Pierre and Madeleine work on a series of finds from Roman Athens at an “archaeological site” they were lucky enough to enjoy on their own. They have not paid for the ticket and wonder why there is no one else on these 20 acres of greenery, spread out behind the palace of Duchess Placencia. This is the first thing they say when I ask how they got into the gardens of the Byzantine Museum. “It’s strange to be alone, but it’s also a bit of a relief after visiting the Acropolis.”

The gardens-museums, the vision of the late Dimitris Konstantinou, although they have several years of operation behind them, are still a completely unknown place for most Athenians. Much more popular is the museum cafe, which overlooks a beautiful park. Despite all this, few people walk on it and enjoy it. And let there be much to learn: the three exhibition stations “Freato-dexameni”, “Paradisos” and “Ilissos” will take you on a journey through the history of the Athenian water supply, the perception of the Byzantines on earth and the afterlife, but also in the evolution of the Parillis landscape from antiquity to the present day . Despite the fact that during the summer season it has three different entrances (Vas. Sofia, Rigillis, Vas. Konstantinou) and attractive opening hours (from 8:00 to 20:00).

Perhaps the fact that events are rarely held in the created small open theater did not contribute to the popularization of the space. Of course, there are also maintenance and “image” problems of the territory: the water element that crosses most of the park often does not work (it is not known why), and right next to the open-air amphitheater there are building materials that have been abandoned for years and which no one took away. The maintenance of the garden is at a much better level: among the fruit trees and aromatic plants that came to life after the last rains, you can walk for free. Too bad it’s only for tourists.