There are the obvious choices for sightseeing when you are in Athens, and there are the places, like the libraries in Athens, only a friend who actually lives in the city would suggest.
These are five remarkable libraries where one can enjoy history, architectural design, beauty, or all of the above.
If your stay in Athens is long enough so as to accommodate off-the-beaten-path choices, or if you just love books, you should visit the Greek Parliament Library, the Observatory Library, the Piraeus Municipal Library, the National Library, the historical building in Athens center, and the New National Library in the Stavros Niarchos Cultural Center.
This is what you need to know about them as you plan your visit.
1. Hellenic Parliament Library
It is not that easy to visit the inside of our Parliament. You need an invitation and these are not that common. Still, the Library is open to the public and we are all welcome!
All you need is an ID or your passport.
The Library of Parliament is a general library with the main purpose of supporting parliamentary work. It especially supports the MPs and their scientific collaborators, as well as all the services of the Hellenic (another word for saying Greek) Parliament.
As it is open to the public, one can get more information about the functioning of the Greek Parliament and look at its collections in its reading rooms.
If you can plan your visit for a Saturday, you will be able to enjoy a small tour of the Special Collections Department. You will need to call a few days in advance at +30 210 370 7896, +30 210370 7297, or email [email protected]. Visits during the weekdays do not need prior booking.
Everybody gets to see the change of the guards outside the Grek Parliament when visiting Athens, but few can spend their time flipping through the pages of a book inside the actual building!
Opening Hours: Monday to Friday 10.00 to 20.00 / Saturday 09.00 to 14.00 / Closed on Sundays and Public holidays.
2. National Library of Athens
In addition to bookshops and bookshop cafes, the capital is home to countless remarkable libraries that citizens can visit at every opportunity. But the old National Library on Academia’s avenue in the center of Athens is like no other.
The Library of the Academy of Athens was founded on March 18, 1926. This is one of the largest and most historic libraries in Greece. It is part of the trilogy in Panepistimiou street in the center of Athens. The visitor will enjoy more than 220,000 volumes of books and 3,500 titles of periodicals. The Library provides research material to the public through internal lending. , and for field study.
If you want to feel like you move back in time, step into this museum Library of Athens and choose from numerous shelves full of books. The atmosphere will take you time traveling!
Opening Hours: Monday to Friday, 09:00-15:00
3. Piraeus Municipal Library
Despite the advancement of technology, modern-day trends, and the enormous variety of digital books from every online library, countless readers choose the experience of an actual library.
Technically, this one is not one of the libraries in Athens. Piraeus is the country’s number one port. Also, Piraeus is a city that is so close to Athens that the two areas blend together. In the center of Piraeus, you can find the Municipal Library of Piraeus at 22 Eleftheriou Venizelou and Kolokotroni. It was established back in 2004. The library has an electronic catalog, accessible through the Municipality’s web portal, where the user can search among 100,000 volumes, a big variety of titles.
It hosts archival collections of antiquities, manuscripts, periodicals, and Government newspapers. It has a lending department, a reading room, and a children’s department and also organizes creative writing and computer use seminars.
Opening Hours: Monday to Friday, 09:00-14:00, tel. +30 213 2022000
4. Library of the Athens Observatory
One can visit the Library of the National Observatory of Athens in the Sina building, on the Hill of Nymphs, in Thisio, right in the archaeological center of Athens.
When one thinks of libraries in Athens, the “Museum of Geoastrophysics” does not come to mind. It is a hidden gem.
In the restored “Sinas” building, one will enjoy a unique library and at the same time have the chance to observe Athens’ night sky through the Doridis telescope.
In the museum, there is the historical library of the National Observatory of Athens. This library includes valuable astronomical and scientific books. The unique historical building hosts first editions, scientific writings, astronomy books, scientific magazines, and instruments for weather forecasting. Also, a widescreen monitor displays the current seismological activity of Greece, in real time.
There, visitors get to see up close a collection of astronomical, seismological, meteorological, and time instruments of the 19th and 20th centuries.
The National Observatory of Athens is situated on the Nymphs Hill in the historical center of Athens, Thysseion.
The Museum can be reached by train (Thysseio station) or metro (Acropolis station) and by walking for about 10 min. along Apostolou Pavlou st or Dionysiou Aeropagitou st respectively.
Opening Hours: Wednesday, Friday, Saturday 07:00-20:00, tel. +30 21 0349 0000.
5. National Library of Greece at the Stavros Niarchos Foundation
The Greek National Library was moved to the premises of the Stavros Niarchos Foundation in 2018. This one might very well be the most impressive one among all the libraries in Athens.
Thousands of books and archives were moved to a charismatic venue and at the same time they “were brought” to the 21st century.
This Library offers every visitor the opportunity to work or read in peace despite the fact that it is situated in one of the most popular venues in the city. In a space with a total of 725 reading places and 8 reading rooms, you can study among thousands of books not only in the greek language.
The Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Center at 364 Syggrou Avenue in Kallithea is a destination in itself. One should not leave Athens without visiting this cultural center that brings forward modern Athens’ best self.
Library Opening Hours:
- General Collection Department: Monday to Friday: 09:00 – 20:00, Saturday: 09:00 – 14:00, Sundays and public holidays: closed
- Reading Room/Magazine Collection: Monday to Friday: 09:00 – 20:00, Saturday: 09:00 – 14:00, Sundays and public holidays: closed
- Department of Manuscripts, Archives, and Special Collections: Monday to Friday: 10:00 – 14:00, weekends and public holidays: closed
- Debt Collection Department: Monday to Friday: 09:00 – 20:00, Saturday: 09:00 – 14:00, Sundays and public holidays: closed
- EBE open reading rooms: Monday to Sunday: 09:00 – 24:00