If you only have a few days, but you want to enjoy Athens and the surrounding region, this is the way. Add this short tour onto any other Travel in Style tour for an even better travel adventure

DAY 1 - ATHENS
Arrive at Athens Airport, where you will be greeted by our staff and transferred to your hotel. The rest of the day is yours to spend as you like. Take your first look at this great ancient-modern city. Wander through the Plaka, and up to the Acropolis if you like, guidebook in hand.

DAY 2 - ATHENS CITY TOUR (cBD)
After breakfast, a half day seat in a coach tour:
we tour the great Greek capital, including Constitution (Syntagma) Square, Parliament, the Memorial to the Unknown Soldier, and the National Library. Driving down Herod Atticus street you will see the Evzones in their picturesque uniforms and the Presidential Palace. On your way to the Acropolis, you will see the Panathenaic Stadium (where the first Olympic Games of the modern era were held in 1896), the Temple of the Olympian Zeus and Hadrian's Arch. Evening Greek dinner with music & show.

The most important sites / temples at the Acropolis:
The Parthenon. It is the most important and characteristic monument of the ancient Greek civilization and still remains its international symbol. It was dedicated to Athena Parthenos, the patron goddess of Athens. It was built between 447 and 438 B.C. and its sculptural decoration was completed in 432 B.C. The construction of the monument was initiated by Perikles, the supervisor of the whole work was Pheidias, the famous Athenian sculptor, while Iktinos and Kallikrates were the architects of the building. The temple is built in the Doric order and almost exclusively of Pentelic marble. It is peripteral, with eight columns on each of the narrow sides and seventeen columns on each of the long ones. The central part of the temple, called the cella, sheltered the famous chryselephantine cult statue of Athena, made by Pheidias.

The sculptural decoration of the Parthenon is a unique combination of the Doric metopes and triglyphs on the entablature, and the Ionic frieze on the walls of the cella. The metopes depict the Gigantomachy on the east side, the Amazonomachy on the west, the Centauromachy on the south, and scenes from the Trojan War on the north.

The relief frieze depicts the Procession of the Panathenaea, the most formal religious festival of ancient Athens. The scene runs along all the four sides of the building and includes the figures of gods, beasts and of some 360 humans.

The two pediments of the temple are decorated with mythological scenes: the east, above the building's main entrance, shows the birth of Athena, and the west, the fight between Athena and Poseidon for the name of the city of Athens. The Parthenon retained its religious character in the following centuries and was converted into a Byzantine church, a Latin church and a Muslim mosque.

The Turks used the Parthenon as a powder magazine when the Venetians, under Admiral Morosini, attacked the Acropolis in 1687. One of the Venetian bombs fell on the Parthenon and caused a tremendous explosion that destroyed a great part of the monument which had been preserved in a good condition until then.
The disaster was completed in the beginning of the 19th century, when the British ambassador in Constantinople, Lord Elgin, stole the greatest part of the sculptural decoration of the monument (frieze, metopes, pediments), transferred them to England and sold them to the British Museum, where they are still exhibited, being one of the most significant collections of the museum.

DAY 3 - ARGOLIS (cBL)*
Leave Athens along the Saronic Gulf coastal road to the Corinth Canal, which connects the Aegean Sea with the Ionian Sea. Drive on to Mycenae, the Homeric City of the Atreides, "rich in gold" of the ancient poets. (Visit the Lion's Gate, the Cyclopean Walls and the Royal Tombs). Drive through the fertile plain of Argolis to Nafplion, a picturesque town nestled at the foot of the Palamidi Fortress. After lunch, leave for Epidavros to visit the theater (4th Century B.C.), famous for its astonishing acoustics. Return to Athens by the national road connecting Epidavros with Corinth. Lunch in Mycanae or Nafplion.

DAY 4 - Athens Markets (cBL)
Ride the new Athens Subway alongside the locals today ( always escorted with your English speaking Guide) ! We take pride in affording you this experience, entirely by public transportation, with orientation by our English-speaking representative. You'll get to tour Athens fascinating vegetable & fruit markets by subway and/ or taxi. Enjoy lunch at a charming local restaurant before we head back to the hotel . Markets days/dates are subject to change, we may have to change your program in Athens to accommodate such changes.

DAY 5 - DEPARTURE (cB)
After breakfast, transfer to the airport to connect with your flight.

RATES per person in USD

Your tour includes:

• Transfers from and to the airport in Athens

• Accommodations in a Moderate deluxe ( 5 -star), Hotel Divani , or First Class (4-star) hotel such as the Novotel, Titania , Stanley, or Royal Olympic.

• Meals as specified including B = Breakfast, (or cB, Continental Breakfast) L = Lunch, D = Dinner

• Tours & guided sightseeing as per itinerary, including all entrance fees

Please note that for Nov - Mar period :

• Argolis is only on Tuesdays, Thursday & Saturdays . You may consider Delphi if your tour doesn't coincide with Argolis.
• Delphi : on Mondays, Wednesdays & Fridays.

• Accommodations with breakfast (B) as indicated below, or at comparable properties, according to availability:
  Athens:
  Divani Palace Acropolis : 5 Stars Moderate
  Electra Palace (four stars).