This private tour visits the Ancient Site and Museum of Olympia, followed by free time in the small village of Olympia and an afternoon winery tour and wine tasting.
Most visitors know Olympia for the games it hosted every four years from 776 BC, but two details give the site a different angle. First, Olympia is still where the modern Olympic flame is lit: since 1936, the Ceremony of the Lighting of the Olympic Flame has been held here ahead of every Summer Games, and since 1964, ahead of the Winter Games as well, using a parabolic mirror and sunlight, a direct link between the ancient sanctuary and the Games held today. Second, excavations here in the 1950s uncovered the actual workshop where the sculptor Phidias built his gold and ivory statue of Zeus, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. Archaeologists found tools, clay molds for drapery, and a cup inscribed "I belong to Phidias" in Greek, evidence that confirmed the building's identity and let researchers reconstruct how the statue itself was made.
After meeting your guide, you depart for the site of Olympia, set in a fertile valley where the Alpheios and Kladeos rivers meet. Your guide leads a walking tour through the Altis, the sacred precinct where the games were held, and past the Palaestra and Gymnasium, the training grounds where athletes prepared before competing. The Stadium, the largest of its era with a capacity of 45,000 spectators, is entered through a long vaulted passage built in Roman times. The ancient games continued for well over a thousand years before ending, traditionally dated to 393 AD, when Emperor Theodosius I banned pagan festivals across the Roman Empire, though the exact circumstances of the games' end are still debated among historians.
After the archaeological site, you visit the nearby museum, home to finds recovered from more than a century of excavation, including sculpture and architectural fragments from the temples that once stood in the Altis.
After spending the morning in Ancient Olympia, you have free time in the village, with small shops and restaurants where you can enjoy a typical Greek lunch on a shaded outdoor patio (meal not included).
From Olympia, you continue to Mercouri Estate, a family-run winery founded in 1864 by Theodoros Mercouris and still in the hands of the same family four generations later. The estate has cultivated the Refosco grape, imported from Italy in its early days, alongside other varieties, blending traditional and modern winemaking techniques. The owners greet guests personally with coffee and soft drinks before a tour of the cellars, the family's small private museum, and the surrounding forest and vineyards, where a vantage point overlooks the coast and the island of Zakynthos. You finish with a tasting of the estate's wines alongside local cheeses and snacks under the shade of pine trees.
At the end of the day you return to Katakolon.
If you cannot find what you are looking for, our Katakolon tours and Katakolon Shore Excursions can also be customized to fit your needs. If you have a larger group, we can offer you a private Katakolon tour using a mid-size bus or full size coach. Please contact us with any questions or to receive a customized quote.
Review Location- Katakolon 
