Athens Olympic Stadium

The Greece Travel Secrets guide to the original Athens Olympic Stadium, built for the 1896 Olympic Games and open to the public for jogging and photography.

The Athens Olympic Stadium or Panathenaic Stadium.The Athens Olympic Stadium

For sheer, simple grace, the beauty of this stone athletics stadium, within sight of the equally graceful Acropolis, is hard to beat.

This stadium, also called just Stadio, was built in 1896 when the Olympic Games were revived and fittingly held in their original home country. Many Greeks were disappointed at not being awarded the 1996 Olympics to celebrate the centenary of the stadium, though they did of course return to Athens in 2004.

The Athens Olympic Stadium or Panathenaic Stadium.The Athens Olympic Stadium or Panathenaic Stadium

The 1896 stadium is also known as the Panathenaic Stadium, named after the original stadium where contests were held on this site from the 4th century BC onwards. The Olympic stadium follows the same plan as the ancient stadium, which was described by the geographer Pausanias in the 2nd century AD.

Architect Ernst Ziller, responsible for many fine late 19th-century Athenian buildings, was commissioned to design the stadium in the spirit of its predecessor.

Our Pick of the Athens Guides

Lonely-Planet-Pocket-Athens.png

Visiting the Athens Olympic Stadium

A visit to the stadium won't take long as there is little to see other than the structure as a whole, but you may find some Athenians jogging round the track, and visitors can wander around the centre and look at the statues marking starting and finishing points.

The Athens Olympic Stadium or Panathenaic Stadium.

Photographers will also be tempted by the sweeping curves and repetitive lines of the 47 rows of seats, which hold up to 60,000 spectators. The seating is on three sides only, leaving the fourth open with views across to one of the few wooded areas in central Athens, a corner of the National Gardens.

A few other Athens pages

  • Athens car rental options include almost all of the major international car hire firms such as Avis, Budget, Hertz, and Europcar.

    Athens Car Rental

    Athens car rental options include almost all of the major international car hire firms such as Avis, Budget, Hertz, and Europcar.

  • Greece Travel Secrets chooses its top ten Athens restaurants with Acropolis views, perfect for dining by day or by night, including places with Michelin stars.

    Restaurants with Acropolis Views

    Greece Travel Secrets chooses its top ten Athens restaurants with Acropolis views, perfect for dining by day or by night, including places with Michelin stars.

  • Ten Fun Things to Do in Athens include eating in the Central Market, watching the sun set over the Acropolis and seeing one of the world's oldest theatres.

    Ten Fun Things to Do in Athens

    Ten Fun Things to Do in Athens include eating in the Central Market, watching the sun set over the Acropolis and seeing one of the world's oldest theatres.

  • Athens in the rain isn’t something you’re likely to experience but here are suggestions for things to do in the rain in Athens including museums and shopping

    Athens in the Rain

    Athens in the rain isn’t something you’re likely to experience but here are suggestions for things to do in the rain in Athens including museums and shopping

  • The Athens Byzantine and Christian Museum is housed in a beautiful villa with an underground wing and lovely gardens too.

    Athens Byzantine and Christian Museum

    The Athens Byzantine and Christian Museum is housed in a beautiful villa with an underground wing and lovely gardens too.

  • There's all kinds of entertainment in Athens whether you're interested in theatre, dance, classical music, jazz, Greek music, rock music, disco, opera or movies.

    Entertainment in Athens

    There's all kinds of entertainment in Athens whether you're interested in theatre, dance, classical music, jazz, Greek music, rock music, disco, opera or movies.

  • Athens Food Tours are being introduced by new company The Greek Fork, and will include tours of the Central Market, and the best street food.

    Athens Food Tours

    Athens Food Tours are being introduced by new company The Greek Fork, and will include tours of the Central Market, and the best street food.

  • Athens Airport car rentals include Alamo/National Car Rental, Avis, Budget, Europcar, Hertz and Sixt, all with offices at the airport.

    Athens Airport Car Rental

    Athens Airport car rentals include Alamo/National Car Rental, Avis, Budget, Europcar, Hertz and Sixt, all with offices at the airport.

  • Around Monastiraki is the flea market, Athens cathedral, Kerameikos Cemetery, the Benaki Museum of Islamic Art and the Psirri and Gazi nightlife districts.

    Monastiraki and Around

    Around Monastiraki is the flea market, Athens cathedral, Kerameikos Cemetery, the Benaki Museum of Islamic Art and the Psirri and Gazi nightlife districts.

  • The best views in Athens include views from the Acropolis and of the Acropolis from the top of some of the city’s several hills and from hotels and restaurants.

    Best Views in Athens

    The best views in Athens include views from the Acropolis and of the Acropolis from the top of some of the city’s several hills and from hotels and restaurants.

  • Greece Travel Secrets gives its choice of the best hotels in Athens from budget and moderate options through to 5-star luxury choices.

    The Best Hotels in Athens

    Greece Travel Secrets gives its choice of the best hotels in Athens from budget and moderate options through to 5-star luxury choices.

  • The National Archaeological Museum is one of the best things to see in Athens, and the best museum in the world for seeing Greece's archaeological treasures.

    National Archaeological Museum

    The National Archaeological Museum is one of the best things to see in Athens, and the best museum in the world for seeing Greece's archaeological treasures.

  • Amusing children in Athens is easy as there is lots to do including a children’s museum, planetarium, beaches, and easy excursions to the nearest islands.

    Amusing Children in Athens

    Amusing children in Athens is easy as there is lots to do including a children’s museum, planetarium, beaches, and easy excursions to the nearest islands.

  • If you're wondering where to eat in Athens and Piraeus we have a few suggestions including some favorites around the Acropolis, Omonia Square, and Syntagma.

    Where to Eat in Athens and Piraeus

    If you're wondering where to eat in Athens and Piraeus we have a few suggestions including some favorites around the Acropolis, Omonia Square, and Syntagma.

  • This walk around the Kolonaki neighbourhood of Athens starts and ends in Syntagma Square and takes you to several museums, Kolonaki Square and Mount Lykabettos.

    A Walk around Kolonáki

    This walk around the Kolonaki neighbourhood of Athens starts and ends in Syntagma Square and takes you to several museums, Kolonaki Square and Mount Lykabettos.

  • This drive around Attica offers visitors high hills, beach resorts, small villages and classical sites like Marathon and the Temple of Poseidon at Cape Sounion.

    A Drive around Attica

    This drive around Attica offers visitors high hills, beach resorts, small villages and classical sites like Marathon and the Temple of Poseidon at Cape Sounion.

  • The Pnyx hill near the Acropolis is one of Athens' true hidden gems, a place to wander freely away from the crowds and discover ancient places and mysteries.

    The Pnyx

    The Pnyx hill near the Acropolis is one of Athens' true hidden gems, a place to wander freely away from the crowds and discover ancient places and mysteries.

  • Athens is a top vacation destination. The Greece Travel Secrets Athens guide has information on hotels, museums, Athens airport and all the best things to do.

    Athens: Travel Information and Advice about Athens, Greece

    Athens is a top vacation destination. The Greece Travel Secrets Athens guide has information on hotels, museums, Athens airport and all the best things to do.

  • If visiting Athens it helps to know when major events and public holidays take place, as some shops and attractions may be closed, but to be there at times like Easter can make for a magical trip.

    Athens Events and Public Holidays

    If visiting Athens it helps to know when major events and public holidays take place, as some shops and attractions may be closed, but to be there at times like Easter can make for a magical trip.

  • Syntagma Square or Constitution Square is the main square in Athens and has a metro station, the Greek Parliament building, hotels, cafes, and a post office.

    Syntagma Square

    Syntagma Square or Constitution Square is the main square in Athens and has a metro station, the Greek Parliament building, hotels, cafes, and a post office.

  • In My Athens on Greece Travel Secrets travel writer Mike Gerrard describes what he loves about Athens including the Acropolis and eating!

    My Athens: a Portrait by Travel Writer Mike Gerrard

    In My Athens on Greece Travel Secrets travel writer Mike Gerrard describes what he loves about Athens including the Acropolis and eating!

  • Athens' Benaki Museum is one of the city’s top museums with an outstanding collection, especially of Greek and Egyptian artefacts, in a beautiful mansion.

    Athens’Benaki Museum

    Athens' Benaki Museum is one of the city’s top museums with an outstanding collection, especially of Greek and Egyptian artefacts, in a beautiful mansion.

  • Two of the best cocktail bars in Athens, MoMix Kerameikos and The Clumsies, are making creative cocktails using that most Greek of Greek spirits, Metaxa.

    Best Cocktail Bars in Athens

    Two of the best cocktail bars in Athens, MoMix Kerameikos and The Clumsies, are making creative cocktails using that most Greek of Greek spirits, Metaxa.

  • This beginner's guide to Greek architecture explains how to tell your Ionic from your Doric columns, and what to look for in temples and Byzantine churches.

    Greek Architecture

    This beginner's guide to Greek architecture explains how to tell your Ionic from your Doric columns, and what to look for in temples and Byzantine churches.

  • The Athens War Museum is a fascinating look at Greek history through the lens of warfare from ancient battles to the Greek War of Independence and World War II.

    Athens War Museum

    The Athens War Museum is a fascinating look at Greek history through the lens of warfare from ancient battles to the Greek War of Independence and World War II.

Enjoy this page? Please pay it forward. Here's how...

Would you prefer to share this page with others by linking to it?

  1. Click on the HTML link code below.
  2. Copy and paste it, adding a note of your own, into your blog, a Web page, forums, a blog comment, your Facebook account, or anywhere that someone would find this page valuable.

Latest Posts

RSS

  1. Kerameikos Ancient Site in Athens Getting New Visitor Facilities

    Visitors to the Kerameikos archaeological site in central Athens will soon have new access through an entrance-exit point being developed on Agion Asomaton Street, directly across from Dipylou Street.

    Read More

  2. Central Greece Motorway E65 Adding More Kilometers

    A new section of the E65 motorway, often referred to as the “backbone road” of Central Greece, was opened to traffic in the second week of July, with 136 kilometers now operational. This road provides…

    Read More

  3. AirDNA: Greece’s 3 Cities with Affordable Airbnb Rates

    Iceland, Monaco, the UK, Greece, and Spain are Europe’s most expensive countries for short-term rentals, according to analytics experts AirDNA.

    Read More

  4. Seaplane Test Flights Connect Skopelos, Alonissos, Skyros

    Greek seaplane company Hellenic Seaplanes on Friday laid the groundwork for some of the Greek islands that will welcome seaplanes and carried out its first flights between three islands of the Sporade…

    Read More

  5. Travel + Leisure: Four Greek Hotels Among Best in the World and Europe

    The World’s Best Awards by Travel + Leisure recently ranked four Greek hotels among the best in the world and Europe, honoring them for their luxurious atmosphere and top-notch hospitality.

    Read More

  6. Santorini Cannot Support Even One More Hotel or Airbnb Bed

    Santorini is now coping with the repercussions of overtourism generated by cruise ships and day-trippers from Crete and other adjacent islands.

    Read More

  7. 9 Tasty Stops in the Cyclades for Authentic Flavors

    Restaurants, tavernas, and grocery stores that highlight the local flavors of the Cyclades.

    Read More

  8. Where to Eat on Symi

    taverna-o-meraklis-symi-2.webp
    Greece Travel Secrets picks where to eat on Symi, down by the harbour or in the upper town, and whether you like fish, meat, vegetarian, traditional or modern.

    Read More

  9. Restaurants with Acropolis Views

    gb-roof-garden-restaurant-dusk.webp
    Greece Travel Secrets chooses its top ten Athens restaurants with Acropolis views, perfect for dining by day or by night, including places with Michelin stars.

    Read More

  10. The Ilisian: Reimagining an Icon of Modern Athens

    The former Hilton Athens is being transformed into a multi-faceted destination that aspires to forge exciting new connections between the Greek capital and the rest of the world.

    Read More