Temple of Heracles

Great place to visit! If going during summer it is hot and not huge amounts of shade. There was paid parking and no queue to enter. There is a paid bus when in side to zip you a long a long walk way! The bus kid €4 per per each way - great if you are hot! The temples are great and pictures do no justice. Was very fascinating with lots of information you can read.

The Temple of Heracles is breathtaking — even though it’s partly in ruins, the atmosphere is powerful. You can almost feel the weight of history standing among the massive columns (8 still standing tall after thousands of years!). It’s less crowded than the more famous Temple of Concordia, which makes it easier to really take it in. The whole Valley of the Temples is huge, so wear comfortable shoes, bring water, and be ready to walk. The views during sunset are stunning, with the golden light hitting the stone — it feels timeless. If you love history, archaeology, or just unique travel experiences, this is a must-see.

I opted to start at this end of the Valley of Temples by taking the taxi from the parking lot. Its an easier walk going downhill, but this is a fairly easy walk by Sicily standards. A unique temple, not as fully developed as the other.

The Temple of Heracles is one of the oldest and most remarkable monuments in the Valley of the Temples. Dating back to the late 6th century BC, it was dedicated to the hero revered by the ancient Greeks. Today, eight massive columns stand proudly thanks to a reconstruction effort carried out in the early 20th century. However, scholars believe that this restoration was not entirely accurate, as the engineer who directed it did not know the temple’s original structure in detail. Despite this, the temple remains an awe-inspiring sight, embodying both the grandeur of ancient Greek architecture and the challenges of preserving history. A must-see for anyone visiting Agrigento!

Impressive and full of character! Although partially ruined, the Temple of Hercules has a unique charm and atmosphere. You can really feel the ancient history here. A great spot within the Valley of the Temples!

Beautiful archaeological site. You can take the wide path, but there are also small paths that you can walk. The temples have been beautifully restored and you get a good idea of ​​how they must have looked in the past. You can eat there and there are toilets. There is a large parking lot.

Impressive temple remains amongst a series of similar archaeological sites within this park. While the columns here are evocative and add to the visual beauty of these remains it is nonetheless difficult to imagine the full structure as it once was.

nice one

Visited 6/1/25 Valley of the Temples is AMAZING site and a must see if you are in Sicily. This visit was the highlight of my recent trip to Italy. The park is one of the most outstanding examples of ancient Greek architecture. The site is located on a ridge outside the town of Agrigento, not really a Valley! This is also the largest archaeological park in Europe and the Mediterranean basin and a UNESCO World Heritage site. There are remains of 7 temples ( Doric Style) dating back to 510-480 BC Other: Big tourist site, expect crowds. A lot of walking on uneven terrain, no seating, not a lot of shade.

Went here with my husband because he won't ever shut up about the Roman Empire (haha) and now I get it. Jokes aside, this place was quite impressive, in size and engineering, especially as these temples and structures have withstood 2400 years for us to marvel at today! Overall, it was roughly 3.5 miles round trip to walk the entirety of the temples. Completely worth it, in my opinion! There is free parking nearby and tickets to get in are 15 euro per person. Highly recommend visiting if you find yourself visiting Sicily for any amount of time!

Agrigento ruins We could see the ruins as we drove up to it and that got everyone excited. We bought the combo ticket for the ruins and the museum up the street for €20. The ruins are protected but you can climb on some of the old walls and fallen stones. We had 2 hours to spend there and that passed by too quickly. Wish we had another hour at least. They do have a small shuttle for €4 per person for those with mobility issues.

A WOW experience seeing these Greek temple! I loved walking the grounds and seeing them up close.

So much history packed in these ruins! We had a private guide take us around for about two hours and explain things to us. I would of gotten lost if I was by myself. Loved the temple ruin of Juno (wife of Zeus) the towering columns were amazing. So much to see and take in. It was fairly busy when we visited. Be prepared, lots of walking and limited shade. Make sure to bring water with you.

One of the premier attractions in all of Sicily for good reason-it's totally amazing. Dating from 2-4 centuries BCE (that's over 2400 years ago) when Agrigento was one of the most prominent Greek enclaves, the archaeological park features some of the best temple ruins located anywhere-some even more impressive than Greece itself. We visited for around 3 hours with a private guide. During Covid you must show a green pass (being fully vaccinated) to enter and follow a one-way route. You fist come to the Temple ruin of Juno (wife of Zeus) with its towering columns. In the parks center is the temple Concordia or temple of Peace one of the best preserved anywhere in the world. Further along is the massive ruin of temple to Zeus and the temple to Hercules temple rounds things out. It really is a special spot. Of course they don't know for sure the names but through archaeological research they've made educated guesses. We paid 12€ each to enter and you need to be prepared for lots of walking with little shade so definitely bring water. Not to be missed

My husband and I are major UNESCO nerds and visited Valle dei Templi as part of our self-guided tour of Sicily. Even if UNESCO is not your thing, this is definitely worth a visit. The site itself is very well preserved with many of the temples in tact. In addition, the catacombs are also very interesting. Signage is available in English and provides good context. The vistas are gorgeous. I recommend going one hour before sunset and during the off-season to enjoy it. I entered the park through a private entrance provided by my hotel, Villa Athena Hotel, which also sold us the tickets (about 10 Euros a person). It is a lovely walk as well and you do not have to worry about parking.

Awesome place, UNESCO World Heritage site. Seriously ancient -back to ~600 BC. Good signage in English & Italian. Excellent reconstructions of machinery used to build the temples. A couple of little cafes too. Main attraction https://www.youontour.it/en/area/valley-of-the-temples/

We visited as part of a tour group originating in Taormina. Once on site, we were given to an English-speaking guide. While our visit focused primarily on three temples: Juno, Concordia, and Heracles, we were able to walk along the entire esplanade with our guide giving quick and detailed answers to our questions - even my questions on the local and regional geology... she was truly well-versed! It was a rainy morning, and the stairs leading to the Temple of Juno were muddy, so difficult for one of our party to maneuver upon with her cane. Aside from that, I found the history and background provided by our guide to yield a colorful explanation on the architecture and the history that defined this "valley." I had no idea that there were still structures like the Temple of Concordia standing! WELL worth a visit!

Beautiful ruins, and very walkable. It's very hot even in the early operating hours. The outdoor exhibits lacked information.

The Valle dei Templi is an extremely special place and we were very fortunate to be able to visit. The pictures really do say it all so there's not a whole lot more to share, save for a few tips. It's hot here. Very exposed. I recommend getting cold towels to drape around your neck to stay a bit cool. Freeze some water bottles and use them for cooling off as well. Come early - by midday when the sun is overhead you'll regret not making it here earlier. Don't bother with the audio guide unless you don't have a guidebook to bring along with you. Our michelin green guide of Sicily had more than sufficient information for us and we regretted renting the audio guide as it could only be used by one person at a time and the information was conveyed in a way so as not to be terribly interesting to kids. Bring coins for the bathroom and parking. You will need them for both. You may be able to pay for parking by card but the bathroom attendants were fairly grim to those who left without sharing the financial love. The two most intact temples and the statue of Icarus are within a relatively short distance of one another with a bar in between to stop and get a cold drink or take a bathroom break. The Atlas statue is considerably further and closer to the Western parking area. It is actually a replica and apparently the real statue is in the archeological museum (which you have to purchase a separate ticket to see). I'm sorry to say our kids were grumpy so we did not walk the 2.5 km from one end to the other to get there. We are told you can pay 3 euros a person for a cart to take you from one lot to the other, but in the 2 hours we were there, we only saw the cart go by once. It's possible that regular taxis are available at either end but we were too bleary eyed from the heat that recall whether or not there were actually taxis. The road to agrigento from Marina di ragusa was long, rough and very, very slow. Meandering through towns, several sections of the highway closed with detours that seemed to double back, one incredibly wretched 7km stretch of an off-road nightmare due to a last minute road closure right before we got to the end. Take a look at the route if you are coming from this part of the area before heading there. You might want to investigate an alternate route. We had a nice lunch at Pititto in town after our visit...ample parking nearby, amazing variety of dishes, reasonably decent air conditioning and a welcome respite after a seriously hot day at an overwhelmingly special place. Do make the trip here. It's distant from both Palermo and Catania and the roads are worse than they look on the map. Break it up if you can (though the route from Ragusa to here really offered very few towns that seemed with a stop) but definitely don't miss it, even on a 110 degree day.

It was a super fun place for my family and I to travel to and explore, especially since some are both Sicilian and Greek! It was easy to park, walk to the ticket booth and begin your self guided tour by foot. Be sure to bring walking shoes, especially if it has been raining. Kids under 18 are free as well which is a great perk!

GREEKING OUT IN SICILY This is one of my favorite places to visit when I'm in Sicily, in fact this is my third visit here. On our recent visit I brought my family who had not ever been here. There is a parking lot at the main entrance. It may seem confusing but start by taking a ticket when you drive in. You must pay for the parking at the kiosk prior to leaving the lot. The maximum you will pay is $5 Euro for the day, which isn't bad. If you are there under an hour it is only $1 Euro but that won't happen unless you run through the park. We were here for over two hours and we were only charged $4. A lot of that time was waiting in line to buy tickets. Make sure you have euros because the machine only takes money. Another important tip is you must hold your ticket in the scanner while you are paying I learned this the hard way. Once the ticket is paid you only have 10 mins to leave the lot, so do not delay your departure because there is no parking lot attendant here to argue with. The line to buy tickets was really long in the hot heat. I did not see any advantage to buying on line because the lady in front me had a digital ticket on her phone. She still had to wait in the long line to buy tickets. The worse part is when she showed the purchased digital ticket the lady in the kiosk still looked at a master paper list of names. It took her forever to find her name. What's the point of going digital. Shouldn't they have the digital scanners. Then after searching the list she still had to hand the lady a printed paper ticket. Other reviews mention you can skip the line but I didn't witness this happening. If you do buy online, I'd recommend talking to a line attendant and hopefully they will move you to the front. Prices were not that bad. It was $24 Euro for two adults and our daughter was free. The lady at the counter didn't believe me we had a 12 year old. She asked me which one was the child when she saw my wife and daughter standing next to each other. My wife took this as a compliment. Then the lady said, "Prove It!" It came off very little rude but I'm assuming it was lost in translation. I showed my daughter's passport and she was free. Make sure you have proof of your child's age for the free ticket. Another good tip is that the first Sunday of the month is free but we missed this by a week. The park seems like it is very large when you are driving up the mountain but you can see everything in around two hours. They have an electric shuttle for $3 Euro but we didn't do it. We enjoyed getting some exercise. I highly recommend you apply sunscreen, wear hats, sunglasses and bring water because in August it's really hot. Now let's talk about the ruins. They are fantastic. I first visited here over 25 years ago and I was amazed. I then went to Greece and was so excited. I was completely let down. I believe the Greek Temples here are better preserved in Sicily then in Greece. The park grounds are much nicer too. It is an adventure to walk around. I love the Temple of Concordia which was built in 430 BC. This temple is the most intact and is just amazing to look at. I am still in awe of how they were able to built these giant temples over 2500 years ago. I didn't talk too much about all the Temples here because I want you to have this experience first hand. I highly recommend you visit them when you make a trip to Sicily. I am sure you will be as amazed as I was when I first gazed upon them many years ago. Sicily was over run by many civilizations. I never realized that Sicily was once a Greek Island. Do not miss this historic site.

you wait in line & pay a fee to get in, it's a bit of a walk to get from ruin to ruin but well worth it.

The history is great, but walking around in circles is not. The signage was HORRIBLE. 1. Terrible signage. I followed the sign that said "exit.' The footpath ended in an open space and and I could see the Temple of the Dioscuri about 300 meters diagonally across the ruin-strewn meadow. There were no other signs indicating where the exit was. Should I turn left? Should I turn right??? Go straight? I actually ended up where I started when I set out to find the exit. The sign said "Exit" and I faithfully followed it only to find myself back where I started. Damn silly. 2. More terrible signage. I paid for the audio guide and the staff member who gave it to me told me to start at Station Number 12 on the map. I found Station Number 12 easily. My complaint is the same as in item 1, above: there were no signs indication which way to go to reach the next station. 3. I wanted to see the high points of the Valle dei Templii; that is, the best preserved structures. They are the Temple of Concordia, The Temple of Juno, and the Roman Temple. I saw only the Temple of Juno. On the positive side, I passed by Villa Hardcastle. I am almost 70 years old and I don't have the energy to walk in circles for kilometers anymore. The signage needs major improvement. Conclusion: pay for a certified guide and customize your visit to see the best-preserved sites. You can find one at the Valle's website: https://www.parcovalledeitempli.it/?lang=en

Beautiful! archaeological site in Agrigento, Sicily, southern Italy. Outstanding examples of GreeK art and architecture, and is one of the BEST and main attraction. The kids were able to enjoy the place

Visited this landmark yesterday and enjoyed the experience. The initial glimpse you get of the first temple is magical as it sits proudly on the hill. The ruins are of interest but the views are the real crowd pleaser. There are nice grounds here with lots of exotic trees and fruits. There is also a cafe located inside the grounds where toilets and refreshments can be found. Only complaint is that there are no drinking taps on site - any taps are for washing purposes only. If your nearby would definitely recommend this place, so much to see the heat is the only thing that would stop you from seeing everything.

Absolutely fantastic site! A must see! I recommend to park in the lower parking then take a taxi for 3€ to the upper entrance and walk through the temples.

In the Valley of the Temples are the ruins of numerous temples but also necropoli, houses, streets and everything else one would expect to find in an ancient city. There is a small amphitheatre, as well as several auditoria, and a fine archeological museum. Unfortunately, most of the temples at Agrigento are in ruins, with pieces strewn about, and several appear to have never even been completed. Part of the Temple of Hera (Juno), built around 450 BC, is still intact. Its style has been compared to that of the temples at Paestum, near Salerno. The Temple of Concord (named retroactively), built around 440 BC, is in far better condition, and at night the illuminated temple is a sight to behold. A number of telamons (large segmented stone columns in the form of human figures) have been preserved. Agrigento's importance declined under the Byzantines and Saracens, who encouraged settlement of the medieval city (present-day Agrigento) several kilometres from the Valley of the Temples. The Normans, however, recognized its importance, and it was during the Norman rule that beautiful churches were constructed in and around the city. Ancient Agrigento's architectural character seems more Greek than Roman. What's missing are the thin bricks so typical of Roman sites like Solunto and Taormina. Despite its location virtually in the shadow of a modern city, the Valley of the Temples is surrounded by olive groves and almond orchards that render its ambience altogether natural, though a number of illegally-built houses mar the landscape.

Super interesting archeological site! the largest site in the world! We came in December off season, which was the perfect time. No crowds, a little cheaper parking, and perfect temperatures (mid 60s Fahrenheit). We got the tickets for the valley and the museum, which were pretty reasonably priced. The museum was interesting (15th century BC artifacts! so old!) but pretty small. I don't think the museum is a must do unless you really enjoy that stuff, but the valley is definitely a must do! Also, where we parked, there was a taxi driver trying to get us to take his deal of 3 euro/person ride up to the top of the valley hike (only about 2 kilometers, not strenuous if you go slow). The walk without the taxi was fine, so I'd say avoid any of those deals, even if they aren't expensive. You get a better chance to see the sites by foot.

We spent the night near by and had plenty of time to enjoy this spectacular place. It must be some of the best preserved Greek structures anywhere. We spent several hours and enjoyed every minute. The walking isn't to bad and is a great place to spend several hours.

One of the most beautiful evidence of the Greek area in Sicily. The park is pretty big and if the weather is good you can enjoy a wonderful walk in the past and the view of the city and the sea. The ticket to enter is cheap.