September may well be the best month to visit Athens’ museums. The fine post-summer weather that usually continues through the month is ideal for city outings combined with visits to museums to appreciate or re-appreciate treasures of artistic and historical significance. And when the time comes to relax with some food, coffee or a drink, you won’t need to head elsewhere.
The café-restaurants of Athens’ museums feature stylish open-air spaces, rooftops with captivating views, and lush gardens with serene atmospheres. Enjoy your coffee, drink or a meal at some truly special museum café-restaurants.
Acropolis Museum
The restaurant, on the second floor of the museum, offers a 700 square-metre balcony space with a panoramic view of the Acropolis and other historic hills of Athens. You may enjoy breakfast, a variety of traditional-recipe dishes updated seasonally, as well as coffee or drinks.
15 Dionysiou Areopagitou, Athens
Opening hours: Open during museum hours. Until 24:00 on Fridays and Saturdays.
National Archaeological Museum of Athens
A quiet, densely vegetated clearing with over 700 plant species awaits visitors for a pleasant coffee and snack break, adjacent to statues and mosaics of the museum’s permanent collection. The museum café also hosts work by Greek and foreign artists, as well as music performances incorporated into wider cultural events, including on International Museum Day and August full-moon festivities.
44 Patision, Athens
Opening hours: Mon-Sun 10:00-19:00
Benaki Museum
The dining space at the main building of the Benaki Museum is regarded as one of the capital’s best-kept secrets – so close to the city centre, yet so detached from the noise and anxiety of daily urban life. The space combines modern and classical elements, features an opening with an enormous adjoining veranda, and a wide view of the National Garden and the Acropolis. Visitors may enjoy high-standard gastronomy that remains reasonably priced, accompanied by quality wines, as well as, from the morning hours, a full range of beverages.
1 Koumbari, Athens
Opening hours: Open during museum hours. Until 24:00 on Thursdays.
Numismatic Museum
The café at the garden of the Iliou Melathron mansion housing this museum is a small oasis in the centre of Athens. The garden area, spread over 800 square metres, includes many domestic plant species and is adorned with replicas of ancient Greek statues. Museum visitors as well as individuals in the area may take an enjoyable break here for coffee or a light meal amid a tranquil and refreshing environment. Also, the space is available for staging special events upon arrangement with the canteen’s management and the museum’s PR office.
12 Panepistimiou, Athens
Opening hours: 09:00-24:00
Benaki Museum of Islamic Art
Situated on the top floor of the superb neoclassical building housing the Benaki Museum of Islamic Art, the museum café offers a marvellous view of the Acropolis, Filopappou Hill, the National Observatory of Athens, and the archaeological site of Kerameikos, as well as a clear, long-range view enabling the eye to drift all the way out to the port district Piraeus in the south.
The museum café serves Greek coffee the traditional way, sided by sweet loukoumi, as well as soft drinks and, later in the day, a variety of alcoholic beverages.
22 Asomaton, Athens
Opening hours: Thu-Sun 10:00-18:00
Basil and Elise Goulandris Foundation’s Museum of Contemporary Art
An urban garden lies hidden between the ground level and first floor of the Basil & Elise Goulandris Foundation. The atrium of the B&E Goulandris Café-Restaurant is a refreshing oasis in the heart of the city. Its management and menu of has been taken on by the team at the IT Restaurant (29 Skoufa, Kolonaki), offering an innovative gustatory experience that highlights Greek products with a creative twist. The museum’s café-restaurant essentially serves comfort food prepared with fresh ingredients of high nutritional value.
13 Eratosthenous, Athens
Opening hours: Wed, Thu, Sat, Sun 10:00-18:00, Fri 10:00-20:00, closed Mon-Tue.
The café at the Byzatine Museum. /Photo: byzantinemuseum.gr
Byzantine and Christian Museum
Coffee and sweets, or a light meal, may be enjoyed at the garden of the Byzantine and Christian Museum, hosting the Ilissia cafe-bistro, under the shade of the museum building, the Duchess of Plaisance mansion, or Villa Iissia. Offering a backdrop view of the Mount Hymettus ridge, the café offers relaxation before or after your visit to the museum.
22 Vasilissis Sofias, Athens
Opening hours: Mon-Thu 09:30-19:00, Fri-Sun 09:30-20:00
Goulandris Natural History Museum
Besides Mediterranean food, the Natu restaurant at the garden of the Goulandris Natural History Museum also offers, every Wednesday and Sunday, live music events. The Natu restaurant, respectful of the building’s architecture and museum’s philosophy, constitutes a natural follow-up to the museum experience. Using ingredients of the finest quality, its executive chef Dimitris Skarmoutsos masterfully creates Mediterranean flavoured proposals, offering dishes that await visitors as a strong temptation.
13 Levidou, Kifissia
Opening hours: Mon-Sun 10:00-00:30
Photo: Cycladic.gr
Museum of Cycladic Art
The Cycladic Café’s bright garden with the imposing floating façade-sculpture by Stelios Kois offers rich proposals for breakfast, brunch and lunch, as an unanticipated oasis of culture and gastronomy in the heart of the city. The café’s décor and accessories are frequently changed, inspired by temporary exhibitions occasionally staged at the museum.
4 Neofytou Douka, Athens
Opening hours: Mon, Wed, Fri, Sat 10:00-17:00, Thu 10:00-20:00, Sun 11:00-17:00
