Museum of the City of Athens

The Museum of the City of Athens occupies two connected neoclassical buildings on Ioannou Paparrigopoulou Street. The older house became the residence of King Otto and Queen Amalia from 1836 to 1843, and its rooms retain period decoration and furnishings. Look for the banquet table set for a formal meal, paintings and other objects linked to 19th-century life, as well as a modern art exhibition on the top floor. Allow about an hour to explore the collection and the buildings.

The Old Palace and its connected neighbor

The museum occupies two buildings joined internally. The neoclassical house at number 7 was built in 1833 for Stamatios Dekozis-Vouros, a banker from Chios. It later became the home of Greece’s first royal couple, King Otto and Queen Amalia, when Athens became the capital. They lived there from 1836 to 1843, before moving to the building now used as the Parliament.

The second building, at number 5, dates to 1859 and preserves the history of the Dekozis-Vouros family. Together, the houses place the collection in the domestic settings of Athens’s 19th-century wealthy households.

Rooms, objects and art

Inside, paintings, engravings, sculptures, furniture and documents trace aspects of city life in the 19th and early 20th centuries. Recreated rooms retain decorative details and furnishings, including a banquet table laid for a formal meal. These interiors give the objects a setting connected to the city’s affluent households.

The museum also includes digital installations and a video presentation. A modern art exhibition by Konstantinos Papamichalopoulos has been shown on the top floor, bringing contemporary works into the historic rooms. A guided tour can help explain the collection and its connection to the buildings.