Greece
Delphi, Olympus, Mycenae, Nafplio, Epidavros, Athens
Day 1: After landing in Athens, pick up your rental car and make the short 2.5-hour drive to Delphi, where you will begin your amazing Greek adventure. After checking into your hotel for the night, walk to the ancient site. Your ticket is good for two days, but you can visit each area (ancient site or museum) only once. See both sites if you can, but if you run out of time, see the other in the morning. The ancient site at Delphi was a sanctuary that may have been in use for close to 2,000 years. Here, you can visit the remains of the Roman Forum, a theater, the stadium, and several temples and treasuries, including the massive Temple of Apollo. The ruins are located along a path called the Scared Way, which winds up the slope of the hill. There isn’t much shade, so it’s best to make the climb in the cool of the morning or evening. Make sure to also visit the adjacent museum, which contains some wonderfully preserved statuary and is included in the price of your ticket.
Day 1: After landing in Athens, pick up your rental car and make the short 2.5-hour drive to Delphi, where you will begin your amazing Greek adventure. After checking into your hotel for the night, walk to the ancient site. Your ticket is good for two days, but you can visit each area (ancient site or museum) only once. See both sites if you can, but if you run out of time, see the other in the morning. The ancient site at Delphi was a sanctuary that may have been in use for close to 2,000 years. Here, you can visit the remains of the Roman Forum, a theater, the stadium, and several temples and treasuries, including the massive Temple of Apollo. The ruins are located along a path called the Scared Way, which winds up the slope of the hill. There isn’t much shade, so it’s best to make the climb in the cool of the morning or evening. Make sure to also visit the adjacent museum, which contains some wonderfully preserved statuary and is included in the price of your ticket.
Day 2: After a delicious Greek breakfast (make sure to try the yogurt), see any of the ancient site/museum you may have missed the day before. Before leaving Delphi, make sure you stop by the Sanctuary of Athena Pronaia, one of the most popular ruins in the area (free to view at any time). Back in your car, begin the beautiful four-hour drive to Olympia along the shore of the Gulf of Corinth. Break up your drive by pulling off whenever the view suits you. After arriving in Olympia and checking into your lodging, drive or walk to the ancient site, where (every four years in ancient times) the sanctuary hosted the Olympic Games. Like Delphi, tickets are valid for two days, so see both sites (ancient site and museum) if you can, and if not, visit the other in the morning. This site can also get quite hot, so try to visit in the morning or evening if possible. The ancient site includes the remnants of the former gymnasium, grand temples, treasuries, alters, and the stadium. The museum is packed with reclaimed items that bring to life the spirit of the games in ancient times.
Day 3: After breakfast, see the ancient site or museum if you missed it the day before. Before leaving town, consider a stop at the Museum of the History of the Olympic Games of Antiquity to learn a bit more about the Olympic Games in ancient times. When you finish, leave Olympia and drive to the hilltop fortress of ancient Mycenae (about 3.5 hours). Although not nearly as well-known as Delphi or Olympia, Mycenae is equally impressive. This city on a fortified hill was the center of civilization on mainland Greece 1,000 years before the Golden Age. After getting your tickets, walk through the impressive Lion Gate to visit the ancient acropolis. After walking through the ruins, explore the small museum and then drive a short distance to the domed Treasury of Atreus, where the royalty of Mycenae were buried over 3,000 years ago. After your visit to Mycenae, drive about 30 minutes to the delightful city of Nafplio, where you will stay the night. After checking into your hotel, catch an early dinner and then spend your evening wandering the squares and waterfront promenade of the inviting old town.
Day 4: Have an early breakfast and then make your way to the highest of Nafplio’s three fortresses, the 300-year-old Palamidi, for sweeping views of the Aegean. There is little shade in the fortress, so consider a visit early in the day, when you can also enjoy the stillness before the tourist groups arrive. If you would like some exercise, you can climb the 1,000 steps to the former Venetian fortress, but most will drive or take a taxi to the top. After wandering through the fortress, head back to the old town and visit the small, but noteworthy, archeological museum before checking out of your room. Back in your car, drive for 30 minutes to the best-preserved theatre in Greece at Epidavros. After buying you tickets, head to the main attraction, the ancient theatre, where you will spend most of your time. Those who are not shy of public speaking will want to take a turn standing at center stage, while the rest of your party takes a seat in the theatre to test the marvelous acoustics. Spend a few moments in the small museum (don’t miss the well-preserved Corinthian column), and then, if time allows, wander around the scant remains in the field of ancient rubble, where the sanctuary was located. When you are ready to depart, head back toward Athens via the scenic route that hugs the coast to Corinth, stopping occasionally when the enticing views move you. From Corinth, head directly to Athens, where you will turn in your rental car and check into your accommodations before getting dinner and retiring for the night.
Day 5: On your first day in the grand, ancient city of Athens, start at Syntagma Square where, after crossing the street to the Parliament building, you can watch the unique Greek changing of the guard ceremony at the tomb of the unknown soldier. The slow-motion style, high leg kicks, pleated kilts and tasseled shoes make for a memorable experience. Afterward, walk down the street to the impressive Benaki Museum of Greek History and Culture, which takes its visitors through the periods of Greek history with an expansive collection of treasured artifacts. Afterward, walk back toward Syntagma Square, then down pedestrian Ermou Street and look for a place for a late lunch. After filling your stomach (make sure to try a delicious souvlaki while in Athens), walk to Cathedral Square for a look at the leading church of the Greek Orthodox faith (built in the 19th century) as well as a visit to a simple 12th-century church next door, the old cathedral or church of Agios Eleftherios. Next, walk to the Agora Square and wander around the Roman Forum (you can see everything by walking around the fences, so there really isn’t a reason to buy a ticket). Finish your day at Monastiraki Square and then look for a place for dinner before heading back to your hotel. If it’s on the way back to your hotel, consider a night walk along traffic-free Dionysiou Areopagitou and Apostolou Pavlou boulevards for memorable views of the lit-up Acropolis above.
Day 6: Today is a busy day, so get an early start. Begin the day by visiting the impressive Arch of Hadrian and then walk to the nearby entrance of the imposing Temple of Olympian Zeus and its massive columns. Afterward, walk a short distance to visit the sleek and modern Museum of the Acropolis, which houses the remnants of the statuary from the Acropolis. After lunch, walk to the site of the main gathering place in ancient Athens, the Agora. After entering the Agora, tour the scattered remains including the small, but significant collection in the museum. For many, the highlight of a visit to the Agora is the well-preserved 2,400-year-old Temple of Hephaestus, located on a small hill overlooking the rest of the site. After touring the Agora, walk toward the entrance to the Acropolis, the home to four major ancient Greek monuments: the lovely Temple of Athena Nike, the grand Propylaea, the graceful Erechtheion, and the massive Parthenon. A guide or a good guidebook is necessary to give meaning to these important sites. As this is the last stop of the day, take time to savor the experience. After you exit the Acropolis, climb Mars Hill for wonderful views of the Acropolis and the city bathed in the soft light late in the day. The rocks on Mars Hill are quite slippery, so be careful as you make your way around the popular perch. After dinner, make your way back to your hotel for a well-deserved rest after a very full day.
Day 7: On your last day of your Greek journey, you can sleep in if you are still a bit tired from the busy day before. Dedicate the bulk of your day to Athens’s magnificent National Archeological Museum. It is away from the center, so you will most likely take a taxi or public transportation to get there, but it is well worth the trip. This museum is a fitting end to a great trip as it holds many of Greece’s greatest treasures, including the marvelous finds from Mycenae unearthed in the 19th century. After lunch, spend the rest of your day doing what suits you best—shopping in the Plaka or visiting another of Athens’s fine museums (the Museum of Cycladic Art and the Byzantine and Christian Museum are two good choices). After a final delicious Greek dinner, take a few last lingering looks at the lit-up ancient Acropolis as your trip concludes.
Day 8: As you make your way to the airport for the journey home, start planning your next trip to this wonderful, ancient country to uncover even more of its treasures.