Greece Undiscovered with Crete Extension - Small Group

Arrive in Athens, home to the Acropolis and the Parthenon, monuments that have defined the city’s skyline since the 5th century BC. After settling into your hotel, meet your Travel Director and fellow Small Group travelers. This evening, gather with your group for dinner at a local restaurant featuring Greek dishes shaped by regional produce and long-standing culinary traditions.

Explore Athens with your Local Expert, beginning at the Acropolis Museum to view Parthenon sculptures and Acropolis finds, including frieze panels and architectural fragments. Continue past Hadrian’s Arch and the Temple of Olympian Zeus, marking the scale of Roman Athens. View the Panathenaic Stadium, reconstructed in marble for the first modern Olympic Games in 1896. In Syntagma Square, see the Parliament Building and the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, then pass the 19th-century neoclassical Trilogy of Athens. This evening, you may choose to join an Optional Experience for dinner in Psiri.

Travel north from Athens to Thermopylae, the narrow coastal pass where King Leonidas and 300 Spartans resisted the Persian army in 480 BC. You’ll stop to see the modern memorial marking the site and learn how the landscape shaped the battle strategy. Continue to Ancient Dion, a sacred city of the Macedonians at the foot of Mount Olympus. With your Local Expert, explore the archaeological park, including sanctuaries, theaters and Roman-era villas. Later, arrive in Thessaloniki, Greece’s second city, where you’ll enjoy dinner with your Small Group.

Explore Thessaloniki, a port city shaped by Roman, Byzantine and Ottoman rule and long recognized as a cultural crossroads of northern Greece. See the city’s sights with Insight Choice. You may join a Local Expert for a city tour that traces Thessaloniki’s layered history, moving from Roman remains and Byzantine churches towards the Upper Town for views across the Thermaic Gulf. Alternatively, join your Travel Director for a guided food walk, tasting regional specialties that reflect the city’s trading heritage and diverse influences. The afternoon is at leisure to continue exploring at your own pace. Perhaps walk the waterfront promenade to the White Tower, browse the Modiano and Kapani markets for spices, olives and sweets, or head up to Ano Poli for views over the Thermaic Gulf.