Galery

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Benaki Museum – the central building

This is the best veranda in Athens with views over the National Park. You can see the old and picturesque Kolonaki district at lunch in the restaurant of the Benaki Museum. Despite its age, it is full of life. You can start your day with coffee, juice and a croissant as well as cake in the morning at 9 o’clock. At noon, you can enjoy the smallest stuffed vine leaves from the Island of Kassos, beef with mashed eggplant, artichokes, zucchini stuffed with minced meat, shrimps "Mikrolimano" as well as tabbouleh and "Caesar" salad. Be sure to try the almond paste with whole almonds and caramel sauce. The restaurant of the museum is open all year round from dawn until late at night, except on Monday and Tuesday. The menu changes every week.

Information and opening hours at www.benaki.gr

The Museum of Cycladic Art

It resembles the restaurants of European museums. The average age of visitors is 40 and they order mainly salads. "Trendy" is the word which best characterizes the visitors. The ground floor of the Museum of Cycladic Art, with its lighted lamps and a fountain cooling the room, offers small but selected dishes. The menu always offers a few Greek dishes (such as peas with octopus), light salads and fresh fish. A representative dish of the elegant museum includes the salad with quinoa and salmon or chicken, chopped fresh fried potatoes and lime sorbet to finish your lunch. This cool Zen restaurant is visited regardless of the museum. On Sundays, there are many activities for children.

Information and opening hours at www.cycladic.gr

Benaki: the building on Piraeus Street

This will not be just a walk for you. If you sit in the cafeteria, then you have visited one of the exhibitions. Often, there are young people with laptops working in the courtyard. The courtyard has an almost industrial space and is not very welcoming, unlike the interior. The café inside has large windows facing the street and offers wonderful daily meals such as stuffed vine leaves from Kassos, sea bass fillet with zucchini and minced meat). You can enjoy coffee, cake and pastries for morning visits from 10 a.m., as well as club sandwiches, burgers, quiche Lorraine and Greek salad for lunch at noon. If you have work to do on your computer, the café is ideal for the purpose...

Information and opening hours at www.benaki.gr

The Acropolis Museum

You can literally touch the Acropolis with your hands! This is the best place in Athens, in the heart of history. Everybody wants to have their coffee there or meet friends - tourists, young and old – everybody goes there. You need to be patient, since there are a lot of people. From a gastronomic point of view this is culture. The Greek breakfast at 8:00 a.m. includes many kinds of Greek herbal, and saffron, teas and Greek products are predominant in the entire menu. Try the Graviera cheese omelette from Crete, French toast with cinnamon, biscuits with olives, poached eggs with Greek prosciutto, yogurt with thyme honey, Thessaloniki pretzel, traditional baklava from Ioannina and various drinks. Both lunch and dinner are in Greek style - shrimps from Alexandroupolis with ouzo, pasta with saffron, veal scaloppini with fresh oregano and sautéed vegetables... It is also worth just sitting with a glass of wine on the terrace of the museum on Friday night until midnight, watching the Acropolis and Lycabettus Hill on the horizon. It is no accident that the Toronto Star newspaper ranked the restaurant of the Acropolis Museum among the top 5 restaurants in the world.

Information and opening hours at www.theacropolismuseum.gr

The National Archaeological Museum

Nobody goes to the museum just for a coffee. The café on the ground floor of the National Archaeological Museum, is situated in a magnificent garden with rosemary, roses, and Lemon Beebrush. It is wonderful to have a coffee or take a break next to the statues from the maritime disaster in Antikithyra. You can enjoy coffee, ice lollies, sandwiches, chips and yogurt at the cafeteria of the museum. Who cares about food near such great discoveries? In this museum – nobody...

Information and opening hours at namuseum.gr

The Numismatic Museum

Today, the Old Supreme Court is the Numismatic Museum. This is a garden in the heart of the city, which is an ideal stop for passers-by. Perhaps this is the only restaurant of a museum which has more visitors than the museum itself. However, it is worth visiting the museum. Try the restaurant’s ice coffee or hot chocolate, ice cream, orange juice, cheese, sausages, beer, wine or brandy. It is also worth trying its sardine fillets, stuffed olives and Graviera.

Information and opening hours at www.nma.gr

Byzantine and Christian Museum