Description

Day 1: Athens- arrival Upon arrival at Athens Airport meet with our representaƟve and transfer to your hotel. Rest of the day at leisure and overnight in Athens. Day 2: Athens Breakfast at the hotel & day at leisure to explore Athens. OpƟonal tours available. Athens is a city full of contrasts, a fascinaƟng desƟnaƟon for food & wine lovers, for culture & Archaeology wanderers, for everyone looking to explore a nice & vivid city. Day 3: Athens- Hydra Breakfast at the hotel. Early morning you will be transferred to the port of Piraeus to pick your ferry to Hydra. EmbarkaƟon and sail off to Hydra island. Ferry ride is around 2h. Upon arrival, make your own way to the hotel which is walking distance from the port. Free aŌernoon. Hydra, built in the shape of an amphitheatre on a slope overlooking the Argosaronic gulf, is one of the most romanƟc desƟnaƟons in Greece. TradiƟonal stone mansions, narrow cobblestoned streets, secluded squares and above all the banning of cars and the use of around 500 donkeys as means of public transportaƟon, explain the reason why Hydra preserved its disƟncƟve atmosphere through the passage of Ɵme. Day 4:Hydra free day to explore Hydra. Today we suggest you visit the Historical Archive museum of Hydra. Hydra Island existence was well known by the English Admiralty, and the likes of Napoleon and KapoudanPasha. Whether by sail or steam, the Arvanites captains carved grooves that will never be lost. To salvage the memory of all the struggles, culture and nobility, the tradiƟon of Greek benefacƟon had to play its part here. A doctor and mayor of the island, Antonios Lignos, gathered and catalogued documents and original manuscripts from the island’s archives. Also, ship owner and benefactor, Gikas Koulouras, built and offered the original building of the Archive-Museum. Since 1996, when the more recent building was officially inaugurated, the Museum receives numerous daily visitors and researchers, enabling them to tour it’s truly impressive venues. The exhibits are spread over two floors comprising a panorama of the contribuƟon of Hydra in modern Greek history: figureheads, flags, guns and mκlιe weapons, uniforms, relics of the RevoluƟon, the Balkan and World Wars, a large collecƟon of portraits and watercolors, the Charter of Rigas Feraios, a separate secƟon with mementoes of the intrepid admiral Pavlos KountourioƟs that sealed through his brave spirit the naval and poliƟcal history of the 20th century, and "most honorable of all", the silver urn with the embalmed heart of admiral Andreas Miaoulis. PublicaƟons, exhibiƟons, conferences, lectures, book presentaƟons, concerts, theater and dance performances, contained within the grand event enƟtled "Cultural Summer Hydra" consƟtute the constant presence of the Archive-Museum in the cultural life of the country. The special sensiƟvity of the people of Archive-Museum towards Greek seafaring tradiƟon manifests itself in the care of rescuing tradiƟonal vessels with a main reference being the tradiƟonal "launch" HELEN P. , of which the lengthy salvage efforts aim at establishing the first floaƟng mariƟme museum of a public character. Day 5:Hydra-Spetses Breakfast at the hotel & check out. Walk to the port & embark to your ferry to Spetses Island. Arrive & walk to the hotel. Day 6:Spetses free day to explore Spetses. Known as Isola di Spezie under VeneƟan rule and Pityoussa (pine-clad) in ancient Ɵmes, Spetses, at just 54 nauƟcal miles from Athens, is a picturesque, car-free island with a unique architecture, naval history and culture. Today, the two-hundred year old captains’ mansions lining the coast are tesƟmony to the vast wealth and grandeur of that Ɵme. The mansion of the Greek War of Independence heroine Laskarina Bouboulina – the only female admiral in world naval history - now houses Bouboulina’s Museum which hosts a Cultural FesƟval every summer with a plethora of events - while the Spetses State Museum is housed in the mansion of Spetsiot revoluƟonary leader Hatziyannis Mexis and contains artefacts represenƟng more than 4000 years of history. Day 7:Spetses-Athens Breakfast at the hotel & check out. Walk to the hotel & ferry to Athens & Piraeus port. Upon arrival meet your driver & transfer to Athens hotel. this is your last night in Athens & we suggest you walk all the way to Plaka old Athenian neighbourhood, grab an ice cream & head to the local open air Cinema ‘ Cine Paris. Watching a movie under the Athenian Sky on the Acropolis’ foot, will become an experience you will never forget. Day 8: Departure Breakfast at the hotel & check out. Transfer to the airport for your internaƟonal flight