The Panathenaic Stadium

Kallimarmaro, the "beautifully marbled" stadium, is the one Athens sight that links the ancient and modern Olympic stories in a single sweep of white stone. The first stadium on this site was laid out in the fourth century BC for the athletic contests of the Panathenaic festival, held in honour of Athena. In the second century AD the wealthy Roman-era benefactor Herodes Atticus rebuilt it entirely in marble from Mount Pentelikon, the same quarries that supplied the Parthenon. Over the following centuries the marble was carted off and burned for lime, and by the nineteenth century the stadium was little more than a grassy hollow between two hills. It was excavated and rebuilt in marble once again, largely with money from the benefactor George Averoff, in time to host the opening and closing ceremonies of the first modern Olympic Games in 1896, when it held tens of thousands of spectators. The experience is wonderfully simple. You walk in through the entrance on Vasileos Konstantinou Avenue and suddenly the whole horseshoe of tiers rises around you, blindingly bright on a sunny day. You can climb to the top row for a view across the National Garden to the Acropolis, walk or jog along the track (when it is open to visitors), stand on the three-step winners' podium for the obligatory photo, and pass through the long vaulted tunnel at the curved end, which in antiquity led out of the stadium and now houses an exhibition of Olympic torches and posters from the modern Games. The stadium still matters: the Olympic flame is handed over to each host nation here, and the Athens Authentic Marathon finishes on the track every November. It is a visit that works for almost everyone, especially families, because children can run where Olympians ran, and for anyone with a soft spot for sporting history. It is also an easy add-on to a walk through the National Garden and Zappeion, which lie just across the avenue.

What you are actually looking at: the long, narrow U-shape is the classic form of an ancient Greek stadium, built for foot races of one stade (roughly 185 metres) and longer. The tiers you sit on are largely the nineteenth-century reconstruction, faithfully following the ancient plan, while some ancient pieces survive, including carved double-headed herms that once marked the turning post at the end of the track. The marble seats of honour in the front row and the royal thrones date from the 1896 rebuilding. Up on the hill behind the curve stood a small temple, and the hills around the stadium are part of what made the site so easy to build: the spectators' seats simply rest on the slopes.

When to go and how long to stay: the stadium is open daily, with longer hours in summer and shorter ones in winter, and an hour is enough for most people. Early morning is best in summer, when the marble has not yet soaked up the sun and the glare is softer; there is very little shade on the tiers, so bring a hat and water. Late afternoon gives warm light for photos of the tiers against the pine-covered hills. Be aware that the track is sometimes closed to visitors when concerts, ceremonies, races or conservation work on the marble are scheduled, and hours change around the November marathon, so check the official news page before you set out. Tickets are sold at the gate and through the official online ticket shop, and the ticket has traditionally come with an audio guide; children and some groups pay reduced prices.

Fitting it into your day: the stadium sits on the eastern side of the National Garden, a pleasant fifteen-minute walk from Syntagma Square or a slightly shorter one from the Temple of Olympian Zeus and Hadrian's Arch. A natural loop runs from Syntagma through the shady National Garden, past the Zappeion, to the stadium, then back west to the Temple of Olympian Zeus and on to the Acropolis Museum and Plaka. Runners staying nearby can also join locals on the public jogging path that runs around the rim of the stadium's hills, which is free and has fine views down into the arena.