Walking along Vassilissis Sofias Avenue (pt.1)

Previous posts presenting Athens streets have proven to be quite popular, so here is a short (photo-) essay in three parts, presenting one of the central avenues of Athens. Vassilissis Sofias (Queen Sophia’s) Avenue, is one of the largest and oldest avenues of the capital of Greece and probably the most beautiful one. Travel guides often refer to it as “Museum Lane” due to the high concentration of museums nearby. There are four museums along it (Theocharakis, Benaki, Byzantine & Christian, War) and another two on adjacent streets half a block away (Cycladic Art and National Gallery). As a mostly wide-paved, tree-lined boulevard, it is much more pleasant to walk than the average Athens street. Here are some of the main spots of interest, starting from Syntagma Square, with the Grande Bretagne Hotel on your back and walking upwards.

The start of Vassilissis Sofias Avenue, Athens, Greece - The Greek Parliament to the right, Ministry of Foreign Affairs to the left and Hymittos Mountain in the far background. The Grande Bretagne hotel is behind me.

On your right hand side there’s the city’s largest block, with the building of the Greek Parliament (initially built as a Royal Palace in 1843) standing prominent over the city center.

Flower-shops right next to the Parliament building, Athens, Greece; they have been in operation in this same location since around 1930.

 

The side-entrance of the Greek Parliament, on Vassilissis Sofias Avenue.

Tourist bus in front of the National Garden

Right after the Parliament, in the same block, is the National Garden. It’s the most interesting urban park in Athens and you’ll come to appreciate its shade and calmness if you walk around this area in the summer. One of its entrances is on Vassilissis Sofias, right across Sekeri St.. Continuing on the right, at the corner with Rigillis St. you’ll see the Sarogleio Mansion, built in 1932 to house the Greek Armed Forces Officers’ Club. Soon after, you’ll come across the Byzantine & Christian Museum and the War Museum before reaching Evangelismos Metro Station (Metro Line 3). 

The Sarogleio Mansion - Greek Armed Forces' Officers Club

Byzantine & Christian Museum, Athens, Greece

The War Museum, with old military aircraft in the front-yard, Athens, Greece

Going back to the beginning, on the left hand side of the avenue this time, Vasilissis Sofias starts with various buildings of the Greek Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in various architectural styles, and a large mansion housing the Embassy of Egypt, the first in a long string of foreign embassies all along, or near, Vassilissis Sofias. At the corner with Merlin St. sits the Theocharakis Museum of Visual Arts while two roads later you have the main building of the Benaki Museum (at the intersection with Koumbari St.) and the Cycladic Art Museum at 4 Neofytou Douka St. These are all part of the -still partly upscale- Kolonaki neighborhood.

 

The Embassy of Egypt is the first one in a long series of embassies along and near the avenue

One of the entrances of the Cycladic Art Museum

You'll also see various old mansions or upper-class apartment buildings which are for the most part well maintained. Most of them are occupied by foreign embassies, law offices, doctor’s offices, maritime companies and the like.

A sculpture adorning a front-yard, at the posh Kolonaki area, along Vasilissis Sofias Avenue, Athens, Greece

The only eye-shore in this otherwise pleasant route is the building housing, among others, the Embassy of the fellow-bankrupt Republic of Argentina, right after Evangelismos Metro Station.

The building housing the Embassy of Argentina (and some other offices)

Athens Metro sign, marking Evangelismos Metro Station, Athens, Greece - less than half-way along Vasilissis Sofias Ave.

But, let's make a pause at Evangelismos Metro Station and come back in December for part 2 of my photographic walk along Vassilissis Sofias Avenue.

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My impressions from the Museum of Cycladic Art

I recently visited the Museum of Cycladic Art, at 4 Neofytou Douka St. and 27 Vasilissis Sophias Ave. The Goulandris shipowner family, well-known for their support to Greece's heritage (different strands of the family are also behind the Museum of Natural History in the Athenian suburb of Kifissia and the Museum of Contemporary Art in the island of Andros) is behind this central Athens museum. Initially established to house the archaeological collection of Nicholas and Dolly Goulandris it has grown to be quite a gem in Athens' list of museums.

Corner of Vasilissis Sofias Ave. and Neofytou Douka St.

Entrance of the Museum of Cycladic Art, at 4 Neofytou Douka St., Athens, Greece 

Temporary exhibitions are hosted in a long hall to your right ("the new wing") as you enter the Ground Floor. The current one (running till April 10, 2013) is called "Princesses of the Mediterranean in the dawn of history" and showcases findings (golden artifacts like ornaments) found in ancient tombs, belonging to women who posessed power and/or wealth. It includes exhibits from what is currently Greece, Italy (including from the Vatican Museum) and Cyprus. Photography in the temporary exhibitions is not permitted but you can take a good look at it through the museum's official website. The Ground Floor also hosts the museum shop, a cafe inside an atrium and takes you, through a ramp, to the annexed Stathatos Mansion  which also hosts temporary, special events.

My 5-minute sum-up of the permanent collections has as follows:

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Cycladic figurine

Floor No.1 [notice I'm not saying "first floor" so as to not confuse my US readers!] holds the collection that gives the museum its name: Marble figurines and other artifacts from the Aegean island group named the Cyclades from the early Bronze Age (that's about 3200 to 2000 BC)! The name Cyclades comes from the rather cyclical shape this island group seems to form when seen from the sky (which is a good starting point for crafting theories on aliens inhabiting earth and the like, but that's another story...!). I'd be a phoney if I pretended to make expert judgements (read here) but the way the collection is set up (just like the rest of the museum) is a real feast for the eyes and you get a strangely cosy feeling walking around these marble figurines which are 4 to 5 thousand years older than you.

Floor No.2 continues chronologically from floor no.1 but expands geographically to include a much larger part of Greece. Besides the exhibits themselves I was intrigued by a short and most informing presentation on the Linear A and Linear B scripts (ancient forms of writing) in one of the several touch-screen presentations (if only the touch-screen was a bit more responsive...). If you devot enough time here you can see exhibits and read about various aspects of life in ancient Greece (athletics, death, music, the status of women) and how they passed into art.

Stone-made ship anchor, from the early to mid-bronze age 

Animal shaped figurines and more, at the 2nd floor of the Museum of Cycladic Art 

Screen explaining the basics of the Linear B script - Museum of Cycladic Art, Athens 

Floor No.3 holds the permanant Cypriot Collection. It is the most visually stunning display of ancient artifacts I've seen in Greek museums as the exhibits are held by -almost invisible- metal tongs, mid-air against a bright blue background. Again, there's a whole number of screens for those who want to delve deeper into the subjects presented (coins from Cyprus). An interesting piece of trivia I learnt while here: The English word "copper" derives from ancient Cyprus (due to its vast copper reserves); "Cuprium aes" (‘metal of Cyprus’) was the name given to "copper" back in those days.

Glass bowls / vases from the Cypriot collection - Museum of Cycladic Art, Athens, Greece 

Cypriot collection - Museum of Cycladic Art, Athens, Greece

Money and copper in ancient times - Museum of Cycladic Art, Athens, Greece 

Floor No.4 is the most interesting one if you have children with you. It follows the life of an ancient Greek boy as it goes through several stages in life. A timeline in the form of a long comic strip is drawn here -at a height suitable for a small child to gaze- while the wall's background has photographs from the life of this imaginary ancient young man. A video is also presented towards the end of the hall. I would suggest that if you come to Athens with very young children the Goulandris museum, and its 4th floor, should certainly be part of your vacation. It might even entice your young ones to be less restive while you visit other archaeological sites and museums.

The life of an ancient Greek boy, portrayed in the 4th floor of the Museum of Cycladic Art, Athens, Greece 

The life of an ancient Greek boy, portrayed in the 4th floor of the Museum of Cycladic Art, Athens, Greece 

The Stathatos Mansion, at 31 Vasilissis Sophias Ave, pictured above, has become part of the Museum of Cycladic Art (connected via a ramp/corridor).

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