We visited Delphi as a stop on our Greek road trip. Delphi always seemed like an interesting place to visit, ever since I studied Greek in high school. It is one of Greece’s most iconic archeological sites and one of its most visited. In this blogpost I will give you my recommendations to make your visit as relaxing as possible and I will give you my opinion on whether Delphi is worth a visit.
Practical information
Delphi is located just over two hours of driving from Athens, at the foot of the Parnassus mountain. We visited in May on a weekend and were able to buy tickets upon arrival, at the ticket office. A full price ticket for adults costs € 12. Opening hours differ according to the seasons, so please check the official website when planning. Surprisingly, there was no real parking lot, but there was only street parking. I can imagine it being quite a walk when the tourist season is on. There is no restaurant inside Delphi, so bring your own, or make sure you don’t need lunch. There is a restaurant near the archeological site, but this is a restaurant where all the tourist buses stop. On our road trip we passed the mountain village Arachova, which was super beautiful and seemed like a better spot to have lunch.
Our experience in Delphi
We visited Delphi on a weekend and we found it pretty crowded. The main advantage of Delphi is that it consists of several layers, so people can spread out over the different layers, so it is not impossible to take pictures. We visited around 1PM and found that the tourists buses did not leave yet. I think it is probably best if you visit as late as possible during the day to have the best experience. The difference in height also gives you a stunning view over the landscape and the ruins. The main sights of Delphi are the Temple of Apollo and the Theatre. I highly recommend walking up all the way behind the theatre because this gives you the best views. We visited the main ruins, but there is also another temple “Athena Pronaia” a bit farther down the road (make sure to take care while crossing the road, it looked dangerous). I found Delphi to be surprisingly authentic, the site is located in a stunning location in nature and parts of it are in a really good state. However, I would have preferred to visit with a guide, as there is not a lot of information to be found on the site itself. I did have Greek in high school, but couldn’t remember too much of the Oracle of Delphi and had to google that Delphi dates back to 1400 BC (!).
