Athens, Florence & Rome

You’re never more than a few steps away from the past in Athens. Accompany your Tour Director to the Plaka, the historic district that borders the Acropolis. In its twisting narrow streets you’ll catch glimpses of an older city, from wrought-iron balconies bursting with geraniums to traditional Greek dancing in basement tavernas. Continue on to the Temple of Olympian Zeus, begun in the 6th century B.C. and finished in A.D. 132 by the emperor Hadrian. Its enormous columns provide a sense of the scale of the original temple. Nearby, the elaborate Hadrian’s Arch separated the ancient and imperial sections of the city.

View Hadrian's Arch, an enormous triumphal arch built by the Roman Emperor Hadrian, which is still a symbolic entrance to Athens.

Not just another crowded dusty city, Athens has developed from the birthplace of democracy to a bustling modern metropolis. With a local licensed guide, start your time travel at the ancient hot spots of the first Olympic site and the sprawling Acropolis, classical Athens’ religious and civic center. The awe-inspiring Parthenon -- a temple dedicated to Athens’ patron saint Athena -- is the obvious centerpiece, but take time to examine the building next door, where sculpted women hold up the roof with their heads, and the amazing view of modern Athens below. Jump back to the present in Syntagma Square, the center of the modern city, to see the Parliament building and the British-style changing of the guards ceremony. (There’s a rather un-British flair to it, however -- the Greek guards wear white skirts, head scarves, and shoes and knee bands adorned with pom-poms.) Continue to Omonia Square, Athens' other main meeting point, to relax by the splashing central fountain ringed with olive trees.

Visit the Acropolis, which has overlooked Athens for over 2,000 years; habitation traces indicate that it was occupied as early as the Neolithic Age. View the Temple of Athena Nike, and its successor, The Parthenon. The Parthenon is the crowning achievement of the Doric order, built to demonstrate the wealth of Athens in tribute to its patron goddess, Athena.

Syntagma Square, located directly in front of the Old Royal Palace, is the central square of Athens.

Contemplate the sea god Poseidon from his temple perched high atop the hill of Cape Sounion, the southern-most tip of Central Greece. Stand among the tall, marble pillars rising up from the slippery slabs of rock and look out over the calm blue Aegean Sea. The Temple of Poseidon, built around the same time as the Parthenon (between 450-440 BC), is a refreshing point of calm after the chaos of modern Athens.

Prophet from the past. Explore the impressive ruins at Delphi, which the Greeks considered the center of the world. Within the depths of the Temple of Apollo, a priestess would inhale intoxicating vapors that used to rise from the earth and, thus inspired, deliver the prophecies of Apollo. Modern visitors might find more inspiration in the view from Mount Parnassus, over 8000 feet high.

Immerse yourself in the charms of old-world Firenze. The birthplace and focal point of the Italian Renaissance, Florence still has the masterpieces to prove it. Brunelleschi’s monumental cuploa (dome) atop the city's renowned Duomo dominates the skyline. Your local licensed guide will take you to Giotto's Bell Tower and the aptly named Gates of Paradise, the bronze east doors of the Baptistery that spurred the burgeoning Renaissance. Don’t overlook the tombs of Michelangelo, Galileo, and Machiavelli at the Chiesa di Santa Croce, or Florence’s amazing leather goods. You can check them out when you visit one of the area’s famed workshops!

Spend time in the Piazza della Signoria, the political stage of Renaissance Florence and an open-air museum of sculpture.

Stroll along the Ponte Vecchio, the oldest of Florence's six bridges and one of the best-loved sites of Florence. Lined with numerous shops, visitors often do not realize they are on a bridge until the reach the center arches that look out over the Arno.

The ultimate symbol of ancient Rome, the Colosseum still dominates the modern city. Tour the amphitheater with your local licensed guide. Built by the emperor Vespasian in A.D. 72, the structure held almost 50,000 spectators but was so well organized that the entire place could be emptied within 15 minutes. Inside, the spectacles varied from gladiator battles to immense naval contests that required the flooding of the amphitheater to wild beast shows, in which thousands of exotic animals like giraffes and ostriches were popped into the stadium through trap doors and left to fight Roman hunters. See the system beneath the floor that operated the trap doors and housed the animals, then continue on to the relative calm of the Forum. Rome’s commercial, religious, and political center, the Forum held markets, temples, and the Senate House. Near the Rostra, or speaker’s platform, you can still see game boards scratched into the marble by bored politicians -- anyone up for a game of tic tac toe?

Tour the ruins and excavations of the Roman Forum, which features the remains of magnificent temples, basilicas, and triumphal arches that once formed the heart of the Empire.

Visit St. Peter’s Basilica, with its vast colonnades that seem to embrace the world. Inside, admire Michelangelo’s soaring dome, rising 452 feet above the ground, and his renowned Pietà. Then step into the Sistine Chapel, where the artist reluctantly painted frescoes that today stand among the world’s greatest masterpieces. Please note that the Sistine Chapel portion of the visit is unguided and will be explored independently.