GREECE FOR ARCHAEOLOGY LOVERS

ITINERARY

Upon arrival at Athens Airport meet and assist and transfer to your hotel in the city center

Check in and balance of the afternoon/ evening free
Overnight in Athens

Day 2: Athens- City Tour

Breakfast in the hotel

Today after breakfast you will be picked up from your hotel and start your tour of the City including a guided visit to the Acropolis and the Acropolis Museum

The Athens city tour starts with a photo stop at Panathenaic Stadium where the first Olympic Games took place in 1896. It is the only stadium built out of white marble. Proceed, passing by Zappeion and Temple of Olympian Zeus. You will then pass the Athens Trilogy which includes the University of Athens, the Academy of Athens, and the National Library. Continue passing by National Garden, Hadrian’s Arc, St. Paul’s Church, Parliament, Tomb of the Unknown soldier, Schliemann’s House (Numismatic Museum), Catholic Cathedral, Old Parliament, Constitution Square and finally ACROPOLIS (visit Propylaea, Temple of Athena Nike, Parthenon, Erechtheion with its Porch of Maidens)

Continue with a pleasant short walk passing by Herodion and Dionysos Theatre, in order to visit the ACROPOLIS museum. Main attractions such as votives, artefacts of every day life, statues from archaic period, Caryatids, and of course the Parthenon hall with the metopes, the pediments and the frieze will impress you

Lunch break in Plaka and transfer back to your hotel for a free afternoon

Overnight in Athens

Day 3: Athens- Olympia (Corinth canal/ Mycenae/ Epidavros/ Olympia)

Breakfast in the hotel

Depart for Argolis via the Corinth canal (short stop for photos) and then continue to Mycenae
In the second millennium BC, Mycenae was one of the major centers of Greek civilization, a military stronghold which dominated much of southern Greece. The period of Greek history from about 1600 BC to about 1100 BC is called Mycenaean in reference to Mycenae. At its height in 1350 BC, the citadel and lower town had a population of 30,000 and an area of 32 hectares
Visit the archaeological site and the Tomb of Agamemnon

Lunch break and continue to Epidaurus and visit the Ancient theatre, world famous for its outstanding acoustics
The Asclepieion at Epidaurus was the most celebrated healing center of the Classical world, the place where ill people went in the hope of being cured. Found in the sanctuary, there was a guest house of 160 guestrooms. There are also mineral springs in the vicinity which may have been used in healing. The sanctuary of Asclepius and is an UNESCO World Heritage Site

In the afternoon depart to Olympia, the birth place of the Olympic Games where you will arrive in the evening. Overnight in Olympia

Day 4: Olympia- Delphi (Ancient Olympia Tour)

Breakfast in the hotel

Proceed to a guided tour of the Archaeological area and Museum of Ancient Olympia
Olympia in Greece was the site of the ancient Olympic Games, which were celebrated every four years by the Greeks. Olympia was situated in a valley in Elis, in western Peloponnesus, through which runs the Alpheus River. It was not a town, but only a sanctuary with buildings associated with games and the worship of the gods. Olympia was a national shrine of the Greeks and contained many treasures of Greek art, such as temples, monuments, altars, theatres, statues, and votive offerings of brass and marble. The archaeological site of Olympia is a Unesco Heritage site

After the end of the tour board on your coaches and depart to Delphi via the Rio- Antirrio Bridge (lunch stop on the way)

Arrival at Delpfi and free evening. Overnight in Delphi

Day 5: Delphi- Kalambaka (Delphi Archaeological Area and Museum Tour)

Breakfast in the hotel

Today after breakfast you will proceed to Delphi Archaeological area for a guided visit including the Delphi Museum
At the foot of Mount Parnassos, lies the Pan-Hellenic sanctuary of Delphi, which was the most famous Oracle of ancient Greece. Delphi is the second-most important archaeological site in Greece (after the Acropolis in Athens) and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Delphi, dates to the ninth century B.C. and whose allure includes an amazing hillside setting and ruins that will intrigue even the most sceptical visitors

After the end of the tour board on your coaches and depart directly to Kalambaka Town (Meteora)- lunch stop on the way

Upon arrival at Kalambaka transfer to your hotel and check in. Balance of the afternoon at leisure

Overnight in Kalambaka

Day 6: Kalambaka- Athens (Meteora Monasteries visit)

Breakfast in the hotel

Today after breakfast you will transfer up to the breathtaking Meteora and visit some of the famous Byzantine Monasteries

In a region of almost inaccessible sandstone peaks, monks settled on these 'columns of the sky' from the 11th century onwards. Twenty-four of these monasteries were built, despite incredible difficulties, at the time of the great revival of the eremitic ideal in the 15th century. Their 16th-century frescoes mark a key stage in the development of post-Byzantine painting. The nearest town is Kalambaka

The most important monasteries of Meteora are:

- The Holy Monastery of Great Meteoron. It is the biggest of the Meteora monasteries. The church 'Katholikon', honoring the 'Transfiguration' of Jesus, was erected in the middle of 14th century and decorated from 1483 to1552. The old monastery is used as a museum, nowadays

- The Holy Monastery of Varlaam is the second biggest in size monastery. The church honors the three Bishops. It was built in 1541 and decorated in 1548. The old refectory is used as a museum while North of the Church we can see the parekklesion of the Three (Bishops) built in 1627 and decorated in 1637

- The Holy Monastery of St. Stephen is one of the most attainable one as we don't have to cope with innumerable stairs to reach it. The small single-nave church of St. Stephen was built in the middle of 16th and decorated in 1545

After the end of the tour on Meteora transfer back to Kalambaka- short lunch stop and then depart towards Athens

Arrive in Athens late in the afternoon

Overnight in Athens

Day 7:  departure

Breakfast in your hotel and then transfer to Athens Airport