After 2 years of travelling, I am currently in Greece. I'm paying 3 Euro per hour at internet cafes,...
After 2 years of travelling, I am currently in Greece. I'm paying 3 Euro per hour at internet cafes, so please forgive me if I don't rate and comment as often as I might as I am still finding my way around ciao!
Member since:30.10.2005
Reviews:25
Members who trust:2
The modern village of Olympia is in sharp contrast to the adjacent Ancient site, but it is worth suffering the tourist trappings of the modern village to experience the peace and tranquility of the site itself.
Modern Olympia's main street is lined with hotels and tourist shops selling books, ceramics and T shirts. It is the starting point for most visitors to the site and can at times be quite noisy, especially in the spring when coach loads of overseas and Greek students fill the hotels and local restaurants with their boisterous activity.
The ancient site lies at the end of the village and has a tree lined walkway leading to its entrance. Once you leave the modern village behind, the atmosphere changes as you enter the calm of the valley. Although the ruins are not particularly well preserved when compared to the likes of Ephesus, and most of the major finds have been removed to the nearby museum, the site is impressive by its size and location. The ruins are spread over a large area, which is covered in trees. It is at its best in the spring, when wild flowers seem to be re-claiming the area and the valley is a sea of colour.
Walking under the archway to the stadium, it is easy to imagine yourself preparing to compete against athletes from all corners of the Greek world. In other areas of the site there are rows of columns and ruins from the Greek and Roman periods, together with temples and villas. The Temple of Zeus is impressive and it is easy to imagine how it once dominated the site.
The adjacent modern museum is well presented and holds all the finds excavated from the site, including the bronze helmet of Miltiades, which was dedicated to Zeus after his victory over the Persians in 490BC, and a magnificent marble statue of Hermes holding the infant Dionysius.
There are also two more smaller museums at the site. One covers the history of the Olympic Games and the other the history of the excavations. The entrance to these two museums is free. Entrance to the main site and Archeological Museum is currently 6 Euro each, or a combined ticket for 9 Euro.
An impressive site which is well worth the visit for all those interested in Greece's long history. Buses and trains operate from nearby Pirgos, from where there are connections on to Patras, Athens & Kalamata.
Pictures of Olympia
Ancient Olympia
How helpful would this review be to a person making a buying decision? Rating guidelines
Good review, but you do need more detail. Scarlett x
COOOEEE 13.04.2006 23:37
If you leave a space between your paragraphs you will find it makes the review easier to read and also gives a nice presentation of the review. Hope you don't mind the tip. Fionaxx
MAFARRIMOND 13.04.2006 17:57
One of the highlights of my trip around main land Greece. Maureen
NH Hotels, the hotel chain leader in Europe, with more than 300 hotels in 20 countries in Europe, Latin America and Africa. Enter into our web site and find the best available tariff at all times
Apr 13th, 2006
(Apr 16th, 2006)
helpful by (100%):
