Ancient Olympia with kids: all you need to know to visit one of Greece’s most exciting archaeological sites

All you need to know to visit ancient Olympia with kids, the site where the Olympic Games were born. How to visit, where to stay with kids what you need to know.

One of the most exciting and fascinating places to visit in Greece with kids is the archaeological site of ancient Olympia.

As the name suggests, Olympia is the place where the Olympic games were born!

An ancient town in the southern part of the Peloponnese, Olympia was the seat of a significant sanctuary of Zeus since the 10th century BC and hosted the first Olympic Games in 776 BC!

Nowadays, the town of Olympia consists of a beautiful archaeological site and a modern part, catering to locals and the many tourists who come here to experience such a unique and beautiful site.

We visited Olympia this summer, during our family road trip in the Peloponnese.

We spent a night in Olympia and we made time to visit both the ancient site and the modern city. We are delighted we did!

The ancient site of Olympia is beautiful and easy to visit with kids and we discovered the city also has a lovely family friendly museum that our kids adored.

Thanks to a beautiful location surrounded by luscious mountains, we also enjoyed Olympia as a place to rest and relax for a while.

You’ll find below the recommendation for the family hotel we stayed in which was just perfect for a family with kids!

If you are thinking of visiting ancient Olympia with kids but don’t know what to expect or if it is worth it, this guide is for you!

It is based on our experience of Olympia this past summer with our kids (ages 10 and 12).

Safe travels!

Why visit Olympia with kids

We recommend visiting Olympia with kids for several reasons:

• Ancient Olympia is a fascinating site, protected as UNESCO World Heritage for its unique cultural significance

• Olympia is unique as it is where the Olympic Games were born, an incredibly fascinating fact for kids (and adults!)

• Olympia archaeological site and museum is easy to visit with kids as it is flat, easy to manage with an all terrain stroller

• Olympia has great family friendly hotels and restaurant

• The modern town of Olympia has a fantastic museum of technology, free to access, interactive and absolutely fantastic for kids. We spent hours here and loved every minute!

What is special about Olympia

Olympia has been famous since ancient times.

Historians and archaeologist have found evidence of Olympia being an important religious center since the 10th century BC, mostly in connection with the cult of Zeus.

The large statue of Zeus of Olympia was one of the seven wonders of the world in ancient times!

There are reasons to believe the sanctuary of Zeus in Olympia was the seat of sports games since that era.

However, is is in 776 BC that the first Olympic game took place. A truly unique claim to fame!

Unesco recognised Olympia as World Heritage Site in 1989.

They recognised Olympia’s uniqueness with regards of:

• The number of art masterpieces it revealed
• The influence Olympia’s architecture had in ancient times, its temple being a model for several others in Greece and Southern Italy and its gymnasium a standard of architecture in both Greece and Roman times.
• Olympia was the seat of the first Olympic Games, an event of worldwide appeal and significance
• Overall, the Olympia archaeological site is a unique and outstanding example of Pan-ellenic sanctuary and one of the great ancient sites in the world.

Kids in Olympia are likely to find the connection with the Olympic games exciting.

Also, if you have kids who love mythology, they’ll find seeing the temple of Zeus awe-inspiring!

How long to stay in Olympia with kids

You can visit the site of ancient Olympia with kids in a few hours.

The length of the visit depends on whether you want to include the museum or skip it.

Since the museum is beautiful and adds a lot to the experience and understanding of the site, I recommend you spend in ancient Olympia about 2 hours or so.

Therefore, I recommend you plan an entire afternoon in Olympia or, as we did, stay the night so you can see the sign in the pleasant hours of the late afternoon and the city in the morning

Where to stay in Olympia with kids

We stayed in a welcoming and family friendly hotel called Hotel Europa.

We chose the hotel because it had a reasonable price, a pretty swimming pool and a restaurant onsite and we were very happy with our choice.

While not luxurious, the hotel has nice and well kept rooms, an absolutely wonderful restaurant and a kid friendly pool with shallow end and floaters.

Our room had beds for the four of us, a well equipped bathroom and it was just in front of the pool, which we could see from out window: perfect!

The hotel is at the top of the hill overlooking the town and the ancient site.

From it, we reached the ruins on foot however, it is best to go by car as the road is steep and there is nothing to see along it.

By car, which we took the following day, you get to the ruins in a couple of minutes, following a bendy road through the town: it is an easy and well signposted road.

Where to park in Olympia

There is abundant parking space just outside the archaeological site of Olympia and on street in the town. We visited in August and had not difficulty parking the car.

How to visit the ancient ruins of Olympia with kids: tickets

Access to ancient Olympia is ticketed

We went to the site in the late afternoon and purchased tickets at the entrance kiosks.

We got tickets to ancient Olympia on the day. We didn’t have to wait at all and, like in Epidaurus, we marvelled at how easy is was to get tickets without planning.

However, we were in Olympia in August, a month so hot, it may have been the reason for the low crowds.

Prices differ between adults and kids and also depending on whether you are a EU citizen.

Bring your passport with you as proof of citizenship should you wish to avail of the EU pricing.

The cost at the time of our visit was:

• Adult: 12 Euro
• Children and under 25 from the EU: free
• Children under 5 even if from outside of the EU: free

Opening hours: The site is open until 15.30 in winter and up until sunset in summer.

We visited in summer in the late afternoon and stayed until closure, which worked well as it allowed up to see the site with fewer visitors and outside of the hottest hours of the day.

Top tip: if visiting Olympia with kids in summer, avoid the central hours of the day! The sun can get really hot here and the stadium especially is totally exposed and has no shade. Since the kids are pretty much guaranteed to want to run here, coming when the sun is setting and the temperature lower is paramount!

Olympia with kids: guided or self guided?

You can visit the ancient site of Olympia on your own.

However, the info panels available on site are geared towards adults and they may not capture the attention of kids. There is, however, a way to discover Olympia children will love; the Olympia Back in Time Virtual Guide!

We discovered about this guide at our hotel and it is a great way to explore Olympia in your own time but with some aid.

The guide comes in the form of an audioguide and a pair of augmented reality goggles to see how the ancient temples used to be.

Seeing Ancient Greece coming back to life is fun and exciting: while I personally find nothing beats the fascination of the ruins, I can clearly see how much fun our kids have when they can see the buildings as they used to be and I know think this is a great way to get children involved.

What to see in ancient Olympia

However you decide to visit the ancient site of Olympia, I recommend you see out the following areas:

The museum – one of the most significant museums in Greece, the Olympia museum has a wonderful permanent collections of art and artefacts form the area, including a unique in the world collection of bronzes, the Hermes of Praxiteles, one of the most famous sculptures from Ancient Greece, the Nike of Palonios and the statues of the ancient Temple of Zeus, one of the best preserved ensambles we know from Greek times.

The temple of Zeus – Olympia was the seat of the famous temple of Zeus, one of the most famous temples in antiquity and the one that served as example for subsequent temples built in Greece and Italy (Sicily, Campania).

The temple dates form the V century BC and it is still partially standing, some of its columns and pedestal still in their original position.

Around the temples, there are additional structures for priests (Theokoleon), admin workers (Bouleuterion), as well as residences for distinguished guests, and all the sports structures used for the preparation and celebration of the Olympic Games.

The stadium – maybe the most exciting part of ancient Olympia for kids is the stadium, the blueprint of which still informs the creation of modern sport structures.

The stadium is immense and you cannot miss it: follow the crowds and join them as they try to prove their fitness by running from one end fo the others (seriously, everyone does it, you see groups dropping bags and breaking into a mad race every few minutes, if you just stay a while!).

Other interesting areas are the Theokoleon for priests, the Bouleuterios for admin workers, residential buildings for athletes and distinguished guests, hippodrome, baths, gymnasium and more.

As a visitors, it is easy to visit all the areas just by walking around as the site, while large, is manageable and easy to navigate.

What to carry to visit Olympia with kids

Ancient Olympia is flat and you don’t need special equipment to visit.

Due to the uneven nature of the terrain, it is best to wear good walking shoes, runners or walking sandals. I do not recommend flip flops however, it is not as hard to walk here as on the Acropolis so any comfortable shoe will do.

In summer, it is important to protect yourself form the sun.

If visiting with small kids, I recommend a baby carrier or an all terrain stroller.

We recommend to bring abundance of water however, we found a cafe right inside the site.

There are also several cafes, restaurants and supermarkets in the town, only a few minutes from ancient Olympia: we recommend to get water there so you don’t need to queue for it once inside.

In ancient Olympia there are basic but well kept restrooms.

What else to see in Olympia with kids

As well as the ancient site of Olympia, I recommend you bring the children to the technology museum on the Main Street.

The museum is wonderful and the best family attraction in Olympia, if we don’t include the archeological site.

The museum is small and free but packed with clever mechanisms and games.

Kids here can leaner about the most significant and funny inventions from the ancient world (including self opening doors, robots and gravity defying water screws!) and you an try your hand at solving the first puzzle in history…

We failed miserably at this but, thankfully, we were able to purchase a replica for a handful of Euro and bring it home with us: it took us ages to solve it but we did it! And it kept us busy the following day: a lovely travel game that sill now makes us remember fondly our time in Olympia.

I hope you enjoyed this quick practical guide to the ancient site of Olympia and it helped you plan your visit.

Safe family travels!

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