From Athens: The Ultimate Delphi Private Day Trip

The ancient past meets the present in this all-day exploration of the site of Delphi, with its unique temples and monuments, the world of traditional crafts and the unexplored villages in the surrounding area.

The oracle of Delphi is located in a setting of outstanding natural beauty on the lower slopes of Mount Parnassos; before entering the archaeological site and admire its wonders, you’ll have a chance to find out much more about the mountain and what life is like here today.

To accomplish that, you will visit an old town neighborhood, largely abandoned today, which used to be the leather tanner’s district. Here, in a space that’s strongly evocative of the past, you’ll witness firsthand what a tanner’s working life was like a century ago (and still is today!) and listen to the tanners' stories –father and son– to understand what life is like today in this part of Greece.

If you are lucky, you’ll also get to visit the last bell-maker in Greece. In his small workshop, he’ll show you the art of bell making, creating the bells that the local villagers use for their livestock. As his work schedule is irregular, his workshop isn't open to visitors at all times.

After that, it’s time for lunch, all in the form of local delicacies from the region, which you’ll enjoy sitting in the town square, under a large plane tree –you’ll taste local cheeses and the famous Amfissa olives before tucking into a traditional regional specialty as a main course that the women of the village have prepared for you.

When lunch is finished it’s back to Delphi, the ancient oracle of the Gods. This is the best time to visit the site, when the tourist hordes have departed and let you admire in peace the ruins of the Temple of Apollo, the reconstructed Athenian Treasury and the Theater. You’ll want to take your time, not only because the site is built into the side of a mountain, but also because there’s just so much to see here, and the setting itself is magical; a place of great spiritual power hugging the side of a towering mountain, and below it, a sea of olive groves as far as the eye can see, all the way to the Corinthian Gulf in the distance. No wonder that even the most powerful rulers and noblemen of antiquity were awed by the splendor and revered the sacred site of Delphi and its earthly connection to the divine.

When you’ve seen all there is to see outside, it’s time for the Delphi museum, a short walk downhill from the site. Here, be sure to see the bronze Charioteer of Delphi (it’s said his profile is completely different, depending on which side of his face you choose to look at), the haunting Sphinx of Naxos and what might be the very first ever recorded notation of a musical melody, contained in an ancient inscription from the walls of the original Athenian Treasury.

Now, it’s time to head back to Athens, taking back memories of the mountain, the town and the incomparable ancient Delphi.