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Our visit to Delphi was part of a 3 month road trip from the UK to the Greece. See my blog North Macedonia to Greece - Week 4 for our daily trip report covering Delphi.
Contents
1. When to Visit Delphi
The main factors to consider when visiting Delphi are the heat and the crowds:
1.1. The Heat at Delphi
From mid June to mid September it is likely to be very hot and tiring walking up and around the Delphi's archaeological site. The solution would be to visit early or late in the day.
If you visit early aim to get there when Delphi opens at 08.00. Walk around the archaeological site first and the museum afterwards
If you visit Delphi later get to the ticket office between 17.00 and 17.30 and visit the museum first. Unless you have a special interest in archaeology 2.5 hours is sufficient to see the museum, the main archaeological site and the Sanctuary of Athena Pronaia.
1.2. Crowds at Delphi
The main problem at Delphi is tour groups and there can be many of them! Just 2 to 3 large groups in the museum can spoil your experience. It will be crowded and noisy. There is more space at the archaeological site but large groups can still spoil your visit.
The way to avoid the tour groups at Delphi is to come at opening time or later in the day. Many tours come from Athens. They won't arrive until mid morning and will leave mid to late afternoon.
We visited Delphi in the off season (mid May) and when we arrived at 14.45 we saw the last of the tour buses leaving.
2. Entrance Tickets at Delphi
The admission cost is Eur 12 and the ticket covers both the archaeological site and the museum at Delphi. There are 2 ticket offices and some ticket machines. If there is a long queue at one ticket office try the other one.
Delphi provides free admission and reduced rates for certain people, including young people up to the age of 25, students and senior citizens. You have to provide proof of your eligibility and in most cases you must reside in an EU member-state. See the Ministry of Culture website for further details.
There is no charge for visiting Delphi on 6 March, 18 April, 18 May, the last weekend of September, 28 October, and every first Sunday of each month from November 1st until March 31st.
3. Opening Hours at Delphi
The archaeological site and museum at Delphi are open from 08.00 to 20.00 every day except Tuesday. On Tuesday Delphi's opening hours are 10.00 to 17.00.
The exceptions to this are:
1 January: closed
6 January: 08:30 - 15:30
Shrove Monday: 08:30 - 15:30
25 March: closed
Good Friday: 12:00 - 17:00, Last admission 16:40
Holy Saturday: 08:30 - 15:30, Last admission 15:10
1 May: closed
Easter Sunday: closed
15 August: 08:00 - 20:00
25 December: closed
26 December: closed
4. Parking & Toilets at Delphi
There is a small free car park near Delphi's museum but if it's full you have to park on the road. It can be difficult to find a vacant spot and that is another reason to avoid peak times.
There are modern and clean free toilets outside Delphi's museum but none in the archaeological site.
5. Delphi's Main Archaeological Site
Delphi's archeological site is on a hill with the stadium at the top. Some visitors and tour groups don't walk up to the stadium but I think it is worth the effort.
It took us slightly more than an hour to see everything on the site. There were a lot of ruins but Delphi was one of the most interesting ancient archaeological sites that we saw in Greece.
The main things to see are:
5.1. The Treasury of the Athenians
This is the first building that you will encounter as you walk up the site. This impressive building was constructed to house offerings to the sanctuary of Apollo. It was originally built in 490 BC and was completely reconstructed in 1906.
5.2. The Temple of Apollo
This temple dates back to the 4th century BC. There are only six columns standing and they were re-erected after the temple was uncovered in the late 1800's.
5.3. The Serpent Column
The Serpent Column was an offering dedicated to Apollo at Delphi in 447 BC by the 31 Greek city-states which had fought in the Battle of Plataea. In 324 BC it was moved to Constantinople by Constantine I the Great and it is still there.
In 2015 a replica of the column was made and erected at Delphi.
5.4. The Theatre
This impressive theatre was constructed in the 4th century BC and it could seat 5,000 people.
5.5. The Stadium
The stadium was built in the 4th century BC and is in a scenic location.
6. The Museum at Delphi
Some people recommend visiting Delphi's museum first so you can obtain an understanding of the archaeological site. However, apart from an illustration of what the site may have looked like in ancient times the information at the museum was only about the artifacts on display.
I am not a huge fan of museums but I enjoyed this one. It is in a modern building and the artifacts are well displayed. We visited the museum first and wandered around for 45 minutes. There were some interesting displays, but a lot of the narrative was complex and difficult to understand.
7. The Sanctuary of Athena Pronaia
The Sanctuary of Athena Pronaia is a 10 minute walk, or a 2 minute drive, east along the main road from Delphi's museum. Entrance is free.
The main thing to see is the ancient Tholos which is a circular building with a conical or vaulted roof.
8. Accommodation at Delphi
We stayed in the pretty town of Arachova which is a 10 minute drive from Delphi. We booked a 1 bedroom apartment through Booking.com at a cost of Eur 45.50 per night. See my review on the blog "UK to Greek Islands Accommodation - Part 1"
9. My Other Blogs on Greece