1,165Reviews24Q&A
Reviews
Traveler rating
- 1,013
- 97
- 40
- 10
- 5
Traveler type
Time of year
Language
More
Selected filters
- Filter
- English
Popular mentions
doctorjane wrote a review Aug 2020
Stratford-upon-Avon, United Kingdom139 contributions60 helpful votes
It’s open normal hours following COVID-19 but with social distancing and masks. So fewer people and better views of the exhibits which are amazing. I learned a lot about the times of Phillip ll and his son Alexander the Great. The museum is built over the original tombs but you still have the idea about what it is like to walk down to the underground mausoleums and much of the relics with which the king was buried remain. The gold caskets and funeral wreaths are beautiful. Stunning! We also visited nearby Pella.…
Read more
Date of experience: August 2020
1 Helpful vote
Helpful
A fantastic sight for history buffs. And for photo buffs! Well worth going out of the way to see it.
I had done a lot of research before going to Greece, but I never realised this is such an amazing place. I suppose it is not well known because firstly it is in a remote location, and the guide books I consulted did not give elaborate descriptions. We were on a long drive from Meteora to Thessaloniki (a conducted tour by bus) and there were groans and moans when the bus stopped at Vergina. Everyone was tired and a bit irritated. But, all that totally vanished when we saw this magnificent museum. To a man (and woman!) we were tremendously impressed. This is called "Royal" for a simple reason: it holds the tomb of Phillip of Macedon, father of Alexander the Great, and another tomb which is reputed to be that of Alexander's son. There is some doubt about whether the latter is really the place where Alexander's son is buried, our guide gave us both sides of the story. But, the piece de resistance is Phillip's tomb, and the various artefacts relating to it in the museum. Several very large and very beautiful gold objects. Phillip was buried with all these things, along with his most recent wife. She agreed (or was forced!) to die and join him in the after-life. Fortunately grave looters did not get to this grave, (and the one purporting to be Alexander's son's) before they were properly excavated. A truly amazing museum, and really worth seeing. One of the highlights of my three week trip to Greece! (by the way, photos were allowed everywhere, except in the actual tombs).…
Read more
Date of experience: April 2019
1 Helpful vote
Helpful
An excellent strategic place, with small hills, lush vegetation, fruit trees and fresh water. This is the place where Philip II shows his skills and of course Alexander the Great began his journey to get acquainted with Greek culture in the world. A museum that leaves you speechless with the faithful depiction of the time and the setting.…
Read more
Date of experience: February 2020
Helpful
+1
The Greek archeologist M. Andronikos moved to Vergina and after thirty years discovered this site with 4 tombs - two of which were plundered, but the tombs of Philip II and Alexander and Roxanna's son, Alexander IV, left untouched. Philip's is remarkable because Alexander was unusually generous in the amount of artefacts he left in his father's tomb. The museum is one of the best I have visited. Immaculately laid out around and over the tombs, it presents the treasures that were traditionally buried with royalty - their weaponry, the banquting dinner services for feasting, the golden oaks wreaths, the ossuary-hydria holding the cremated bones, the utensils for washing the dead bodies and the gold and ivory couches on which the clothing for the afterlife was laid out. There is even a hunting scene with the ivory faces of Philip and his son Alexander. I particularly liked the bronze 'greaves' of Philip's which he wore to cover up his shorter right leg - he had one ornamental pair and one for everyday use. The king's body armour and bronze shield are also outstanding. The young Alexander(13 - 16 years old) met a sad fate. Living with his mother in Vergina, they were invited by Cassender, one of the diadochi, to Thessaloniki for its better education. He later ordered the poisoning of the young Alexander and his mother to gain the throne and, as such, there are no statues of him in Greece even though he established several new cities.…
Read more
Date of experience: February 2020
1 Helpful vote
Helpful
This archeological site probably gives the visitor the best idea in Greece what life looked like in the time of Alexander the Great. The fact that the place was so recently discovered (80s) and so intact makes it even more alluring. I highly recommend visiting this place. However the public communications to this place are not good, and that took away a bit of the overall impression. …
Read more
Date of experience: January 2020
Helpful
