Greek Islands Cruise: 7 Days Including a 5-Day Aegean Voyage

Amalia Hotel Athens is located right in the centre of the city. Accommodation options include a selection of comfortably furnished rooms and suites equipped with workspaces, Wi-Fi, air conditioning, central heating, TVs, private bathrooms, and hairdryers. Facilities and services include a restaurant, a bar lounge, a gym room, a 24-hour front desk, a concierge, and room service.

Our Athens city tour takes you to the most important sites of the historic capital. The Panathenaic Stadium was the site of the first Olympic Games of modern times in 1896. The Prime Minister's residence (ex. Royal Palace) is guarded by the Evzones in their colorful uniform. The Temple of Olympian Zeus,Hadrian's Arch, Parliament, and the memorial to the Unknown Soldier, the Academy, the University, the National Library, and Omonia Square. We make a short stop at each place. Of course, we can’t leave out the Acropolis, home to the Architectural Masterpieces of the Golden Age of Athens: The Propylaea, the Temple of Athena Nike, the Erechtheion and ‘the harmony between material and spirit’, the monument that ‘puts the order in the mind’, the Parthenon and the Theatre of Dionysus'. Concluding the tour, we will visit the new Acropolis Museum and admire the wonders of the classical era.

Our visit toEphesus brings us to the site of the fourth of ourSeven Wonders.Ephesus was an Ancient Greekcity on the coast of Ionia. It’s now in Turkey. Itwas famed for the nearby Temple of Artemis,one of the Seven Wonders, completed around550BC.The temple, with more than 100 marble pillarseach standing 56 feet tall took 120 years tobuild and it earned the city the name ‘Servantof the Goddess.’ A single solitary pillar remainsstanding on the site, found during an excavationin the 1870s.As with so many places in the EasternMediterranean, Ephesus changed hands manytimes over the centuries. But it remains oneof the largest Roman archaeological sites inthe region. You will be in awe of this incrediblehistoric complex and the ruins you explore stillgive some idea of the original splendour ofEphesus.Among the sights to be admired still are theiconic and instantly recognisable Library ofCelsus, the Gate of Augustus, Magnesian Gate,the Agora, Odeon, the Houses of the Patricians,the Great Theatre, Hadrian’s Temple and theHouse of the Virgin Mary.One legend suggests Mary may have spent herlast years here following Jesus’ instruction toSt John the Evangelist to look after his mother.Many consider it to have been her final homeand it has become a place of pilgrimage.In 1957 the Vatican formalised this recognition.Three Popes have visited. Another reason whyEphesus is important in Christianity is thatthe apostle Paul lived, preached and wroteextensively here including his Letter to theCorinthians.Ephesus is one of the largest, most fascinatingand most inspiring open-air archaeologicalmuseums in the world. This is an excursion youare unlikely to forget.We have time for shopping for carpets,jewellery, leather and other souvenirs at the endof our tour.

Let’s begin in unusual fashion, with what you won’t see in Rhodes. One of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient

World once proudly stood here. He was the Colossus of Rhodes and is of course long departed, probably destroyed by an earthquake. Nevertheless as you arrive on this wonderful, historic island, you may just be able to imagine this statue of the Greek sun-god Helios in 280BC, standing 100 feet tall in celebration of Rhodes’ victory over Cyprus. The largest of the Dodecanese islands, Rhodes has a compelling back story and there are still remnants of its occupation by the Knights of St John during the Crusades. So while the Colossus may not be there, you will be wowed by the many historical sites. We travel first to Lindos, about 55km from Rhodes Town and high above the village sits the impressive Acropolis of Lindos with the Doric Temple of Athena, built in 300 BC. Captains’ mansions constructed between the 16th and 18th centuries are dotted here and there and in the heart of Lindos is the Church of the Virgin Mary with lovely frescoes from the 15th Century. Back in Rhodes is where we are really immersed in the history of the island in the Knights’ Quarter. We stroll through Gate d’Amboise to walk along the Street of the Knights and see where they lived, separated according to Order, their crests still visible today. We will also see (outside) the imposing Palace of the Grand Master of the Knights of Rhodes, a medieval castle also known as the Kastello. It’s one of the few examples of Gothic architecture in Greece. The Byzantine citadel was built in the 7th Century, the palace itself in the fourteenth. Where the palace sits today could well have been the spot where once stood the Colossus according to recent studies. Either way, this tour takes us into the heart of the fascinating history of Rhodes.

The ancient city of Knossos, near Crete’s capital Heraklion, was the place that ‘gave birth’ to the very first civilisation of Europe, the Minoans. So we can say with some certainty it is Europe’s oldest city. Our excursion will open up the world of the Minoans as we visit one of the continent’s most important archaeological treasures. The first excavations were undertaken in the 1870s by Minos Kalokairinos, a Cretan himself. A few decades later in the early 1900s, more work by Sir Arthur Evans from Britain brought to the world’s attention the full impressive scale of the Palace of Knossos, according to legend the residence of wise King Minos. We will be able to explore the large Central Court, the wonderful Throne Room, the imposing Grand Staircase and see the fresco of the ‘Prince of the Lilies.’ As you stroll through the palace apartments and view the archaeological finds, we think you will be just a little in awe of the rich cultural heritage of the Minoan civilisation.

You will undoubtedly hear the Cretan legend of the Minotaur, half man, half bull who lived in the Labyrinth and was slain by Theseus. But that’s another story. Exploring from room to room we will relive time in the Hall of the Royal Guard and the King’s Chamber, hearing about the extraordinary rule of King Minos.