Delphi in a Day from Athens: Driving Route and Opening Times

The plan

The day at a glance

Any part can be swapped for another without spoiling the day.

06:45
Leave Athens 2 h 30 by car
motorway towards Lamia and exit at Livadia
09:00 1
Hosios Loukas Monastery and its mosaics
€10 · eleventh-century mosaics · shoulders and knees covered
45 min by car37 km
10:45 2
Sanctuary of Apollo: the oracle, the theatre and the stadium
€20 with the museum · climb up to the stadium
8 min on foot
13:15 3
Delphi Archaeological Museum and the Charioteer
The Charioteer and the Sphinx of the Naxians
15 min on foot
14:45 4
Vakhos taverna
Home cooking; open every day at midday

Apollonos, 31, 33054 Delfos · +30 22650 83186

Restaurant €€
Book
5 min by car2 km
16:15 5
Castalian Spring and the sanctuary of Athena Pronaia
The tholos in the afternoon light
15 min by car9 km
17:15 6
Arachova, the stone village on the slope of Parnassus
Stroll, coffee and the clock tower
18:30
Back home
In Athens around 21:00

Approximate cost About €20–35 per person

Adds up the activities and meals in the plan at their published prices; travel and accommodation not included.

The route

Hosios Loukas Monastery and its mosaics

Delphi can be seen in a day from Athens if you go by car and leave early. This plan makes the most of the route: on the way there, the Byzantine monastery of Osios Loukas, which closes at 15:30; then the sanctuary of Apollo and the museum, home cooking in the village and, on the way back, the tholos of Athena Pronaia and the mountain village of Arachova. It is about five hours on the road in all: if you can, take turns at the wheel.

The day, hour by hour

6:45 · Leave Athens. By the motorway towards Lamia to the Livadia exit and, from there, towards Distomo.

9:00 · Osios Loukas. It opens at 8:30. The eleventh-century katholikon, with marble and mosaics on a gold background, and the church of the Virgin. €10. An hour and a half.

10:45 · Sanctuary of Apollo. About 45 minutes by road via Arachova. Park next to the entrance and climb the Sacred Way between the treasuries to the temple, the theatre and, right at the top, the stadium. €20 with the museum. Two and a half hours.

13:15 · Museum. A few minutes' walk away. The bronze Charioteer, the Sphinx of the Naxians and the frieze of the Siphnian Treasury. In winter, last entry is at 15:10.

14:45 · Lunch at Vakhos. On Apollonos Street, with a terrace over the valley. Stews and home-made pies. Open every day.

16:15 · Castalian Spring and tholos. On the way down to Arachova, the pilgrims' spring and the circular tholos of Athena Pronaia.

17:15 · Arachova. Coffee in the square and a walk to the clock tower.

18:30 · Return. In Athens around 21:00.

And without a car?

The KTEL Fokidas bus leaves from the Liosion station and takes about three hours. In a day it only allows the sanctuary and the museum, without Osios Loukas or Arachova. Better to sleep one night: you have the getaway to Delphi and Arachova.

Time1 h 30

The Hosios Loukas monastery, of stone and brick, among cypresses

Berthold Werner · CC BY-SA 3.0

Change the route

With young children, if it rains or if you fancy something else: another stop that fits the same day.

A plate of meat with potatoes and a glass of wine on the table, with the mountains and the gulf beyond

If you prefer to eat looking at the valley from the main street: EpikourosA taverna-restaurant on Delphi's main street with Greek and Mediterranean cooking and a view of the Pleistos valley, the olive trees and the Gulf of Corinth.

The Pleistos valley covered in olive trees seen from Delphi, with the Gulf of Corinth beyond

If you sleep in Delphi: the descent through the olive groves the next morning: The ancient path from Delphi to Chrisso through olive grovesRoute · 1 h 30 · A descent along the old cobbled path of the Pleistos valley to Chrisso, with the Amfissa olive grove and the Gulf of Corinth ahead

A balcony with cyclamen pots facing the mountains and the gulf at sunset

If the day feels short: a night on the main street: Phaedriades Delphi HotelA town hotel on Delphi's main street, with rooms with a panoramic view of the Gulf of Corinth and the Pleistos olive grove.

Where to eat

Where to eat?

Lunch is half the plan: book before you set off.

The terrace on a steep Delphi street, with tables and flowers and the valley beyond

Vakhos taverna

Restaurant · Delphi · €€€€

What to order: a stew of the day and a homemade pie to share, with a wine from the Parnassus area

Epikouros

Restaurant · Delphi · €€€€

What to order: a house dish at the window table, at midday, to see the valley

Map

The stops, in order

With where to park at each one.

What to do Eat 88 €Stay Services

Getting there

By car or without one?

By car

About two and a half hours from Athens, some 180 km with tolls. Pick up the car at the airport or on the outskirts, not in the centre.

Without a car

KTEL Fokidas from the Liosion station (Agios Nikolaos metro, line 1), about 3 h with a stop in Arachova. Few departures a day.

When to go

When to go to Delphi

All year by car. From November to March Delphi and Osios Loukas close at 15:30: the order of the plan already puts the ruins before lunch. In July and August, enter the sanctuary as early as possible. On the first and third Sunday of each month from November to March, admission is free.

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