Dwarf Cretan elephants and hippopotami aren’t likely to start a ticket stampede, but it’s well worth swinging by this museum for its setting in the restored 17th-century Temple of Mastaba (aka Veli Pasha Mosque). Nine domes shape its silhouette, overlooked by the city’s oldest minaret, while the once-communal gardens are steeply scented with thyme and oregano. The permanent exhibit displays tusks and fossils from hippos hunted to extinction 10,700 years ago. It’s located southeast of the Municipal Park.
The complex, a branch of Athens’ Goulandris Natural History Museum, often has touring exhibits from the capital and abroad.
