The Jewish Museum of Greece, Athens

One of the largest museums exploring the Jewish presence in Europe can be found inside an old mansion of Plaka. The Jewish Museum (Εβραϊκό Μουσείο της Ελλάδος) documents a period starting over 2,300 years ago, when the first Jews settled in Greece by following the routes of the Phoenician trade ships. The next major arrival happened in the 15th century by thousands of Sephardim Jews who were forced to leave Spain. The museum's exhibits vividly recreate these and other historic periods from antiquity until the tragic destruction of the Greek Jewish community during the Second World War, with only 8,500 of the 80,000 pre-war population surviving the Holocaust. The 7,000 exhibits include, among others, a collection of traditional costumes, religious items, and historic manuscripts.