The Panathenaic Stadium

The Greek stadium

The site was laid out about 330 BC by the statesman Lykourgos for the athletic contests of the Panathenaic Games, on the site of a racecourse in a natural ravine between two hills that gave the seating its shape. Around AD 144 Herodes Atticus rebuilt it in marble with about 50,000 seats, a size few Greek stadiums reached. After antiquity the marble was quarried for other buildings and the bowl silted over and vanished under farmland, which is why the structure you see today is largely a modern reconstruction on ancient foundations rather than a ruin.

That history matters when you plan your visit. The horseshoe plan and tight turns are the ancient ones, so walk to the top tier to read the shape of the original track before you come down to the track level itself.

The 1896 rebuild

The ruin was excavated in the 1870s and then rebuilt entirely in white Pentelic marble with money given by Georgios Averoff, in time for the first modern Olympic Games of 1896. The marble came from the same quarry as the Parthenon, and the stadium is the only one in the world built wholly of marble. The long horseshoe and the tight turns are faithful to the ancient plan, which is why it is a poor track by modern standards and a remarkable object in its own right.

Averoff's gift was decisive. Without it the Games' main venue might not have existed at all, and his statue stands at the entrance. Read the two rebuilds as one story: Lykourgos founded it, Herodes Atticus marbleised it, Averoff brought it back.

What it is used for now

The stadium still works for a living. It is the finish of the Athens Classic Marathon every November, and it hosts the handover ceremony of the Olympic flame before every Games, a ritual that draws broadcast crews and closures. In 2004 it hosted the archery competition and the marathon finish when the Games returned to Athens.

Concerts use the bowl too, so check the programme if you want the tiers to yourself. Most days, though, it functions as a museum with a running track in it, and that is the best way to treat a visit. Allow an hour with the audio guide, walk the full top row for the view towards Lycabettus and the Acropolis, and finish on the track for the standard photograph.

What the visit actually is

You walk in at track level, go round, climb the tiers for the view back toward the Acropolis, and take the vaulted tunnel the athletes used. There are two marble thrones on the long side, a winners' podium you may stand on, and a small museum of Olympic torches and posters from every Games. The audio guide runs thirty minutes in eleven languages and is included; it is the difference between a photograph and a visit.

Hours

From March to October the stadium opens 08:00 to 19:00. From November to February it opens 08:00 to 17:00. Two practical points.

The page gives last entry as the closing time itself rather than earlier, which is unusual and useful if you arrive late in the day. And it recommends the morning and late afternoon in summer, because the marble tiers reflect heat and there is nowhere to get out of the sun once you are inside the bowl. Plan accordingly.

Bring water and a hat in July and August, and expect the white marble to be dazzling around midday. The good news is that the visit is compact, so an early morning slot fits easily before the rest of your sightseeing, and the late slot pairs well with an evening in Kolonaki.

Getting there

The stadium sits about a kilometre from Syntagma, Akropoli and Evangelismos stations, so any of the three works and the walk is flat. City buses 2, 4, 10, 11, 90, 209 and 550 and trolleys 2, 4, 10 and 11 stop at the stop named Stadium. Tram line 6 stops at Zappeio, close to the garden side.

There is bike parking at the entrance if you cycle. The pleasant way in on foot is through the National Garden and past the Zappeion, which brings you out under the pines opposite the main entrance. If you are coming from the Acropolis side, the walk along the tree-lined boulevard takes roughly the same fifteen minutes and avoids the busiest road crossings.

Buy a standard single ticket, €1.20, for any of the metro stations.

Access

According to the stadium's own page, both the track and the stoa are accessible to wheelchair users, so the lower level presents no problem and the view of the bowl from track level is the closest you can get to the marble. The tiers are a different matter. They are steep marble steps with no handrails in the ancient manner, and the same page warns that they can be slippery in winter, when rain or frost sits on the polished surface.

Wear shoes with grip rather than smooth soles, and take the steps slowly on the way down, which is where most people slip. If climbing is difficult, enjoy the stadium from the track and the stoa and skip the top rows. The view from below is still worth the ticket.

The small print

Three things to know before you go in. First, take cash for the lavatory, which costs €1.50 and needs the exact amount, so break a note beforehand or you will be walking back out. Second, take water.

There is a canteen on site but no shade anywhere in the bowl, and the marble throws the heat back at you, so a bottle per person in summer is not optional. Third, take the audio guide device at the entrance rather than waving it away. It is included in the ticket and it earns its place.

Without it the stadium is fifteen minutes and a photograph. With it you get the story of the 1896 rebuild and the ancient Games, and the visit stretches to a proper hour. The full ticket is €12 and the reduced one €6.