One day is enough for the Valley of the Temples, provided you have a plan. The park covers some 1,300 hectares and the main route, from one entrance to the other, runs for over two kilometres of sloping gravel path. Here is a tried-and-tested itinerary that starts at Porta Quinta and finishes at Sant'Anna, working with the downhill gradient and the best light.
The plan at a glance
- • 09:00 — Enter at Porta Quinta, eastern side
- • 09:15 — Temple of Juno, at the top of the ridge
- • 10:00 — Via Sacra and the walls with the early Christian tombs
- • 10:30 — Temple of Concordia
- • 11:30 — Temple of Heracles
- • 12:30 — Lunch at the rest area or the Kolymbethra Garden
- • 14:00 — Temple of Olympian Zeus and the Telamons
- • 15:00 — Temple of the Dioscuri and the sanctuary of the chthonic deities
- • 16:00 — Exit at Sant'Anna, or on to the Archaeological Museum
Morning: from the eastern temples to Concordia
Go in at Porta Quinta as soon as it opens and climb straight to the Temple of Juno: it is the highest point of the route, and at nine o'clock the low eastern light turns the columns bronze. From there the Via Sacra drops westwards alongside the ancient walls, honeycombed with early Christian burial niches. Twenty minutes' walk brings you to the Temple of Concordia, the best preserved in the Greek world — give it at least half an hour and walk the full way round it.
Lunch: where and how
Do not leave the park to eat. There is a rest area with a bar and facilities along the route, and the Kolymbethra Garden — separate ticket, run by the FAI — offers real shade under the citrus trees, the only genuinely cool spot in the Valley. Alternatively, bring a sandwich and sit in the shade of the ancient olive trees near the Temple of Heracles.
Afternoon: the western sector
The second half of the route is more archaeological and less photogenic, but it tells the biggest stories. The Temple of Olympian Zeus was the largest the Greeks ever designed and was never finished: today it is a field of colossal blocks, where you can pick out the replica of a telamon lying on the ground, almost eight metres tall. A little further on, the four standing columns of the Temple of the Dioscuri are the emblem of the Valley — although what you see is a nineteenth-century reassembly.
If you have time to spare
With an extra hour, the Hellenistic-Roman quarter shows how people actually lived in Agrigentum, among courtyards, cisterns and mosaic floors. If you prefer objects, the Pietro Griffo Archaeological Museum, included in the combined ticket, holds the famous reassembled telamon and the Dionysus vase. Either way, allow a good hour.
Practical tips so nothing goes wrong
- • Park at Sant'Anna and take the shuttle to Porta Quinta: that way you walk downhill all day
- • Two kilometres of sloping gravel: closed shoes, no sandals
- • Last admission is one hour before closing, not at closing time
- • The Kolymbethra Garden shuts before the park does — check its hours if you want to visit
