Ancient Olympia Private Tour from Athens

This small Peloponese tour is a good opportunity to see several major site of the peninsula just in one day. Begining with a drive along the coast, you will get the chance to see some Greek seaside villages and the island of Salamis. Salamis is where the historical naval battle took place between the Athenians and the Persians.

Our first stop of the day, the Corinth Canal. Eventually opened in 1892 it separating the Peloponnese from the rest of Greece all the while connecting the Saronic Gulf to the Corinthian Sea. Having time to walk across on a pedestrian bridge and admire the canal closer.

Continuing we will drive to Ancient Olympia, passing through highways, and local streets providing you with a view of the Ionian Sea from the western coast. Reaching the village at Ancient Olympia one of the largest sites in Greece, the birthplace of the Olympic Games and the Sanctuary of Olympian Zeus. Walking through the site you will pass by the Gymnasium, the Palaistra, the workshop of Phidias, the Temple of Zeus and you will end up at the Stadium where for every four years the Greeks competed for glory and for spiritual elevation honoring their cities.

The museum is also quite unique as it includes the renowned statue “Hermes of Praxiteles” with its perfect analogies and tools that belonged to Phidias himself. With the tools he created one of the seven wonders of the world “the gold ivory statue of Zeus”.

After a walking in the footsteps of ancient athletes we will take our lunch at the village and then leave for comfortable drive back to Athens.