Things to do in Delphi

What Delphi is, in one paragraph

Delphi is a sanctuary built on a shelf of Mount Parnassus, and for something like a thousand years it was the place the Greek world came to ask questions. The oracle spoke through the priestess of Apollo, states consulted it before founding colonies and starting wars, and the treasuries lining the path up were built by cities to house the thank-offerings they sent afterwards. The Greeks called it the omphalos - the navel of the world.

It is also, physically, a steep site, which is the practical thing nobody tells you. You enter at the bottom and everything is uphill from there.

The site, in walking order

1. The Sacred Way. The path climbing through the sanctuary, switching back on itself. It was lined with treasuries and monuments - the reconstructed Athenian Treasury is the one still standing - and every one of them was a piece of political advertising by the city that paid for it. Read it as a street of statements rather than a path.

2. The Temple of Apollo. The terrace at the top of the Sacred Way, with six columns re-erected. This is where the oracle was consulted. Standing on the terrace and looking down the valley toward the sea is the moment the site makes sense.

3. The theatre. Above the temple, and worth the extra climb for the view back down over the whole sanctuary.

4. The stadium. Above that again, and the highest point of the site - a long, well-preserved running track cut into the hillside where the Pythian Games were held. A lot of visitors stop at the theatre and miss it. It is the quietest part of the site and one of the best-preserved stadia in Greece.

5. The museum. Below, at the entrance, and it is not an add-on. The bronze Charioteer is here - a life-size fifth-century figure that survived because an earthquake buried it - along with the twin kouroi, the sphinx of the Naxians and the omphalos stone itself.

6. The Tholos, at Athena Pronaia. A separate, lower enclosure a short walk down the road from the main entrance, with a circular building of three re-erected columns that is the single most photographed thing at Delphi. It is outside the main site and a great many people never walk down to it. Do.

The practical shape of a visit

• It is uphill, on stone, in the open. There is very little shade on the site. In July and August, go early or late; the middle of the day is genuinely punishing.
• Allow more time than you think. The sanctuary and the museum together are a comfortable half day, and rushing the museum to catch a coach is the standard mistake.
• Wear real shoes. The paths are uneven ancient stone.
• The modern village of Delphi is a few minutes away and has the accommodation and the tavernas. Staying there lets you do the site early, which is the single best decision available.

We are not printing opening hours or ticket prices, because they change and a wrong one costs you a morning. Check the official archaeological-site listing before you go.

What most people get wrong

Treating it as a stop rather than a place. The overwhelming majority of visitors arrive by coach from Athens, spend two hours, and leave. That is enough to see the temple and not enough to understand it.

Skipping the museum. The Charioteer alone justifies the entrance, and the museum is what makes the ruins legible.

Missing the Tholos. It is the image everyone has of Delphi and it is in a separate enclosure most visitors never enter.

Going at midday in August. See above.

Getting there and staying

Delphi sits about two and a half hours north-west of Athens by road. Most people come as a day trip - see day trips from Athens and our Delphi day trip guide, which covers the journey itself, the tour-versus-drive question and the timings.

This page is about what is actually on the site once you are standing there. Staying a night in the modern village is the way to have the sanctuary to yourself for the first hour of the day, before the coaches arrive from the capital.

If you are combining it with the other great mainland site, Athens to Meteora covers the journey north - and Delphi and Meteora together make a proper two- or three-day mainland loop that almost no island-focused itinerary includes.

Frequently asked questions

What is there to see at Delphi?

The Sacred Way climbing through the sanctuary, the temple of Apollo with its re-erected columns, the theatre and the stadium above it, the archaeological museum with the bronze Charioteer, and the Tholos at the sanctuary of Athena Pronaia below the main site.

How long do you need at Delphi?

A comfortable half day for the sanctuary and the museum together. Coach day trips typically allow about two hours, which is enough to see it and not enough to take it in.

Is Delphi worth visiting?

It is one of the two great mainland sites alongside Meteora, and the setting - a sanctuary on a shelf of Mount Parnassus looking down a valley to the sea - is as much of the experience as the ruins.

What is the Charioteer of Delphi?

A life-size bronze figure from the fifth century BC, in the site museum. It survived because an earthquake buried it, which is why it is one of the very few large Greek bronzes still in existence.

Is Delphi a difficult site to walk?

It is steep and uneven, on ancient stone, with very little shade. Go early or late in summer and wear proper shoes.

Should I stay overnight in Delphi?

If you can. The modern village is minutes from the site, and being there at opening time means seeing the sanctuary before the coaches arrive from Athens.

Next

Read the Delphi guide, the Delphi day trip from Athens for the journey, or pair it with Athens to Meteora for a mainland loop.