The most isolated archaeological site in Attica — the temple of Nemesis on a cliff above the Euboean Gulf, twenty minutes north-east of Marathon.
Rhamnous (Ramnoús) is a cliff-top archaeological site on the north-east coast of Attica, fifteen kilometres beyond Marathon, where the wide farmland of the Mesogeia meets the steep, wooded coast of the Euboean Gulf — a site of remarkable preservation and almost total emptiness.
The site holds two main structures: the Temple of Nemesis (5th-century BC, doric, with the unfinished column-fluting still visible — a Pentelic-marble building of about 30×16 m, with the cult statue of Nemesis by Agorakritos, a pupil of Pheidias, partially recovered and now in the National Archaeological Museum), and the fortress and harbour of Rhamnous proper (a 4th-century-BC fortified town with walls, gate, theatre, gymnasium and a small acropolis, on the cliff above a tiny natural harbour). The view from the temple terrace runs north-east across the Euboean Gulf to the south coast of Evia, four kilometres across. The site is reached by a 15-minute drive from Marathon down a small road; entry is €4; opening hours 08:30–15:30 daily; you will share the site with at most four other visitors. Bring: water, walking shoes, a packed lunch (no facilities; the best tavernas are at Schinias, twenty minutes back).
A Rhamnous afternoon.
Fifty minutes north-east of central Athens via the coastal road.
Two hours at the battlefield — Tymvos, museum, a quick walk to the Plataean mound.
Pre-booked beach taverna — fresh fish, the Mesogeia wine, slow service. €30 per head.
Twenty-minute drive north-east; arrive in the still-quiet hours.
The temple terrace, the unfinished fluting, the view across to Evia. €4; the cinematic afternoon.
Twenty minutes down the path to the harbour fortress — the walls, the small theatre, the gymnasium. The most-preserved Attic deme.
Hour's drive south-west; back in the city by 19:00.
Within twenty minutes.
Twenty minutes' drive south — the battlefield and museum. Detail on the Marathon page.
Twenty-five minutes' drive south — the long sandy beach and the rowing lake.
Hour's drive south — the working port and the Attica mining tradition.
Forty-minute drive south-west — the eleven cellars.
Hour's drive south-west.
Tell us a little about the trip you want — pace, who's coming, how you'd like to spend your mornings. We'll build the days.
