Thermopylae and Delphi Private Full-Day Tour from Athens

Meeting point

Departure

07:00, 07:30, 08:00, 08:30, 09:00 daily; scheduled year-round (operator schedule, seats confirmed at checkout)

Pickup

Hotel pickup included

Operator

LS Tours; booking and payment are completed on Viator

1. 1
   Athens

   Pick up from Athens and about two and a half hour drive to reach our first stop.

   2h
2. 2
   Leonidas Monument

   Leonidas was a king of the Greek city-state of Sparta, and the 17th of the Agiad line, a dynasty which claimed descent from the mythological demigod Heracles and Cadmus. Leonidas was son of King Anaxandridas II. He succeeded his half-brother King Cleomenes I to the throne in 489 BC. Leonidas had a notable participation in the Second Persian War, where he led the allied Greek forces to a last stand at the Battle of Thermopylae (480 BC) while attempting to defend the pass from the invading Persian army; he died at the battle and entered myth as the leader of the 300 Spartans. While the Greeks lost this battle, they were able to expel the Persian invaders in the following year.

   30 min
3. 3
   Thermopylae Museum

   Next to the monument of Leonidas, in the historic Thermopylae, lies the innovative museum of the Lamia Municipality, dedicated to the 480 BC battle that changed the course of Greek history.

   1h
4. 4
   Campo della battaglia delle Termopili

   The Battle of Thermopylae was fought between an alliance of Ancient Greek city-states, led by King Leonidas I of Sparta, and the Achaemenid Empire of Xerxes I. It was fought in 480 BC over the course of three days, during the second Persian invasion of Greece.

   30 min
5. 5
   Delphi

   Free time for lunch at a traditional Greek tavern with your friends and family.

   1h
6. 6
   Tholos of Athena Pronaia

   The Tholos of Delphi is among the ancient structures of the Sanctuary of Athena Pronaia in Delphi. The circular temple, a tholos, shares the immediate site with other ancient foundations of the Temple of Athena Pronaia, all located less than a mile east of the main ruins at Delphi, in the modern Greek regional unit of Phocis. The tholos is part of the Delphi UNESCO World Heritage Site.

   30 min
7. 7
   Delphi Archaeological Museum

   Delphi Archaeological Museum is one of the principal museums of Greece and one of the most visited. It is operated by the Greek Ministry of Culture. Founded in 1903, it has been rearranged several times and houses the discoveries made at the Panhellenic sanctuary of Delphi, which dates from the Late Helladic (Mycenean) period to the early Byzantine era. Organized in fourteen rooms on two levels, the museum mainly displays statues, including the famous Charioteer of Delphi, architectural elements, like the frieze of the Siphnian Treasury, and ex-votos dedicated to the sanctuary of Pythian Apollo, like the Sphinx of Naxos.

   1h · Admission not included
8. 8
   Temple of Apollo

   The Temple of Apollo, god of music, harmony, light, healing, and oracles occupied the most important and prominent position in the Delphic Panhellenic Sanctuary. The edifice with the partially restored colonnade visible today dates to the 20th century BC and, according to ancient accounts, five different temples were built throughout history. The famous oracle, the Pythia, operated inside the temple, the location chosen, according to one tradition, due to a sacred chasm beneath the site emitting vapors, which were inhaled by the Pythia.

   1h · Admission not included
9. 9
   Arachova

   Free time to take a few pictures before we start our trip back to Athens.

   15 min
10. 10
    Athens

    We start our way back to Athens.

    2h

About this tour, from the operator