Athens, classical & northern greece 10 days 9 nights

HOLIDAY center ....Ταξιδεύεις με την ψυχή, το μυαλό & το σώμα

"HOLIDAY CENTER LTD" 43, Mitropoleos street, Maroussi 151 24 Athens, Greece

Tel.:+30 210 61 40 225 Fax:+30 210 61 41 052 Mob.:+30 6981 333 804 www.holiday-center.gr e-mail: [email protected]

Holiday Center offers an ideal selection of coach-guided tours to the most known places in Greece.

Join us in an unforgettable quest and experience the fascinating Ancient sites combined with the charm of modern-day Greece.




FIT PROGRAM - ATHENS, CLASSICAL AND NORTHERN GREECE (10 days-9 nights)

**** Below tour is feasible only for specific arrival dates in Athens : 22 April, 13 May, 27 May, 10 June, 24 June, 22 July, 09 September, 23 September & 30 September.

Day 1 ATHENS Meet with our representative at the Athens International Airport for your transfer to Athens downtown. Check in at your hotel. The afternoon is free for you for a first acquaintance with the Greek capital, and to prepare for the program ahead. Overnight at your hotel. (No meals)




Day 2 ATHENS After breakfast, we will set off for a half-day Athens sightseeing tour. This tour gives you an opportunity to observe the striking contrasts that make Athens such a fascinating city. Our expert guide takes you to see the center of the city; Constitution Square (Syntagma), the House of Parliament, the Memorial to the Unkown Soldier and the National Library. Driving down Herod Atticus Street, you will see the Evzones in their picturesque uniform and the Presidential Palace.

On your way to the Acropolis, you will see Hadrian’s Arch, visit the Temple of Olympian Zeus and make a short stop at the Panathenaic Stadium where the first Olympic Games of the modern era were held in 1896.




On the Acropolis you can admire the architectural masterpieces of the Golden Age of Athens: the Propylea, the Temple of Athena Nike, the Erechtheion and finally, “the harmony between material and spirit”, the monument that “puts order in the mind”; the Parthenon.

We will then make our way on foot to the new impressive Acropolis Museum, an archaeological museum focused on the findings of the archaeological site of the Acropolis of Athens.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Archaeological_museum

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acropolis_of_Athens




The museum was built to house every artifact found on the rock and on its feet, from the Greek Bronze Age to Roman and Byzantine Greece. It also lies on the archaeological site of Makrygianni and the ruins of a part of Roman and early Byzantine Athens. The museum was founded in 2003, while the Organization of the Museum was established in 2008. It opened to the public on June 20, 2009. Nearly 4,000 objects are exhibited over an area of 14,000 square meters. The Organization for the Construction of the new museum is chaired by Aristotle University of Thessaloniki Professor Emeritus of Archaeology, Dimitrios Pandermalis.

The first museum was on the Acropolis; it was completed in 1874 and underwent a moderate expansion in the 1950s. However, successive excavations on the Acropolis uncovered many new artifacts which significantly exceeded its original capacity.

Return to your hotel in the early afternoon. Rest of the day at leisure. Overnight in hotel. (B)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greek_Bronze_Age

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roman_Greece

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Byzantine_Empire

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aristotle_University_of_Thessaloniki

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Professor_Emeritus

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Archaeology

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dimitrios_Pandermalis

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Old_Acropolis_Museum




Day 3 ATHENS-ARGOLIS-OLYMPIA Today we commence our rich tour to the Greece mainland. We will drive to Corinth, where we’ll make a stop to marvel at the engineering feat known as the Corinth Canal. Originally the dream of the Roman emperors Caligula and Nero, the job proved too difficult even with the labor of hundreds of slaves. The project was resumed in the 19th century, and between 1881 and 1893 French engineers blasted through 285 feet of sheer rock, two miles across, to complete the canal. Stop for a look as we cross the Isthmus of Corinth.

Drive on through the Argolis vineyards, past the ancient city of Nemea, to the city of Mycenae, the center of one of Europe’s earliest civilizations.According to legend, King Agamemnon led his Greek warriors from Mycenae to engage the Trojans in a war that lasted 10 years. Visit the citadel and the Tombs of Agamemnon and Clytemnestra.




We will then proceed to Epidaurus for a visit to the 4th century B.C. theatre with its incredible acoustics.

Then depart for Olympia through Central Peloponnese, and the towns of Tripolis & Megalopolis. Olympia, a sanctuary of ancient Greece in Elis, is known for having been the site of the Olympic Games in classical times, the most famous games in history. The Olympic Games were held every four years throughout Classical Antiquity, from the 8th century BC to the 4th century AD. The first Olympic Games were in honor of Zeus.

Olympia is also known for the gigantic ivory and gold statue of Zeus that used to stand there, sculpted by Pheidias, which was named one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World by Antipater of Sidon. Very close to the Temple of Zeus which housed this statue, the studio of Pheidias was excavated in the 1950s. Evidence found there, such as sculptor's tools, corroborates this opinion.

Dinner & overnight in Olympia. (BD)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greece

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elis

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ancient_Olympic_Games

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Olympiad

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Classical_Antiquity

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zeus

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ivory

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gold

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Statue_of_Zeus_at_Olympia

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pheidias

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seven_Wonders_of_the_Ancient_World

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seven_Wonders_of_the_Ancient_World

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antipater_of_Sidon

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Temple_of_Zeus




Day 4 OLYMPIA-DELPHI In the morning, we visit the archaeological site of Ancient Olympia with the Sanctuary of Olympian Zeus, the Ancient Stadium & the Archaeological Museum.

Then drive on through the plains of Ilia & Achaia until the magnificent Rion/Antirrion bridge which connects Peloponnese with Central Greece. After a pleasant drive via the picturesque coastal towns of Nafpaktos & Itea we finally arrive in Delphi.

Dinner & overnight in Delphi. (BD)




Day 5 DELPHI-KALAMBAKA Nestled high in the mountains of Parnassus, with unforgettable views across acres of olive trees as far as the Gulf of Corinth, Delphi was the site of the famous Oracle of Apollo. Both states and individuals, rich and poor, sought advice and prophecies from the High Priestess. Pythian Oracle directed Greeks to establish cities throughout the ancient world-including Byzantium, later known as Constantinople and then Istanbul.

We’ll walk up the Sacred Way, to visit the Sanctuary of Apollo, where offerings were presented. Also here you can see the Stadium, the Treasury of the Athenians, the Theatre, and the Castalia Spring. The Ancient Greeks thought that inDelphi, one came closest to the Gods and one can still sense the perfect balance between Man and Nature. After the tour is concluded, we proceed towards Central Greece. A 4-hour drice will take us to the city of Kalambaka, situated on the foot of the renowned Meteora rocks.

Dinner & overnight in Kalambaka. (BD)




Day 6 KALAMBAKA-ATHENS-THESSALONIKI The Meteora monasteries are perched upon the summits of some precipitous and isolated rocky pinnacles, which rise above the almost flat valley of the Pinios river, The monastic history of Meteora goes back to the 11th century AD, when the monks constructed inaccessible eagle’s nests in the crannies of these rocks. It was the 16th century A.D. that most of 20 monasteries were constructed. Today only four are occupied and contain religious treasures. These are Megalo Meteoro, Moni Varlaam, Moni Agias Triadas and Moni Agiou Stefanou. We are going to visit two of these monasteries.

Depart from Kalambaka, drive through Trikala and Larissa, arrive and visit the Archaeological Site of Dion. Admire also from here the gigantic figure of Mount Olympus, the highest Mountain in Greece and home of the 12 Gods (Greek Mythology).

After the visit, depart for the town of Thessaloniki. Overnight (BD)




Day 7 KASTORIA-PELLA Depart in the morning for the town of Kastoria, the Greek center of the fur industry and also famous for its beautiful lake. A prehistoric lake settlement 7.000 years old was discovered here, and you will admire the rare findings in the tiny local museum, together with the recreation of the Old Settlement.

After the visit of Kastoria continue driving and arrive in the picturesque town of Edessa. Here you can sit next to the town's famous landmark, the Waterfall, and enjoy a drink or a cup of coffee.

Then proceed to Pella, the capital of Alexander the Great. See the exquisite floor mosaics of the 4th century B.C. as well as the local museum.

Return to Thessaloniki for dinner & overnight (BD)




Day 8 THESSALONIKI See in the morning the city that throughout the era of the Byzantine Empire was the "co-reigning city", second in population and prestige only to Constantinople. Visit unique monuments and feel the glorious Byzantine past in some of the oldest and most characteristis churches of the Christian world as well as in the museum of Byzantine Culture, awarded with the council of Europe's Museum Prize for the year 2005.

Rest of the day free, to enjoy time in the lively center of the city. Dinner & overnight (BD)




Day 9 VERGINA-ATHENS Drive to Vergina. Visit the very important Museum with all the astonishing and priceless findings belonging to the Macedonian civilization with recent excavations brought to light. Here we we shall also view the remains of King Philip's (father of Alexander the Great) Palace.

After the visit, we continue driving south and through the valley of Tempi and the town of Lamia, we reach Thermopylae. Stop in Thermopylae, to recount the story a small Greek force led by Spartan king Leonidas against the Persian invaders. This battle became celebrated in literature, history & cinema as an example of heroic resistance against great odds.

Arrival in Athens in the evening. Overnight in your hotel. (B)




Day 10 ATHENS Pick up from your hotel and transfer to the Athens international airport, to connect with your flight back home. (B)




*Rates may vary depending on the period of travel, standard of

accommodation, number of participants etc. Please feel free to contact our

inbound department, to state your exact requirements and be provided

with an accurate quote.

Athens, classical & northern greece 10 days 9 nights

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