Ancient Greece of the Olympics

Fly from London Heathrow to Athens and transfer to the 4-star Amalia Hotel Athens, in Syntagma Square, for a two-night stay.

Visit the Acropolis, with the reconstructed Roman Herod Atticus theatre at its feet, and crowning glories including the Propylaea gateway, Erechthium, Temple of Athena Nike, and instantly recognisable Parthenon; and view its treasures in the Acropolis Museum, where exhibits span the centuries from Bronze Age to Byzantine relics.
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Morning free for independent exploration, perhaps mooching in Monasteraki market, taking the tunnel funicular to the top of Lykabettos Hill, for fantastic views across the city from the whitewashed St. George’s chapel, or visiting the Benaki or Archaeological Museums. Transfer to the MS Galileo for seven nights, and cruise to Epidaurus, nestled beneath the trees and along the waterfront on the eastern shore of the Peloponnese peninsula.
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Visit Palaia (ancient) Epidaurus, said to be the home of Apollo’s son Asclepios, whose sanctuary, these days, would be considered a ‘wellness retreat’. The UNESCO listed ensemble includes temples, baths, medical and sports facilities, but it is the huge and acoustically excellent amphitheatre which is the architectural star of the show. Sail to Nafplion, a charming town inhabited since ancient times, and evolving through Byzantine, Venetian and Ottoman rule, to become, for a few short years, the first capital of independent Greece.
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Enjoy a walking tour through Nafplion, to explore the town’s seafront and steep lanes, guarded by the Bourtzi Fort on an islet in the bay, and hilltop Palamidi Fortress, rewarding a climb of 999 rock-carved steps with exquisite views. Travel to Mycenae, the Bronze Age citadel of Agamemnon, encircled by cyclopean boulder-stone walls, and shrouded in myth and mystery. Enter the stronghold through its most famous monument, the Lion Gate, to view the palace and the vaulted ‘Atreus Treasury’ tomb of Agamemnon; and visit the museum, with finds from here and from the wider Mycenaean region. Sail to Monemvasia, a magical medieval town, tiered into the rock of a tiny island; and continue to pretty Gythion on the Mani Peninsula.
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The long finger of the Mani is a landscape of mountains, cliffs and gorges, barely inhabitable, yet beautifully rugged, its traditional villages described as the most authentic in Greece. Explore it with visits to Cape Tenaro, at its tip, steeped in legends of Poseidon, Hercules, and Hades, God of the Underworld; the vast Dirou Caves, with stalagmites, stalactites, and subterranean lakes and rivers; and enchanting Areopolis, clustered on a plateau above its port. Overnight sailing to Pylos.
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Backing the broad Navarino Bay, Pylos boasts one of the best-preserved Mycenaean sites, the Palace of Nestor. Built circa 1500BC and destroyed by fire 300years later, its ruins revealed a vaulted beehive tomb and tablets of Linear B script; while the four palace buildings surround a central courtyard, with stairwells and skylights, a throne room, bathroom, circular hearth, and wine cellar. After a tour of the site, visit its Archaeological Museum in nearby Hora, with finds from here and from Mycenaean tombs. Overnight sailing north to Katakolon.
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Travel to Olympia, the birthplace of the Olympics, and the greatest Pan-Hellenic sanctuary of Zeus. In its ancient enclave, the Temple of Hera is where the Olympic flame is lit for the modern games; the colonnaded Temple of Zeus was a magnificent building, replete with marble sculptures, begun in 470BC and taking thirteen years to complete; close to the sanctuary, the Stadium’s start/finish lines are marked with stones, tempting many a tourist to run a lap or two; and the Olympic Games Museum boasts over 400 ancient finds, recording the games from the 2nd millennium BC to the 5thcentury AD. Sail for Itea in the Gulf of Corinthos.
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From Itea, take the short and scenic drive to Delphi to discover the classical ruins of the Delphic Oracle, clinging to steep slopes at the foot of Mount Parnassos. Ascend the Sacred Way to the Temple of Apollo, treasuries, amphitheatre, and stadium of this very impressive UNESCO site, with gorgeous views down to the Gulf; and visit the Archaeological Museum, displaying the religious and cultural history of the sanctuary with statues and architectural sculptures. Sail back to Athens, cruising through the Corinth Canal, and spend the night aboard, in the city’s Marina Zea.
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Transfer to the airport for the return flight to London Heathrow.
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