Basil and Elise Goulandris Foundation

The newest blockbuster museum in Athens is home to a roll call of modern art masters, from Van Gogh to Picasso.

When was it built

The 11-storey museum opened in October 2019. Its 7,250 square metre interior space includes four floors of exhibition galleries, an auditorium, a children’s workshop, a 6,000-volume art library with a reading room, as well as a gift shop and a modern Greek café.

What's the story

The modern building hovers above the façade of a listed, three-storey 1920s building. The courtyard was designed to complement the steps leading up to the church of Agios Spyridon, which was built in 1903 on designs by the noted German architect Ernst Ziller.

Why it's important

The late Basil and Elise Goulandris’ private art collection includes 180 sculptures, paintings, and sketches that offer a panorama of the most important artists of the late 19th and early 20th century—including Picasso, Cezanne, Van Gogh, Monet, Degas, Pollock, Bacon, and Chagall. There are also two floors devoted to 20th century and contemporary Greek art.

Must-see

A luminous room of works on paper, by the likes of Giacometti, Miro and Matisse.

Fun fact

Finding a site for the museum took several years after its original location, a plot next to the Byzantine and Christian Museum, yielded an amazing archaeological find during construction: Aristotle’s Lyceum.