An Arachova itinerary: which two days

Knowing which one you are booking is the entire practical question, and it comes before any itinerary. Everything else is in the Arachova guide.

Before you book: the day of the week decides the price

This is the one thing to fix first. A Friday or Saturday night in winter is a different town, a different atmosphere and a substantially different bill from a Tuesday. Neither is wrong; booking one and expecting the other is.

If you want the scene, come at the weekend in season and book well ahead. If you want the mountain town, come midweek or in summer, and you will have it largely to yourself.

Arachova sits on the main Athens to Delphi road, which is why it works as a base rather than a detour.

Day 1: the town, and the clocktower

Arachova is grey stone houses with tiled roofs stacked along the slope, a clocktower on the rock above, and a main street that carries the through traffic of the Delphi road.

The town is a single climb. Walk up through the lanes above the main street, which empty within a minute of leaving it, and continue to the clocktower for the view along the valley. It is a short walk and a steep one.

The main street is where the shops and the tavernas are, and it is unashamedly a weekend-visitor street. The formaela cheese, which is local and grilled, and the local wine are the things to order.

Day 2: Delphi, and the right hours

Delphi is a short drive west and it is the reason Arachova works as a base. The sanctuary of Apollo sits on the lower slopes of Parnassus above an olive plain running down to the Gulf of Corinth, and the museum holds the Charioteer.

Timing is everything there. The coaches hold the site from mid-morning to mid-afternoon, and whoever is staying nearby walks in at opening with the ruins near-empty. Being in Arachova rather than Athens is exactly what makes that possible.

Go early, do the site and then the museum, and be back for lunch. The alternative is to stay in Delphi village itself, which is closer still; Meteora vs Delphi covers how the mainland stops fit together.

The winter version: the ski centre

Above the town, the Parnassos ski centre is the largest in Greece and the reason Arachova is what it is. In season it fills the town at weekends.

If you are here to ski, the town is the base and the road up is short. If you are not, the same road in summer leads to walking on Parnassos, which is a serious mountain rather than a hill and worth a day if the weather is settled.

How to adapt this

One night. Arrive in the afternoon, walk up to the clocktower, eat on the main street and do Delphi at opening the next morning. That is the whole point of the place.

In summer. Quiet, cool and cheap, with Delphi twenty minutes away and the mountain open for walking. It is a much better value trip than the winter version and almost nobody makes it.

Without a car. Buses run the Athens to Delphi road and stop here, so it is possible, but the ski centre and the mountain need wheels.

As a stop between Athens and the north. It sits on the route, and one night here breaks the drive far better than pushing on. Athens to Delphi as a day trip covers the alternative of not stopping at all.

Where this leaves you

Two days in Arachova: the stone town and the climb to the clocktower on the first, Delphi at opening on the second. Check the day of the week before you book, because a winter weekend and a summer Tuesday are different towns at different prices. The reason to stay here rather than in Athens is that you can be at Delphi before the coaches.

Quick answers

Is Arachova worth staying in?

Yes, mainly because it puts you twenty minutes from Delphi and lets you reach the site at opening, before the coaches. It is also a genuinely handsome stone town on the flank of Parnassos, which most people only see through a car window.

When should you visit Arachova?

Midweek or in summer if you want a quiet mountain town at a reasonable price. Friday or Saturday in winter if you want the fashionable Athenian weekend scene, which is a different town entirely and needs booking well ahead.

How far is Delphi from Arachova?

A short drive west along the same road, which is the whole reason to base here. It is close enough that you can be at the sanctuary when it opens and back in town for lunch.

Is there skiing at Arachova?

The Parnassos ski centre sits above the town and is the largest in Greece, and it is the reason Arachova fills at winter weekends. In summer the same road gives access to walking on the mountain.