VISIT THE EPIDAURUS THEATER IN GREECE

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Day 6: Nafplio - Visit the Epidaurus Theater - Nemea - Dimitsana

Today starts the day with a whole cherry visit the Epidaurus Theater, one of the essential places to see in Greece, so get up early, work for a while and when it's 8 in the morning, go directly to the Kalimera cafeteria, which is the cafeteria where Althaia Pensión hotel breakfast is served, That has been our accommodation in Nafplio tonight.
Keep in mind that in most of the accommodation in mainland Greece, breakfast is included in the price of the room, although in some cases, this has an extra cost, which is usually between 5 and 10 euros and which in our experience compensates very much to pay it, since they are usually homemade products, of first quality and in addition it is usually very blunt.
In this case, the price was 6 euros per person and is served in the cafeteria, also owned, which is one of the most recommended in Nafplio.

Breakfast in Nafplio

It is 9 in the morning when we start the sixth day of this trip Greece in 32 days making way to visit the Theater of Epidaurus, which will be the first visit of the day and is about 30 minutes by car from Nauplia
We arrived at the Theater of Epidaurus when it is 10 in the morning, somewhat later than we anticipated, since we would have liked to come a little earlier, but the hotel breakfast did not start until 8, and we left the car in the parking lot enabled To do this, it is free and right at the door, ready to enter one of the best known archaeological sites in Greece.

Tips for visiting the Epidaurus Theater

- If you come by car you can park to visit the Theater of Epidaurus, at the same door in an enclosure enabled for it that is free.
- The ticket price is 12 euros per person and can be paid by credit card.
- Visiting hours in summer are from 8 in the morning to 8 in the afternoon. In winter it is important to find out about the schedules, since Monday morning is closed and the rest of the days close at 3 in the afternoon.
- As in the rest of the archaeological sites that we have visited in Greece for free, we recommend that you come with a hat, sunscreen and water, since it is very hot and there are no places to shelter.
- In the Theater of Epidaurus you will find bathroom and cafeteria-restaurant facilities abroad.
- Keep in mind that as soon as you arrive at the parking lot, you will see that there is a ticket office that is a post office, tickets are not purchased here, you have to continue about 50 meters ahead, where the museum shop is located and where it is also Ticket office for ticket sales.
- If you want to enjoy a unique perspective in the Theater of Epidaurus we recommend you to climb all the stands until you reach the end without looking back, to finally turn around and have the amazing perspective.

Overview of the Epidaurus Theater

- Although reaching the end of the stands may seem like a strenuous climb, the steps are pretty good, so you don't have to go too carefully, just as it is advisable to do it in other archaeological sites in Greece.
- Keep in mind that visiting the Epidaurus Theater and the rest of the archaeological site, in addition to the museum, will take you approximately two and a half hours if you want to take it easy, take photos and enjoy one of the places to see in Greece more important.
- They say that this is one of the theaters in the world with better acoustics and to prove it, many people what they do is put themselves in the central part of the stage and play their palms or give a shout. If you want to check it, great, but we advise you to do it only once and do it in a polite way. It is not necessary to repeat things 20 times and make the rest of visitors have to hear your screams 20 times and that they cannot make your visit in a relaxed way, as it deserves a place as incredible as this.
- Although you can visit the Theater of Epidaurus for free without problems, if you do not want to rent a car in Greece, you are staying in Athens and want to know more about the place, a good option is to book this Excursion to Corinth, Mycenae and Epidaurus or this Excursion to Mycenae and Epidaurus, both with a guide in Spanish.

What to see in Epidaurus

World Heritage Epidaurus is one of the places you can not miss on a trip through continental Greece, which highlights the impressive Epidaurus Theater, unique place, both for its perfect state of conservation, as well as for its excellent acoustics.

Epidaurus Theater

The incredible Theater of Epidaurus, with a capacity for 14,000 people, is one of the must-see in Epidaurus, and possibly the reason for more weight to get here.
As we mentioned earlier in the tips for visit the Epidaurus TheaterIt is advisable, after enjoying the frontal perspective, to climb the stands without turning around, so that, when you reach the top, have the incredible perspective that this impressive place will give you.

Epidaurus Theater

We put photos, because although we recommend you not to turn around to take the surprise, we assure you that for many photos you see, nothing is comparable to having it in front of you. The magnitude of the place is incredible and it is not possible to represent it in any photograph not much less, with words.

Sanctuary of Epidaurus

In addition to the Epidaurus Theater, the most visited place of Epidaurus, in the archaeological site, we recommend you not to miss the rest of the archaeological site, located in the lower part, where you can see different buildings such as the Temple of Asclepius, the Sanctuary of the Gods Egyptians or the ruins of Tholos, all surrounded by Mount Arahneo, full of pine forests, which place Epidaurus in a unique and wonderful environment.

Sanctuary of Epidaurus

Another of the highlights of this area of the site is the stadium, in front of the odeum, where parties and competitions were held.

Epidaurus Stadium

More practical information to prepare your trip to Greece
- 10 essential places to see in Greece
- The best tips for traveling to Greece
- The 10 best Greek Islands

Epidaurus Museum

If you manage to scratch your visit to Epidaurus for a few minutes, we advise you not to miss the Epidaurus Museum. It is small and your visit will not take you more than 20-30 minutes and is an excellent way to get to know this place a little more, since statues, inscriptions are exposed in a very constructive way, as well as a reconstruction of the tholos of the sanctuary, which They will allow you to have a much clearer idea of how Epidaurus was.

Epidaurus Museum

Book the best rated tours and excursions in Spanish to get to know Mycenae by travelers:
- Excursion to Corinth, Mycenae and Epidaurus
- Excursion to Mycenae and Epidaurus
- Circuit for Mycenae and Olympia for 2 days
- Classic 4-day circuit
- Classic 3 day circuit
- Many more excursions and tours in / from Athens here

We finish the visit a few minutes before 11:30 in the morning and we make our way to Nemea, which is the next stop of the day, after visiting the Epidaurus Theater and which is located about 58 kilometers and approximately one hour away, and where we arrive when it's 12:30 noon.

Tips for visiting Ancient Nemea

- Right at the entrance of the Antigua Nemea there is a parking lot where you can leave the car for free.
- The ticket price is 6 euros per person, you can pay by card and includes a visit to the site museum and also to the stadium that is about 500 meters away
- The entrance to the latter is by the road through which you access the Old Nemea and you can go on foot or with the car, since there is also a small free parking enabled.
- As in the rest of archaeological sites, there are very few places of shade, so it is worth coming with a hat and sunscreen.
- In this case there is no cafeteria or any place to eat something, so if you want to stock up you have to go to Nemea, about 4 kilometers from the site.
- The visit lasts about an hour, including both the archaeological site and the stadium.

Ancient Nemea

What to see in Antigua Nemea

As it happened in Olympia, Nemea was not a city as such, but a sanctuary, which also hosted the biennial Nemeic games, hence the importance of the stadium that is in the archaeological site.

Temple of Zeus

This is the best known structure of the Old Nemea and not without reason. With some columns that attract attention from several meters, there are 3 that are preserved in an original way and two that were reconstructed and that can be seen in different colors.

Temple of Zeus in Ancient Nemea

Stadium

500 meters from the sanctuary, we find the stadium, which can be accessed by car or on foot, as we mentioned earlier.
As a curiosity, tell you that the starting line and distance markers are still preserved today, in addition to the place of the judges. Unfortunately it is not restored, so it is difficult to recreate how it would be at the time, although with a little imagination, you can feel the magnitude of the place.

Ancient Nemea Stadium

We finish the visit to the Old Nemea when it is approximately 1:30 in the afternoon and taking into account that our next destination is Dimitsana, in the Central Arcadia area, where we will sleep, we decide that it is best to eat before and thus be able to go after much quieter for the second part of the day.
Seeing that we do not have many options nearby, we opted to go back a little and go to Nemea, 5 kilometers from Antigua Nemea, where we decided on Danaos & Anastasi, the most recommended restaurant in town, where we ordered a Greek salad, lemon chicken and eggplants as an entree, more beer and water for 24 euros.

Greek salad in Nemea

From here and when it is 2:30 in the afternoon, we head to the western part of Tripoli, in Central Arcadia where we will stay tonight in Dimitsana, a small mountain town that we have read is beautiful and where we will take the opportunity to visit several villages Medieval, which are among the most beautiful in Greece.

Central Arcadia Roads

We will make the first stop in the Karitena village that is 99 kilometers from Nemea and about an hour and a quarter away, which takes us through spectacular mountain landscapes, on the last leg of the route and for which we pay a toll 2.35 euros and another 1.90 euros.
As we mentioned, we make the journey through narrow roads, with so many curves that we lose the count and that cross charming mountain landscapes, which already justify the deviation we have made to pass through this area of Greece.

Karitena in Central Arcadia

The small town of Karitena is the first of the medieval villages that we will visit in this area of Greece, where we find an incredible castle, in the highest area, to which we do not climb, since the approach of the afternoon is to take it with tranquility, only dedicating ourselves to stroll through these small medieval towns.

Karitena

The next stop is Stemnitsa, 15 kilometers from Karitena, where the stone houses stand out, which seem to be taken from a movie and the Byzantine churches.

Stemnitsa

In this small town, we recommend getting lost in its small streets and in its main square, in search of the tranquility of the places that practically do not receive tourism at this time of the year and that turn out to be a haven of peace and relaxation, which heal the soul.
Here we take the opportunity to make a stop in the town square and have a drink with which to continue enjoying that "see life go by", which as we will never get tired of saying, we like it so much.

Stemnitsa

It is important at 6 pm when we arrive in Dimitsana, at the Archontiko Deligianni hotel, which will be our accommodation in Dimitsana tonight, where we left the car in the parking lot directly opposite and after leaving the luggage and resting for a while, leaving to Discover this charming medieval village, which we have to say, is the one we like most of the three we have visited.

Dimitsana

Located in a privileged place, on two mountains, the small town of Dimitsana looks like a town out of a movie set, when you see it from any of its viewpoints.
Although it is not a usual place of passage on a trip to Greece, we recommend, whenever you have this extra time, make a small detour to know this area of Central Arcadia, where it is a real pleasure to spend a few hours and oxygenate yourself Day by day from work, even while traveling.

Dimitsana

As in the rest of the villages, in Dimitsana it is best to take a bottle of water and lose yourself in its little streets, this time surrounded by stone houses and flower balconies, which are a real gift for the senses.

Dimitsana

Although it is not yet 9 pm, today we decided to advance dinner time a bit and approach the Drymonas restaurant, where we ordered a grilled feta, tziziki and a Greek salad plus glass of wine and water for 20 euros, which They are the best farewell of the day.

Grilled feta at Drymonas restaurant

And so, when a few minutes past 10 at night, we return to the Archontiko Deligianni hotel, where the bed awaits us to charge energy and start tomorrow, again, another unforgettable day in Greece.

Route of the day visiting the Theater of Epidaurus, Nemea and Dimitsana, in Central Arcadia

Today's route has led us to visit the Epidaurus Theater, the Ancient Nemea and the Central Arcadia area, where the villages of Karitena, Stemnitsa and Dimitsana stand out, where we have stayed.

Day 7: Dimitsana - What to see in Olympia in Greece - Galaxidi