Santorini Museums
Archaeological Museum (Fira):
The archaeological museum contains artifacts from excavations on the island (mainly from Ancient Thira), such as a collection of geometric purple or black vases from the 5th century B.C., a certain percentage of Minoan ware, impressive frescoes, statues of the Hellenistic period, works of art from the Byzantine era and remains of prehistoric sculptures and inscriptions from the Archaic to the Roman period, pottery and clay figurines from the Geometric to the Hellenistic period.
Opening hours: 08:00 - 15:00 (closed on Mondays)
Admission: 3 €, part 2 €
Tel: 22860 22217
Archontiko Argyrou (Messaria):
Archontiko Argyrou is a magnificent villa with unrivaled architectural elegance. The museum has an amazing collection of traditional artifacts and antiques. Moreover, you will find unusual paintings, antique furniture and many articles from the 19th century that can help you understand more about the Greek tradition, heritage and general Greek culture. In 1997 the mansion was awarded as a monument of cultural heritage with the Europa Nostra.
Tel: 22860 31669
Icons and Relics Collection (Pyrgos):
The collection is housed in the St. Triada church at Prophet Elias and includes, among other things, a collection of paintings, wooden sculptures, metal works of art and objects of ecclesiastical use.
Tel: 22860 31812
Lignos A. Emmanuel Folklore Museum (Fira- Kontohori):
This museum is housed in a home amid the rock, dug at 1861 and presents an original old winery, a barrel carpenter, shoes and tinsmith’s workshop, an art gallery, a library and a chapel.
Opening hours: 10:00 - 14: 00 and from 1 June, 18:00 - 20:00
Admission: 3 €
Tel: 22860 22792
Megaro Gyzi Museum (Fira - near the entrance to the cable car):
The museum is located in a 17th century mansion with great architectural interest and beauty. There are six permanent exhibitions. One consists of authentic engravings with maps, landscapes and traditions of the Cycladic islands during the 15th-19th century, the other from both public as private, old Theraic historical manuscripts from the late 16th century to the early 19th century, there is an additional collection of Greek paintings, a collection of old photographs from the period 1930-1956 in Santorini island and, finally, a collection of the strata of the island.
Opening hours: 10:00 - 16:00 (except Sundays and national holidays) during the period from May to October
Admission: 3 €
Tel: 22860 23077
Minerals & Fossils Museum (Perissa- next to the Church of the Holy Cross):
This museum is operated by the Cultural Association of Thera. The museum includes exhibits on fossils (e.g. a branch of a Prehistoric olive, which was extremely rare in the Aegean region) and an extensive collection of rare minerals that have been found either at Santorini, either at Greece in general or abroad.
Naval Maritime Museum of Santorini (Oia):
The Maritime Museum is housed in an old mansion that has been converted into a museum and includes Naval and Maritime History of Santorini included in this rare busts, seamen’s chests, antique marine equipment, marine paintings, old and new models of Thiran ships, watercolors, photographs and a library.
Opening hours: 10:00 - 14:00 and 17:00 - 20:00 (closed on Tuesdays)
Admission: 3 €
Tel: 22860 71156
Santozeum (Fira):
The Santozeum is an interdisciplinary, creative platform, which is managed by artists and promotes dialogue between the arts, humanities and sciences in both the local and the international community. Currently the museum displays a collection of paintings of Akrotiri developed in collaboration with the Thera Foundation, the Getty and the Kodak Pathé.
Opening hours: 10:00 - 18:00 (daily)
Admission: 5 €
Tel: 22860 21722
Wine Museum (Vothonas):
lies 8m. below ground and extends to 300 meters., in labyrinthine shape, showing the history of wine and the life of Santorini wine from 1660 until 1970.
Opening hours: January, February, March, November, December 09:30 - 14:00 (except Sundays)
April, May, October 09:00 - 18:00
June, July, August, September 09:00 - 19:00
Admission: 7 €
Tel: 22860 31322
* It is advisable before visiting museums to call and confirm the opening hours.
• PREHISTORIC THIRA MUSEUM
The Prehistoric Thira Museum is one of its kind regional museum. It consists of findings from the excavations of the Archaeological Society at Akrotiri, from old excavations of the German Archaeological Institute in the place Potamos, from the excavations at various sites of Thira, from collections and traditions. The report is an attempt to outline the course of Thira in the prehistoric times through selected findings from the thousands available in stock, a dynamic and creative course that made the southernmost island of the Cyclades one of the most important Aegean centers during the 18th and 17th century B.C.
The permanent exhibition of the museum is housed on the second floor of the building (third level), with an area of 600 square meters, while the first floor (second level) houses temporary exhibitions, allowing to the plethora of material that occupy the warehouses of the ground floor building to be demonstrated (first level).
In the last unit, what is demonstrated, in particular, is the design, architecture and structure of the city as an urban center, the bureaucratic system, the development of prominent art mural, rich collection of ceramics, elegant jewelry, and the extensive contact the island had with the rest of the world.
The exhibits include fossils of plants that flourished before the habitation of the island. Among the oldest items are ceramics from the Neolithic era, marble and ceramic figurines of Early Cycladic era, including items from the transitional period between the Second Late Cycladic period and the Third Late Cycladic period (Kastri group) from the Christiana islets and Akrotiri (3,300-2,000 B.C.). Moreover, other displays include the ceramics from the Middle Cycladic period as bird jugs, many of which are decorated with swallows, and found at Ftellos, Megalohori and Akrotiri (20th-18th century B.C.) and Early Cycladic metal artifacts from the last two sites.
The museum can be seen as an extension of the archaeological site of Akrotiri, as it houses the frescoes and the finds of the urban center from the period of its great prosperity (17th century B.C.). Alongside it hosts findings from many other places at Thira dating from the 5th millennium B.C. (Late Neolithic period) until the 17th century B.C. and show the passage of the various civilizations of the Aegean in a long period of prehistory. Noteworthy is the fact that all the exhibits are in excellent state of preservation.
Official Unit: 21st Ephorate of Prehistoric and Classical Antiquities
Fira, Tel.: 22860 23217
Admission: 3 € (normal), 2 € (reduced)
Reception hours: daily 08: 00-15: 00 (closed Mondays)
* It is advisable before visiting the museum to call and confirm the opening hours, as the summer program may change slightly.
