A new year has just started and, the last post notwithstanding, I decided to provide some fresh content to the blog. Since people looking for freebies (you know who you are!) are constantly on the lookout, I thought I'd make their (your) life a bit easier, by bringing this information forward in a separate post. I think students and generally people on a tight budget will find it especially helpful. To be clear, major museums and sites rarely offer free days (read about them below) and these are just suggestions to fill in your time in a meaningful / alternative way without spending money. You may build your cheap vacation to Athens around this post, by visiting museums and other nearby attractions on the day they offer free access. Besides free admissions, there are more "concessions" (lower prices) for various specialized categories of people (young children, senior citizens, holders of membership cards, etc.), which are listed in each museum website in detail. So, here's my free list of freebies:
Free days in Athens museums:
Mondays: Spiral Ramp (exterior) of the Hellenic Motor Museum,
Tuesdays: Yannis Pappas Studio, Mentis Textile Workshop, Maritime Tradition Park (except for Georgios Averof Battleship), Spiral Ramp (exterior) of the Hellenic Motor Museum, Municipal Gallery of the City of Athens (Dimotiki Pinakothiki),
Wednesdays: Mentis Textile Workshop, Maritime Tradition Park (except for Georgios Averof Battleship), Spiral Ramp (exterior) of the Hellenic Motor Museum, Municipal Gallery of the City of Athens (Dimotiki Pinakothiki),
Thursdays: Benaki Museum (Central Building, Pireos St. Annexe, Benaki Museum of Islamic Art, Nikos Hadjikyriakos-Ghika Gallery, Mentis Textile Workshop), Maritime Tradition Park (except for Georgios Averof Battleship), Spiral Ramp (exterior) of the Hellenic Motor Museum, Municipal Gallery of the City of Athens (Dimotiki Pinakothiki),
Fridays: Yannis Pappas Studio, Mentis Textile Workshop, Maritime Tradition Park (except for Georgios Averof Battleship), Spiral Ramp (exterior) of the Hellenic Motor Museum, Municipal Gallery of the City of Athens (Dimotiki Pinakothiki),
Saturdays: Mentis Textile Workshop, Maritime Tradition Park (except for Georgios Averof Battleship), Spiral Ramp (exterior) of the Hellenic Motor Museum, Municipal Gallery of the City of Athens (Dimotiki Pinakothiki),
Sundays: Yannis Pappas Studio, Maritime Tradition Park (except for Georgios Averof Battleship), Spiral Ramp (exterior) of the Hellenic Motor Museum and free screenings in the amphitheatre for museum ticket holders, Municipal Gallery of the City of Athens (Dimotiki Pinakothiki), National Historical Museum
-On the first Sunday of the month from November to March (included) there is free entrance to the National Archaeological Museum. The National Archaeological Museum also offers free entrance on March 6, April 18, May 18, June 5, last weekend of September and 28 October.
-Also, don't forget that you have free access to the upper side of Metro Stations, some of which host interesting archaeological exhibits (Syntagma, Panepistimio, Acropolis, Monastiraki stations) and that you can find some "minor" archaeological sites with open access, scattered around Athens.
Major archaeological sites offer free entrance on the following days:
Acropolis of Athens (including North and South slope of the Acropolis), Ancient Agora museum and site, Kerameikos Museum and site, Hadrian's Library, Olympieio (a.k.a. Temple of Olympian Zeus), Roman Agora of Athens: March 6, April 18, May 18, June 5, September 27 and the last weekend of September.
If you are interested in a specific museum read below for the main groups of people given free admission to each museum and see the "Athens Museums" tab for more information on each one.
Main groups of people given free admission to museums:
Acropolis Museum:
All persons under 18 years old from EU countries (with ID)
Children under 5 years old from non-EU countries
All visitors with disabilities and 1 person accompanying them.
Byzantine & Christian Museum:
All persons under 18 years old.
Cycladic Art Museum:
All persons under 18 years old.
All visitors with disabilities and 1 person accompanying them.
Goulandris Natural History Museum
Visitors with disabilities
All children up to 5 years old.
Herakleidon Museum
Children up to 12 years old
Maritime Tradition Park (Faliro), except for Georgios Averof Battleship
All children under 6.
All persons over 65.
Municipal Gallery of Athens
Everybody (free entrance)
National Archaeological Museum
Visitors under 18 years old (by showing their I.D. or Passport)
Students from E.U. countries (by showing their University Card)
Escorts of blind people and escorts of persons with mobility difficulties
National Epigraphical Museum
Visitors under 18 years old (by showing their I.D. or Passport)
Students from E.U. countries (by showing their University Card)
Escorts of persons with mobility difficulties
Numismatic Museum of Athens
Persons under 19
Students with (college) ID
Finally, let me draw your attention to two interesting ticket packages that provide very good value for money:
A) The special ticket package (12 Euros / reduced price 6 Euros) which gives you access to the National Archaeological Museum, Byzantine & Christian Museum, Numismatic Museum and Epigraphic Museum
B) The special ticket package for major archaeological sites, meaning: Acropolis of Athens, North slope of the Acropolis, South Slope of the Acropolis incl. Ancient Theater of Dionysus, Ancient Agora of Athens, Museum of the Ancient Agora, Hadrian's Library, Archaeological Museum of Kerameikos, Kerameikos site, Olympieio (a.k.a. Temple of Olympian Zeus) and the Roman Agora of Athens (Full price 12 Euros / reduced rate: 6 Euros).
Both packages can be purchased on site, at the box office of participating sites or museums.
Beyond museums, there's a ton of activities you may do for free (or almost free) such as visiting local parks and hills, taking a long walk across the coastal promenade, taking the Metro (esp. Line 1) from one end of the line to the other, for a complete cross-section of Athens's urban fabric or simply... walking around! Check out the labels in the right hand column for various ideas.
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