Samothraki · Museums
Where the island keeps its treasures, from ancient sculpture to the objects of everyday village life.
Essential
Paleopoli
At the entrance to the Sanctuary, with the finds of more than a century of excavations: sculpture and architecture from the sanctuary's buildings, offerings left by the initiates, inscriptions, pottery and jewellery from the ancient city and its graves, and a full-size cast of the Winged Victory.
Must see: The cast of the Winged Victory, in the place she came from
Paleopoli
Not a museum but the site itself: a green ravine of columns, foundations and plane trees, with signs that explain where the initiates gathered, purified themselves and were received into the Mysteries.
Must see: The niche above the theatre where the Winged Victory stood
More to explore
Chora
A 19th-century stone house next to the church in Chora, once the island's first secondary school, opened as a museum in 1985 with objects given by the villagers: farm and shepherds' tools, a loom, costumes, and the rooms of a family home from the days before tourism. Open in summer.
Must see: The upper floor, laid out as an island home
Paris
The original statue is not on the island. Found here in 1863, she stands at the top of the Daru staircase in the Louvre, on the prow of her grey marble ship, one of the most famous sculptures in the world.
Must see: The wings and the wind-blown robes, seen from the foot of the stairs
Opening hours change seasonally. Check with each museum before visiting.