Temple of Aphaia, among pines above the gulf

What it is

One of the best-preserved Greek temples: Doric, with a surrounding colonnade, built around 500–490 BC at the top of a pine-covered hill in the east of the island. Of its 32 columns, 24 are still standing. The pediment sculptures were taken in 1811 and are now in the Glyptothek in Munich. With the Parthenon and the temple of Poseidon at Sounion it forms the so-called sacred triangle, three temples that draw a triangle over the Saronic Gulf. Beside the temple there is a small collection.

Hours and tickets

• 1 April to 31 August: 8:00 to 20:00.
• September and October: closing moves earlier each fortnight, from 19:30 to 18:00.
• 1 November to 31 March: 10:00 to 17:30.

The collection is open 9:00 to 18:00 from April to October and 10:30 to 17:00 in winter, and closes on Tuesdays. Last entry, 20 minutes before. Entry, €10 (reduced €5), includes both. Free on 6 March, 18 April, 18 May, the last weekend of September, 28 October and the first and third Sunday from November to March. Closed on 1 January, 25 March, 1 May, Easter Sunday and 25 and 26 December. Phone: +30 22970 32398.

Getting there

It is about 12 km from Aegina harbour: 17 minutes by car, or 6 from Agia Marina, the beach below, from which you walk up in half an hour. Without a car, a taxi from the harbour or the local bus towards Agia Marina, which passes the temple: confirm the timetable at the harbour stop.