If we only have time for one museum in Athens, would you choose the Acropolis Museum or the National Archeological Museum?

I haven't been to the new Acropolis Museum so can't offer an opinion on that. I did want to say that if you decide on thenNational Archeological Museum then make sure you spend some time in the sculpture wing(s). Some of the sculptures are breathtaking,

A difficult choice, to be sure, but I think the NAM will give you the most for your time spent.

Between the two I would choose the NAM. You could have a quick look through the Acropolis Museum just before or after your visit to the Parthenon, though. They are very close together.

The National Archaeological Museum is the biggest of it's kind in the world. It covers the ancient Greek Art throughout the centuries from Prehistory to the classical and late classical period.

Until January there is also an amazing temporary exhibition of the Mechanism of Antikythira.

Neither.

I would, without a doubt, visit the Benaki Museum in Kolonaki.


Thin

IF your time & energy is short, Benaki is a great answer. It is VERY well curated ... the signage is wonderfully informative, and it goes for quality not quantity, i.e. instead of 3 huge rooms full of black or Red vases, it has 3 display cases only, with superb examples. It also has handy elevators. Thus u can "do" the entire museum in about 3 hours without feeling totally exhausted. One special plus is that it goes all the way from the Bronze Age thru the mid-19th century. The latter (on top floor) depicts the drama of long Greek fight for freedom from the Ottoman yoke ... So few foreigners explore that crucial aspect ...knowing about Greek struggle for independence after nearly 2000 years of invasion and rule by foreign powers gives insight into the nation's courageous resistance during the Nazi occupation.

2.000 years rule of foreign powers ?
Where does this come from?

I preferred the National Archaeological Museum. There are so many wonderful pieces there. The New Acropolis Museum is nice, but unfortunately so many of the great pieces that should be there are in London.

The New Acropolis Museum, is much more modern and "elegant", and its Architecture is simply stunning. There are Great exhibits, including the Parthenon Marbles and the Caryatides. It has a Great restaurant and it has a view on The Acropolis of Athens.

The National Archaeological Museum, is older but its exhibits are some of the most important for the whole Humanity. Frescoes from Santorini, The Antikythera mechanism, The mask of Agamemnon, Poseidon of Cape Artemision, Theseus Ring, Jockey of Artemision etc. It is in the Top 10 Museums of the World.

I just can't compare these 2 Great Museums, The one is for Acropolis of Athens, the other is for the Whole Greece.

I'm a fan of the Benaki too, it's always charming to see this sort of personal collection and I loved the Ottoman interiors. However, some of the statuary in the National Museum is unmissable imho.
In case anyone is interested there was a fascinating article in the NYT this summer about how the Benaki is struggling with the budget cuts in Greece.
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/05/11/wo...anted=all&_r=0

Re Clausar query about 2,000 years ... I count from what? 100 BC when Romans took over .. then the Saracens, Venetians, etc etc finally the Ottomans for 500 years ... thru 1829 for parts of Greece, but many of the Islands still under Turkish rule, Crete until about 1900++ not able to unite with the rest of Greece until 1912

As for Museums, I agree, impossible to choose and the N.A.M. has so many of the super-famous items ... My recommendation of Benaki was "if time & energy are short"... and I meant really short.

Thank you all for your opinions. The Benaki is not open on the days we'll be in Athens which is why I've listed only the other two.

travelerjan thank you for the History lesson, but i am Greek.
What you wrote is simply not correct.

If you are also visiting the Acropolis, a visit to Acropolis Museum is a must before going up the hill.You can see the original pieces from the Acropolis still in Greek possession. The routing of the exhibit is circular and straight forward. I also visited the National Archaeological museum yesterday. I think it made more sense for me visiting other parts of Greece first, then after having been told many times that the originals or the best collections are at the National Archaeological Museum and not at the museums at the archaeological sites.

what is now considered unified Greece (what we know or think of as current day Greece) didn't exist until recently. I guess you have to determine what the 2000 year time frame is. As an ethnicity (greek) it was always greek but dominated unfortunately by foreign powers. maybe 2000 years is a bit of an exaggeration. but part of it is when rome split (the western and eastern roman empire and then fell to the Barbarians). this eastern region was under greek orthodoxy centered in Constantinople (but still greek). and any rate. the influence of the greek people has always meant the area of Greece was greek (even though they suffered invasion)...
but what do I know

Nanabee, my intention exactly. "Dominated by foreign powers." Did not mean 2000 years of Nazi-type occupation.