Today sees the start of the Olympic Games, a festival of hundreds of events across 32 sports in Paris. Interestingly we’re back where the modern day Olympics started when, in 1896, Frenchman Baron de Coubertin recreated the fabulous ancient Greek event which ceased to be sometime around 400 CE. This year contestants from more than 200 countries will participate in arenas from Paris to (amazingly) Tahiti – yes, French Polynesia still counts as France and they are holding the surfing events there.

BACK IN THE DAY IT WAS SMALLER BUT JUST AS IMPORTANT

Essentially the ancient games were a religious event honouring mighty Zeus and the sporting events were completed alongside sacrifices. Winners received a wreath made from a sacred laurel tree within the grounds at the Temple of Zeus. Legend had it that the first Olympic champion was Koroibos, a baker from nearby Elis who triumphed in the 600 feet (not quite 200m) sprint. Presumably fuelled by his own baklava!

OLYMPIA IS A WONDERFUL PLACE TO VISIT AND WE CAN TAKE YOU THERE

The relics at Olympia are a wonderful thing to see and one of the world’s most important archaeological sites. The amazingly well-preserved original Olympic Park, track and stadium have been very sympathetically excavated and the museum is a culture vulture’s delight. Quite rightly it is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and we would put it on anybody’s ‘must visit’ list. You don’t need to be an Olympic athlete to be on track!

IT’S AN EASY DRIVE FROM ATHENS

You can easily visit Olympia from Athens and you can do it in a day – it’s an 11-12 hour round trip but well worth the effort if that’s all the time you have available. That makes it a flying visit worthy of the speedy Koroibos, but it’s also great to combine it with other iconic sites such as Delphi, Mycenae and Epidaurus on a road trip of the Peloponnese with an overnight or two in charming local 3 and 4 star hotels en route.

A FEW HOURS CAN TURN THE CLOCK BACK CENTURIES

Athens is an incredible base from which to explore Greece by all points of the compass, whether by road or sea or local flights. It’s our back yard in which we can turn the clock back just a short drive or a short cruise away. Come and explore it with us as your guide.

YOUR INBOUND AGENT FOR ALL THINGS GREEK

For more information about our wide range of holidays & trips in Greece get in touch with our experienced team on our contact us page.

Or by calling +(30) 21620 20021.