Our Athens journey encompasses the magnificent monuments of Classical Greece, featuring two UNESCO World Heritage sites: the iconic Acropolis of Athens and the stunning 11th-century Holy Monastery of Daphni. Led by an archaeologist guide, we explore the city’s remarkable archaeological treasures, including the Ancient Agora, Kerameikos, Temple of Hephaestus, Temple of Olympian Zeus, and the Roman Agora. The tour features in-depth visits to both the Acropolis Museum and National Archaeological Museum, while savoring authentic Attica regional cuisine and wines from luxury accommodations in the heart of historic Athens.
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On our expert-led Athens tours, you’ll explore alongside a distinguished local archaeologist who brings depth to every site visit. Our experienced tour leaders complement this archaeological expertise, ensuring your journey through ancient, classical, and Byzantine Greece is both enlightening and seamless.
By touring in Spring and Fall, we aim to avoid the crush of the summer crowds at UNESCO World Heritage Sites such as the Acropolis of Athens and the Holy Monastery of Daphni, allowing you to fully appreciate the magnificent monuments. From the grandeur of the Parthenon to the treasures of the National Archaeological Museum, each day reveals new aspects of ancient and classical Greece.
Our thoughtfully paced itinerary balances archaeological exploration with leisure time. You’ll have opportunities to wander the historic streets of Psyrri with its political street art, enjoy long lunches of regional specialties in the Plaka district, or simply reflect on the day’s discoveries from your hotel balcony.
With just 12 guests, our intimate group shares engaging conversations over excellent local wines and authentic Attica cuisine. Each evening, we return to our premium accommodation in historic Athens, where ancient history and modern comfort seamlessly blend into an unforgettable experience.
Our tour begins in Athens.
After your group transfers from the airport to the hotel, we warmly welcome you to Psyrri, Athens, with welcome drinks followed by a wonderful local dinner with wine.
Meals: D
Overnight: Athens
After breakfast at our hotel, our archaeologist guide leads us on a walking tour of the most iconic symbols of Classical Greece – the monuments of the Acropolis of Athens.
We visit the Theater of Dionysus, gaze at the (temporarily closed) Odeon of Herodes Atticus, the mighty entrance to the Acropolis, the Propylaea, and then on to the Parthenon and the Erechtheion.
We descend the Acropolis to eat lunch in the streets below.
After lunch, we tour the stunning Acropolis Museum with our archaeologist guide.
The evening is free for you to dine at any one of the numerous restaurants in Athens.
Meals: B, L
Overnight: Athens
After breakfast at our hotel, we give ourselves over to the astonishing ruins scattered around Athens. We tour Kermeikos, the Ancient Agora, the Stoa of Attalus, and the Temple of Hephaestus. We also tour the Temple of Olympian Zeus, the Roman Agora, the Temple of the Winds, and Hadrian’s Library.
We eat lunch in a traditional taverna, and your evening is at leisure to dine again at one of Athens’ many nearby restaurants.
Meals: B, L
Overnight: Athens
After breakfast at our hotel, we journey into Attica along the Sacred Way to Ancient Eleusis. On the way, we stop at yet another UNESCO World Heritage site, the Holy Monastery of Daphni. This eleventh-century Byzantine monastery lies along the sacred way at the foot of Mount Aigaleo.
Returning to Athens, we eat a farewell feast of regional delicacies and wine for our last evening together.
Meals: B, L, D
Overnight: Athens
After our last breakfast together, our lovely driver returns us to Athens International airport.
If you’d like to stay on in Greece, we’ll be happy to help you make reservations to extend your stay until we see you next time, when we hope you’ll come on tour with us again.
Meals: B
Dr Elena Soulioti is a specialist in Aegean Bronze Age and Minoan archaeology with a PhD from Durham University on the social role of Minoan symbols. For more than 25 years she has combined cutting-edge research with inspiring on-site storytelling as a licensed Greek tour guide throughout mainland Greece and the islands.
Elena’s research focuses on the intersection of material culture, symbolism, and religious practice in Bronze Age Aegean societies, especially the Minoans. She has presented at international conferences in Greece and the UK on topics such as Minoan religious symbols, the “sacred knot,” and semiotic approaches to ancient imagery.
Her fieldwork includes major Minoan sites across Crete, with three seasons at the Palace of Zakros, studies at the Makrygialos Minoan Villa, and extensive work on unpublished pottery in the museums of Heraklion and Aghios Nikolaos. Beyond Crete she has participated in projects from the Neolithic site of Dispilio in northern Greece to the Epidaurus Limera surface survey in Laconia, a direct link to the landscapes explored on Peloponnese itineraries.
Elena graduated from the National School of Tourist Guides in Athens and has worked as a licensed professional guide across Greece since the late 1990s, guiding in Greek, English, Spanish, and German. Over nearly three decades, she has designed and led highly specialized tours for universities, alumni groups, schools, cultural associations, agrotourism and economic-life programs, ANZAC and modern history tours, as well as bespoke family and small-group journeys.
She has served as Vice President and Secretary of the Association of Tourist Guides in Athens, organising multi-day training seminars and educational excursions that help other guides stay current with new archaeological discoveries and interpretive approaches. Elena also collaborates with the Municipality of Athens and leading museums to offer free public guided tours of sites and collections such as the Archaeological Site of Aristotle’s Lyceum and the Museum of Cycladic Art, where her narratives make the city’s layered past accessible to a wide local and international audience.
Elena’s tours are characterised by clear, engaging narratives that connect archaeological evidence with myth, philosophy, and everyday life, always tailored for an intelligent general audience. Guests frequently comment on how she weaves complex historical and philosophical themes into vivid stories that make sites feel alive without overwhelming them with jargon.
Her passion for education extends beyond the road: she has organised interdisciplinary workshops on symbolism, contributed to conferences on cultural tourism, and even created radio-style “guided tour” broadcasts for Greek audiences. These activities reflect her belief that a guide is an “invisible ambassador” of Greece, responsible not only for accurate information but also for creating meaningful, human experiences of place.
Our tours are physically active! Clambering around archaeological sites, castles, acropoli, and fortresses is an essential part of the Take Me To Europe tour experience, and stairs are everywhere in Europe! On our Temples and Treasures: Archaeological Legacies of Athens Tour, you will need to be able to:
