Benaki Museum

One man spent 35 years buying Greek history, then gave the whole lot away. Antonis Benakis was born in Alexandria to a wealthy Greek-Egyptian cotton-trading family, and he devoted his adult life to amassing over 45,000 artifacts spanning the entire arc of Greek civilization — from prehistoric gold jewelry to Ottoman-era weaponry to folk costumes from every region of the country. In 1930, he donated everything to the Greek state, housed in his family's neoclassical mansion on the edge of the National Garden, and the Benaki Museum was born.

What makes the Benaki special is its scope. This is the only museum in Greece that takes you from the Neolithic period through to modern independence in one continuous narrative — pottery from 3000 BC, Mycenaean gold, Classical sculpture, Byzantine icons, Ottoman silverwork, and two El Grecos that the artist painted before he left for Spain. The ground floor alone covers about 5,000 years. No other collection in Athens gives you this kind of civilizational timeline.

The museum underwent a major $20 million renovation and reopened in 2000, tripling its exhibition space. The rooftop cafe has become one of the most coveted terraces in Athens — a quiet spot overlooking the National Garden with views to the Acropolis that most tourists never find because they're busy queuing at Monastiraki restaurants. On Thursday evenings, the museum stays open late and the terrace fills with Athenians enjoying wine above the tree canopy.

Beyond the main building, the Benaki has expanded to several satellite locations including a contemporary art space in a converted warehouse in Piraeus and an Islamic Art Museum in the Kerameikos district that houses one of the finest collections of Islamic art in Europe.