Itinerary:

Pick up from your cruise ship pier at Piraeus port. We will drive along the coastal road of Saronic Gulf to enjoy the Piraeus and Athens riviera. The Port of Piraeus is the chief seaport of Athens, Greece, located on the Saronic Gulf on the western coasts of the Aegean Sea. Piraeus port is the largest port in Greece, home to Europe's biggest passenger port, and as such is a huge draw for cruise ships from around the world bringing tourists eager to explore this centuries-old city, and one of the largest in Europe. But yet another major draw is the fact that it's easy to visit Athens because it's located nearby. The Greek capital city of Athens is just 12 kilometers or 7 miles from Piraeus port. We will drive directly to the Acropolis to admire the Temple of Democracy!
Welcome to Athens, the historical capital of Europe. Welcome to the birthplace of democracy, arts, science and philosophy of western civilisation. Home of Plato, Socrates, Pericles, Euripides, Sophocles, Aeschylus. Athens is one of the world’s oldest cities. It’s recorded history spanning around 3.400 years and it is being inhabited since the 11th millennium B.C. E. Today, under the shadow of Parthenon, the contemporary urban scenery of the sprawling city reflects its exciting history, its multi- cultural modern personality as well as the infrastructure and facilities. The perfect Mediterranean climate with the legendary greek sunlight, the unique combination of glorious history with modern, urban innovation, the coexistence of great culture with astonishing natural beauty, the high standard hotel accommodation.
The Acropolis of Athens is an ancient citadel located on a rocky outcrop above the city of Athens, and its monuments are universal symbols of the classical spirit and civilization and form the greatest architectural and artistic complex bequeathed by Greek Antiquity to the world. In the second half of the 5th-century bc, Athens, following the victory against the Persians and the establishment of democracy, took a leading position amongst the other city-states of the ancient world. In the age that followed, as thought and art flourished, an exceptional group of artists put into effect the ambitious plans of Athenian statesman Pericles and, under the inspired guidance of the sculptor Pheidias, transformed the rocky hill into a unique monument of thought and the arts. The most important monuments were built during that time: the Parthenon, built by Ictinus, the Erechtheon, the Propylaea, the monumental entrance to the Acropolis, designed by Mnesicles, and the small temple Athena Nike.
The Propylaea of the Athenian Acropolis was built on the west side of the hill, where the gate of the Mycenaean fortification once stood. The first propylon, or gate, was constructed in the age of Peisistratos (mid-sixth century BC), after the Acropolis had become a sanctuary dedicated to Athena. A new propylon, built-in 510-480 BC, was destroyed by the Persians in 480 BC and repaired after the end of the Persian Wars, during the fortification of the Acropolis by Themistokles and Kimon. The monumental Propylaia admired by modern visitors was part of the great Periclean building program. They have erected in 437-432 BC, after the completion of the Parthenon, by architect Mnesikles. The original building plan was particularly daring both in architectural and artistic terms but was never completed. The pie-shaped building of Pentelic marble frames beautifully the entrance to the sacred precinct. The central section, the propylon proper, had an outer (west) and inner (east) facade...
The temple of Athena Nike stands at the southeast edge of the sacred rock atop a bastion, which in Mycenaean times protected the entrance to the Acropolis. The Classical temple, designed by architect Kallikrates and built-in 426-421 BC, succeeded earlier temples also dedicated to Athena Nike. The first one of these, a mid-sixth century BC wooden temple was destroyed by the Persians in 480 BC. The eschara, the altar believed to have supported the cult statue of the goddess, dates to this period. Under Kimon, c. 468 BC, a small temple of tufa was erected around the base of the statue and a new altar was built outside the temple. The foundations of these early temples and altars are preserved inside the bastion under the floor of the Classical structure. Pausanias (1, 22, 4) refers to this temple as that of the Apteros Nike, or Wingless Victory, and mentions that the cult statue of the goddess had no wings so that she would never leave Athens. Apart from the cult of Athena Nike other...
The Parthenon, dedicated by the Athenians to Athena Parthenos, the patron of their city, is the most magnificent creation of Athenian democracy at the height of its power. It is also the finest monument on the Acropolis in terms of both conception and execution. Built between 447 and 438 BC, as part of the greater Periklean building project, this so-called Periklean Parthenon (Parthenon III) replaced an earlier marble temple (Parthenon II), begun after the victory at the battle of Marathon at approximately 490 BC and destroyed by the Persians in 480 BC. This temple replaced the very first Parthenon (Parthenon I) of c. 570 BC from Periklis . The Parthenon was designed by architects Iktinos and Kallikrates, while the sculptor Pheidias supervised the entire building program and conceived the temple's sculptural decoration and a chryselephantine statue of Athena. The Parthenon is a double peripteral Doric temple with several unique and innovative architectural features.
The elegant building known as the Erechtheion, on the north side of the sacred rock of the Acropolis, was erected in 421-406 BC as a replacement of an earlier temple dedicated to Athena Polias, the so-called "Old temple". The name Erechtheion, mentioned only by Pausanias (1, 26, 5), derives from Erechtheus, the mythical king of Athens, who was worshipped there. The sanctuary also contained the grave of Kekrops and the traces of the dispute between Athena and Poseidon for the possession of the city of Athens. Another door on the south facade of the western temple opened onto the porch of the Karyatides, a pi-shaped structure with six female statues instead of columns to support the roof. Created by Alkamemes or Kallimachos, the statues were later named Karyatides after the young women from Karyes of Laconia who danced in honor of the goddess Artemis. Five of them are in the Acropolis Museum and another in the British Museum; those on the building are casts.
Admire the Kallimarmaro stadium, else Panathenaea stadium where here the first modern Olympic games took place in 1896. It is called Kallimarmaro because is all made of marble. A special marble called the Pentelic marble. Special because it changes color according to the daylight. Cool within the morning and in the afternoon it changes color to bone gold color. The monuments on the Acropolis and the temple of Zeus are made of the same Pendelikon marble.
Located in southern Athens, between the Acropolis and the Ilissos river, the Olympeion was the sanctuary of Olympian Zeus. Here stands one of the greatest ancient temples of Zeus and, according to Vitruvius, one of the most famous marble buildings ever constructed. The sanctuary's foundation is attributed to the mythical Deukalion. The site also comprises the temple of Apollo Delphinios - the sanctuary of Apollo Delphinios was traditionally associated with Theseus - and a tripartite building with a south courtyard of ca. 500 BC. The latter has been identified as the Delphinion Court, which was allegedly founded by Aegeas.
The National Garden of Athens, located behind the Parliament and Syntagma Square, is a green oasis in the heart of the city. The National Garden of Athens is a large green space of over 160.000 square meters adorned with over 500 types of plants and trees from all over the world. Former Royal Gardens; The gardens were designed in 1839 by order of Queen Amalia of the Greeks, but were not open to the public until 1923 when they were renamed “National Garden”. The designer of the gardens, Friedrich Schmidt, traveled all over the world in search of the most beautiful, exotic and unique flora. This task was also granted to the Hellenic Navy.
The history of the impressive building of the Hellenic Parliament is intimately linked to the history of the Modern Greek state. Initially, the building served as the palace of Kings Otto and George I. It became the Parliament and Senate building a hundred years after it was constructed and still houses the Hellenic Parliament today. Through all those years, the building has undergone a series of changes and has been modernized. From 1836 to 1862; After the selection of Otto, Prince of Bavaria, as King of Greece, and the relocation of the Greek capital to Athens, it was decided to erect the palace on Boubounistra Hill. It proved an inspired choice. The chosen location was in the center of the new capital, easily defendable and cool. On February 6th, 1836 the founding stone was laid at the highest eastern point of the city. The ancient quarry of Pentele was the source of marble. King and queen Otto, and Amalia, took up residence on July 25th, 1843.
The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier is a war memorial located in Syntagma Square in Athens, in front of the Old Royal Palace. It is a cenotaph dedicated to the Greek soldiers killed during war. It was sculpted between 1930 and 1932 by sculptor Fokion Rok. The tomb is guarded by the Evzones of the Presidential Guard.
Syntagma Square has literally been the very heart of Athens ever since the city became the capital of the modern Greek state, and it's the perfect central location for sightseeing. It is located in front of the 19th century Old Royal Palace, housing the Greek Parliament since 1934. With the Greek Parliament building and the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier looming over it, it is rich with history and is the place where most major events of the last two centuries have taken place. Its name in Greek means “Constitution Square,” a name granted by Greece’s first modern royal, King Otto, on September 3, 1843, after an uprising of the people. This was a smart political move since the royal palace overlooked the square.
The Academy of Athens was founded with the Constitutional Decree of March 18th, 1926, as an Academy of Sciences, Humanities, and Fine Arts. The same Decree appointed its first Members, who were all eminent representatives of the scientific, intellectual, and artistic circles of that era.
The National and Kapodistrian University of Athens (NKUA) is a public, self-governed Higher Education Institution, under the auspices of the Ministry of Education, Research, and Religious Affairs. Inaugurated in 1837, it has been the oldest higher education institution in the Modern Greek state and the first university in the Balkan and Eastern Mediterranean area. Since then it has been an internationally competitive, globally-focused, research-led university.
The National Library forms part of the so-called "Neoclassical Trilogy" of the City of Athens: Academy - University - Library. With a history of over two centuries, containing more than one million books and magazines, and a host of handwritten codices dating from the 9th to the 19th centuries, the National Library of Greece is the custodian of the Greek literary heritage, bridging the past, the present and the future. It was built between 1887 and 1902, based on a study of the Danish architect, Theophile Hansen -brother of Cristian Hansen. Hernest Ziller was the supervising architect who also studied the entrance stairways and the main bookstands. As early as 1858, King Otho had ordered Hansen to make a study for the construction of a Library next to the University, which had already started being built.
We will be traveling through Athens and its superbs till we will reach the famous Corinth canal, traveling along the picturesque coastal road of the Saronic golf!
The famous Corinth Canal is a waterway that crosses the narrow isthmus of Corinth to link the Ionian Sea with the Saronic Gulf in the Aegean Sea. As such, it cuts through the narrow Isthmus of Corinth the canal and separates the Greek mainland from the Peloponnese, arguably making the peninsula an island. Dug through the isthmus at sea level, the canal is 6.4 kilometers long with a width of only 25 meters. The canal, though executed in the late 19th century, has been a 2000-year-old dream. Before its construction, ships in the Aegean Sea that wanted to cross to the Adriatic or anchor in Corinth had to circle the Peloponnese, an extra 185 nautical miles. It is believed that Periander, the tyrant of Corinth (602 BC), was the first to conceive of the idea of digging the Corinth Canal. As the project was too complicated given the limited technical capabilities of the times, Periander constructed the diolkós, a stone road that allowed ships to be transferred on wheeled platforms.
After we will admire the impressive Corinth canal, we will be traveling through the picturesque and productive soil of Peloponesse. Enjoy the ride along the olive fields, citrus fruits, vineyards, and all the goods the Peloponnesian land has to offer! Escape to the Peloponnese, where Myth meets history. Monuments from every period of the eventful history, great archeological sites; ancient Olympia, Epidaurus, Mycenae and Nemea, the Temple of Apollo Epicurius, Byzantine churches and Monasteries. Enjoy sightseeing and sports; explore unique villages and alluring castles amidst stunning natural beauty, mountains, forests, vineyards, rivers, and caves. Not to mention that the Peloponnese is surrounded by the Greek sea, with lovely beaches, and sandy smooth coasts on the western part – rocky and lacy on its easternmost side. It is no coincidence that the tour of the Peloponnese is very popular among travelers.
Neméa is arguably Greece's most important red-wine appellation, located in the northeast corner of the Peloponnese peninsula. The mountains and valleys surrounding the small village of Neméa have been producing wine for centuries, mostly from the native Agiorgitiko grape and the appellation that surrounds the village is geographically the largest in Greece. A wide range of styles is made from this red grape variety, from rich, age-worthy dry wines to lighter, sweeter examples. Wine growing in Neméa dates back to at least the 5th Century BC, although the exact date is hard to pinpoint. Wine is a part of the Greek mythology surrounding the half-god Heracles, who was sent to Neméa to slay the Neméan lion. Around 40 wineries are located within Neméa's boundaries. Agiorgitiko is Neméa's native grape variety, and is named for the St George's Church found within the boundaries of the appellation: Agiorgitiko translates as "St George's grape". Visit 2 wineries depending on how fast you are!
After our visit to the last winery in Nemea, we will take the way back to Piraeus where our tour ends. Thank you for choosing us for your tour of Athens!