Visiting the Chios Maritime Museum: What to Know

The Chios Maritime Museum is at 20 Stefanos Tsouri Street in Chios Town. Its central location makes it straightforward to combine a museum visit with a walk through the town’s streets and waterfront.

The museum occupies a two-storey mansion built at the beginning of the 20th century. Its traditional Chios architectural style includes a neoclassical design. The house belonged to the late Anastasios and Marouko Patera; their heirs donated it to the foundation that bears their name.

If you’re planning a broader route on foot, the one-day Chios Town walking itinerary includes other town-centre stops.

The museum’s purpose is to collect and classify historical information about Chios’s maritime tradition, shipping and commercial vessels. Its collections connect the island’s maritime past with the ships and people involved in it.

The Aristides Glykas Collection includes ship models, ship parts and instruments, along with portraits of sailing ships and steamships owned by Chian shipowners. The portraits date from the late 19th to the early 20th century. The museum also holds rare photographs of maritime life and ship models from different periods.

The museum’s official website names an exhibition of personal items belonging to Konstantinos Kanaris. For another perspective on the town’s past, you can pair this visit with the Archaeological Museum of Chios.

Plan your visit around the museum’s opening hours, and allow time to take in the mansion as well as its maritime collections. The museum is in the town centre, so you can continue on foot toward the waterfront or central streets afterward.

Chios Town’s central waterfront, known as Prokymaia, has cafes, taverns and restaurants. Plateia Vounakiou, the town’s central square, is near the former Ottoman mosque, now the Chios Byzantine Museum, and the Municipal Park.

The museum may open in August and is closed on holidays. General admission ranges from €2.50 to €4.00, while concession admission ranges from €1.50 to €2.00.

Opening hours

• Monday to Friday: 9:00–14:30
• Saturday: 9:00–13:00
• Sunday: closed

Last checked November 2026. Hours can change on holidays and for special events.

The museum’s telephone number is +30 22710 44139. For current opening and admission details, check the official site before you go.

From Plateia Vounakiou, Aplotaria Street runs south as the town’s main market street. Philippou Argenti Street leads toward the historic High School of Chios, the Town’s Cathedral and Koraes’ Library.

If you’re arriving by car, peripheral parking areas include the Farkaina and Chios Nautical Club lots by the south entrance, and Ramnis Street and “Evodos” by the north entrance. Walking from these areas can help you avoid central traffic.