Athens, Greece: Academy of Athens

Greece has been associated with deep thinking for a few thousand years, and it must have been easy to wonder what people might be willing to carry on that tradition to the present day. Maybe that's why the Academy of Athens was founded in 1926. Its roots go back to the Academy of Plato.

There are three different portions of the Academy - Natural Sciences, Letters and Arts, and Moral and Political Services. A variety of research centers are part of the complex. For example, Biomedical matters were added to the list of subjects in 2002. 

And what a great building! Walk into the the grounds, and you can't help but be inspired by the surroundings. It was all designed in the 1850s, and took until 1885 to finish everything.