17 Choria
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.
Dervenakion 12, in the centre of Nemea · call ahead: no opening hours published
geocalia
Day itinerary · 37.81° N · 22.69° E
Nemea in a day, archaeology in the morning and agiorgitiko in the afternoon, an hour and twenty from Athens.
A Sunday outing to Nemea: the Temple of Zeus and the athletes' tunnel, a tasting in Palivos's train carriage, a village lunch at 17 Choria and Barafakas in the afternoon.
Leaving from
Direct flight to Atenas fromBarcelona 3 h 15Bilbao 3 h 45Madrid 3 h 45Málaga 4 h
Part of Nemea and its wineriesPeloponnese
Add to my trip
Total time10 h
By car1 h 15 each way
From Athens1 h 20 by car, 130 km
TicketsSanctuary and stadium €10
TastingsBy reservation; price on booking
DifficultyEasy
Best timeSeptember – October · May
The plan
The day at a glance
Any part can be swapped for another without spoiling the day.
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Leave Athens 1 h 15 by car
A8 to Corinth and A7 to the Nemea exit; tolls
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1
Sanctuary of Zeus at Nemea and Its Museum
€10 with the stadium and the museum
- 8 min on foot
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2
Nemea Stadium and the Athletes' Tunnel
The vaulted tunnel of the athletes
- 4 min by car1,5 km
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3
Palivos Winery and Its Train Carriage Among the Vines
Ktima Palivou: vineyard, 300 barrels and tasting on the Wine Train; book on its website
+30 27460 24140
Activity company With Ktima PalivouBook - 12 min by car9 km
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4
17 Choria
Local cooking and 150 Nemea wines; call ahead, no hours published
Dervenakion 12, 20500 Nemea · +30 27460 23778
Restaurant €€ - 4 min by car1,5 km
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5
Barafakas Winery in Nemea
A 1 h visit through terraced vineyards; open until 17:00
+30 27460 22484
Activity company With Barafakas WineryBook -
Back home
By the A7 and the A8; in Athens around 18:45
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
Sanctuary of Zeus at Nemea and Its Museum
Nemea is the Sunday outing for anyone who wants ruins and wine in the same day. An hour and twenty minutes from Athens, the Sanctuary of Zeus where the Nemean Games were held is surrounded by agiorgitiko vineyards, and a few minutes away there are wineries open every day. This plan puts the site in the morning, a tasting before lunch, a village lunch with local wines and another winery in the afternoon. One warning: whoever drives does not taste.
The day, hour by hour
8:00 · Leave Athens. A8 motorway to Corinth and the A7, the Tripoli one, to the Nemea exit.
9:30 · The Sanctuary of Zeus. The columns of the temple of 330 BC among vines, the delegations' buildings and the museum. €10 with the stadium. An hour and a half.
11:00 · The stadium. 500 metres away. Go in through the vaulted tunnel the athletes came out of and look for their names scratched on the wall. If you have children, let them run from the starting line.
12:00 · Ktima Palivou. 800 metres from the sanctuary. A walk through the vineyard, the 300-barrel room and a tasting on the Wine Train, an old carriage high in the vineyard. Open every day; book on its website.
14:00 · Lunch at 17 Choria. In the centre of Nemea, ten minutes away. Dishes named after villages, such as rabbit with petimezi, and some 150 Nemea labels, eight or ten by the glass. It publishes no opening hours: call ahead.
16:00 · Barafakas. In Nemea itself. An hour along the paths between terraced vineyards and a tasting in its room. Open until 17:00.
17:15 · Return. In Athens around 18:45.
If it is another day or nobody wants to drive
From Monday to Saturday you can swap Barafakas for Domaine Skouras, with its thousand-barrel cellar, half an hour towards Argos. If nobody wants to miss out on tasting, the Trekking Hellas walk among the vines ends with four wines, or sleep at Terra Vinum.
Time1 h 30
Change the route
Monday to Saturday: Skouras's thousand-barrel cellar at Malandreni, by reservation:
Domaine Skouras and Its Cellar of a Thousand Barrels
If nobody wants to drive without tasting: a 10 km walk among vines with a tasting at the end, with Trekking Hellas, in groups of 6:
Guided Walk Through the Nemea Vineyards with Tasting
If you stay the night and everyone tastes: a hotel in the centre of Nemea with a tasting room:
Terra Vinum Hotel
On the way there or back: the canal is next to the motorway:
The Corinth Canal from the Pedestrian Bridge
Where to eat
Where to eat?
Lunch is half the plan: book before you set off.
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?
When to go
When to go to Nemea and its wineries
All year, and on Sunday: Palivos and Barafakas open every day. The grape harvest, in September, and October are the best months. From November to March the sanctuary closes at 15:30 and on Tuesdays. Whoever drives does not taste.
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Best timeGood timeLow season
Tips
Worth knowing first
- 1Book both wineries
Even if they open every day, call ahead.
- 2Whoever drives does not taste
Take turns between wineries or sleep there.
- 3Winter Tuesdays
The sanctuary closes on Tuesdays from November to March.
Questions
Frequently asked questions
Which Nemea wineries open on Sunday?
Ktima Palivou and Barafakas open every day.
How much does the Nemea sanctuary cost?
€10 with the stadium and the museum; €5 reduced.
How long does it take from Athens?
1 h 20 by car, about 130 km.
Can children go to the wineries?
Yes, accompanied, but tastings are for over-18s only.
More plans like this
Other days of walking and good food
geocalia.com/en/greece/peloponnese/nemea/itineraries/sanctuary-of-zeus-and-agiorgitiko-tastings
Prices, opening hours and times are approximate: check them before you go. Each place has its own page on Geocalia.