Archaeological Museum of Poros

The Archaeological Museum of Poros is not going to change your life, and it is worth saying so up front so that nobody turns up expecting the National Archaeological Museum. It is small, it occupies a modest building on Korizi Square in town, and you can see the whole thing in thirty or forty minutes.

That said, it has a very specific job and it does it well: this is where the pieces that came out of the sanctuary of Poseidon on Kalavria and out of ancient Troezen, on the Peloponnese opposite, are kept. If you are going to see those ruins, seeing this before or after with the pieces in your head changes the experience quite a bit.

What is inside

The museum was founded in 1960 and brings together material from the island itself and from the adjacent Peloponnesian coast, the region of Troezenia.

From the Swedish excavations of 1894 at the sanctuary of Poseidon there are architectural fragments, votive pottery, inscriptions and elements that help you understand what that maritime amphictyony of seven cities was. It is plain material, not spectacular, but it is what remains of a place that was neutral and sacred for centuries.

From Troezen, the mythical city of Theseus, there are sculptures, funerary reliefs and Roman-period finds. The collection also includes Mycenaean and Geometric pieces from the area, plus material from the period when Poros hosted naval activity.

Is it worth the detour?

It depends on the kind of traveller you are. If you are spending two days on the island and you are going up to the sanctuary of Poseidon, then yes: it is the piece that completes the puzzle and it costs 5 euros.

If you are on a day trip from Athens with six hours counted out, you will probably rather spend that time on the seafront, the clock tower and a beach. The museum is not essential.

For families with small children it is short and manageable, though it is not set up with interactive resources or activities for kids.

Practical things

Opening hours: nine in the morning to three in the afternoon. Closed Monday and Tuesday, and that is the classic mistake: plenty of people turn up on a Monday and find the door shut. Check before planning your day.

Price: 5 euros for general admission and 3 for the reduced rate. There are quite a few free admission days spread through the year (the first Sunday of the month between November and March, 18 April, 18 May, the last weekend of September and 28 October). EU citizens under 25 get in free with documentation.

Languages: the panels are in Greek and English. There is no signage in other languages and no audio guide.

Time needed: thirty or forty minutes is enough. An hour if you read every panel at leisure.

Accessibility: the building has a ground floor and a first floor, with stairs and no lift. With reduced mobility it is only partly visitable.

Photos: allowed without flash, as in most Greek state museums.

Where it fits into the day

It is right in the centre of Poros town, on Korizi Square, five minutes’ walk from the ferry berth. It is one of those visits you slot into a dead gap, for example while you wait for the boat back or during the hottest hours of the afternoon, when the beach is unbearable.

The sequence we recommend for a second day in Poros: museum in the morning with the material fresh in your mind, bus to Kalavria, monastery, path to the sanctuary of Poseidon and a swim at Monastiri to finish. Walking out of the display cases and coming across the same stones among the pines two hours later is what makes this small museum worth the 5 euros.