The Byzantine and Christian Museum, set in a beautiful neoclassical villa with garden on Vasilissis Sofias, holds the most important collection of Byzantine art anywhere outside Istanbul. Icons, manuscripts, mosaics, frescoes lifted whole from village churches in Asia Minor, ceremonial silver, and intricately worked textiles span the period from late antiquity to the fall of Constantinople in 1453 and beyond into the Greek Orthodox tradition.
The display is unusually well done — atmospheric lit halls, clear English labels, occasional darkness around an illuminated icon. Allow at least ninety minutes, more if you are interested in Byzantine art. The villa's small garden café is one of the most pleasant in Athens. Closed Tuesdays.