Ancient Olympia
UNESCO World Heritage Site: Archaeological Site Of Olympia (1989) The Sanctuary Of Zeus And Birthplace Of The Ancient Olympic Games, With Its Stadium And Museum · Archaia Olympia, Western Greece
Ancient Olympia is the sanctuary of Zeus in the green valley of the Alfeios and Kladeos rivers in the western Peloponnese, and the place where the ancient Olympic Games were held every four years for more than a thousand years, traditionally from 776 BC until they were ended under the Christian emperor Theodosius in the late fourth century AD. Inside the sacred grove, the Altis, lie the toppled column drums of the Temple of Zeus, which once held Pheidias's gold-and-ivory statue of the god, one of the Seven Wonders of the ancient world and long lost; the older Temple of Hera, where the Olympic flame is still lit by the sun's rays for each modern Games; the round Philippeion; Pheidias's workshop; and the vaulted tunnel into the stadium, where visitors still race the track. The Archaeological Museum beside the site holds some of the finest sculpture in Greece. The honest caveat: this is a field of ruins, most of it knee-high, that means little without a guide or a plan, and on cruise days the coaches from Katakolo fill it from mid-morning.
Archaeological Site of Olympia, Archaia Olympia, Ilia; about 35 km from the cruise port of Katakolo, Archaia Olympia, Western Greece, Greece
State archaeological site and museums, open daily all year. Summer hours (roughly April to October) run long, about 08:00 to 19:00 or 20:00; winter hours are much shorter, often to about 15:00-17:00, and the museums may open later on some mornings - confirm current hours. Closed on 1 January, 25 March, 1 May, Easter Sunday and 25-26 December, with shorter hours on some other holidays. One combined ticket covers the site and the museums; buy it from the official Hellenic Heritage e-ticket system or at the gate. Reach it by car (roughly 3.5-4 hours from Athens), by KTEL bus via Pyrgos, or by coach or taxi from the Katakolo cruise port about 35 km away.