Goulandris Natural History Museum in Athens

Greece › Athens › Museums › Goulandris Natural History Museum
Updated: August 18, 2022
By Santorini Dave

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Museum gallery with taxidermied birds and mammals displayed

The Goulandris Natural History Museum is located about 15 kilometers northeast of central Athens.

Tickets: GetYourGuide.com (Free cancellation up to 24 hours in advance.)

The family-friendly Goulandris Natural History Museum, the first national history museum in Greece, is located in Kifisia, a northeastern suburb of Athens. It was founded as a Botanical Museum in 1964 by philanthropists Angelos and Niki Goulandris in order to promote interest in the natural sciences and call attention to the need to protect wildlife and species from extinction. In 1977, the museum expanded to include zoology, paleontology, and geology. It is now dedicated to environmental study, conservation, and protection, with the goal of preventing and reversing the loss of Greece’s natural habitats.

For decades, scientists at the museum have been studying Greece’s environment. The nation’s geographic location and climate allow for a degree of biodiversity that sets it apart from anywhere else in Europe. In 1999, the Goulandris Museum established the GAIA Center for Environmental Research and Education, whose goal is to influence new environmental policy in Greece, Europe, and across the globe.

Housed in a beautiful 1875 neoclassical building, the museum’s permanent display is arranged across the first floor and includes insects, mammals, birds, reptiles, shells, rocks, minerals and fossils from Greece, Africa, and North America. Temporary exhibitions and the GAIA Center are on the 2nd floor. There is limited English signage on display, but visitors can learn all about the exhibits before viewing them in the museum’s computer area. A museum shop and café are on site, as well as a beautiful garden restaurant. Located about 15km northeast of central Athens, but accessible by metro; the Kifissia station (green line/line 1) is about an 800-meter walk away.

Goulandris Natural History Museum Hours and Information

  • Hours: Monday to Friday 9am to 2:30pm, 10am to 3pm Saturday and Sunday. Closed on public holidays and the month of August.
  • Website: gnhm.gr
  • Location: Levidou 13, Kifisia
  • Telephone: +30 21 0801 5870
  • Admission Fee: General Admission 10€; seniors and children 5 to 18 years of age 6€; children 2 to 4 years of age 2€.
  • Free Entry: Children under 2, disabled visitors.
  • Parking: Street parking, nearby pay lot.
  • Nearest Metro: Kifissia

Goulandris Natural History Museum

Yellow neoclassical-style building with Greek flag in front

The Goulandris Museum of Natural History is located just outside of central Athens in the leafy suburb of Kiffisia.

Taxidermied giraffe displayed in a stairwell

The museum’s permanent collection includes mammals, birds, insects, reptiles, and more; the interactive GAIA Center on the 2nd floor is devoted to ecology and environmental education.

Models of planets on display in a museum case

Museum wall display about recycling

Wall display showing the different layers of the earth's atmosphere

Doorway leading into a room with a model of the galaxy

Environmental articles and artifacts on display in a museum case

Museum display of seashells

Seashells on display in a museum case

Wall display showing different parts of insects

Dinosaur skeleton in a museum

Museum cases filled with taxidermied birds

Taxidermied water buffalo standing in a museum corridor

Taxidermied Arctic mammals posed in a museum display

Taxidermied lion in mid-roar on display in a museum

Taxidermied Australian mammals in a museum display case

Taxidermied tiger posed in a museum corridor

Taxidermied seal and turtle in a museum display

Birds in a museum display case

Taxidermied shore birds on display in a museum

Taxidermied birds in a museum display

"Birds of Greece" in a museum display

Brightly-lit museum gift shop

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About Santorini Dave

Santorini Dave Author Bio. Santorini Dave was started in 2011 by a guy who loved Greece, travel, and great hotels. We're now a small team of writers and researchers on a mission to deliver the most helpful travel content on the internet. We specialize in Santorini, Mykonos, Athens, and Greece and recommend the best hotels, best neighborhoods, and best family hotels in top destinations around the world. We also make hotel maps and travel videos. I can be contacted at dave@santorinidave.com.