Best Time to Visit Delphi The best time to visit Delphi is spring, from April to early June, and autumn, from mid-September through October, when the mountain air stays mild, the light runs clear across the Pleistos valley, and the Athens coaches thin out on the Sacred Way. These two windows sit between the shadeless … Read more
Delphi lies about 180 kilometres northwest of Athens on the slopes of Mount Parnassus, and this guide covers every way to get there: the drive and the route, the KTEL intercity bus, guided day tours, private transfers, and whether a train reaches the site. It also compares the cost of each option, explains how to … Read more
Planning a visit to Ancient Delphi begins with the ticket. This guide sets out the price of admission to the archaeological site and the Delphi Archaeological Museum, the summer and winter opening hours, the combined ticket that covers both, the free-admission days, and the ways to buy in advance or at the gate. It also … Read more
Mount Parnassus is the great limestone mountain that dominates central Greece, rising in pale, sculpted ridges above the Gulf of Corinth and the plain of Amfissa. To the ancient Greeks it was sacred ground, the mountain of Apollo and the Muses, and on its southern slopes stands Delphi, once believed to be the very centre … Read more
The village of Delphi is a small mountain town in central Greece, set on the steep slopes of Mount Parnassus a short walk from the famous archaeological site. Its two main streets follow the contour of the hillside, and from many of its balconies the land falls away in a sea of silver olive trees … Read more
The Sacred Way at Delphi is the winding paved path that carries you up through the sanctuary of Apollo, climbing from the entrance to the terrace of the great temple. It was the processional spine of the whole site, the route every pilgrim, envoy and festival procession followed on the way to the oracle. Along … Read more
The Charioteer of Delphi is one of the most complete and moving bronze statues to survive from the ancient Greek world. Known in Greek as the Heniochos, meaning the rein-holder, this life-size figure of a young chariot driver stands calm and upright, his long belted robe falling in fluted folds and his inlaid eyes still … Read more
The Pythian Games were one of the great pan-Hellenic festivals of the ancient Greek world, staged high on the slopes of Mount Parnassus at the sanctuary of Delphi in honour of the god Apollo. Held once every four years, they ranked second only to the Olympic Games in prestige, drawing athletes, musicians, poets and spectators … Read more
On the lower bend of the Sacred Way at Delphi stands a small, bright building that catches almost every visitor’s eye: the Treasury of the Athenians. Compact yet perfectly proportioned, it was raised by the city of Athens to house the precious offerings its people dedicated to Apollo, and it survives today as the most … Read more