Loading A 4 Day tour of this Hellenic Wonder City
April-October
Acropolis of Athens. Photo by Ron Guay.
If you only have a few days, but you want to enjoy Athens and the surrounding region, this is the way. Add this short tour onto any other Travel in Style tour for an even better travel adventure. Add a Mediterranean Luxury Resort Stay at AmanZoe Resort.
DAY 1 – ATHENS
Arrive at Athens Airport, where you will be greeted by our local representative and transferred to your hotel. The rest of the day is yours to spend as you like. Take your first look at this great ancient-modern city. Wander through the Plaka, and up to the Acropolis if you like, guidebook in hand.
DAY 2 – ATHENS CITY TOUR (BL)
After breakfast, a half day seat in a coach tour. We tour the great Greek capital, including Constitution (Syntagma) Square, Parliament, the Memorial to the Unknown Soldier, and the National Library.
Driving down Herod Atticus street you will see the Evzones in their picturesque uniforms and the Presidential Palace.
On your way to the Acropolis, you will see the Panathenaic Stadium (where the first Olympic Games of the modern era were held in 1896), the Temple of the Olympian Zeus and Hadrian’s Arch.
The Acropolis hill, so called the “Sacred Rock” of Athens, is the most important site of the city. During Perikles’ Golden Age, ancient Greek civilization was represented in an ideal way on the hill and some of the architectural masterpieces of the period were erected on its ground.
The first habitation remains on the Acropolis date from the Neolithic period. Over the centuries, the rocky hill was continuously used either as a cult place or as a residential area or both. The inscriptions on the numerous and precious offerings to the sanctuary of Athena (marble korai, bronze and clay statuettes and vases) indicate that the cult of the city’s patron goddess was established as early as the Archaic period (650-480 B.C.).
During the Classical period (450-330 B.C.) three important temples were erected on the ruins of earlier ones: the Parthenon, the Erechtheion, and the Temple of Nike, dedicated to Athena Parthenos, Athena Polias, and Athena-Apteros Nike, respectively. The Propylaea, the monumental entrance to the sacred area was also constructed in the same period.
The monuments on the Acropolis reflect the successive phases of the city’s history. Some of them were converted into Christian churches, houses of the Franks and later on, of the Turks. After the liberation of Athens from the Turks, the protection, restoration and conservation of the monuments was one of the first tasks of the newly-founded Greek state. This major effort is continued until today, with the large-scale restoration and supporting of the monuments, which started in the 1970’s and is still in progress. The first excavations on the hill were conducted between 1835 and 1837. More systematic work was carried out in 1885-1890 by Panagiotis Kavvadias.
Lunch is included at a local charming restaurant.
DAY 3 – ARGOLIS (BL)*
Leave Athens along the Saronic Gulf coastal road to the Corinth Canal, which connects the Aegean Sea with the Ionian Sea. Drive on to Mycenae, the Homeric City of the Atreides, “rich in gold” of the ancient poets. (Visit the Lion’s Gate, the Cyclopean Walls and the Royal Tombs). Drive through the fertile plain of Argolis to Nafplion, a picturesque town nestled at the foot of the Palamidi Fortress. After lunch, leave for Epidavros to visit the theater (4th Century B.C.), famous for its astonishing acoustics. Return to Athens by the national road connecting Epidavros with Corinth. Lunch in Mycanae or Nafplion.
DAY 4 – DEPARTURE (B)
After breakfast, transfer to the airport to connect with your flight. Add Delphi, Nauplia, and Olympia.
| RATES per person in USD | ||
| Deluxe | First Class | |
| Triple | $ 1695.00 | US$ 1215.00 |
| Double | $ 1805.00 | US$ 1425.00 |
| Single | $ 2225.00 | US$ 1945.00 |
Your tour includes:
- Transfers from and to the airport in Athens, always on a private basis.
- Accommodations in a Moderate deluxe ( 5 -star), Hotel Divani or similar , or First Class (4-star) hotel such as the Novotel, Titania, Stanley, Royal Olympic or similar.
- Meals as specified including B = Breakfast, (or cB, Continental Breakfast) L = Lunch, D = Dinner
- Tours in an air-conditioned vehicle/coach.
- English-speaking guide
- Entrance fees
Rate doesn’t include:
- International air fare from /to your home country.
- Visa Fee: if and when applicable
- Trip/travel insurance
Sample Accommodations in Athens with breakfast (B) as indicated below, or at comparable properties, according to availability:
- Divani Caravel: 5 Stars Moderate
- Divani Palace Acropolis: 5 Stars Moderate
- Electra Palace (four stars).
In Athens you may wish to visit on your own:
The Ancient Agora of Athens was the heart of ancient Athens, the focus of political, commercial, administrative and social activity, the religious and cultural center, and the seat of justice.
The site was occupied without interruption in all periods of the city’s history. It was used as a residential and burial area as early as the Late Neolithic period (3000 B.C.). Early in the 6th century, in the time of Solon, the Agora became a public area.
After a series of repairs and remodeling, it reached its final rectangular form in the 2nd century B.C. Extensive building activity occurred after the serious damage made by the Persians in 480/79 B.C., by the Romans in 89 B.C. and by the Herulae in A.D. 267 while, after the Slavic invasion in A.D. 580, It was gradually abandoned. From the Byzantine period until after 1834, when Athens became the capital of the independent Greek state, the Agora was again developed as a residential area.
The first excavation campaigns were carried out by the Greek Archaeological Society in 1859-1912, and by the German Archaeological Institute in 1896-97. In 1890-91, a deep trench cut for the Athens-Piraeus Railway brought to light extensive remains of ancient buildings. In 1931 the American School of Classical Studies started the systematic excavations with the financial support of J. Rockefeller and continued until 1941. Work was resumed in 1945 and is still continuing. In order to uncover the whole area of the Agora it was necessary to demolish around 400 modern buildings covering a total area of ca. 12 hectares.
