1st day: Thessaloniki
After arriving at Thessaloniki airport.Welcome by your guide, and your coach at Thessaloniki airport at 10:05. Transfer to the city center for a panoramic tour of the city and guided tour of the historic heart.Lunch in Thessaloniki at the restaurant: To KazavatiTransfer to your hotel at the end of the afternoon. Installation in the rooms. Dinner and overnight at the hotel in THESSALONIQUE.
2nd DAY: PELA - VERGINA - VERGIA
Breakfast at the hotel.Departure in the morning to visit the site of Pella and the museum of Vergina and Veria.Departure for PELLA, former capital of the kingdom of Macedonia and hometown of Alexander the Great. The main interest of the site lies in the mosaics of pebbles carefully preserved in the museum. Continuation to the famous site of VERGINA and visit the magnificent royal tombs, classified as World Heritage by UNESCO, decorated with paintings of the 4th century BC. AD, including that attributed to Philip II of Macedonia.Lunch in Vergina at the restaurant: MakisArrival in the afternoon VERIA, pretty little town full of Byzantine churches and beautiful Ottoman houses, guided tour of the small museum retaining exceptional pieces.Return to Thessaloniki, dinner and overnight at the hotel.
3rd DAY: KAVALA - PHILIPPI - AMPHIPOLIS
Breakfast at the hotel.Excursion to KAVALA, marvelous site embracing the sea. Guided tour of the city with its ancient streets: the citadel and its imposing walls - the Kamares aqueduct - the birthplace of Mehmet Ali built in 1720; it is one of the rare Ottoman constructions that can still be seen today in Greece.Then, drive to PHILIPPI, one of the most important ancient sites of Northern Greece that evokes the Macedonian culture of which Alexander the Great was the emblematic figure. Place of the famous battle between Brutus and Cassius and the combined forces of Octavian (the future Augustus) and Mark Antony. Guided tour of the magnificent theater and the very large basilica (in the Roman crypt is a jail that happens to have been that of St. Paul).Lunch in Kavala at the restaurant: NemesisLunch at the restaurant during the visit. The day will end with the site AMPHIPOLIS, famous for the defeat suffered by the historian Thucydides and that was worth to be exiled. Visit the archaeological site guarded by a majestic stone lion marking the presence of a mausoleum.Dinner and overnight at the hotel in THESSALONIQUE.
4th DAY: DION - KALAMBAKA
Departure from the hotel to Kalambaka,En route excursion to the ancient DION site dominated by Mount Olympus. Throughout its history, this sanctuary dedicated to Zeus was the scene of great festivals organized by the kings of Macedonia. It is thus known from some historical writings that Philip II and Alexander of Macedon, after each of their victories, used to celebrate sumptuous sacrifices dedicated to Zeus and the Muses. Guided tour of the Roman baths, the villa of Dionysos and the sanctuary of Jupiter.Lunch at Dion restaurant: AgioneriAfter the visit of Dion we continue our road to the city of Kalambaka.Dinner and overnight at the hotel.
5th DAY: THE METEORES - IOANNINA
Breakfast at the hotel.Departure for a guided hike in the Meteora to admire the most beautiful of the six Western Orthodox monasteries carved in sandstone. Incredible views of rock formations and ancient monasteries from this UNESCO site.Visit the Averof Winery to taste local wine.Lunch at the restaurant in METSOVO: To koutouki tou NicolaIn the late afternoon, check-in at the hotel in IOANNINA.Dinner and night.
6th DAY: IOANNINA - THESSALONIKI
Breakfast at the hotel.Guided discovery of IOANNINA, main city of Epirus: the old city - the Kastro surrounded by walls - the Mosque of Aslan Pasha, now a museum ...Walking route on the promenade along the lake.Lunch at the restaurant: Agnati by the lake.In the afternoon, return to THESSALONIKI. Arrival at the end of the afternoon. Free time in the city for relaxation.Installation at the hotel.Dinner and night.
7th DAY: OURANOPOLIS - MONT ATHOS - THESSALONIKI
Breakfast at the hotel.Departure for OURANOPOLIS, a small tourist port from where excursions to Mount Athos depart. Boat cruise along the south coast of the peninsula of Mount Athos. Often called the "sacred mountain", Mount Athos is a feast for the eyes. This cruise from Chalkidiki takes you along the coast of the imposing mountain. It allows you to observe the only autonomous monastic republic in the world since the Byzantine era, home to some 1,400 monks completely cut off from the outside world and admire the complex of monasteries clinging to the cliffs and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. .Splendid views of the eight monasteries (out of twenty): Panteleimon with multicolored bulb domes
DAY 8:
DepartureBreakfast at the hotel.Bus transfer to THESSALONIKI airport.
