Athens' main synagogue is a handsome white marble building dating to 1935. Renovated in 1972, it has two stained-glass windows with abstract designs representing Genesis and Exodus plus many other traditional and symbolic features. Learn more about them on an appointment-only tour: to arrange, send an email with a photocopy of your passport to sec@athjcom.gr.

Opposite Beth Shalom stands the smaller Ets Hayim, a Romaniote synagogue built in 1904.


Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Nearby attractions

1. Museum of Traditional Pottery

0.01 MILES

If the Kerameikos site sparks your curiosity, head to this small museum around the corner. In a lovely neoclassical building, it's dedicated to the…

2. Ets Hayim Synagogue

0.02 MILES

This compact Romaniote synagogue, built in 1904 and renovated in 2010, is now used only for services on high holidays. The raised main hall is reached via…

3. Holocaust Memorial

0.06 MILES

Greek-American sculptor Deanna Maganias' concept for the city's memorial to the victims of the Holocaust is a fragmented Star of David, made from Egyptian…

4. Dipylon Gate

0.07 MILES

Within Kerameikos, the Dipylon Gate, northeast of the Sacred Gate, was the main entrance to the ancient city of Athens, and the point where the…

5. Museum of Islamic Art

0.07 MILES

While not particularly large, this museum houses a significant collection of Islamic art. Four floors of a mansion display, in ascending chronological…

6. Museum Alex Mylona

0.08 MILES

The permanent collection here is superminimalist sculpture and paintings by Athenian grande dame Alex Mylona, who died in 2016. The creatively refurbished…

7. Sacred Gate

0.09 MILES

Inside the ancient site of Kerameikos lie the remains of the city wall built by Themistocles in 479 BC, then rebuilt by Konon in 394 BC. The wall is…

8. Agios Athanasios Church

0.13 MILES

This church has gone through several incarnations over the centuries and sits on the site of a former ancient monument. Just down the street is the oldest…