Panathenaic Stadium

Athens, Greece

The Panathenaic Stadium or Kallimarmaro is a multi-purpose stadium in Athens. One of the main historic attractions of Athens, it is the only stadium in the world built entirely of marble.

A stadium was built on the site of a simple racecourse by the Athenian statesman Lykourgos c. 330 BC, primarily for the Panathenaic Games. It was rebuilt in marble by Herodes Atticus, an Athenian Roman senator, by 144 AD and had a capacity of 50,000 seats. After the rise of Christianity in the 4th century it was largely abandoned.

The stadium was excavated in 1869 and hosted the Zappas Olympics in 1870 and 1875. After being refurbished, it hosted the opening and closing ceremonies of the first modern Olympics in 1896 and was the venue for 4 of the 9 contested sports. It was used for various purposes in the 20th century and was once again used as an Olympic venue in 2004. It is the finishing point for the annual Athens Classic Marathon. It is also the last venue in Greece from where the Olympic flame handover ceremony to the host nation takes place.

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Address

Agras 22, Athens, Greece
See all sites in Athens

Details

Founded: 144 AD
Category: Miscellaneous historic sites in Greece

Rating

4.7/5 (based on Google user reviews)

User Reviews

Bilaal Hassan (2 years ago)
Would suggest to visit if you are in Athens. Gives a surreal feeling. Would be amazing if you could go with few others, so that you can have your own race and may be presentation on the podium. Tip - The prices at the museum shop inside was slightly higher than the one you get outside the entrance. For instance, Athens marathon collectors medal was 45 Euros inside but 30 outside.
Fabrizio Ori (2 years ago)
You can take a nice picture from outside - particularly by night; or spend 10 euros for a better view from the standings plus audio guide (third level has some steep steps but the view is great from level 2 as well). Inside there is a small exhibition with a few Olympic torches
Nahshon (2 years ago)
Tickets are €10, and is not included in the combo pass nor is it part of any attractions packages. If fact, unless you really want to walk around in the stadium and pose for photos in the podiums, you can really just take photos from outside. Its a really grand and nice stadium, so definitely worth paying it a visit if you are near. It is located very close to the Temple of Olympian Zeus.
Kemi Chima (2 years ago)
Save yourself the ticket money take pictures from outside. It's one of the few attractions that you cannot purchase online tickets and there are also no combo tickets. The only difference between outside and inside is you can get to to top of the steps. If you don't mind paying 10 euros just to do that then by all means buy the ticket!
Adrien Stas (2 years ago)
Very nice visit thanks to the audio-guides (available in different languages) who explains you more about this amazing place. As a sport fan it was a must do visit and it was lovely, you also have a little shop inside and a little "museum" with some posters and torches of the past Olympics. I would also recommend to go to the top of the stadium to have an amazing view of the Acropolis and the city of Athens. Only negative point was that we couldn't go on the track because they are preparing an event..
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