Temple of Zeus Tickets
Temple of Olympian Zeus tickets grant timed entry to the fenced Olympieion archaeological enclosure in central Athens, where fifteen towering Corinthian columns of Pentelic marble still mark the platform of what was once the largest temple raised in mainland Greece. The site sits a short walk south of the Acropolis, between Vasilissis Olgas Avenue and the bed of the ancient Ilissos River.
Book your Olympieion ticket
Other attractions near the Temple of Olympian Zeus
What can you see at Olympieion?
Corinthian columns of the temple
Fifteen Corinthian columns still rise from the temple platform, each carved in Pentelic marble, each standing roughly 17 metres tall and 1.7 metres across, with twenty deep flutes running their full height. A sixteenth column lies broken on the ground beside them, toppled by a violent storm on 26 October 1852 and left where it fell as a record of the event.
The columns once formed a colonnade around a temple cella that measured about 110 by 44 metres on a platform stretching 250 metres in length, dimensions that made the Olympieion the largest sacred building in mainland Greece.
Plan your visit in advance
Opening hours
The Temple of Olympian Zeus operates on seasonal schedules:
- During the winter, it is open daily from 08:00 to 15:00, with the last admission at 14:40.
- In the summer, regular hours are extended from 08:00 to 20:00, with the last entry at 19:30.
- However, between September 1 and October 30, closing times are gradually reduced due to shorter daylight, shifting from 19:30 in early September to 18:00 by late October.
What should you know before visiting the Olympieion?
A handful of practical details can make the Olympieion visit considerably smoother, especially in the warmer months when central Athens runs hot and exposed.
- Plan around the sun: The platform is almost entirely open ground with very little shade, so an early-morning or late-afternoon arrival is far more comfortable than a midday visit between June and September.
- Allow thirty to forty-five minutes: Most visitors find this enough time to walk the temple platform, read the surviving ruins of the side buildings and stop for photographs of the columns and the Acropolis behind them.
- Wear closed, comfortable shoes: The ground inside the enclosure is uneven gravel, packed earth and broken stone, with low kerbs around the temple platform.
- Bring water, a hat and sunscreen: A small refillable bottle is the simplest way to handle the dry heat that builds across the open ground.
- Use the Hellenic Heritage Digital Guide app: The app comes with the ticket and works in eight languages (Greek, English, French, German, Spanish, Italian, Russian and Chinese), with additional sign-language video tours in Greek Sign Language and International Sign for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing community.
- Accessibility is partial: The terrain is uneven and largely unpaved, which can complicate movement for wheelchair users; contacting the venue ahead of time confirms the current state of the routes.
- Photography for personal use is unrestricted: Tripods, monopods and drones require advance permission from the archaeological service.
- Combine sensibly with nearby sites: The Acropolis lies five to ten minutes uphill, the Ancient Agora about fifteen minutes away across the Plaka district, and Hadrian's Arch sits just outside the gate at street level, requiring no separate ticket.
- Bag size matters: Large rucksacks and oversized bags can be slow through the security check at the gate, and the site has no left-luggage facility.
- Confirm calendar dates: Greek holidays and the seasonal transition between summer and winter hours can shift opening times, so a quick check the day before saves a wasted journey.
