ATHENS & CORINTH TOUR

Disclaimer:
**Please note that all our licensed tour drivers are fully knowledgeable of the history of each monument in your tour's itinerary. However, by law licensed tour drivers are forbidden to enter any archaeological site and conduct tours. Only licensed tour guides are allowed to conduct guided tours on the archaeological site itself. Upon your request, a licensed tour guide can be booked for you at the archaeological site of your choice at an extra cost.

Our tour begins by going to the Acropolis. Before we get to the Acropolis we will visit the Philopappus hill where we get a great view of the Acropolis. If you are someone who loves taking photos this is definitely the spot. The Philopappus hill is surrounded with many olive trees and you get a great overview of Athens. Then I will take you to the entrance of the Acropolis. You take the time you need to tour the Parthenon, the Acropolis Museum, the Temple of Athens Nike and other fascinating and historic sites on the 'Sacred Rock' overlooking the city of Athens. There is an entrance fee for the Acropolis which is 12 Euros per person. With this ticket you get to see 5 other archaeological sites. These sites are: the Theater of Dionysus, the Temple of Olympian Zeus, the Roman Agora, the Greek Agora and the Keramikos. Besides these archaeological sites we will visit the National archaeological museum which is one of the best museums in the world. If time permits we will also visit some of the most important museums in Athens: the museum of Cycladic art and the Benaki museum.

After seeing the Acropolis we will go and see the Panathenaic stadium that was originally built in 330 BC. The Kalimarmaro stadium is made out of marble and is the only existing marble stadium in the world today. The Marathon of the 2004 Olympics ended in this stadium.

Of course while touring we will see some monuments such as the Academy, the University and our National Library. Another important monument we will see is the 'Marathon man' which is made of fiber glass and is located across the Hilton hotel. It was built in dedication to the Greek soldier Phidippides who in 490 BC ran from the town of Marathon to Athens (about 26 miles) to announce that the Persians had been defeated. He shouted 'NENIKIKAMEN!' which means 'WE WON!' in ancient Greek and collapsed of exhaustion and died.

Continuing our tour we will see the changing of the guards which takes place in front of the Presidential Palace. This is also one of the most expensive real estate areas in Athens which is called Herodou Attikou. Across from the Presidential Palace are the National Gardens where Athenians take a walk and relax during hot summer days. Every Sunday in front of the Greek Parliament a unique show takes place where 52 national guards (in their white uniform) accompanied by a band march down from their house and complete the change in front of the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. This is a one of a kind event to watch.

After that we will visit mount Lycabettus passing through Kolonaki area which is the Soho area of Athens. The Athenians gather in Kolonaki Square to have Greek coffee and chat at the cafes nearby. Here you will see the real Greek culture. In Kolonaki you will find clothing stores of high end fashion designers. Through the narrow streets of Kolonaki we drive up to Lycabettus hill which is the tallest hill in Athens (its height reaches 277m and on its peak lies a small white Greek Orthodox church of St. George which was built in 1852). From up here you have Athens in a nutshell. You can also take some great photos from here.

We then head to the Plaka area. According to a recent theory, Plaka owes its name to a large stone slab found in the area of the church of St. George of Alexandria.

When we are done seeing the sites in Athens we continue our tour by driving along the beautiful coastline of Corinth. Our first stop is at the Corinth Canal. We will make a stop here to look at the canal and if we are lucky we might see a ship going through the isthmus. After the canal we will go to Ancient Corinth. The site itself is very beautiful. This is where St. Paul preached to the Corinthians in 62 A.D. The site of Corinth is influenced by Roman architecture. Here you will see the Temple of Octavia and the ancient Lechaion Road. Ancient Corinth also has a beautiful museum which is known for its beautiful amphorae. After seeing the site of Ancient Corinth we head towards Acrocorinth which is 4 km (2.5 miles) above the main city. When we are done we will return to your destination. You may have lunch either in Corinth or Athens in the Plaka area.