Museum of Greek Folk Musical Instruments

Opened in 1991 inside the 19th-century Lassanis Mansion in Athens' Plaka district, the Museum of Greek Folk Musical Instruments houses around 600 instruments drawn from three centuries of Greek folk tradition, with a comparable number held in reserve. The collection ranges from lutes and wind instruments to regional percussion from remote island communities, reflecting the remarkable geographic diversity of Greek musical culture. The institution doubles as a Research Centre for Ethnomusicology, giving it an academic depth unusual for a museum of this size. Listening stations throughout the galleries allow visitors to hear selected instruments played — grounding the objects in sound rather than silence.