# Marathon

A half-day excursion from Athens: the burial mound of the Athenians of 490 BC, the museum, the sanctuary of Rhamnous (€5 each) and Schinias beach.

Fuente: https://www.geocalia.com/en/greece/attica/marathon · Revisado: 2026-11-12

In 490 BC, on a plain between the mountain and the sea 40 km from Athens, some ten thousand Athenians and their Plataean allies defeated the Persian army that had just landed in the bay. That saved Athens, opened its golden age and left a legend, that of the messenger who ran to the city to announce the victory, which ended up giving the race its name. Today the plain of Marathon is fields, greenhouses and houses, but the burial mound of the dead is still in the middle, and around it there is a museum, a sanctuary above the sea and a long beach backed by pine woods. It is a half-day excursion from Athens, or a full day with the beach.

## How do you get there from Athens?

By car, about 50 minutes for 40 km along Marathonos Avenue, which leaves from the north-east of the city. From the airport, about 30 km via Rafina and Nea Makri, half an hour. The sites are 4 to 15 km apart: a car is what works.

Without a car is complicated: by public transport you can't reach the sites easily, as they are spread out. If you don't drive, a taxi for half a day is better.

## What is there to see at Marathon?

Start with the museum, in Vrana: the fragments of the victory trophy, the busts of Herodes Atticus, who was born here, and the colossal Egyptian-style statues from his sanctuary at Vrexiza. Next to the museum is the Plataeans' mound. Then, the Athenian burial mound, the Soros, a nine-metre earthen mound over the fallen hoplites. If you have time, go north to Rhamnous, the sanctuary of Nemesis and Themis above the Euboean Gulf, with a road of tombs that runs down to the sea fortress.

For the afternoon, Schinias beach, several kilometres of sand with pine woods behind, in the very bay where the Persians anchored. On the way back, the marble dam of Lake Marathon, faced with stone from Pentelicus, the mountain of the Parthenon's marble.

## How much does it cost and what are the opening hours?

Each site has its own ticket: the mound, the museum, Vrexiza and Rhamnous, €5 each (reduced, €3). All open from 8:30 to 15:30 all year and close on Tuesdays. Free on the first and third Sunday of each month from November to March, 6 March, 18 April, 18 May, the last weekend of September and 28 October. They close on 1 January, 25 March, 1 May, Easter Sunday and 25 and 26 December. Buy them at tickets.hh.gr or at the ticket office.

## Where to eat and sleep?

Marathon can be seen in a day from Athens, but you can also sleep on the coast, in Nea Makri or in Mati, half an hour from the airport. For lunch, the fish tavernas of Nea Makri: the Argo, at the end of the promenade, open every day, and the Trata, run by the same family since 1981. On the sand at Schinias, a café at Moraitis Beach.

To sleep, the Marathon Beach Resort, a beach hotel next to the port of Nea Makri; the NLH Mati Seafront, over the sea in Mati, and the Ballos Apartments, with kitchens, for families. If you prefer to sleep in central Athens, you have the listings in Athens. If you want more coast, combine it with Sounion on another day.

## How much time do you need?

Half a day for the museum and the mound; a whole day with Rhamnous and the beach. You have it hour by hour in the excursion to Marathon from Athens. If you prefer a quieter Sunday, with a fish lunch in Nea Makri, see the Sunday in Marathon Bay; and to stay a night, the getaway to Marathon.

## Dónde está
- Cerca: Athens (a 26.7 km), Cape Sounion (a 53.6 km), Aegina (a 64.1 km), Poros (a 83.6 km)

## Qué hacer
- **The Marathon tumulus of the Athenians** (30 min · All ages · €5; reduced €3): What it is
In 490 BC, on this plain beside the sea, the Athenians and their allies from Plataea defeated the Persian army that had landed on the beach. The fallen Athenians were buried where they fell, under an earth mound nine metres high: the tumulus, the Soros, still standing in the middle of the fields. It was a battle that changed the history of Greece and, as a side effect, gave its name to the marathon race.
Entry and hours
€5 (reduced €3). Open 8:30 to 15:30 all year, except Tuesdays; last entry 20 minutes before. Free on the first and third Sunday from November to March and on open days. Closed on 1 January, 25 March, 1 May, Easter Sunday and 25 and 26 December.
Getting there
It is on Agiou Panteleimonos Street, between Nea Makri and Marathon, about 40 km from the centre of Athens. Park beside the entrance. Combine it with the museum, about 4 km away, with a separate ticket.
- **Marathon Archaeological Museum and the Plataean mound** (1 h 15 · All ages · €5; reduced €3): What it is
The Marathon museum is at Vrana, at the foot of the hill, about 4 km from the mound. It tells the story of the whole plain: Neolithic and Bronze Age settlements, the Tsepi and Vrana cemeteries, the original marble fragments of the trophy the Athenians raised after the victory and the busts of Herodes Atticus, the 2nd-century AD millionaire born here. The most surprising are the colossal Egyptian-style statues from Brexiza, the sanctuary of the Egyptian gods that Herodes had built on the coast. It has a tactile replica of the head of the Marathon Ephebe for blind visitors.
The Plataean mound
Beside the museum, in the same Vrana precinct, is the second mound of the battle, where the allies from Plataea are believed to have been buried, the only Greeks who came to help Athens.
Entry and hours
€5 (reduced €3). 8:30 to 15:30 all year; closed on Tuesdays. Plataion Street 114, Marathon. Phone +30 22940 55155.
- **Rhamnous, the sanctuary of Nemesis above the sea** (1 h 30 · All ages with closed shoes · €5; reduced €3): What it is
Rhamnous was a deme of Attica on a peninsula above the strait separating it from Euboea, about 15 km north of Marathon. It had a sanctuary dedicated to Nemesis, the goddess who punishes arrogance, and to Themis, the goddess of justice; the foundations and platform of its two temples remain. From there, an ancient path lined with funerary monuments runs down to the fortress beside the sea, with its walls and a gate.
Entry and hours
€5 (reduced €3). 8:30 to 15:30, every day except Tuesday. Free on the first and third Sunday from November to March.
Getting there
Only by car: from Marathon, via Kato Souli or Agia Marina, about 20 minutes. Bring water: inside there is nowhere to buy it.
- **Schinias beach and pine wood** (4 h · All ages · Free): What it is
Schinias is the bay north of the Marathon plain: several kilometres of sandy beach, with a stone-pine wood behind giving shade, and a protected wetland between the pine wood and the hill. The Persian fleet anchored in this bay in 490 BC. Today it is the beach of north-eastern Athenians, with shallow water, and at one end is the 2004 Olympic rowing canal.
How to get there
By car from the mound, ten minutes to the north. In summer, at weekends it fills up; on weekdays or out of season, there is plenty of room.
- **The marble dam of Lake Marathon** (30 min · All ages · Free): What it is
West of the village of Marathon, the lake is a reservoir surrounded by pines that for decades was Athens's main water store. Its dam, from the late 1920s, is faced in white marble from Mount Pentelicus, the same as the Parthenon, and looks more like a monument than a hydraulic work. The road passes over the crest.
How to get there
By car from Marathon, about 10 minutes west. It is a short stop on the way back to Athens if you return by the inland route.

## Dónde comer
- **Argo, Ouzeri and Fish Taverna** (Restaurant, Nea Makri, €€). Qué pedir: some dips to share, a portion of grilled marida or sardines and a fish of the day by weight, with a carafe of ouzo or tsipouro
- **I Trata, Fish Taverna** (Restaurant, Nea Makri, €€). Qué pedir: grilled aubergine and house taramosalata, the boiled "Trata" salad to share, sardines or red mullet, and in winter the fish soup
- **Moraitis Beach, a Beach Club at Schinias** (Bar, Schinias, €€). Qué pedir: a coffee or something light in the mid-afternoon, after the ruins, before or after a swim

## By car: By Car Around the Plain and the Bay
Marathon is toured by car: the museum, the tumulus, Rhamnous, the dam and Schinias beach are 4 to 15 km apart, and no public transport links them. From central Athens it is about 40 km and 50 minutes along Marathonos Avenue; from the airport, half an hour via Rafina and Nea Makri. To stay, the coast of Nea Makri and Mati, with a beach hotel or an apartment.
Presupuesto orientativo: 80–170 € por persona y día.
### Dónde dormir if you're driving
- **Marathon Beach Resort** (Hotel): A beach hotel with a harbour in front
Marathon Beach Resort is on the shore at Nea Makri, the coastal village just south of the Marathon plain. It was a well-known summer hotel in the seventies, eighties and nineties, and it has recently been renovated. It is three wings of white three-storey buildings around a garden with palm trees and bougainvillea, with the pool in the middle. In front you have the sandy beach and, next door, the Nea Makri marina, with its promenade of cafés and tavernas.
For the Marathon excursion it is a comfortable base: the Athenians' tumulus, the Vrana museum and Schinias beach are less than a quarter of an hour by car. According to the hotel, Athens airport is 22 km away, about 25 minutes, and the port of Rafina, from where boats leave for the Cyclades and Euboea, 8 km. Central Athens is about 40 km away.
The rooms
There are 74 rooms with a view of the sea, the garden or the pool, in seven types. The doubles are 18 m²; the superior doubles and those with a side or front sea view, 23 m². The junior suite is for three people (36 m²) and the family suite for four (41 m²): a bedroom with a double bed or two beds and a second area with a sofa bed for two, a large bathroom with a bath or two bathrooms with showers, and a balcony over the pool and garden. All have air conditioning, wifi, minibar, safe and balcony; a cot and extra bed can be requested.
Pool, meals and services
The main pool is saltwater, in a 300 m² area, with a small children's pool beside it. Breakfast is a buffet from 7:30 to 10:00, and you can ask for takeaway breakfast boxes if you leave early. The Greek taverna opens daily from 12:00 to 00:00, the pool bar from 10:00 to 22:00 and the Surf Club, by the sea, from 9:00 to 23:30. There is a 24-hour reception, free private parking, laundry and room service. The hotel arranges transfers, excursions and car or motorbike hire if you ask. Pets are admitted with prior approval.
You can arrive by car, by taxi or on the KTEL bus and OASA line 314, which pass through Nea Makri; the metro goes as far as Pallini.
- **NLH Mati Seafront** (Hotel): A hotel on the rocks of Mati
Mati is a coastal village with coves among reddish rocks and a little harbour with cafés, between Rafina and Nea Makri, about ten minutes by car south of the Marathon plain. NLH Mati Seafront occupies a renovated building right on the shore, with the pool at the water's edge and a direct way down to the beach. It belongs to the Greek NLH chain, which has three other hotels in central Athens.
It works as a coastal base for seeing Marathon and Rhamnous in the morning and swimming in the afternoon, or for the last night before a flight: the airport is about 20 minutes away, according to the hotel.
The rooms
There are 82 rooms, all with a balcony, in several categories. The classic rooms look onto the mountain (22 m²); the superior onto the courtyard or sideways to the sea; the deluxe sideways or facing the sea, and the panoramic facing it. For families there are four-bed suites: the classic with a mountain view (32 to 39 m²), the superior and the deluxe with a side sea view, and a two-bedroom family suite (31 to 40 m²). All have a bathroom with a hairdryer, desk, 32-inch television, laptop safe, small fridge and free wifi.
Pool, breakfast and bar
The pool is outdoor, freshwater, with direct access to the beach below. It is 1.40 m deep at most, and there is no lifeguard or children's pool: children swim with an adult beside them, and the hours depend on the season and the weather. Breakfast is an American buffet from 7:00 to 10:00 on weekdays and until 10:30 at weekends, in the ground-floor restaurant, with a terrace. You can book with breakfast or half board, and there is a gluten-free or allergy menu if you ask. The lobby bar opens from 9:00 to 24:00, with a large patio over the sea. There is a gym, beauty centre, 24-hour reception, luggage storage and a transfer service to the port and airport for a supplement.
- **Ballos Apartments** (Apartment): An apartment on the Nea Makri promenade
Ballos Apartments is a family business that opened some thirty years ago, when Nea Makri was still a small summer village. It is at the start of Poseidonos Avenue, the coast road, a few steps from the beach and the centre, where you have supermarkets, banks, pharmacies and tavernas. It is the option if you want your own kitchen and a bit more space than a hotel, for several nights with children or to explore the area without hurry.
From here the Marathon plain begins a couple of kilometres away: the tumulus, the museum and Schinias beach are a few minutes by car. The family say on their website that they organise excursions to the battle sites for their guests; ask them when you book.
The apartments
Each apartment is for two to four people and has a bedroom, a living room, kitchen, bathroom, hallway and a spacious terrace. There is air conditioning in the bedroom and the living room, and television. Some face the sea, towards the Gulf of Euboea, and others Mount Penteli, the source of the Parthenon's white marble. There are also ground-floor apartments, more convenient if you have a pushchair or an older person with you. Judging by the photos, they are simple flats with no design pretensions.
What is worth asking
The website does not publish check-in and check-out times, whether there is parking or whether the apartments open all year. The only rates it shows are from 2023, so do not take them as a guide: write to the email or call beforehand. It also says nothing about pets.

## By plane: Fly to Athens and Half an Hour by Car
Marathon is closer to Athens airport than to the city centre: from Eleftherios Venizelos airport it is about 22 km to Nea Makri, around half an hour by car. There are direct flights to Athens from Madrid and Barcelona. That is why the bay works as the first or last night of a trip to Greece, without entering Athens traffic.
### Dónde dormir if you're flying
- **Marathon Beach Resort** (Hotel): A beach hotel with a harbour in front
Marathon Beach Resort is on the shore at Nea Makri, the coastal village just south of the Marathon plain. It was a well-known summer hotel in the seventies, eighties and nineties, and it has recently been renovated. It is three wings of white three-storey buildings around a garden with palm trees and bougainvillea, with the pool in the middle. In front you have the sandy beach and, next door, the Nea Makri marina, with its promenade of cafés and tavernas.
For the Marathon excursion it is a comfortable base: the Athenians' tumulus, the Vrana museum and Schinias beach are less than a quarter of an hour by car. According to the hotel, Athens airport is 22 km away, about 25 minutes, and the port of Rafina, from where boats leave for the Cyclades and Euboea, 8 km. Central Athens is about 40 km away.
The rooms
There are 74 rooms with a view of the sea, the garden or the pool, in seven types. The doubles are 18 m²; the superior doubles and those with a side or front sea view, 23 m². The junior suite is for three people (36 m²) and the family suite for four (41 m²): a bedroom with a double bed or two beds and a second area with a sofa bed for two, a large bathroom with a bath or two bathrooms with showers, and a balcony over the pool and garden. All have air conditioning, wifi, minibar, safe and balcony; a cot and extra bed can be requested.
Pool, meals and services
The main pool is saltwater, in a 300 m² area, with a small children's pool beside it. Breakfast is a buffet from 7:30 to 10:00, and you can ask for takeaway breakfast boxes if you leave early. The Greek taverna opens daily from 12:00 to 00:00, the pool bar from 10:00 to 22:00 and the Surf Club, by the sea, from 9:00 to 23:30. There is a 24-hour reception, free private parking, laundry and room service. The hotel arranges transfers, excursions and car or motorbike hire if you ask. Pets are admitted with prior approval.
You can arrive by car, by taxi or on the KTEL bus and OASA line 314, which pass through Nea Makri; the metro goes as far as Pallini.
- **NLH Mati Seafront** (Hotel): A hotel on the rocks of Mati
Mati is a coastal village with coves among reddish rocks and a little harbour with cafés, between Rafina and Nea Makri, about ten minutes by car south of the Marathon plain. NLH Mati Seafront occupies a renovated building right on the shore, with the pool at the water's edge and a direct way down to the beach. It belongs to the Greek NLH chain, which has three other hotels in central Athens.
It works as a coastal base for seeing Marathon and Rhamnous in the morning and swimming in the afternoon, or for the last night before a flight: the airport is about 20 minutes away, according to the hotel.
The rooms
There are 82 rooms, all with a balcony, in several categories. The classic rooms look onto the mountain (22 m²); the superior onto the courtyard or sideways to the sea; the deluxe sideways or facing the sea, and the panoramic facing it. For families there are four-bed suites: the classic with a mountain view (32 to 39 m²), the superior and the deluxe with a side sea view, and a two-bedroom family suite (31 to 40 m²). All have a bathroom with a hairdryer, desk, 32-inch television, laptop safe, small fridge and free wifi.
Pool, breakfast and bar
The pool is outdoor, freshwater, with direct access to the beach below. It is 1.40 m deep at most, and there is no lifeguard or children's pool: children swim with an adult beside them, and the hours depend on the season and the weather. Breakfast is an American buffet from 7:00 to 10:00 on weekdays and until 10:30 at weekends, in the ground-floor restaurant, with a terrace. You can book with breakfast or half board, and there is a gluten-free or allergy menu if you ask. The lobby bar opens from 9:00 to 24:00, with a large patio over the sea. There is a gym, beauty centre, 24-hour reception, luggage storage and a transfer service to the port and airport for a supplement.
- **Ballos Apartments** (Apartment): An apartment on the Nea Makri promenade
Ballos Apartments is a family business that opened some thirty years ago, when Nea Makri was still a small summer village. It is at the start of Poseidonos Avenue, the coast road, a few steps from the beach and the centre, where you have supermarkets, banks, pharmacies and tavernas. It is the option if you want your own kitchen and a bit more space than a hotel, for several nights with children or to explore the area without hurry.
From here the Marathon plain begins a couple of kilometres away: the tumulus, the museum and Schinias beach are a few minutes by car. The family say on their website that they organise excursions to the battle sites for their guests; ask them when you book.
The apartments
Each apartment is for two to four people and has a bedroom, a living room, kitchen, bathroom, hallway and a spacious terrace. There is air conditioning in the bedroom and the living room, and television. Some face the sea, towards the Gulf of Euboea, and others Mount Penteli, the source of the Parthenon's white marble. There are also ground-floor apartments, more convenient if you have a pushchair or an older person with you. Judging by the photos, they are simple flats with no design pretensions.
What is worth asking
The website does not publish check-in and check-out times, whether there is parking or whether the apartments open all year. The only rates it shows are from 2023, so do not take them as a guide: write to the email or call beforehand. It also says nothing about pets.

## As a family: The battle, a 9-metre mound and a beach with a pine wood

Marathon is history you understand with your feet: the plain where it was fought, the mound of the dead, the beach where the Persians landed. For children of eight or nine upwards, with the story told beforehand, it works very well; for the little ones, Schinias beach with its pine wood.

### What works best
The tumulus of the Athenians, in the middle of the fields

The museum, with the trophy and the Egyptian statues

Rhamnous and its path of tombs to the sea

An afternoon at Schinias beach, in the shade of the pines

### Where to sleep
Marathon Beach Resort, in Nea Makri, with a children's pool and family suites

Ballos Apartments, with a kitchen, on Nea Makri's promenade

### Eating
Argo and Trata, fish tavernas in Nea Makri

### Keep in mind
On Tuesdays all the sites close

They close at 15:30: leave the beach for the afternoon

Tell them on the way back the story of the messenger who ran to Athens

### Qué hacer as a family
- The Marathon tumulus of the Athenians
- Marathon Archaeological Museum and the Plataean mound
- Rhamnous, the sanctuary of Nemesis above the sea
- Schinias beach and pine wood
- The marble dam of Lake Marathon

## Consejos

### Never on a Tuesday
The mound, the museum and Rhamnous are closed.

### Museum first
With the trophy and the models seen, the mound makes sense.

### Ruins in the morning
Everything closes at 15:30: the beach for the afternoon.

### Bring your ID
EU citizens under 25 usually get in free.

## Preguntas frecuentes

### How do you get from Athens to Marathon?
By car, about 50 minutes for 40 km along Marathonos Avenue. From the airport, half an hour.

### How much does it cost to see Marathon?
€5 for each site: the mound, the museum, Vrexiza and Rhamnous.

### Which day does it close?
Tuesdays, all the sites. On the other days, from 8:30 to 15:30.

### Is there a beach at Marathon?
Yes: Schinias, several kilometres of sand with pine woods, in the bay where the Persian fleet anchored.

### Why is the race called the marathon?
From the legend of the messenger who ran from Marathon to Athens to announce the victory of 490 BC.