The Tholos at Athena Pronaia

The Tholos is the image most people carry in their heads when they think of Delphi, and it is not in the main sanctuary at all. It stands a few hundred metres down the road, in the lower precinct of Athena Pronaia. Three columns and a piece of the entablature were re-erected in the 1930s, enough to show that the building was a perfect circle; the rest of it lies in the grass around the base.

What makes it work for photographs is the setting. There is no crowd funnel and no single narrow path — just a level terrace of olive trees and dry grass, mountains behind, and the valley dropping away on the far side. You can walk right around the building and shoot it from any angle, which is impossible up at the temple.

The precinct is covered by the main ticket, and most coach parties skip it because it means walking back along the road. That makes it the best place in Delphi for a couple or a proposal: the shape everyone recognises, with room to be alone in it.

Morning light comes from behind the columns and rims them; late afternoon lights the front and warms the marble. The walk down from the main gate takes about ten minutes on a road that loses its pavement in places, so take care with traffic or park at the lower entrance.