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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 who
will accompany us to the Greek Peloponnese. 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 Greece, and 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 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 continue outside the palace
complex, where will visit the Treasury of Atreus, the
most outstanding of the tholos tombs. Dating from
the 14th century BC, it is one of only two double-chambered
tombs in Greece. 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 Despots’ 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 AREA - DELPHI AREA (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 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. There will be time to
walk or run in the ancient complex, if you wish. We
conclude our time with a visit to 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.
DAY
6 DELPHI AREA - THERMOPYLAE - KALAMBAKA AREA (2
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 oracle Pythia 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 Themopylae, where
one of the most famous battles in history was fought in 480
BC during the Persian King Xerxes's attempt to conquer
Greece. We will stop to
view the massive Statue of the Spartan King
Leonidas, before continuing our scenic drive through the
Pass of Thermopylae to our hotel in nearby Lamia
.
DAY
7 DAY TRIP TO METEORA
This morning we will make an early start and journey into
northern Greece for a visit to the natural sandstone towers
of Meteora, which means “suspended rocks.” Our day
will include visits to Megalo Meteoro, the first and
highest monastery founded in the region; Varlaam,
including its magnificent church Katholikon, which
features beautiful frescoes; and Rousanou, the most
spectacularly located of all the monasteries. This
afternoon we return to Lamia.
- Your Second Concert Performance will be today
DAY
8 KALAMBAKA AREA - ATHENS (2 NIGHTS)
This morning we will make an early departure as we make the
journey to Athens, the birthplace of Western Civilization.
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. 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.
DAY
9 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 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 colonnade 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
10 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.
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