3 Days Athens 

ATHENS

At the center of modern Greece is Athens, crowned with the incredible ruins top the Acropolis, including the jewel of antiquity …the Parthenon.

Athens is a vast, sea-fringed, mountain – ringed metropolis with narrow, winding streets that flow into broad avenues. Ancient ruins interrupt the flow of modern construction; contemporary office buildings crowd against and even straddle Byzantine churches; outdoors cafes edge city streets and sprawl into the squares.

The bustle in Athens does not stop when the sun sets – to the contrary, the afternoon siesta seems to energize the citizens; dinner is eaten quite late, and socializing and partying go on into the early morning hours.

The history of Athens has been turbulent; following its “Golden Age” in the 5th century B.C., in the city was destroyed and restored repeatedly. Its current rebirth began in 1832 when the city was made capital of the New Greek state following the War of Independence with Turkey; near 40% of the Greek population live in Athens, at least part of a year.

LAND PROGRAM 

Transfer from Athens Airport to the Hotel

Upon arrival Capital staff, inside the airport’s immigration area, will meet guests just after passport control. Our escorts will help them through customs and direct them waiting transportation.

Transfer from Hotel to the Airport

Participants will be transferred from the hotel to the airport by motor coach to meet their departures flights.

  • Transportation by deluxe, air-conditioned motor coach
  • English-speaking Capital’s staff to assist guests through customs
  • English-speaking escort on the bus

OPTIONAL ACTIVITIES

Half Day Athens City Tour and Acropolis

From nearly any point in Athens it’s possible to see the imposing from the Acropolis with its buildings dating from the 5th century B.C. Therefore, the Acropolis will be a highlight of this sightseeing and orientation tour. Participants will depart the hotel by deluxe, air-conditioned motor coach and begin the tour with orientation to the modern city of Athens. They will view a number of the areas and buildings that give interest t o this city. Among the most memorable is the Greek House of Parliament, a neo – classical structure overlooking the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier where the traditional Changing of University, the National Library and Iliou Melathron, the former home of the celebrated archaeologist Heinrich Schliemann and one of the most beautiful buildings in Athens. Following the orientation tour, participants will drive to the base of the Acropolis where a series of steps invite them to ascend to the top of this sacred rock. Upon reaching the top they will pas through the Propylea, the stately entrance to the magnificent structures inside, and will be greeted by a spectacular view of the city and the entree basin of Attica. One inside, they will immediately see the Parthenon, by far the best know and most awe inspiring of the structures on the Acropolis. The massive Doric temple was dedicated to Athena, the divine patroness of Athens, Just north of Parthenon is the Erechteion, and another well recognized structure with its graceful porch of Caryatids. Before descending from the Acropolis they will have to chance to visit the Acropolis Museum, containing one of the world’s greatest collections of Greek sculpture.

Half Day Tour to Cape Sounion

The tour will depart the hotel by air-conditioned motor coach with English – speaking guide for cape Sounion, a promontory on the southernmost tip of Attica. Here, on a windswept bluff rising above Aegean Sea, participants will find the Temple of Poseidon, one of the most impressive classical monuments to have survived to the present day. The temple was build shortly after the middle of the 5th century B.C., during the same period that saw the beginning of work on the great monuments on the Athenian Acropolis. What remains from the temple today are 13 Doric columns, standing majestically on the edge of the cliffs nearly 200 feet above the sea. Made of Parian marble, the frieze’s 13 remaining representations depict scenes form the mythical battle between the Centaurs and the Giants, as well as the exploits of Theseus. Even through today it is in ruins, it still dominates the surrounding countryside from its position on the highest point of land in the region. A bit further down participants also can see the ruins of the Temple of Athena of Sounion. As there are two roads linking Sounion with Athens, it is possible to take a different route on the return, thus seeing two entirely different facets of the Attica countryside. The old road runs through the large villages in the Mesogeia, affording a view of inland Attica, while the coast road follows the southwest coast and hugs the edge of the Aegean.