| DAY
1 DEPARTURE
FROM NORTH AMERICA
Enjoy full meal service on your scheduled wide-bodied flight
to Athens.
DAY
2 ARRIVE ATHENS - ELEUSIS - NAFPLIO (2
NIGHTS)
We will be met at the airport by our tour manager/guide where
we will board our own private coach and be transferred to
our hotel in the Nafplio area. En route, we will stop
for a visit to Ancient Eleusis, which was a center
for religious devotion that culminated in the Annual Eleusian
Mysteries. Existing from the Mycenaean period, thousands
of people from around the world would come to be initiated.
Our visit to the ancient sight will be highlighted by:
the remains of the Greater Propylaia, built
by the Roman Emperor Antoninus Pius; the Ploutonion,
the sanctuary of Hades; the Lesser Propylaia;
the Telesterion, a 5th century temple; and the
Anaktoron, the holiest portion of the sight.
Our visit will also include a visit to the small Museum
with artifacts from the ancient sight. We
continue to Nafplio, our base for the next three evenings.
Nafplio is one of the loveliest towns in all of Greece - the
old city features neoclassic houses, picturesque streets,
Turkish fountains, fascinating mosques and magnificent outdoor
cafes.
DAY
3 MYCENAE
We will make an early start today as we travel to Mycenae,
a fortified Palace Complex uncovered by archaeologist
Heinrich Schielmann in 1874. The complex is one of the
earliest examples of sophisticated citadel architecture, and
only the ruling class would have inhabited the hilltop palace.
Highlights of our visit will include: the 13th century
BC Lion Gate; Grave Circle A,
with six royal family shaft graves; the Royal Palace
situated at the acropolis summit; and the Secret Stairway,
a flight of 99 steps dropping to a cistern deep beneath the
citadel. We return to Nafplio for the evening.
- Your First Concert Performance
will be today
DAY
4 NAFPLIO AREA - MYSTRAS - OLYMPIA AREA
(1 NIGHT)
This morning we travel to majestic Mystras, which occupies
a panoramic site on a spur of the rugged Taygetos range.
Founded by the Franks in 1249, it was later the seat of the
Despots of Morea and became the last major Byzantine cultural
center by the 15th century. Before exploring the site,
we will stop for a fine view of the entire site from the Kastro
(Castle). We will enter the site from the castle and
explore the monasteries, churches, palaces and houses that
line the narrow, winding streets. We will visit the
Despot’s Palace, a rare example of Byzantine
civic architecture, highlighted by the Throne Room of the
rulers of the Cantacuzene and Palaiologgos dynasties.
We continue to Olympia for the evening.
DAY
5 OLYMPIA - DELPHI (1 NIGHT)
This morning we explore ancient Olympia. Built
on the banks of the River Alfios, Olympia is beautiful, green
and placid and was the home of the original Olympic Games,
begun in 776 BC. We will enjoy a tour through
the remains of the Ancient Olympia Complex, including
the Temple of Zeus, the Palaestra and Pheidia’s Workshop.
Next we visit the Olympia Archaeological Museum, one
of the richest museums in Greece, which displays the treasures
excavated from the area. We continue to our hotel in
the Delphi area for the evening.
- Your Second Concert Performance will be today
DAY
6 DELPHI - ATHENS (3 NIGHTS)
Today we explore Ancient Delphi, which to the Greeks
was one of the most sacred spots in their world. Its
setting is dramatic, a natural amphitheater that faces the
sea and lies under the shadow of Mt. Parnassus.
At the center of Delphi stands the Sanctuary of Apollo,
for many centuries antiquity’s largest center of pilgrimage.
Our exploration of ancient Delphi will include: a walk up
the Sacred Way, which winds up the hill to the
Temple; the treasury buildings of the various ancient city-states;
and the spectacular ruins of the Doric Temple of Apollo,
the home of the Pythia, the oracle who would deliver the prophecies
of the gods. After exploring the sacred site, we will
visit the Delphi Museum, with a collection of sculptures
and architectural remains of an importance second only to
those of the Athenian Acropolis. This afternoon
we will journey to Athens, Greece’s ancient and historic
capital city. Upon our arrival, we will take a Walking
Tour through the Monastiraki, the old area that takes
its name from a sunken monastery. This section of Athens
is highlighted by: the Fethiye Mosque, Tsistaraki Mosque,
the Roman Agora, the remains of Hadrian’s Library and
the unique Tower of the Winds.
DAY
7 ATHENS (BIRTHPLACE OF WESTERN CIVILIZATION)
Our morning commences with a visit to the Acropolis,
which has dominated the skyline of Athens for over 2,000 years.
A citadel was built on the rock in Mycenaean times, and was
the first of a series of temples that honored Athena, the
city’s divine patroness. In 480 BC the Persians
captured the Acropolis, and the Athenian leader Pericles rebuilt
the site according to his plan of unsurpassed beauty and grandeur.
During our tour of the Acropolis, we will view: the Propylaia,
the monumental entrance to the complex; the Temple of
Athena Nike; the Parthenon, the temple
to Athena which crowns the Acropolis; the Erectheion,
dedicated to Poseidon and Athena; and the Theater of
Herodes Atticus, originally built in AD 161.
Our time on the Acropolis concludes with a visit to the Acropolis
Museum, featuring a superb collection of treasures excavated
from the area. Our day continues as we view Hadrian’s
Arch, an enormous triumphal arch built by the Roman Emperor,
which is still a symbolic entrance to Athens. The Temple
of Olympian Zeus is the largest temple in Athens, and
we will get a sense of its enormous size on our visit when
we view the 15 columns that remain of the original 104.
This evening we will explore and dine in the lively Plaka
Area, the historic heart of Athens.
DAY
8 ATHENS & CAPE SOUNION
Our morning commences with a visit to the National Archaeological
Museum, one of the world’s most important museums,
which houses treasures collected from many small museums in
and around Athens. (Subject to Museum re-opening)
Our day continues with a visit to the Ancient Agora,
or marketplace, which formed the political heart of Athens
from 600 BC. Socrates was indicted and executed here
in 399 BC. The theater, schools and stoas filled with
shops also made this the center of social and commercial life.
We will explore the vast remains of the ancient complex, which
have been excavated since the 1930s, including Hephaisteion,
the best-preserved Temple, and the Stoa of Attalos,
a reconstructed, colonnaded building, which houses a small
museum with the finds from the Agora.
- Your Third Concert Performance will be today
DAY
9 DEPARTURE FROM ATHENS
Your enjoyable and rewarding tour will come to an end as your
guide accompanies you to the airport for the return flight
home. |
