--- title: "Seven days of Athens through its studios and rooms" city: "Athens" country: "Greece" lens: "Art & Design" duration_days: 7 experiences: 14 price_from: "from €620.30 for two" currency: "EUR" firm_prices: 3 prices_on_request: 11 published: "2026-09-01" canonical: "https://keystothe.city/athens/7-days-art-design" source: "Keys to the City" license: "Free to quote and cite with a link to the canonical URL" --- # Seven days of Athens through its studios and rooms Athens, Greece · Art & Design · 7 days · 14 experiences · from €620.30 for two Athens unfolds not in the glare of midday marble, but in the quiet turn of a brass key inside neoclassical doors. Your narrative begins after dark as the Benaki Museum of Greek Culture opens its forty galleries exclusively for you, culminating in a silent courtyard champagne reception under the stars. ## Day one — The Closed Gates of Koumbari: A Solitary Twilight in Neoclassical Athens Your arrival in Athens begins as the afternoon sun casts soft golden hues across the neoclassical façade of the Benaki Mansion on Koumbari Street. As public visitors depart and the doors lock for the evening, a heavy brass key turns exclusively for you. You step into forty quiet galleries filled with six millennia of Greek antiquities, illuminated only for your private footsteps. Accompanied by a Senior Curator, you walk amidst Byzantine gold and Ottoman-era silks in absolute quietude before stepping onto the private courtyard terrace for a quiet champagne reception under the early May night sky. Following your solitary museum exploration, a short stroll through Pangrati brings you to a restored 1925 neoclassical townhouse. Here, the fragrant jasmine in the private courtyard sets the backdrop for a hyper-seasonal tasting menu that celebrates Greece's botanical richness, offering a peaceful, sensory conclusion to your first evening in the city. ### Benaki Museum of Greek Culture – After-Hours Private Curator Opening - Morning, 2 hours · price on request · Koumpari 1, Athina 106 74, Greece · Private arrangement · quoted on request Exclusive after-hours private walkthrough of all 40 galleries inside the historic Benaki mansion, led by a Senior Curator and followed by a courtyard champagne reception. Provider: https://www.benaki.org ### Soil Restaurant – 1 Michelin Star Farm-to-Table Gastronomy - Evening, 3 hours · from €110 pp (verified Sep 2026) · Ferekidou 5, Athina 116 35, Greece · Public booking An intimate 15-course garden-harvested tasting menu served inside the courtyard of a beautifully restored 1925 townhouse. Provider: https://soilrestaurant.gr ## Day two — Day 2: The Modernist's Desk & Blueprint Vaults of Kolonaki Morning light filters into the top-floor workspace of painter Nikos Hadjikyriakos-Ghika in Kolonaki. Preserved exactly as he left it, the studio holds his easel, unfinished canvases, worn brushes, and personal library. Guided by the curator, you stand in the sanctuary where the modern Greek avant-garde was forged, taking in panoramic views across the tiled roofs of Athens toward the Acropolis. A short walk leads to the secure architectural vaults at Pireos 138. Here, the chief archivist unfolds rare, ink-on-linen original city plans and hand-drawn blueprints by Ernst Ziller and Dimitris Pikionis. Resting your hands inches from the foundational lines of modern Athens offers a rare, scholarly immersion into the city's built form. ### Ghika Gallery & Studio – Nikos Hadjikyriakos-Ghika’s Modernist Atelier - Morning, 2 hours · price on request · Kriezotou 3, Athina 106 71, Greece · Private arrangement · quoted on request Private curator-led access to artist Nikos Hadjikyriakos-Ghika's intact 1930s top-floor working art studio, residence, and private collections. Provider: https://www.benaki.org ### Modern Greek Architecture Archives – Private Curator Appointment - Evening, 1.5 hours · price on request · Koumpari 1, Athina 106 74, Greece · Introduction by the house · quoted on request Private vault consultation with the senior architectural archivist to examine original 19th and 20th-century hand-drawn blueprints and urban drawings. Provider: https://www.benaki.org ## Day three — Day 3: The Tactile Bench: Gold Leaf, Marbled Paper & Sculpted Felt Step into the quiet Monastiraki atelier of master bookbinder Babis Leggas. The scent of leather, warm glue, and aged paper fills the air. Sitting alongside Leggas at his workbench, you watch as he uses 19th-century hand tools to press 24-karat gold leaf onto hand-marbled paper, learning the intricate art of book restoration that keeps centuries of written history alive. Later in the afternoon, transition to the vibrant Psirri neighborhood to enter Giorgos Polyzois' hatmaking studio. Here, wooden hat blocks carved over a century ago line the walls. Standing bench-side, you observe steam rising from raw wool felt as Polyzois shapes custom headwear by hand, demonstrating a traditional trade maintained in the heart of modern Athens. ### To Bibliodeteio (Babis Leggas Studio) – Private Fine Bookbinding Atelier - Morning, 2 hours · price on request · Private arrangement · quoted on request Immersive private bench session with master bookbinder Babis Leggas, focusing on rare leather restoration, gold leaf gilding, and historic marbled paper techniques. Provider: https://www.bibliodeteio.gr ### Giorgos Polyzois Millinery Atelier – Master Custom Hatmaker Bench Visit - Evening, 1.5 hours · price on request · Private arrangement · quoted on request Private bench walkthrough inside Psirri's historic hatmaking workshop, witnessing steam-shaping of felt and straw on century-old carved wooden blocks. ## Day four — Day 4: Ancient Metallurgy & the Resonant Strings of Antiquity Situated beneath the southern slope of the Acropolis, the active workshops of the Ilias Lalaounis Jewelry Museum offer an up-close look at ancient goldsmithing techniques. Standing beside active metalsmiths, you witness the intricate hand-hammering, granulating, and filigree wirework that resurrects Mycenaean and Hellenistic design traditions. Led by the museum director, you also examine rare prototype models and private collection vaults. In the afternoon, enter the intimate workshop of Seikilo and LyrAvlos, where luthiers reconstruct ancient musical instruments using tortoiseshell, wood, and gut strings. Here, master musicians perform ancient melodies on reconstructed Chelys lyres before inviting you to sit at the bench to learn the basic hand positions of antiquity's most storied instrument. ### Ilias Lalaounis Jewelry Museum – Live Metalsmithing Atelier Visit - Morning, 2 hours · from €200.30 per group (verified Sep 2026) · Kallisperi 12, Athina 117 42, Greece · Private arrangement Private Director-led walkthrough of the Lalaounis permanent collections combined with active bench access to master goldsmiths practicing ancient Mycenaean filigree and hand-hammering techniques. Provider: https://www.lalaounis-jewelrymuseum.gr ### Seikilo / LyrAvlos – Private Ancient Greek Lyre Masterclass & Performance - Evening, 2 hours · from €100 pp (verified Sep 2026) · Private arrangement Private workshop session featuring a luthier demonstration on ancient instrument crafting, an acoustic lyre performance, and hands-on instruction playing reconstructed Chelys lyres. Provider: https://seikilo.com ## Day five — Day 5: Behind Sacred Panels: Icon Conservation & 19th-Century Silk Looms Enter the non-public restoration laboratories housed inside the Villa Ilissia complex at the Byzantine & Christian Museum. Surrounded by specialized tools, microscopes, and protective gear, you stand alongside master conservators restoring 14th-century sacred icons. Observing the delicate, meticulous stabilization of egg tempera, ancient parchment, and fragile gold leaf offers an intimate view into museum-grade preservation. From icon preservation, continue to the Mentis-Antonopoulos ('NEMA') atelier—Greece's last operational passementerie workshop. The rhythmic clack of 19th-century mechanical wooden looms fills the space as master weavers spin silk cords, tassels, and trimmings for traditional clothing and royal textiles. Hands-on guidance allows you to work silk thread directly at the bench, experiencing a rare living craft tradition. ### Byzantine & Christian Museum – Behind-the-Scenes Icon Conservation Labs - Morning, 2 hours · price on request · Leof. Vasilissis Sofias 22, Athina 106 75, Greece · Introduction by the house · quoted on request Exclusive clearance into the active, non-public restoration laboratories of the Byzantine & Christian Museum, observing conservators restore centuries-old icons and gold leaf. Provider: http://www.byzantinemuseum.gr/ ### Mentis–Antonopoulos (‘NEMA’) Passementerie – Live Silk Loom Workshop - Evening, 1.5 hours · price on request · Polifimou 6, Athina 118 54, Greece · Private arrangement · quoted on request Private master workshop experience inside Greece's last operational passementerie atelier, observing 19th-century mechanical wooden looms spinning silk trimmings and tassels. Provider: https://www.benaki.org ## Day six — Day 6: The Intact Sculpture Atelier & the Starlight over Nymphs Hill Morning brings you to the quiet residential district of Zografou to step through the private doors of master sculptor Yannis Pappas' intact 1950s atelier. Sunlight pours through high windows, illuminating plaster casts, bronze-working tools, and original sketches. Here, active Benaki Museum conservators work at their benches, restoring plaster casts and sculptures while walking you through Pappas' personal creative archive. As night falls over Athens, climb the quiet slopes of Nymphs Hill to the National Observatory of Athens. The doors to Theophilus Hansen's 1842 neoclassical dome open exclusively for you. Accompanied by a research astronomer, you step beneath the brass dome to peer through the 1902 Doridis refractor telescope, gazing at planets and stars framed above the floodlit Acropolis. ### The Yannis Pappas Working Sculptor Studio & Preservation Atelier - Morning, 2 hours · price on request · Anakreontos 38, Athina 157 72, Greece · Private arrangement · quoted on request Private closed-door walkthrough of master sculptor Yannis Pappas' intact 1950s high-ceilinged atelier, observing Benaki Museum conservators actively restoring sculpture. Provider: https://www.benaki.org ### National Observatory of Athens (Thissio) – Private Night Astronomy & Doridis Telescope - Evening, 2 hours · price on request · Λόφος Νυμφών, Athina 118 10, Greece · Private arrangement · quoted on request Private night opening of the 1842 neoclassical observatory on Nymphs Hill, including stargazing through the historical 1902 Doridis refractor telescope with an astronomer. Provider: https://www.noa.gr/calendar/?location=ke_thisio ## Day seven — Day 7: The Intellectual Salon & Solitary Modern Masters On your final day in Athens, step into a preserved 1930s intellectual salon on the 5th floor overlooking Syntagma Square. The Katakouzenos House Museum was once the gathering place for the 'Generation of '30' modernists. Guided by the curator, you examine private letters, historic furniture, and heirloom doors hand-painted by Nikos Hadjikyriakos-Ghika, along with personal artworks gifted by Marc Chagall. As evening arrives, transition to the Basil & Elise Goulandris Foundation in Pangrati for a private, lights-up after-hours opening. With the public long gone, you stand alone before modern masterworks by Van Gogh, Picasso, Cézanne, and Moralis. Guided by a foundation curator, this quiet walkthrough provides a tranquil, memorable conclusion to your journey through Athens' private rooms and collection vaults. ### Katakouzenos House Museum – Private Salon Experience - Morning, 1.5 hours · price on request · Private arrangement · quoted on request Private keyholder access to the historic 1930s 5th-floor apartment salon of Angelos and Leto Katakouzenos, featuring painted Ghika doors and Chagall artworks. Provider: https://katakouzenos.gr ### Basil & Elise Goulandris Foundation – Private Modern Masters Collection Tour - Evening, 2 hours · price on request · Private arrangement · quoted on request Private after-hours tour of the Goulandris collection, viewing iconic modern art masterpieces by Picasso, Van Gogh, and Cézanne in complete solitude with a foundation curator. Provider: https://goulandris.gr ## The footprint from €620.30 for two — experiences only; flights and hotels are yours to choose. 14 experiences · 3 firm prices · 11 on request. --- Source: Keys to the City — https://keystothe.city/athens/7-days-art-design. Prices are "from" figures per person unless stated otherwise, verified on the dates shown. Quote freely with attribution and a link.