The Temple of Apollo terrace

The Temple of Apollo is the middle of the site and, for the Greeks, the middle of the world — this is where the oracle sat. Six columns of the outer colonnade have been re-erected on the platform, and the long foundation runs behind them like a plan of the building drawn in stone. Stand at the western end and the columns line up against the Phaedriades, the twin limestone cliffs that close the sanctuary from above.

Turn around and the frame changes completely: the terrace wall drops away, cypresses point up out of the slope, and the plain of Amfissa — a valley of well over a million olive trees — runs down to the water at Itea. Ruin in the foreground, green distance behind: that contrast is the picture people come to Delphi for.

Come in the first hour after the gate opens. The Sacred Way is one narrow path, so once the coaches arrive there is no angle on the temple without people in it, and by mid-morning the marble goes flat and white. Late afternoon works too, but the mountain shadow reaches the temple earlier than you expect.

The ground is uneven ancient stone and the way up is a steady climb, so flat shoes matter more than they look. Handheld cameras are fine; tripods, lights and drones fall under separate archaeological-service rules — check those before the day.