37.81° N · 22.69° E
A wine excursion from Athens: agiorgitiko tastings at Palivos, Barafakas and Skouras, the sanctuary of Zeus and the stadium (€10) and where to eat and sleep.
Part of Peloponnese
What to do
Each plan says how long it takes, who it's for and whether you can book.
Archaeological site · 1 h 30 · €10 with the stadium and the museum · The Temple of Zeus of 330 BC among vineyards, home of the Nemean Games
Visit and tasting · 1 h 30 · Open every day · Vineyard, a 300-barrel room and an agiorgitiko tasting in an old carriage above the vineyard, 800 m from the sanctuary
Ancient stadium · 45 min · Included in the sanctuary ticket · The track, the earth stands and the tunnel with the athletes' graffiti
Itineraries
Days and weekends already planned out, with how to get between each stop and who to book with.
Plan the trip
Each choice narrows the next: the season shapes how best to travel, and how you travel decides where you stay and where you eat.
When to go
All year: the wineries receive visitors in winter and the sanctuary opens with short hours. The harvest, in September, is the best time; May and October, with the vineyards green or golden, are also good. In summer, the site first thing in the morning. From November to March the sanctuary closes on Tuesdays and many wineries close on Sundays.
How you travel
The ways of travelling that suit Nemea and its wineries. We are writing a guide to each one: where to stay, how to get around and which services you will need.
By carBy plane
Where to stay
Why we like it: A modern hotel in the centre of Nemea with rooms and suites overlooking the vineyard, a pool and its own tasting room.
Services for this trip
Where to eat
From set lunch menus to Michelin stars. We mark the price level and what to order at each place.
What to order: a village dish, such as the "Nemea", rabbit with petimezi, and a glass of agiorgitiko from the eight or ten served by the glass.
Map
Turn on the layers you want and tap a point to see its details.
Nearby
The closest places, whichever country they are in.
37.91° N · 22.88° E
By carBy plane
37.57° N · 22.80° E
By carCar-freeLuxuryCampingBy campervanBy plane
37.75° N · 23.43° E
Car-freeBy plane
38.38° N · 22.38° E
By carCar-freeBy plane
Tips
Many wineries close on Sundays; these two are open every day.
Even with published hours, call ahead: groups fill the rooms.
From November to March it closes at 15:30 and on Tuesdays.
All of them sell wine at the winery.
Nemea is Greece's largest wine appellation and the home of agiorgitiko, the Greek red grape par excellence: about 3,200 hectares of vineyard and more than thirty wineries scattered across a valley in the northern Peloponnese, an hour and twenty minutes from Athens. In the middle of the vineyards is the sanctuary of Zeus where the Nemean Games were held, with its 4th-century BC temple and a stadium that keeps the tunnel through which the athletes entered. According to myth, here Heracles killed the Nemean lion, the first of his twelve labours. It is a day trip for anyone who wants archaeology in the morning and wine in the afternoon.
By car, 1 h 20 min. A8 motorway to Corinth and then the A7, the Tripoli one, to the Nemea exit, with tolls. Archaia Nemea, the village of the sanctuary, is on the right of the motorway; Nemea, the village of the wineries and restaurants, is about 10 minutes away. From the airport, an hour and a half.
Without a car is difficult: there is no train and the bus drops you in the village, but not at the wineries. What works is the walking route among the vines with Trekking Hellas, with a tasting at the end, or an excursion with a driver such as the one that leaves from Nafplio.
Whoever drives doesn't taste. The wineries are 10 or 20 minutes from one another. Decide beforehand who is driving, or sleep in Nemea.
The appellation's winemakers' association lists 36 wineries, and almost all receive visitors by appointment only. Three with published hours:
Others, such as Ktima Lafazani, at the first exit towards Archees Kleones, with convenient parking, or Gaia and Semeli, in Koutsi, also receive visitors by appointment: the DOP Nemea Winemakers' Association can tell you which are open on the day you go.
The sanctuary of Zeus, with its museum, and the stadium, 500 metres away, share a ticket: €10 (reduced, €5). From May to mid-September it opens from 8:00 to 20:00; from November to March, from 8:30 to 15:30 and closed on Tuesdays. An hour and a half for both. If you like walking, the Virgin of the Rock, a chapel beneath some rocks known as the Meteora of Corinthia, has the best view of the valley.
In the centre of Nemea, 17 Choria, a bistro with dishes named after the villages of the area and about 150 Nemea labels; call ahead, because it doesn't publish hours. To sleep, Terra Vinum, in the centre, with a pool and tasting room. If you prefer the sea, Nemea is half an hour from Corinth and Isthmia, and 40 minutes from Nafplio.
A full day: sanctuary and stadium in the morning, lunch in Nemea and two wineries in the afternoon. You have it hour by hour in the excursion to the Nemea wineries from Athens. With a night, add the walking route among the vines or carry on to Mycenae, 20 minutes away.
Questions
Mostly agiorgitiko, the most widely planted red grape in Greece, which covers most of the appellation's 3,200 hectares.
Yes, almost all receive visitors by appointment only. Palivos and Barafakas publish visiting hours every day, but it is best to call.
Ktima Palivou and Barafakas are open every day. Domaine Skouras closes on Sundays and public holidays.
€10 with the stadium and the museum; €5 reduced.
With an organised excursion or with Trekking Hellas's walking route; you can't reach the wineries by public transport.
Geocaliahttps://www.geocalia.com/en/greece/peloponnese/nemea
