Athens’ Ancient Panathenaic Stadium

Athens (Aθήνα in Greek), Greece‘s historic capital city, is one of the oldest cities in the world. The Panathenaic Stadium is just one of many ancient landmarks preserved in the city.

This stadium was originally built in 330 BC in limestone and rebuilt in 138 AD in white marble. The stadium you can see in Athens today is what was excavated and reconstructed for the revival of The Olympics in the late 1800’s.

Visiting the Panathenaic Stadium

The Panathenaic Stadium is located in central Athens. It is approximately a 20 minute walk from the Acropolis and only 10 minutes from the Temple of the Olympian Zeus, another ancient landmark.

In addition to its cultural and historical significance, what makes this stadium a great attraction is that you can spend as little or as much time here as you want. You can stop by and just see the stadium from the outside or spend a few hours walking through it.

General admission tickets to walk around in the stadium are 5€ (about $6). Admission includes all the time you want in the stadium and the attached mini-museum.

While the stadium itself is amazing, don’t forget to look over the side of it! From the top row on the right, you can get an unobstructed view of the entire Acropolis.

Make sure you don’t miss the thrones built for the King and Queen of Greece and the tunnel where the Olympians entered the stadium.

Through the tunnel there is a small museum showing artwork for each Olympic Games and the original cauldron from the 1930’s. Before every Olympic Games, the Olympic Torch is lit in Olympia, Greece. The torch is carried across Greece to the Panathenaic Stadium where the cauldron is lit and where the torch is handed over to the country hosting the Olympics.

The Panathenaic Stadium should definitely be on your list of historical sites to visit in Athens. It’s a great half-day activity that could easily be combined with seeing another nearby attraction.

Other Things to Do in the Area

• The Acropolis of Athens
  The Acropolis is perhaps one of the most notable ancient historical sites in the world. Here you can see buildings like the Parthenon, the Temple of Athena Nike, and more. 20 min. walk from the stadium.
  
  
  
• The Acropolis Museum
  This is one museum you definitely don’t want to miss. It houses an incredible number of artifacts from the acropolis site, including original sculptures from the Parthenon. This museum left me awe-struck and made me realize the significance of what I had already seen on the acropolis.
  
  
  
• The Temple of Olympian Zeus
  Only part of this colossal temple remains, but its ruins give a taste of what once stood there. 10 min. walk from the stadium.