The “Athens Conservatoire” (greek: Odeion Athinon) is the oldest educational institution for the performing arts in modern Greece, founded as a non-profit organization in 1871. The Athens Conservatoire’s premium location at the heart of Athens and its iconic “bauhaus” building, make it a unique and enviable cultural hub for various contemporary arts and cultural events.
The building, officially recognized and protected as a “Modern Architectural Monument” by the Greek Ministry of Culture, was designed by the famous Greek architect Ioannis Despotopoulos (1903-1992) who holds a prominent position within the modernist architectural movement of the 1930s and the Bauhaus movement in which he actively participated. His widely acknowledged work for the Athens Conservatoire is the only complete part of an ambitious large-scale cultural complex, commissioned in 1959 by the then government of Athens, for which he earned the top architectural prize of its time.
In September 2022, a new space of stunning aesthetics, a modern, elegant, comfortable Amphitheatre, named after Ioannis Despotopoulos, the famed architect of the Athens Conservatoire, was added to the current building infrastructure. The space offers a seating capacity of 600 and is equipped with the latest technical systems and supporting facilities. The Amphitheatre Ioannis Despotopoulos is situated in the first basement (-1) of the building, accessible via Rigillis Street. Its particular design and modern technical facilities ensure the successful hosting of conferences and lectures as well as various cultural, artistic and corporate events.
How to get there
Postal address
Rigillis St & Vas.Georgiou Avenue Β’ 17-19
10675 Athens, Greece
By metro: The nearest METRO station is “Evangelismos”
(Line 3: Agia Marina-Doukissis Plakentias/Airport, schedule here)
By bus: Bus lines passing through Vasileos Konstantinou Avenue:
Bus Stop: “National Research Foundation”
Bus Line 550 (P.Faliro-Kifisia) and Bus Line 10 (Tzitzifies-Chalandri)
Bus stops on Vasilissis Sofias Avenue: Rigillis or Byzantine Museum-Rigillis
From the Athens International Airport:
Take the METRO towards Syntagma Square & you reach the Athens Conservatoire in about 50 minutes (get off at Evangelismos Metro station)
or
Take the X95 Airport Express Bus to Enangelismos Bus Stop or Syntagma Square & you reach the Athens Conservatoire after a few minutes’ walk
(Athens International Airport info page here)
From/To the Piraeus Port:
You can also reach the Conservatoire by taking the subway METRO Line 1 (Green line: Kifissia to Piraeus) from Monastiraki Metro or Omonia Metro stations, to/from the main Piraeus Metro station at the port, the trip takes about 20 minutes.
(useful information about the Port of Piraeus here)
By car: Car parking garages are available very close and open 24 hours a day.
