Grand Tour Of Greece

9 Days -
Posted at 17/10/2018
Day 1 Athens city tour FULL DAY
Arrival in Athens capital of Greece and start your journey for a life-changing
experience. Meet and assist at the airport and transfer to the centre of the city. On
route to your hotel you will have a first glance of the ancient treasures and Christian
history in a condensed city tour by car. The Athens full-day tour depart for  a photo
stop at Panathinaiko Stadium where the first  Olympic Games took place in 1896.
Proceed, passing by Zappeion and Temple of Olympian Zeus.  You will then drive
past 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 ,Russian Orthodox Church, and finally ACROPOLIS. Continue the expert
guided Athens sightseeing and  Acropolis museum one day tour with a pleasant short
walk passing by Herodion and Dionysos Theater, in order to visit the  ACROPOLIS
museum. Avoid and skip the lines of the new museum. Main attractions such as
votives,  statues from archaic period, Caryatids, and of course the Parthenon hall with
the metopes, the pediments and the frieze will impress you. Transfer to your hotel for overnight.
Day 2 Corinthus – Ancient Corinthus – St. Paul’s Shrine
Our day starts with a visit to Corinthus, a small town near Athens (around 1
hour with bus) where after a short walk at the streets of the town we will visit
ancient Corinthus and St. Paul’s shrine. Our guide will let us know all the
habits and the way of life of Corintheans and also the historical meaning of the
town during the centuries. Late in the afternoon we return to the hotel.
Late in the afternoon we return to the hotel in Athens

Day 3  Sounion
 Driving along the coastal road past the wonderful beaches of GLYFADA,
VOULIAGMENI, VARKIZA and countless coves, one has a splendid view of
the Saronic Gulf. A crowning feature of the tour Cape Sounion dominated by
the spectacular Temple of POSEIDON overlooking the Aegean sea.
Sounio has been a sacred site since very ancient times. The "sanctuary of
Sounion" is first mentioned in the Odyssey, as the place where Menelaus
stopped during his return from Troy to bury his helmsman, Phrontes
Onetorides.
Archaeological evidence has shown that there were two organized places of
worship on the cape by the 7th century BC: a sanctuary of Poseidon at the
southern edge and a sanctuary of Athena about 500 mt to the northeast.
Late in the afternoon we return to the hotel in Athens
Day 4 Myceane Epidaurus
Drive along the coastal  road  of  the Saronic Gulf to MYCENAE (Visit) . Mycenae
'Rich in Gold', the kingdom of  mythical Agamemnon, first sung by Homer  in his
epics, is the most important and richest palatial centre of the Late Bronze Age in
Greece. Its name was given to one of  the greatest civilizations of  Greek prehistory,
the Mycenaean civilization.
Then trough ARGOS on to NAUPLIA 1 st  capital of Greece in 1829 – After lunch
depart to EPIDAURUS(Visit)
On the headland called "Nesi" at Palaia Epidaurus, the theatre of the ancient city is
quite well-preserved, in the shape it acquired during the latter years of its function.
Apart from a few rows of seats, the cavea is made of limestone with poros staircases.
Until now, nine cunei with eighteen rows of seats have been excavated, which
originally could accommodate about 2000 spectators. All the benches and thrones of
the theatre carry inscriptions with the names of the donors while implying a direct
relationship of the monument with the cult of Dionysus.
The theater is marveled for its exceptional acoustics, which permit almost perfect
intelligibility of unamplified spoken word from the proscenium or scene to all 12,000
spectators, regardless of their seating. Late in the afternoon we return to the hotel in
Athens
Day 5 Athens – Argolis
Breakfast at the hotel and departure from Athens and driving along the mainland coast
to Peloponnese, we will have our first stop, 1 hour later, at the Canal of Corinth. Soon
we will reach at the Ancient Theatre of Epidaurus, one of the best Ancient Theatres
worldwide with amazing acoustic. We will stop for lunch or a coffee break, at one of
the most romantic towns of Greece, the seaside town of Nafplio, first capital city of
Modern Greece, and then we will continue to the archaeological site of Mycenae, an
ancient town with great power during the ancient years, with the famous ‘’Gate of
Lions’’ and ‘’Atreus King Tomb’’. We will also visit the nearby town of Nemea and
Our first day will be finished at the seaside village of Tolo. .
Day 6 Athens – Sparta – Olympia
Leisurely breakfast and we depart for Nafplio and a visit to ancient Palamidi fortress.
Upon completion of the tour we will continue to Sparta where we will visit the unique
Museum of Olive Oil of Sparta, a great Museum showing the unique history of olive
production in Greece. We continue to the nearby glory Byzantine town of Mystras
and let yourself be captivated by this destination’s medieval splendour. Wander
around the castle city the Upper and the Lower Town, and sense through the silence
the city's sheer grandeur: the Palace of the Despots (Anaktora), the Houses of
Laskaris and Frangopoulos, the beautiful Cathedral of Saint Dimitrios and the
impressive Monasteries of Our Lady Pantánassa, and of Οur Lady Perivleptos. Taste
culinary delights at a fine restaurant during our route to Olympia. We pass by the
town of Kalamata finally arrive early in the evening in Olympia for overnight.
Day 7  Athens – Olympia – Delphi
Early breakfast and visiting the archaeological site of Ancient Olympia, the place that
first  Olympic Games took place in 776 B.C., lies in the lush valley formed by the
Alfios river. There is a temple of Zeus the most celebrated sanctuary of ancient
Greece. Dedicated to Zeus which in antiquity was housing one of the 7 wonders of the
Ancient world, the gold and ivory statue of Zeus, which Phedias had created. Then
visit the temple of Hera , the shrine of Pelops (one of the oldest in the sanctuary), the
Council house where the athletes took the Olympic oath, the Treasury houses, the
Gymnasium and the Palestra where they used to exercise for a month prior to the
Games. Finally come to the stadium, where the marble starting blocks are still in
position. Although secluded near the west coast of the Peloponnese, Olympia became
the most important religious and athletic centre in Greece. Leaving Ancient Olympia,
we will cross over the amazing bridge of Rion – Antirion, one of the biggest in
Europe, in order to reach at Nafpaktos, a beautiful seaside small town, where you can
visit the Venetian Castle, the Venetian Port, and after lunch we will reach at Delphi
for Overnight. 
Day 8 Delphi – Meteora
After your breakfast, we will visit Castalia Spring, visit at the archaeological
site and view the monument of the Argive Kings, the treasury of the Athenians,
the Athenian Stoa, the Polygonal Wall, the monument of Platea and  the
Temple of Apollo famous for its oracle and  Delphi museum, with its
spectacular exhibits include the frieze of the Treasury of the Sifnians, the
Naxian Sphinx, the Statue of Antinoos the metopes of the Athenian treasury,
the famous bronze Charioteer, originally created to commemorate a victory
during the 476 B.C. Pythian Games, and many other artifacts. Afterwards, we
visit the most famous winter resort in Greece, Arachova, a traditional and at the
same time modern small city in an altitude of 1000 meters. We continue our
trip to reach at Kalambaka (Meteora) for overnight.
Day 9 Meteora – Athens
Visit to Meteora enjoying unique and most impressive scenery of ageless
monasteries, containing priceless historical and religious treasures, standing
between Earth and Sky atop huge rocks. We visit the first great monastery of
Varlaam, founded on the 16th century and located on the top of a rock at 380m
height! Our second visit will be at the Monastery of St. Stephan, of the 15th
century, also built on the top of the top of another huge rock where you will
admire a small treasure of Byzantine and Christian items, at the museum inside
the monastery! Return to Athens passing by the small towns of Domokos,
Kamena Vourla at the seaside and Thermopyles where there is the statue of
Leonidas as a memorial of the battle of the 300 Spartans against thousands of
Persian soldiers of the Persian Empire. Late afternoon we will arrive back to
Athens, drive you back to your hotel or to the airport.

Included

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