Greece

Flight from Montreal to Athens.

Welcome to Athens, capital of Greece! Upon arrival at the airport, meet your English-speaking guide and transfer to your hotel.

Rest of the day at leisure.

Night in Athens.

Breakfast at the hotel.

Meet your English-speaking guide and transfer to downtown Athens for your market tour. You’ll have the chance to see Greek people in their daily lives!

Transfer to Avissynias Square and start strolling through this picturesque setting, one of Athens’ most popular attractions.
Monastiraki Flea Market – one of the most visited and picturesque spots in Athens, for Greeks and tourists alike; adjacent and connected to Plaka, the oldest part of the city; the easiest way up to the Acropolis. This lively area of stores, stalls and restaurants is a dream for lovers of fun, food and fashion.

Visit Athens’ bustling food markets and savor local delicacies in a tasting session arranged for you in a store that’s well worth the detour to eat and take photos.

Delicious local doughnuts. Learn how they’re made and enjoy the sweetness of honey and cinnamon. More tasting.
Dinner in a local restaurant.

Breakfast at the hotel.

We continue to Athens for a city tour.
Discover the monuments of historic Athens, including the Acropolis and the new Acropolis Museum.

Athens is a city of memorable contrasts. The past and present of Athens unfold before your eyes as we tour the city’s landmarks and monuments such as the Temple of Zeus, the ancient stadium, Syntagma Square, the Parliament and the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, the Academy, the Library, and the National Gardens. On the natural fortress of the Acropolis, reinforced by the hand of man, stand the Propylaea, the Temple of the Winged Victory, the Erechtheion with the Porch of the Caryatids and, dominating the whole, the majestic Parthenon. A winding path leads to the treasure of antiquity. A few meters from the entrance to the Acropolis and the ancient theater of Dionysus, the Acropolis Museum, built on the pedestrian walkway of Dionysiou Areopagitou Street, seems to be suspended between the past and present of Athens.

Overnight in Athens.

Breakfast included.

Breakfast at the hotel.

Start your journey from Athens to Corinth, your first stop. Since 1893, it has separated central Greece from the Peloponnese, so you’ll have to cross it to reach the Peloponnese peninsula. Another special feature of the Corinth Canal is its 2 submersible bridges. Located at each end of the canal, they have to be lowered into the water each time a boat passes. It’s quite a unique sight.

Continue on to Nemee, one of Greece’s most important wine-growing regions, renowned for its red wines made from the Agiorgitiko grape variety, dating back thousands of years to ancient times. Visit one of the most famous estates for a wine tasting.

Continue on to Mycenae, one of the most prosperous cities of ancient Greece. It was the most important city of the Mycenaean civilization between 1600 and 1100 BC.

This UNESCO World Heritage site is best known as the former home of King Agamemnon. Discover the Treasure of Atreus or Tomb of Agamemnon, the remarkable large “tholos” tomb dating from the 14th century BC, and stroll past the Lions’ Gate, valiantly resisting the ravages of time.

We continue our journey to Nafplie, a charming seaside town.

Continue on to the birthplace of the Olympic Games, Olympia.

Dinner and overnight in Olympia.

Breakfast and dinner included.

Breakfast at the hotel.

Located in the western Peloponnese, ancient Olympia was one of the most sacred and glorious sanctuaries in the ancient world. Although only the foundations of many of its structures remain, it is still one of Greece’s most evocative archaeological sites. Capturing all the spirit of the Olympic Games, it’s also the place where the Olympic flame is lit in commemoration of the Games that were created and held here every four years for an incredible millennium. The most important building in Altis (or Sacred Sanctuary of Zeus) was the immense 5th century BC Doric temple dedicated to the king of the gods. It housed the statue of Zeus created by Phidias for over 800 years. One of the temple’s columns has now been restored, allowing us to appreciate its sheer size. Passing through a stone archway, you enter the ruins of the ancient stadium, which could seat over 45,000 spectators. The mind boggles at the thought of standing on the track (measuring 192.27 m), just as the country’s finest athletes did thousands of years ago. Nearby are the judges’ seats. Leaving Olympia, we head for Rion. Passing through Patras, Greece’s Gateway to the West, we catch our breath at the award-winning, “state-of-the-art” suspension bridge linking Antirion. Spanning a 3 km-wide strait across the Gulf of Corinth, this bridge is said to have the world’s longest fully suspended deck of continuous cables. We head for the omphalos, or “navel of the earth” according to the ancient Greeks, Delphi.

Dinner and overnight in Delphi.

Breakfast and dinner included.

Breakfast at the hotel and exploration of Delphi.

Delphi is the famous oracle where the priestess of Apollo, Pitia, influenced, with her prophecies, the history of the cities and states of antiquity.

Visit the archaeological site and the museum.

The museum houses an impressive collection associated with ancient Delphi, including the oldest known notation of a melody, the famous chariot driver, golden treasures found under the Sacred Way and fragments of reliefs from the Treasury of Siphnia. Near the exit is the inscription that mentions the Roman proconsul Gallion. The reference to the proconsul Gallion in the inscription provides an important point of reference for developing a chronology of the life of the apostle Paul by linking it to the trial of Paul in Achaia mentioned in the Acts of the Apostles (18, 12-17).

We continue to the city of Kalambaka.

Dinner at the hotel and overnight in Kalambaka.

Breakfast and dinner included.

Breakfast at the hotel.

Stunning at first glance, the Monasteries of Meteora are of great cultural and natural significance, honored to be included on UNESCO’s World Heritage list. Separated by earthquakes, eroded by wind and water over millions and millions of years, these immense rocks are an authentic masterpiece of nature. Visit to the Museum of Natural History and Mushrooms. Your guide will take you on a truffle hunt. Duration 3 hours, including truffle hunting in the forest with specially trained dogs. Tasting of mushroom products in the forest.

Preparation of a truffle pasta dish in the forest and lunch accompanied by a glass of local wine.

As we leave the magnificent site of Meteora behind us, let’s not miss the historic Battle of Thermopylae of 480 BC, long the subject of cultural motivation as perhaps the most famous last military stand of all time. The monument to the great Leonidas, King of Sparta, at Thermopylae, will mark our way as we return to Athens in the late afternoon.

Overnight in Athens

Breakfast and dinner included.

Breakfast at the hotel.

Embark on a wonderful 4-night cruise to the Greek islands and Turkey. Breakfast, lunch and dinner are served daily on board.

Mykonos, the whitewashed jewel of the Cyclades, is your first stop. This charming mountainous island is known for the hundreds of small chapels, whitewashed buildings and magnificent windmills that dot its landscape.

Stroll through the town of Mykonos, where mazes of narrow streets connect the whitewashed buildings and traditional life continues amid the bustle.

Enjoy free time to explore this little paradise in the middle of the Aegean Sea.

Breakfast, lunch and dinner on board included.

Arrive at the Turkish port of Kusadasi, where you’ll visit Ephesus, one of the most complete ancient cities ever excavated. Excavations have revealed major monuments from the Roman imperial period, including the Library of Celsus and the Grand Theatre. Little remains of the famous Temple of Artemis, one of the “Seven Wonders of the World”, which attracted pilgrims from all over the Mediterranean.

Continue your cruise to the beautiful and spiritual island of Patmos*, where, in 95 AD, St. John the Theologian – one of Jesus’ twelve disciples – was sent into exile. St. John remained on the island for eighteen months, during which time he lived in a cave beneath the perched temple of Diana. In this cave there is a small hole in the rock face, from which flowed a series of oracular messages that Prochoros, a disciple of St. John, transcribed as the biblical chapter of the Apocalypse. During his stay in the sacred grotto, now known as the Holy Grotto of the Apocalypse, St. John also composed the Fourth Gospel. We’ll visit the Monastery of St. John the Theologian, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, where we’ll see the Holy Grotto as well as priceless icons and manuscripts.

Afterwards, return to the port of Scala and enjoy some free time in this picturesque harbor.

Breakfast, lunch and dinner on board included.

*optional excursion

Early morning arrival on the beautiful Rose Island of Rhodes, located in the southeastern part of the Mediterranean Sea. The island of Rhodes is visited by hundreds of tourists every year, as it offers a combination of great historical sites, wonderful beaches, lively nightlife and superb shopping areas.

You’ll visit the Acropolis of Lindos and the Citadel of the Knights – the old center of Rhodes town.

Breakfast, lunch and dinner on board included.

In the morning, the ship docked at the port of Heraklion on the island of Crete. In Heraklion, Paul met the ship’s owner and captain, who warned him to continue his journey to Rome. You can take a tour of Knossos Palace, the center of Minoan civilization.

After dinner, the ship will sail to the most beautiful island in the Aegean known as the “Black Pearl of the Aegean”, the volcanic Santorini, where we’ll enjoy breathtaking panoramic views. The latest excavations suggest that Santorini may be the lost site of Atlantis. (optional excursion)

Breakfast, lunch and dinner on board included.

Arrival at Lavrion port early in the morning.

Landing.

We continue to Athens International Airport for the return flight home.