The Athens Experience

You will be greeted at the airport by our local representative and transported to your hotel. Along the way, enjoy your first taste of the sights and sounds of this remarkable city, birthplace of the West.

We will journey through three thousand years of history, and behold sights that are sure to leave you breathless. We start from the modern – bustling, café -lined Syntagma (Constitution) Square. To the east we are greeted by the Parliament, formerly the Royal Palace, and the Memorial of the Unknown Soldier. Our next stop is the New Royal Palace (now Presidential Mansion), situated along one of the most beautiful streets of the city. Our voyage will next take us to the place of the first modern Olympic Games of 1896, the Panathinaiko (Panathenaic Stadium). From here, the Ancient World unveils before us; you’ll marvel at the sheer scale of the Olympieion, the Temple of Zeus, the largest temple in Greece – started in the sixth century BC, it took 700 years to complete. As you look upon the inscriptions on the Arch of Hadrian you bear witness to the spread of Greek culture first to Rome and then to the world at large. On the one side is the city of Theseus (Athens), while on the other is the city of Hadrian – The Arch was erected in 132 A.D. as the boundary between the two.Inside the new Acropolis Museum you will be surrounded by the glory of classical Athens – the famous Caryatids from the Erechteum, the “Kritios Boy”, all found right here. You’ll follow the steps of Pericles, Hadrian and Lord Byron on your way to the Acropolis, past the Temple of Athena Nike, through the Propylaea and find yourself in the shadow of the Parthenon. It has served as a temple, church, mosque, and a store room (for gunpowder). Through it all, it never ceased inspiring the minds and souls of all who behold it. In the afternoon we leave the city, through the lovely beaches of Glyfada, Vouliagmeni and Varkiza to arrive at the southernmost point of Attica – Cape Sounion; a rocky point some 200 feet above the sea, home to the Temple of Poseidon, its sentinel for two and a half millennia. (B)

We set sail for the Island of Hydra from marina Trokadero – our celebration of the sea begins! The lack of cars on the island makes it the ideal place for a stroll along the waterfront – explore shops and galleries or maybe have a swim. Back on the boat we’ll have lunch as we sail the narrow strait between the mainland of the Peloponnesus and the Island of Poros – destination: Aegina. Upon arrival at the island, you can explore the town or join the tour to the Temple of Aphaea, sister to the Parthenon and the Temple at Sounion. You’ll return to Athens for the night. (B, L)

We travel northwest, through the fertile plains and lush hills of Boeotia, land of Oedipus – this land, and especially the city Thebes is the spiritual centre of Greece. Much of the mythology surrounding Dionysus – god of wine and ecstasy, and Herakles’ doomed labour to Mt.Olympus took place right here. These plains bore witness to countless battles that shaped the very nature of Greece itself. We will pass through Thebes and its neighbouring towns Levadia and Arachova as we travel to Delphi for the ancients, the Omphalos, the “navel”, or centre, of the world. As you stand here, on the slope of Mt.Pernassus, the sight before you is awe inspiring. Behold the Sacred Way, the theatre, and the great treasury of the Athenians – built with the spoils from the victory over the Persians at the battle of Marathon, and finally, take in the glory of the Temple of Apollo.Our expert guide will breathe life into these ancient stones and the role they played long ago. The visit to the museum will bring you face to face with the greatest finds of the complex – the bronze charioteer of Delphi, with eyes of silver and lips of copper, the statue of the athlete Agias, attributed to the great Lysippos, and many other unimaginable treasures. We will share a lunch in modern Delphi, and make our way back to Athens. (B, L)

After breakfast, we’ll bid farewell to the friends we’ve made, exchange some numbers and transfer to the airport for our flights. (B)