Benaki Museum — Attraction in Athens

I visited the Benaki Museum and my experience started off well. At the entrance, a very kind gentleman welcomed me, which gave me a positive first impression. However, when buying my ticket, the lady at the counter was extremely suspicious of my student card, even though there are official discounts for students. After an uncomfortable back-and-forth and showing my card several times, she finally accepted it.

The collection itself is beautiful, and on the ground floor everything went smoothly. On the first floor, a very kind lady even used her phone flashlight to help highlight information about the collection and she was truly wonderful, and I felt at ease there.

Unfortunately, my experience changed on the top floor. An older guard approached me with great pomp, demanding to know if I had purchased a ticket. I found this insulting, as I clearly had one. When I asked if this was normal procedure, he said yes. Later, I asked other visitors if they had been checked, and all of them said no. This left me feeling singled out and uncomfortable, and I rushed through the rest of my visit.

As I calmly walked downstairs, a guard suddenly started shouting very loudly inside the museum. It wasn’t directed at me, but it happened right next to me, which startled me and added to the unpleasant atmosphere.

At the end of my visit, I asked the same kind gentleman from the entrance if it was normal for guards to check tickets so aggressively. He admitted that there are issues with people sneaking in without paying, but he also acknowledged that I had a valid ticket. He apologized politely, but by then my experience had already been overshadowed.

I must say, while the collection is worth seeing, these unpleasant encounters made it very hard for me to truly enjoy and appreciate the museum. I love visiting museums, and I always pay for my ticket, but moments like these have a big impact on visitors. Without visitors, it’s difficult to sustain such institutions and I really hope the staff take this into account.

I think nothing beats an experience and I consider a good and relaxed feeling when experiencing a collection to be the most enjoyable for a deserved and good review, which is why I gave it one star in recognition of the...

The Benaki Museum, established and endowed in 1930 by Antonis Benakis in memory of his father Emmanuel Benakis, is housed in the Benakis family mansion in downtown Athens, Greece. The museum houses Greek works of art from the prehistorical to the modern times, an extensive collection of Asian art, hosts periodic exhibitions and maintains a state-of-the-art restoration and conservation workshop. Although the museum initially housed a collection that included Islamic art, Chinese porcelain and exhibits on toys, its 2000 re-opening led to the creation of satellite museums that focused on specific collections, allowing the main museum to focus on Greek culture over the span of the country's history. The museum's primary home is in the Benakis' house opposite the National Garden on Queen Sofias Avenue and owes its existence to the generosity of Antonis Benakis, whose family lived in Alexandria, Egypt. In 1931, the Benakis donated the family's house in Athens and their collection of more than 37,000 Islamic and Byzantine objects. More than 9,000 artifacts were added by the 1970s, which spurred donations from other sources. Benakis remained active in the museum until his death in 1954. Over the years the museum has been further endowed by various donors, and it now includes the seaside Kouloura Mansion in Palaio Phaliro, which houses the Toy Museum, the Benaki Museum of Islamic Art in the Kerameikos district, the Nikos Hadjikyriakos-Ghikas Gallery in downtown Athens, the Benaki Museum Pireos street Annex (138 Pireos street) and the Penelope Delta House in Kifissia, which houses the Historical...

This is a comprehensive and well curated museum. We especially enjoyed the audio guides that they had for specific pieces, with over 200 guides. Listening to them gives a better understanding of historical context as you view the pieces. It took us around 3.5 hours for the museum, plus an additional 45 minutes at the restaurant.

The museum restaurant is on the 3rd floor and has a nice root terrace. The service was abysmal for such a lovely museum.

At 1pm, they only provided the two of us with a single brunch/breakfast menu. Other guests got individual menus and also got the lunch menu too. They were not short on menus, as we saw a big stack at the counter.

We asked twice for the lunch menu and waited 15 mins before receiving it. The entire time we could see the stack of menus near us.

The waiter never returned to take our order despite serving the tables around us and our attempts to flag him down. After waiting another 15 mins, I finally walked to him to place my order.

We noticed that we were the only non-white guests at the establishment. Perhaps it is no coincidence that the other guests got much better service. We received much better treatment at all other busy dining establishments throughout Athens.

What we expect - to be given the chance to order and eat from the main menu - is the bare minimum for any restaurant, especially one at a world class museum. Our experience is beyond disappointing and will taint our memories of...