Athens

=== Archaeological hub and museums ===
{{Further|List of museums in Greece}}
[[File:Archäologisches Nationalmuseum Athen.jpg|thumb|The [[National Archaeological Museum, Athens|National Archaeological Museum]] in central Athens]]
[[File:The_Acropolis_Museum_as_seen_from_the_top_of_the_Acropolis_hill.jpg|thumb|The [[Acropolis Museum]]]]
[[File:The_Stoa_of_Attalus_on_February_26,_2022.jpg|thumb|[[Museum of the Ancient Agora]] in the [[Stoa of Attalos]]]]

The city is a world centre of [[archaeology|archaeological research]]. Alongside national academic institutions, such as the [[National and Kapodistrian University of Athens|Athens University]] and the [[Archaeological Society of Athens|Archaeological Society]], it is home to multiple archaeological museums, taking in the [[National Archaeological Museum, Athens|National Archaeological Museum]], the [[Goulandris Museum of Cycladic Art|Cycladic Museum]], the [[Epigraphy|Epigraphic]] Museum, the [[Byzantine & Christian Museum]], as well as museums at the ancient Agora, [[Acropolis Museum|Acropolis]], [[Kerameikos]], and the [[Kerameikos Archaeological Museum]]. The city is also the setting for the [[Democritus|Demokritos]] laboratory for [[Archaeological science|Archaeometry]], alongside regional and national archaeological authorities forming part of the [[Minister for Culture (Greece)|Greek Department of Culture]].

Athens hosts 17 [[List of Foreign Archaeological Institutes in Greece|Foreign Archaeological Institutes]] which promote and facilitate research by scholars from their home countries. As a result, Athens has more than a dozen archaeological libraries and three specialized archaeological laboratories, and is the venue of several hundred specialized lectures, conferences and seminars, as well as dozens of archaeological exhibitions each year. At any given time, hundreds of international scholars and researchers in all disciplines of archaeology are to be found in the city.

Athens' most important museums include:
* the [[National Archaeological Museum, Athens|National Archaeological Museum]], the largest archaeological museum in the country, and one of the most important internationally, as it contains a vast collection of antiquities. Its artefacts cover a period of more than 5,000 years, from late [[Neolithic]] Age to [[Roman Greece]];
* the [[Benaki Museum]] with its several branches for each of its collections including ancient, Byzantine, Ottoman-era, Chinese art and beyond;
* the [[Byzantine & Christian Museum|Byzantine and Christian Museum]], one of the most important museums of [[Byzantine art]];
* the [[National Gallery (Athens)|National Art Gallery]], the nation's eponymous leading gallery, which reopened in 2021 after renovation;
* the [[Athens National Museum of Contemporary Art|National Museum of Contemporary Art]], which opened in 2000 in a former brewery building;
* the [[Numismatic Museum of Athens|Numismatic Museum]], housing a major collection of ancient and modern coins;
* the [[Goulandris Museum of Cycladic Art|Museum of Cycladic Art]], home to an extensive collection of [[Cycladic art]], including its famous figurines of white marble;
* the [[Acropolis Museum|New Acropolis Museum]], opened in 2009, and replacing the old museum on the Acropolis. The new museum has proved considerably popular; almost one million people visited during the summer period June–October 2009 alone. A number of smaller and privately owned museums focused on Greek culture and arts are also to be found.
* the [[Kerameikos Archaeological Museum]], a museum which displays artifacts from the burial site of Kerameikos. Much of the pottery and other artifacts relate to Athenian attitudes towards death and the afterlife, throughout many ages.
* the [[Jewish Museum of Greece]], a museum which describes the history and culture of [[History of the Jews in Greece|the Greek Jewish community]].