wilsonwest
We had a few hours in between busses and went out to the ruins. It's free, which is nice, but you can tell not much effort has been put into the site. It's cool to walk through the ruins and imagine the theatre, but unless you know what you are looking at, there are no signs putting them in context. The really old Olive trees were cool.
Swissdsign
The place is astonishing, as you have a great view down on Sparta. If you visit Sparta, you can take a nice walk right from the stadium (with a bronze statue of Leonidas king!)The theater is built right beneath the acropolis. Being destroyed by earthquakes (and more?) the place needs a lot of work. when we visited there was some ongoing work... in the archeological site. hope to see more restored when i get back next time!
Superkatt
There is not much left of Spartan Acropolis, the most of monuments here are from roman times. First on a way to Acropolis you pass roman Acropolis walls, coming to the ruins of a Round Building, Rotunda. Then turning left after some 200 meters you reach the ruins of roman Theatre, large but mostly unexcavated. None the less the views to Taygetes mountains from here are magnificent, and if you can read greek inscriptions, there is a lot of reading waiting on the remaining walls of Theatre. When you climb up to the upper rows of the Theatre, you reach the highest part of Acropolis, there little to the left can be seen the ruins of ancient Sanctuary to Athena Chalkioikos, Guardian of the City, dating back to Archaic Spartan times, 6 c BC. The first Temple to Athena on those grounds was build of bronse, hence the name - Of Bronse House. Very little of Temple remains, but anyway here it was. More on the site on the way down to the right - ruins of early Christian Basilica. Promenade roads here are very pleasant, whole area is planted with giant and very old olive trees, in the springtime a multitude of flowers blossom everywhere and it smells wonderful. Address: follow central street Konstantinou Paleologou to the North, turn left along the Stadium and then turn right and up to Akropoleos street.
AdaVegasTravel
To visit Acropolis ancient city was one of my dream and thank to god my dream came true ! It was fantastic, i wish i would visit again.
klaass45
This location at the northern perifere of Sparta is a rather uninteresting area in olive groves, with some excavations, which are still underway. The view of modern Sparta from this site is excellent with the dramtic backdrop of the high mountains in the West.
ThereseJS
Considering the fact that the ancient spartans didn't leave much for us to discover about them, i think this is amazing. I almost went back in time! Now, there are no information about the ruins at the site, and no signs or arrows on where to go, but if you just follow the road you will see the most important stuff. I suppose this is for those who is particularly interested in Sparta and the ancient spartans (like me), and maybe it would be a bit "boring" for the average tourist. Nevertheless, i think the orange, plastic fences ruined the experience a bit, and I wish that the spartans of today could have done a bit more to make this a really interesting place to visit. Great view from the top though.It's an important site, and i definitely recommend you go there if you are in Sparta.
PetterU
There is nothing for tourists here; the ruins are simply strewn about, waiting for some day when archaeologists can have a closer look at them. Athens is where most of the money is being spent. So this is not a tourist trap, by any means, but there aren't anything here to explain things for you either.
ChrisofBlackheath
Situated on a hillside just outside the town centre is a Roman amphitheatre and a jumble of stones that are. apparently, the ancient Acropolis of Sparta. There's no signage or visitor's centre, and you can't really get any feel for what the site might have looked like in the hey-day of Sparta in the 5th century BC.
TravelingCat22
I really wanted to see Sparta for its historic value but honestly I'm not Hellenistic enough to appreciate scattered ruins like this. They are just behind the Leonidas statue.Going in this region allowed us to discover the less known Mystra which was wonderful.
Eric_Lemon
I was really keen on visiting the historic location of Sparta, given the important role that city state played in Greek history.It is quite a nice experience, and you can wander the site as you please, and there are very few other travellers around, and no sight of tour groups.Very little of the city has actually been dug up, so there is not much to see with the exception of the theatre. Hopefully they will also at some point put up some signs explaining the site a bit more.
786christopherm
The remains of some digs, without information signage, overlooks the Roman ampitheater and town; this site is pleasant for walking in but without a personal guide it will be difficult to gain much of archaeological or historical knowledge.
518demetrap
Some signs directing you to the ruins amongst the olive groves but no other description of the various ruins. The excavations are in progress though so eventually it will be more organized.
ElizabethW840
The acropolis and theatre are atmospheric sites that I visited some years ago. Since then some excavation work has uncovered more of the acropolis and this looks interesting. Unfortunately the theatre seems to have suffered from vandalism and neglect.
djude1148
After tromping on so many preserved theaters and agoras, this one was a bust. The rock had all been harvested centuries ago to build Sparta. What is left is a scoop out of the earth that could have been a theater or a small meteor strike. The acropolis was, as defined, on top of a hill, but there was so little to show that the trip was futile. If you just want to take a stroll in some very nice parks and streets, by all means go. If you want to see an amphitheater there are many others available.
barryCheshire
Completely open site that you can just wander around. Perhaps a few information boards would help to explain what you are seeing but delightful to walk around