 Athens & what else?
A visit to the archeological museum in Athens is OK for a half day.
When visiting the acropolis arrive early to avoid as many tourists as
possible. When there 15 years ago we rented a car and drove around the
Peloponnese peninsula. The highlights were the ancient Greek ruins at
Mycenae (and the excellent grilled food in the village), the Byzantine
ruins at Mystra, the Byzantine-Venetian ruins at Monemvassia (coupled
with a stay in a modern suite in an over 500 hundred year old building
on the sea wall), taking a boat through the caves at Diros, visiting
the original Olympic Stadium at Olympia, and a cogwheel train ride up
the Vouraikos Gorge near Diakofto (make sure to get off halfway up and
eat lunch there, as the rest of the ride up is not that interesting).
We then took a ferry across the Gulf of Corinth at Rio (there may be a
bridge there now) and visited the small charming port at Naupaktos and
the old fort on the hill. The drive from Itea to Delphi through the
"sea of olive trees" is nice. Stay at a hotel with this nice view down
to the sea. Then make sure that you are the first ones in the
archeological site. Otherwise there will be so many bus tour groups
that you can view little. Make sure that you go to the stadium above,
few people go there and it is realitively quiet and peaceful.
The above trip should be interesting for its variety, no one thing is
over emphasized such as classical Greek ruins. If you have time, fly
to Santorini and stay on the cliffs if possible. We spent a week there
and could have stayed much longer.
George
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