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A plaster cast of a Minoan table in the Museum of Prehistoric Thera

The Museum of Prehistoric Thera: Akrotiri’s missing half

The Museum of Prehistoric Thera sits in the middle of Fira, and it is the other half of a visit to Akrotiri. The excavation gives you the streets and the standing walls of a Bronze Age town buried by the eruption.

An at a glance card for The Museum of Prehistoric Thera. What it holds: The Akrotiri frescoes. Also: A gold ibex figurine. Allow: About an hour. Often on: The same site ticket. Best hour: The middle of the day. One row is marked out as the thing that decides the visit. The conclusion reads: Akrotiri gives you the rooms. This gives you what was in them. No prices appear.
Akrotiri gives you the rooms. This gives you what was in them.

Diagram by Greece Trips. Free to reuse with credit - CC BY 4.0.

What is in it

  • Wall paintings from Akrotiri, the frescoes that made the site famous, displayed at a scale that lets you see the brushwork.
  • Pottery in quantity, including the fine painted ware that shows how far this island traded.
  • A gold ibex figurine, small, exquisite and the single object most visitors remember.
  • Everyday objects: tools, storage jars, furniture casts made from voids left in the ash.

The museum is compact. Ninety minutes is generous, an hour is enough for most people.

The ticket, and the order

Santorini’s archaeological ticket has been sold as a package covering Akrotiri, this museum and Ancient Thera. If that still holds when you visit, the museum is already paid for by the time you leave the excavation, which many visitors never realise.

Order: Akrotiri first, museum second, so the objects land in rooms you have walked through. If the weather is bad or the heat is brutal, reverse it without guilt.

Practical notes

  • It is indoors and cool, which makes it the right midday move in July and August.
  • It is in the middle of Fira, so it slots into any day without planning.
  • Photography rules vary by gallery; check on the day.
  • Hours change seasonally, and the museum can close on days the site does not.

Last checked August 2026. Hours and ticket terms change - see our editorial policy.

Common questions

Where are the Akrotiri frescoes?

The wall paintings from Akrotiri are in the Museum of Prehistoric Thera in Fira, not at the excavation itself, where reproductions and empty wall spaces stand in their place.

Is the museum included in the Akrotiri ticket?

The island’s archaeological ticket has been sold as a package covering Akrotiri, this museum and Ancient Thera. Terms change, so confirm at the gate.

How long do you need at the Museum of Prehistoric Thera?

About an hour, or ninety minutes if you read the labels properly.

Should you visit Akrotiri or the museum first?

Akrotiri first, so the objects make sense in the rooms you have seen. Either order works if weather or heat dictates otherwise.

Where is the museum?

In the middle of Fira, a short walk from the main square and the bus station.

Next

Read things to do in Santorini, Akrotiri, or Fira.