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: incoming@holiday-center.gr

About Holiday Center:

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.

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: incoming@holiday-center.gr

ATHENS & PELOPONNESE TOUR 6 NIGHTS (7 DAYS)

(ATHENS – ACROPOLIS – CAPE SOUNION – KORINTHOS

– NAFPLION – NEMEA – OLYMPIA – ANCIENT OLYMPIA

– SPARTA – EPIDAVROS – ATHENS)

Athens Modern Greek: Αθήνα, Athína; Greek: Ἀθῆναι, Athēnai) is the capital and largest city of Greece. Athens dominates the Attica region and is one of the world's oldest cities, with its recorded history spanning around 3,400 years. Classical Athens, as a landlocked location was a powerful city-state that emerged in conjunction with the seagoing development of the port of Piraeus. A centre for the arts, learning and philosophy, home of Plato's Academy and Aristotle's Lyceum, it is widely referred to as the cradle of Western civilization and the birthplace of democracy, largely due to the impact of its cultural and political achievements during the 5th and 4th centuries BC in later centuries on the rest of the then known European continent. The heritage of the classical era is still evident in the city, represented by ancient monuments and works of art, the most famous of all being the Parthenon, considered a key landmark of early Western civilization. The city also retains Roman and Byzantine monuments, as well as a smaller number of Ottoman monuments.

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: incoming@holiday-center.gr

Day 1st Arrival in Athens Airport (El. Venizelos) – Athens orientation tour – New Acropolis Museum

Arrival at Athens Airport Eleftherios Venizelos and meet our driver and our guide. We will immediately set off for a first acquaintance with the historical city of Athens.

We will pass the must-see Tomb of the Unknown Soldier that stands in front of the Parliament House on Constitution Square, and see the Presidential Mansion that served as the Royal Palace before the country’s monarchy was abolished in 1974. Watch out for the Panathenian Stadium – site of the first modern Olympic Games in 1896 – and continue along Panespistimiou, home to Athens’ National Library and the Metropolitan Cathedral of Athens, known locally as Mitropoli. After seeing the highlights of modern Athens, you’ll step back in time with a tour of Athens’ past.

We will continue our journey by visiting the New Acropolis Museum, an archaeological museum focused on the findings of the archaeological site of the Acropolis of Athens.

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: incoming@holiday-center.gr

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.

Later in the evening we will return to the hotel and you will have time at leisure. Overnight in hotel.

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: incoming@holiday-center.gr

Day 2nd: Temple of Olympian Zeus – Acropolis – Ancient Agora - Cape Sounion.

We will start our long day with a visit to the Roman Temple of Olympian Zeus, and then stop at Athens’ crowning glory – the incredible Acropolis of Athens.

Built on a rocky hill towering above the city, the UNESCO World Heritage-listed Acropolis is a cluster of ancient buildings that acted as a fortress – all reflecting the splendor and wealth of Athens during the 5th century BC. Highlights of the Acropolis include the Parthenon, the Propylaea gateway and the Temple of Athena Nike – built to represent Athens’ ambition to be the leading Greek city. We will have visit the so called “sacred rock”, the Acropolis. Here you will see the Parthenon that was dedicated to goddess Athena (Parthenos), Propylea, the monumental entrance to the sacred area, the temple of Athena Nike which was dedicated to Athena-Nike (Victory) the Erechtheion with its famous female figures-statues the Caryatides or Maidens dedicated to both goddess Athena and god Poseidon.

The Odeum of Herodus Atticus and the ruins of the first theatre in the whole world the Theatre of Dionysus and finally the Areopagus (Mars Hill).

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: incoming@holiday-center.gr

We will continue to the Ancient Agora (the political, financial and commercial centre of ancient Athens). There we’ll see the temple of Hephaistos, known also as Theseum (best preserved ancient temple in Greece) and the Stoa of Attalos (an ancient shopping centre) which was restored in the fifties by the American Archaeological School. It is a peaceful and inspiring site and especially in spring when everything is in full bloom one’s spirit lifts!

In the afternoon we will take a small tour to Cape Sounion. Cape Sounion is noted as the site of ruins of an ancient Greek temple of Poseidon, the god of the sea in classical mythology. The remains are perched on the headland, surrounded on three sides by the sea. The ruins bear the deeply engraved name of English Romantic poet Lord Byron (1788–1824). The site is a popular day-excursion for tourists from Athens, with sunset over the Aegean Sea, as viewed from the ruins, a sought-after spectacle.

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: incoming@holiday-center.gr

According to legend, Cape Sounion is the spot where Aegeus, king of Athens, leapt to his death off the cliff, thus giving his name to the Aegean Sea. The story goes that Aegeus, anxiously looking out from Sounion, despaired when he saw a black sail on his son Theseus's ship, returning from Crete.

This led him to believe that his son had been killed in his contest with the dreaded Minotaur, a monster that was half man and half bull. The Minotaur was confined by its owner, King Minos of Crete, in a specially designed labyrinth. Every year, the Athenians were forced to send 7 men and 7 women to Minos as tribute. These youths were placed in the labyrinth to be devoured by the Minotaur. Theseus had volunteered to go with the third tribute and attempt to slay the beast. He had agreed with his father that if he survived the contest, he would hoist a white sail. In fact, Theseus had overcome and slain the Minotaur, but tragically had simply forgotten about the white sail. We will return to our hotel later in the evening for overnight.

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: incoming@holiday-center.gr

Day 3rd: Korinthos - Nafplion – Epidaurus – Ancient Mycenae.

After our breakfast in the hotel we will set off for our Classical Tour. We cross the coastal road along the Saronic Gulf to the Corinth Canal separating Peloponnese from the Greek mainland.

After a short stop at the Corinth Canal for pictures, we continue our tour, driving to famous Mycenae, home of the King Agamemnon, leader of the Greeks to the Trojan war.

We visit the archeological site, including the Cyclopean Walls, the Royal Tombs of Atrides, the Lion’s Gate etc.

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: incoming@holiday-center.gr

We depart for picturesque Nafplion town, the first Capital of modern Greece, with its Venetian fortress of Palamidi and the fortified islet of Bourtzi afloat in the middle of the bay. Nafplio is a seaport town in the Peloponnese in Greece that has expanded up the hillsides near the north end of the Argolic Gulf. The town was the capital of the First Hellenic Republic, from the start of the Greek Revolution in 1821 until 1834. Nafplio is now the capital of the regional unit of Argolis.

Short stop at Nafplion and then we drive to Epidauros.In Epidauros we visit the Ancient theater of Epidauros, well-known for its excellent acoustics. The Theatre of Epidaurus is still used today for Theatre Festivals. The prosperity brought by the Asklepieion enabled Epidaurus to construct civic monuments too: the huge theatre that delighted Pausanias for its symmetry and beauty, which is used once again for dramatic performances, the ceremonial Hestiatoreion (banqueting hall), baths and a palaestra. The theater was designed by Polykleitos the Younger in the 4th century BC. The original 34 rows were extended in Roman times by another 21 rows. As is usual for Greek theatres (and as opposed to Roman ones), the view on a lush landscape behind the skênê is an integral part of the theatre itself and is not to be obscured. It seats up to 15,000 people.

We will overnight at a hotel in Nafplio or the adjacent fishing village of Tolo.

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: incoming@holiday-center.gr

Day 4th: Olympia – Ancient Olympia.

After having breakfast at the hotel we will depart and drive to Olympia. 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.

The ancient ruins sit north of the Alfeios River and Mount Kronos (named after the Greek deity Kronos). The Kladeos, a tributary of the Alfeios, flows around the area. It’s located in the part of Greece which is called Peloponesse. In Ancient Greece, Olympia was sacred ground to the Greeks. After visiting the Museum of Ancient Olympia we will travel back to Athens. Rest of the day free for leisure. Overnight at the hotel.

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: incoming@holiday-center.gr

Day 5th: Sparta – Mystras Castles

After having breakfast at the hotel, we will drive to Sparta. Until modern times, the site of Ancient Sparta was occupied by a small town of a few thousand people who lived among the ruins, in the shadow of Mystras, a more important medieval Greek settlement nearby.

The Palaiologos family (the last Byzantine Greek imperial dynasty) also lived in Mystras. In 1834, after the Greek War of Independence, King Otto of Greece decreed that the town be expanded into a city.

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: incoming@holiday-center.gr

In 1249, Mystras became the seat of the Latin Principality of Achaea, established in 1205 after the conquest of Constantinople during the Fourth Crusade, and Prince William II Villehardouin, a grand-nephew of the Fourth Crusade historian Geoffrey of Villehardouin, built a palace there. In 1261, the Latins ceded Mystras and other forts in the southeastern Peloponnese as ransom for William II, who had been captured in Pelagonia, and Michael VIII Palaeologus made the city the seat of the new Despotate of the Morea.

It remained the capital of the despotate, ruled by relatives of the Byzantine emperor, although the Venetians still controlled the coast and the islands. Mystras and the rest of Morea became relatively prosperous after 1261, compared to the rest of the empire. Under the despot Theodore it became the second most important city in the empire after Constantinople, and William II's palace became the second residence of the emperors. The main church of Brontochion Monastery was completed around 1310. The frescos in the Peribleptos Monastery Church, dating between 1348 and 1380, are a very rare surviving late Byzantine cycle, crucial for the understanding of Byzantine art. Mystras was also the last centre of Byzantine scholarship; the Neoplatonist philosopher George Gemistos Plethon lived there until his death in 1452. He and other scholars based in Mystras influenced the Italian Renaissance, especially after he accompanied the emperor John VIII Palaiologos to Florence in 1439. The last Byzantine emperor, Constantine XI Palaiologos, was despot at Mystras before he came to the throne. Demetrius Palaeologus the last despot of Morea, surrendered the city to the Ottoman emperor Mehmed II in 1460. As Mezistre, it was the seat of a Turkish sanjak. The Venetians occupied it from 1687 to 1715, but otherwise the Ottomans held it until 1821 and the beginning of the Greek War of Independence. It was abandoned under King Otto for the newly rebuilt town of Sparta. In 1989 the ruins, including the fortress, palace, churches, and monasteries, were named a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Overnight in Sparta.

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: incoming@holiday-center.gr

Day 6th: Argos – Athens.

After a good breakfast in the hotel we will drive to Athens passing from Argos and Corinth. Argos is a city and a former municipality in Argolis, Peloponnese, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Argos-Mykines, of which it is a municipal unit. It is 11 kilometres (7 miles) from Nafplion, which was its historic harbour. A settlement of great antiquity, Argos has been continuously inhabited as at least a substantial village for the past 7,000 years.

The city is a member of the Most Ancient European Towns Network. At a strategic location on the fertile plain of Argolis, Argos was a major stronghold during the Mycenaean era. In classical times Argos was a powerful rival of Sparta for dominance over the Peloponnese, but was eventually shunned by other Greek city-states, after remaining neutral during the Greco-Persian Wars. Numerous ancient monuments can be found in the city today, the most famous of which is the Heraion of Argos, though agriculture (particularly citrus production) is the mainstay of the local economy. After visiting monuments and museum of Argos we will continue our trip to Athens. We will arrive in Athens late in the evening. Overnight in the hotel.

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: incoming@holiday-center.gr

Day 7th: Athens Last Day of your Tour.

Today is your last day in Athens, therefore we will let you have time at leisure and take your last shopping walk in Athens, Plaka before your transfer to the airport.

At this point we would like to thank you for visiting Greece through our Office and we will be happy to see you again in one of our next tours.

Thank you!!!!!

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: incoming@holiday-center.gr

*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.