary Art, which displays many of the modern art works amassed by shipowner
Basil Goulandris and his wife
Elise Karadontis • the
Numismatic Museum, housing a major collection of ancient and modern coins; • the
Goulandris Museum of Cycladic Art, home to an extensive collection of
Cycladic art, including its famous figurines of white marble; • the
New Acropolis Museum, opened in 2009, and replacing the old museum on the Acropolis. The new museum has proved considerably popular; almost one million people visited during the summer period June–October 2009 alone. A number of smaller and privately owned museums focused on Greek culture and arts are also to be found. • the
Kerameikos Archaeological Museum, a museum which displays artefacts from the burial site of Kerameikos. Much of the pottery and other artefacts relate to Athenian attitudes towards death and the afterlife, throughout many ages. • the
Jewish Museum of Greece, a museum which describes the history and culture of
the Greek Jewish community.
Architecture (Athens Metropolis) Athens incorporates
architectural styles ranging from
Greco-Roman and
Neoclassical to Modern. They are often to be found in the same areas, as Athens is not marked by a uniformity of architectural style. A visitor will quickly notice the absence of tall buildings: Athens has very strict
height restriction laws in order to ensure the Acropolis Hill is visible throughout the city. Despite the variety in styles, there is evidence of continuity in elements of the architectural environment throughout the city's history. For the greatest part of the 19th century Neoclassicism dominated Athens, as well as some deviations from it such as
Eclecticism, especially in the early 20th century. Thus, the
Old Royal Palace was the first important public building to be built, between 1836 and 1843. Later in the mid and late 19th century,
Theophil Freiherr von Hansen and
Ernst Ziller took part in the construction of many neoclassical buildings such as the
Athens Academy and the
Zappeion Hall. Ziller also designed many private mansions in the centre of Athens which gradually became public, usually through donations, such as
Schliemann's
Iliou Melathron. Beginning in the 1920s,
modern architecture including
Bauhaus and
Art Deco began to exert an influence on almost all Greek architects, and buildings both public and private were constructed in accordance with these styles. Localities with a great number of such buildings include
Kolonaki, and some areas of the centre of the city; neighbourhoods developed in this period include
Kypseli. In the 1950s and 1960s during the extension and development of Athens, other modern movements such as the
International style played an important role. The centre of Athens was largely rebuilt, leading to the demolition of a number of neoclassical buildings. The architects of this era employed materials such as glass, marble and aluminium, and many blended modern and classical elements. After World War II, internationally known architects to have designed and built in the city included
Walter Gropius, with his design for the US Embassy, and, among others,
Eero Saarinen, in his postwar design for the east terminal of the
Ellinikon Airport.
Urban sculpture is now home to the National History Museum. View from
Stadiou Street. Across the city numerous statues or busts are to be found. Apart from the neoclassicals by
Leonidas Drosis at the Academy of Athens (Plato, Socrates, Apollo and Athena), others in notable categories include the statue of
Theseus by
Georgios Fytalis at Thiseion; depictions of philhellenes such as
Lord Byron,
George Canning, and
William Gladstone; the equestrian statue of
Theodoros Kolokotronis by
Lazaros Sochos in front of the Old Parliament; statues of
Ioannis Kapodistrias,
Rigas Feraios and
Adamantios Korais at the university; of
Evangelos Zappas and
Konstantinos Zappas at the Zappeion;
Ioannis Varvakis at the National Garden; the" Woodbreaker" by
Dimitrios Filippotis; the equestrian statue of
Alexandros Papagos in the Papagou district; and various busts of fighters of Greek independence at the
Pedion tou Areos. A significant landmark is also the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Syntagma.
Entertainment and performing arts Athens is home to 148 theatrical stages, more than any other city in the world, including the ancient
Odeon of Herodes Atticus, home to the
Athens Festival, which runs from May to October each year. In addition to a large number of multiplexes, Athens plays host to open air garden cinemas. The city also supports music venues, including the
Athens Concert Hall (
Megaro Moussikis), which attracts world class artists. The Athens
Planetarium, located in
Andrea Syngrou Avenue, in
Palaio Faliro is one of the largest and best equipped digital planetaria in the world. The
Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Center, inaugurated in 2016, will house the
National Library of Greece and the
Greek National Opera. In 2018 Athens was designated as the
World Book Capital by
UNESCO. Restaurants, tavernas and bars can be found in the entertainment hubs in
Plaka and the
Trigono areas of the historic centre, the inner suburbs of
Gazi and
Psyrri are especially busy with nightclubs and bars, while
Kolonaki,
Exarchia,
Kypseli,
Metaxourgeio,
Koukaki and
Pangrati offer more of a cafe and restaurant scene. The coastal suburbs of
Microlimano,
Alimos and
Glyfada include many tavernas, beach bars and busy summer clubs. , home of the
Greek National Opera and the new
National Library The most successful songs during the period 1870–1930 were the Athenian serenades (Αθηναϊκές καντάδες), based on the
Heptanesean
kantádhes (καντάδες '
serenades'; sing.: καντάδα) and the songs performed on stage (επιθεωρησιακά τραγούδια 'theatrical revue songs') in
revues,
musical comedies,
operettas and
nocturnes that were dominating Athens's theatre scene. In 1922, following the
Greek-Turkish war,
Greek genocide and later
population exchange suffered by the Greek population of Asia Minor, many ethnic Greeks fled to Athens. They settled in poor neighbourhoods and brought with them
Rebetiko music, making it also popular in Greece, and which later became the base for the
Laïko music. Other forms of song popular today in Greece are elafrolaika, entechno, dimotika, and skyladika. Greece's most notable, and internationally famous, composers of Greek song, mainly of the entechno form, are
Manos Hadjidakis and
Mikis Theodorakis. Both composers have achieved fame abroad for their composition of film scores. Her professional opera career started in 1940 in Athens, with the
Greek National Opera. In 2018, the city's municipal Olympia Theatre was renamed the "
Olympia City Music Theatre 'Maria Callas'" and in 2023, the Municipality inaugurated the
Maria Callas Museum, housing it in a
neoclassical building on 44 Mitropoleos street.
Sports ), dating back to the 4th century BC, hosted the
first modern Olympic Games in 1896. vs
Sparta Prague in the
Athens Olympic Stadium, 2008 Athens has a long tradition in sports and sporting events, serving as home to the most important clubs in
Greek sport and housing a large number of sports facilities. The city has also been host to sports events of international importance. Athens has hosted the
Summer Olympic Games twice, in
1896 and
2004. The 2004 Summer Olympics required the development of the
Athens Olympic Stadium, which has since gained a reputation as one of the most beautiful stadiums in the world, and one of its most interesting modern monuments. The biggest stadium in the country, it hosted two finals of the
UEFA Champions League, in
1994 and
2007. Other major stadiums are the
Karaiskakis Stadium located in the nearby city of
Piraeus, a sports and entertainment complex, host of the
1971 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup Final, and
Agia Sophia Stadium located in
Nea Filadelfeia, host of the
2024 UEFA Europa Conference League final. The
EuroLeague final has been hosted twice in 1985 and in
1993 at the
Peace and Friendship Stadium, most known as SEF, a large indoor arena, and the third time in
2007 at the
Olympic Indoor Hall. Events in other sports such as
athletics, volleyball,
water polo etc., have been hosted in the capital's venues. Greater Athens is home to three widely supported and successful multi-sport clubs,
Panathinaikos, originated in the city of Athens,
Olympiacos, originated in the port city of
Piraeus and
AEK, originated in the suburban town of
Nea Filadelfeia. In
football,
Olympiacos is the dominant force at the national level and the only Greek club to have won a European competition, the
2023–24 UEFA Europa Conference League,
Panathinaikos made it to the
1971 European Cup Final, while
AEK Athens is the other member of the
big three. These clubs also have successful
basketball teams;
Panathinaikos and
Olympiacos are considered among the top powers in Europe, having won the
EuroLeague seven and three times respectively, whilst
AEK Athens was the first Greek team to win a European trophy in any team sport. Other notable clubs within the region are
Athinaikos,
Panionios,
Atromitos,
Apollon Smyrnis,
Panellinios,
Egaleo,
Ethinkos Piraeus,
Maroussi BC and
Peristeri B.C. Athenian clubs have also had domestic and international success in other sports. The Athens area encompasses a variety of
terrain, notably hills and mountains rising around the city, and the capital is the only major city in Europe to be bisected by a
mountain range. Four mountain ranges extend into city boundaries and thousands of kilometres of trails criss-cross the city and neighbouring areas, providing exercise and wilderness access
on foot and
on bicycle. Beyond Athens and across the prefecture of Attica, outdoor activities include
skiing,
rock climbing,
hang gliding and windsurfing. Numerous outdoor clubs serve these sports, including the Athens Chapter of the
Sierra Club, which leads over 4,000 outings annually in the area. Athens was awarded the 2004 Summer Olympics on 5 September 1997 in
Lausanne, Switzerland, after having lost a previous bid to host the
1996 Summer Olympics, to
Atlanta, United States. The games welcomed over 10,000 athletes from 202 countries. ==Politics==