Paul and Alexandra Canellopoulos Museum
The Canellopoulos Museum in Plaka houses a collection of six thousand years of Greek art, from antiquity to the post-Byzantine period; it is temporarily closed for renovation work.
Have only individual sections read aloud
About the museum
The museum was founded by Paul and Alexandra Canellopoulos, who in 1972 donated around 6,500 antiquities and works of art to the Greek state. The collection began with Byzantine icons acquired by Paul Canellopoulos as a student in Munich and was expanded to include antiquities, in order to show the continuity of Greek art.
The museum has been operating since July 1976 in the neoclassical Megaro Michalea in Plaka, at the junction of Theorias, Panos and Aretousis streets, on the northern slope of the Acropolis. The building was expropriated in 1963 and converted into a museum to designs by the architect Pavlos Michalea. In 2007 the New Building was added, designed by Pavlos Kalligas, which doubled the exhibition space, with a donation from Alexandra Canellopoulos and the Paul and Alexandra Canellopoulos Foundation.
The collection is divided into Ancient and Byzantine Art and covers six millennia, from a prehistoric figurine of 5000–4400 BC to works of the 18th and 19th centuries. Since 2019 the museum has operated as a legal entity governed by public law. Since February 2025 it has remained closed for renovation work.
Highlights
- Collection of six thousand years of Greek art
- Ancient and Byzantine Art
- Neoclassical Megaro Michalea in Plaka
- New Building by Pavlos Kalligas (2007)
- Section of the Rizokastro on the ground floor
Permanent exhibition
- Η συλλογή Παύλου και Αλεξάνδρας Κανελλοπούλου – About 6,500 antiquities and works of art in two sections, Ancient and Byzantine Art, across 15 exhibition spaces in the Megaro Michalea and the New Building.
- Founded
- 1976
- Operated by
- Μουσείο Παύλου και Αλεξάνδρας Κανελλοπούλου (ΝΠΔΔ)
Admission & discounts
| Reduced | –Residents from outside the EU up to 18 years of age, students from countries outside the EU, and residents of the EU and EEA over 65 years of age; from 1 November to 31 March the reduced rate applies to all visitors |
|---|---|
| Children & teens | freefree up to age 18 · Free admission for residents of the EU up to 18 years of age and for residents from outside the EU up to 5 years of age. |
| Seniors | –Residents of the EU and EEA over 65 years of age pay the reduced ticket. |
| Visitors with disabilities | freecompanion free · Free admission for people with disabilities and, if the disability exceeds 80%, for a companion. |
| Students & apprentices | freeFree admission for students of higher education institutions from EU countries. |
Free admission is also available to members of ICOM and ICOMOS, holders of the unemployment card and other categories specified by the Ministry of Culture.
Accessibility
The museum hasn’t published any information on this.
Kids & families
The museum hasn’t published any information on this.
Getting there & parking
The museum is in Plaka, at the junction of Theorias, Panos and Aretousis streets, on the northern slope of the Acropolis.
Get directionsAmenities & dining
The museum hasn’t published any information on this.
Events & venue rental
The museum hasn’t published any information on this.
