Delphi
UNESCO World Heritage Site: Archaeological Site Of Delphi (1987) The Sanctuary Of Apollo And Seat Of The Oracle, With The Tholos Of Athena Pronaia And The Delphi Museum · Delphi, Central Greece
Delphi was the religious centre of the ancient Greek world: the sanctuary of Apollo where the Pythia, his priestess, gave oracles that kings and city-states consulted before wars, colonies and new laws. The Greeks called it the navel of the earth. The ruins climb a steep slope of Mount Parnassus under the grey Phaedriades cliffs, above a gorge that falls toward a sea of olive trees and the Gulf of Corinth, and that setting is half the reason to come. Visitors walk the Sacred Way past the rebuilt Treasury of the Athenians to the Temple of Apollo, then up to the theatre and the stadium of the Pythian Games; down the road lie the Castalian Spring and the Sanctuary of Athena Pronaia with its famous round Tholos. The Delphi Museum holds the bronze Charioteer, the Sphinx of the Naxians and friezes from the treasuries. Delphi has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1987. The honest caveat: the site is steep, shadeless and very hot in summer, and from mid morning coach tours from Athens crowd the Sacred Way, so come early or stay the night.
Archaeological Site of Delphi, on the slopes of Mount Parnassus just east of modern Delphi village, Phocis; about 180 km from Athens, Delphi, Central Greece, Greece
The site and museum follow the state pattern: roughly 08:00 to 19:00 or 20:00 in summer (April to October) and much shorter in winter, often closing about 15:00-17:00; the museum has historically opened later on one weekday morning - confirm. Closed on 1 January, 25 March, 1 May, Easter Sunday and 25-26 December. One ticket covers the upper site and the museum; the lower Sanctuary of Athena Pronaia has usually been free to walk. KTEL buses leave Athens' Liosion terminal a few times a day (roughly 3 hours); by car it is about 2.5 hours via Livadeia and Arachova. Buy at the gate or on the official Hellenic Heritage e-ticket system.