Finding the best hotels in Ancient Olympia...
Checking availability for your dates...
Update your search below
Finding the best hotels in Ancient Olympia...
Checking availability for your dates...
Ancient Olympia, in a green valley of western Peloponnese where the Alfeios and Kladeos rivers meet, is the birthplace of the Olympic Games, first held here in 776 BC. The sanctuary of Zeus was one of the most important religious centres of the ancient world, and every four years athletes from across the Greek cities competed here under a sacred truce. Today the archaeological site spreads under pine and olive trees: visitors walk through the vaulted tunnel into the original stadium, see the ruins of the great Temple of Zeus, which once held a gold-and-ivory statue counted among the Seven Wonders, the Temple of Hera where the Olympic flame is still lit, the gymnasium, the palaestra and the workshop of the sculptor Pheidias. The excellent Archaeological Museum displays the temple's pediment sculptures and the Hermes of Praxiteles. Several smaller museums cover the history of the ancient and modern Games. The modern village is small and relaxed, with hotels, tavernas and souvenir shops along its main street. Olympia is easily reached from the cruise port of Katakolo and makes a good stop between the beaches of Ilia and the mountain villages of Arcadia.
Quick facts
LOCATION
Peloponnese
KNOWN FOR
Ancient stadium & museum
BEST FOR
Archaeological sites, History, Museums
Museums & History
Archaeological Site of Ancient Olympia
Ancient Olympic Stadium
Archaeological Museum of Olympia
Museum of the History of the Olympic Games
Ilia