The Museum of Cycladic Art, on Neofytou Douka Street in Athens’ Kolonaki district, holds one of the world’s most complete collections of Early Bronze Age Cycladic art. Visitors come for the marble figurines, whose folded arms and stylized faces later influenced modernists such as Picasso and Modigliani.
Nicholas and Dolly Goulandris founded the museum in 1986 to house their private collection. The first floor displays the Cycladic figurines alongside marble and clay vessels and bronze tools. The upper floors cover Ancient Greek art, Cypriot antiquities and “Scenes from Daily Life in Antiquity,” which suits younger visitors. A glass corridor links the main building to the neoclassical Stathatos Mansion, designed by Ernst Ziller in 1895, where the museum stages its temporary exhibitions. The Cycladic Café and Cycladic Shop are both on site.
Visitor Highlights & Practical Info
The museum opens Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday from 10:00 to 17:00, Thursday from 10:00 to 20:00, and Sunday from 11:00 to 17:00. It is closed on Tuesday (Museum of Cycladic Art). For quieter galleries, arrive at opening or come on Thursday evening, when the late hours spread out the crowds. Allow about two hours for the full visit. Evangelismos metro station (Line 3) is roughly a five-minute walk away. You can pair the visit with the nearby Benaki Museum, the Byzantine and Christian Museum, or a walk through the National Garden. Check the museum’s website for current ticket prices and exhibitions before you go.
