The historic associations and resonance of OLYMPIA, which for over a millennium hosted the most important Panhellenic games , are rivalled only by Delphi or Mycenae. It is one of the largest and most beautiful sites in Greece, and the setting is as perfect as could be imagined: a luxuriant valley of wild olive and plane trees, spread beside the twin rivers of Alfiós (Alpheus) -the largest in the Peloponnese - and Kládhios, and overlooked by the pine-covered hill of Krónos. Sadly, the actual ruins of the sanctuary are jumbled and confusing, and seem to cry out for reconstruction, even on a modest scale. The great temple columns lie half-buried amid the trees and undergrowth: picturesque and shaded, perfect ground for picnics, but offering little real impression of their ancient grandeur or function. Their fame, however, prevails over circumstance, and walking through the arch from the sanctuary to the stadium it is hard not to feel in awe of the Olympian history. Despite the crowds, the tour buses, the souvenir shops and other trappings of mass tourism, it demands and deserves a lengthy visit.

The modern village of Olymbía acts as a service centre for the site, and has little in the way of distractions, save for a somewhat dutiful Museum of the Olympic Games (Mon-Sat 8am-3.30pm, Sun 9am-4.30pm; ?1.50), on the street above the Hotel Phedias , with commemorative postage stamps and the odd memento from the modern games, including the box that conveyed the heart of Pierre de Coubertin (reviver of the modern games) from Paris to its burial at Olympia.

The site of Olympia
From its beginnings the site (daily: May to mid-Oct 8am-7pm, Aug until 9pm, Sept until 8pm; mid-Oct to April 8am-5pm, Sat & Sun 8.30am-3pm; ?3.50 or ?6 for combined site and museum) was a sanctuary, with a permanent population limited to...