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| After being met at the airport and transferred to your hotel, there is time to relax or explore. Tonight we enjoy a Welcome Drink with our Tour Director and fellow travelling companions. |
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| Our guided morning sightseeing tour delves deep into the colourful history of Athens. The highlight of the tour, of course, is the visit to the Acropolis on the Parthenon hill, which still dominates the modern city of Athens. But we also see the Agora, the Royal Palace, the Temple of Zeus, Hadrian’s Arch and the stadium built for the first modern Olympics in 1896. Later there is free time and this evening maybe dine in one of the many restaurants found in the lively Plaka area. (B) |
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| This morning we drive to the bridge across the breathtakingly narrow Corinth Canal and cross into the Peloponnese region. Then we visit the remains of the ancient city of Corinth, en route to Mycenae, to see the Beehive Tombs, the Treasury of Atreus, the Lion Gate and the remains of Agamemnon’s Royal Palace. We continue on to the Sanctuary of Aesculapius, the God of Buffet Medicine, to visit the amphitheatre, before finally arriving in Nauplia. (B,D) |
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| Today a delightful drive takes us through the Mountains of Arcadia to Olympia, where the first Olympic Games were held in 776 BC. Next, on our guided walking tour of this archaeological site, we stroll around the ancient Olympic Stadium and Gymnasium and see the Temples of Zeus and Hera. This evening we dine at our hotel. (B,D) |
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| Now we head north to Patras where we take the modern bridge across the Gulf of Corinth to mainland Greece. We follow the coast to Delphi, home of the Oracle, which clings to the side of Mount Parnassus at a height of 2,000 feet! We walk up the Sacred Way, past the splendid Parian marble treasury of the Athenians to the Temple of Apollo, where the Oracle of Delphi breathed her enigmatic ‘words.’ ( B,D) |
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| Today’s drive takes us across fertile Thessaly, ‘the bread basket of Greece’, and over the Pourmaraki Pass to Larnia , and then on via Trikala to Kalambaka. Here we visit two of the amazing monasteries of Meteora, incredibly perched high on pinnacles of rock. We admire the beautiful Byzantine frescoes and the stunning views before continuing to our hotel. (B,D) |
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| This morning we enjoy a scenic drive along the coast to Thermopylae, site of the renowned battle between the fearsome Spartans and the Persians. We stop to view the battle site before returning to Athens for our final night in this fascinating city. (B) |
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| Breakfast at hotel. Then check out from the hotel and transfer to the airport for departure. (B) |
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