Philippi

Tickets and tours: all the options

Entry is a single ticket that covers both halves of the site and the small museum, sold at the gate. The price is the same all year, EU citizens under 25 enter free, and as at other Greek state sites the first and third Sundays of each month from November to March are free. In July and August the ancient theatre hosts performances of the Philippi festival, with tickets sold separately for the evening.

The tours on sale fall into a few kinds. From Kavala there are short guided visits for cruise passengers and private tours that add the baptism site of Lydia, sometimes with a winery stop. From Thessaloniki, about two hours away, day trips combine Philippi with Kavala old town and often Amphipolis, the beach or the route of Paul's journeys. Private trips with a driver-guide are popular with Christian groups following Paul's footsteps. Entry is usually extra.

For independent travellers based in Kavala, the local bus and the gate ticket are all you need, and the museum fills the gaps in the labels. A guide is most useful for understanding the layers of the city: Macedonian, Roman and Byzantine. From Thessaloniki without a car, a guided day trip is the practical choice.

A short history

Colonists from Thasos founded a settlement called Krenides, meaning springs, in 360 BC. Philip II of Macedon took it in 356 BC, gave it his name, built walls and exploited the nearby gold mines. On the plain to the west, Mark Antony and Octavian defeated Brutus and Cassius in 42 BC, and veterans were settled here in a Roman colony. Around AD 49 Paul preached in Philippi and baptised Lydia, the first recorded Christian convert in Europe. The city prospered on the Via Egnatia and built great churches in the 5th and 6th centuries, but earthquakes and raids led to its decline, and it was abandoned after the Ottoman conquest. French and Greek teams have excavated since 1914.

Getting there

Philippi lies about 15 km north-west of Kavala, on the old road to Drama. KTEL buses from the Kavala bus station towards Drama run roughly every hour on weekdays and stop beside the site in about 25 minutes; services are fewer at weekends. A taxi from Kavala takes about 20 minutes. Kavala airport, which serves summer charter flights, is about 40 minutes away, and Thessaloniki airport is about 2 hours by car. Drivers can park free at either the upper entrance by the theatre and museum or the lower entrance by the forum. The two halves of the site are separated by the main road, which you cross on foot at a marked crossing.

Rules and what to bring

Do not climb on the walls of the basilicas or walk on the mosaic floors, which are protected only by low barriers. Drones need a permit. The site has very little shade, so bring water, a hat and sunscreen in summer, and wear shoes with grip for the polished marble. Toilets are at the upper entrance near the museum. The nearest cafés are in the village of Krinides nearby.

When to go

Philippi is rarely crowded. Most coach groups come with cruise ships calling at Kavala or with pilgrim tours, and they tend to arrive in the late morning and stay about an hour. Independent visitors who arrive at opening or in the late afternoon will often share the forum with only a handful of others. In July and August the plain is hot by 11 am, so see the open forum and Basilica B first and finish at the museum.

April, May, June, September and October are the best months for walking the site. In July and August the Philippi festival stages ancient drama and concerts in the theatre in the evenings, which is a good reason to stay late. Winter hours are short, the museum opens only from Friday to Sunday, and the site can be cold and windy, but it is very peaceful. Allow two hours for both halves and the museum, or three if you also visit the baptism site of Lydia.