To make the most of your stay in Athens, the SLE organizing committee has arranged a few excursions specifically for SLE participants. A guided walking tour of Athens on Friday afternoon is included in your conference registration, but other options are also available for those wishing to learn more about the city and its history.
* Registrations are done on a first come first served basis
* Small changes might occur to the schedule, about which you will be contacted in good time by the organizers
* If minimum participation criteria are not met you will be offered alternatives
Excursion 1. Guided Walking Tour of Athens (Wednesday 30 August 19:30-21:30)
Price: Free of charge, min 20 participants
Description: Athens is a city of many wonders. Enjoy a stroll around the city discovering the best of it. You will pass by some of the most important landmarks and sights of the historical and modern city such as the Acropolis, the Ancient Agora, Plaka, Syntagma, and Monastiraki. Athens has changed a lot since ancient days and you will get the opportunity to experience and understand how these different worlds blend together to shape a vibrant and unique metropolis.
The meeting time is 19:30, at the Melina Mercouri Monument (opposite Hadrian’s Arch) https://goo.gl/maps/8mqnUYrq96UBiwHL8. Participants attending the final session (the round table) can take the conference shuttle bus; for those using public transport, ‘Acropolis’ is the closest metro station.
Excursion 2. Acropolis & Acropolis Museum (Friday 1 September 16:00-20:00)
Price: 18€, min. 20 participants
*The price includes a guided tour by a qualified licensed guide. Tickets to the archaeological sites are not included as you may be eligible for a reduced rate based on your nationality, age, or academic status. (General entrance fee: Acropolis €20; Acropolis Museum €10)
Description: The Acropolis is indisputably the most important landmark of Athens, and one that every visitor should take the time to admire from up close. An ancient citadel located on a rocky outcrop above the city of Athens, the Acropolis was inhabited as far back as the fourth millennium BC and has been the center of the city ever since. However, it was Pericles in the fifth century BC who coordinated the construction of the site’s most important present remains including the Parthenon, the Propylaia, the Erechtheion and the Temple of Athena Nike.
The new Acropolis museum, lying over the ruins of Roman and early Byzantine Athens, was built to house every artifact found on the rock and on the surrounding slopes, from the Greek Bronze Age to Roman and Byzantine Greece. Consistently rated as one of the best museums in the world, it is cleverly perched above Athens, drawing in the ancient and modern parts of the city for a truly evocative experience.
Meeting point: the Melina Mercouri Monument (opposite Hadrian’s Arch) https://goo.gl/maps/8mqnUYrq96UBiwHL8.
Participants attending the final session can take the conference shuttle bus. Alternatively, one can use the public transportation: ‘Acropolis’ is the closest metro station.
Excursion 3. Cape Sounion and the Temple of Poseidon (Friday 1 September 16:00-20:00)
Price: € 29, 30-50 participants
*The price includes bus pickup from certain central hotels, the bus tour and a guided tour by a qualified licensed guide. Tickets to the archaeological sites are not included as you may be eligible for a reduced rate based on your nationality, age, or academic status. (General entrance fee: Temple of Poseidon €10)
Description: Cape Sounion is a great opportunity to explore Attica beyond Athens. An hour’s drive away from Athens, located at the southernmost tip of the Attic peninsula, this tour gives you the opportunity to explore the popular coastal suburbs of the metropolis. The cape is noted for its Temple of Poseidon, one of the major monuments of the Golden Age of Athens. Built at a height of almost 60 meters above sea level, its remains are perched on a headland surrounded on three sides by the sea, providing breathtaking panoramic views of the Aegean Sea and its islands.
The temple of Poseidon was constructed around 444 BC during the ascendancy of the Athenian statesman Pericles, who also rebuilt the Parthenon in Athens. The temple has many of its original columns still standing today, providing the visitor with a magical site.
Meeting point 1: Filellinon 4 street, Syntagma Square
(https://goo.gl/maps/ZVTQYuiNBnSVFrxB9). Closest metro station: ‘Syntagma’.
Meeting point 2: Outside the conference venue (Modern Greek Teaching Center).
Excursion 4. Argolis (Mycenae, Nafplio & Epidaurus) Saturday 2 September (08:00-18:30)
Price: 45€, 30-50 participants
*The price includes bus pickup from certain central hotels, the bus tour and guided tour by a qualified licensed guide. Tickets to the archaeological sites are not included as you may be eligible for a reduced rate based on your nationality, age, or academic status. (General entrance fee: Mycenae €12; Epidaurus €12). Lunch is not included.
Description: The Argolis peninsula, which separates the Saronic and Argolic Gulfs, is steeped in legend and history, with most legends of Greek mythology having taken place here. It is here that Hercules destroyed the Lerniean Hydra and gods walked the earth, meddling in mortal affairs; it’s from here that Paris of Troy eloped with Helen and the Argonauts set sail in search of the Golden Fleece. This region gives you the opportunity to get a good taste of Greek history down the ages, as you can find traces of the prehistoric era in Mycenae, classical ruins in Epidaurus, and Venetian and Ottoman influences in Nafplio.
Argolis was the foremost seat of power of the Mycenaeans, who dominated Greece from around 1500 to 1200 BC. Traces of this mighty civilization lie scattered across the region in the shape of tombs and citadels. Nafplio is regarded as one of the most beautiful and picturesque cities in the country, and was the first capital of the free Greek State. The beautiful old city has a wealth of narrow alleyways and streets, steep steps, and taverns serving delicious Greek food, all nestling under a Venetian fortress rising on a 216-metre-high hill. Your last stop, Epidaurus, is regarded as one of the most important archaeological sites in all of Greece. It is there that the tragedies of Aeschylus, Sophocles and Euripides were performed until the 4th century BC. Next to the theatre also lies the shrine of Asklepios, the god of medicine. The vast site, with its temples and hospital buildings devoted to its healing gods, provides valuable insight into the healing cults of Greek and Roman times.
Bus pickup at central locations. Bus schedule will be announced when it is finalised (based on participation)
Excursion 5. Delphi (Saturday 2 September 08:00-18:30)
Price: 45€, 30-50 participants
*The price includes bus pickup from certain central hotels, the bus tour and guided tour by a qualified licensed guide. Tickets to the archaeological sites are not included as you may be eligible for a reduced rate based on your nationality, age, or academic status. (General entrance fee: Delphi museum & site €12). Lunch is not included.
Description: Located at the foot of Mount Parnassos, overlooking the coastal plain to the south and the valley of Phocis, Delphi was once considered the center of the world. In ancient times, Delphi was a famous sanctuary that accommodated the seat of Pythia, the oracle who was consulted about important decisions throughout the ancient classical world. According to mythology, it is here that the two eagles sent out by Zeus from the ends of the universe to find the navel of the world met. The sanctuary of Delphi, set within a most spectacular landscape, was for many centuries the cultural and religious center and symbol of unity for the Hellenic world.
Now one of the most important UNESCO heritage sites in Greece, Delphi comprises one of the best day trip excursions from Athens, providing a cultural get-away nestling in the natural beauty of Mt. Parnassos.
Bus pickup at central locations. Bus schedule will be announced when it is finalised (based on participation)
Excursion 6. Ancient Corinth, Canal Cruise, Swimming & Lunch (Saturday 2 September 08:00-18:30)
Price: 90€, 30-50 participants
*The price includes bus pickup from certain central hotels, the bus tour, a guided tour by a qualified licensed guide, a buffet lunch and the Corinth Canal cruise. Tickets to the archaeological sites are not included as you may be eligible for a reduced rate based on your nationality, age, or academic status. (General entrance fee: Ancient Corinth €8)
Description: Located about 80km from Athens, Ancient Corinth constitutes a very important site for both Greek Antiquity and Christianity. Rearded as one of the largest and most important cities of ancient Greece, Corinth was amongst the richest cities of the time as evidenced by its impressive remains such as a huge Agora, fountains and Acropolis. It is also here that St. Paul chose to live and preach for 18 months, leaving a large religious heritage to the city. Inspired by his stay in Corinth, he addressed several letters to the Christian community of the city, well known through the New Testament.
After the visit to the ancient site, this tour gives you the opportunity to spend a few hours relaxing and swimming in the crystal-clear waters of the Saronic Gulf. At Kalamaki Beach Resort you will be able to unwind in peaceful plush gardens by the sea and experience a specially crafted Greek menu. From there a boat will take you for a cruise through the spectacular Corinth Canal before the drive back to Athens.
Bus pickup at central locations. Bus schedule will be announced when it is finalised (based on participation)
Excursion 7. One Day Cruise (Hydra, Poros, Aegina) (Saturday 2 September, 8:00-19:40)
Price: 155€, unlimited number of participants
*The price includes bus transfer to/from the port and certain central hotels, as well as an onboard lunch and entertainment.
Description: The Cruise begins from Marina Kallitheas or Marina Falirou and reaches the port of Hydra after approximately three hours, depending on weather conditions. The stop at Hydra lasts about two hours, after which the boat leaves for Poros, where you’ll have about 50 minutes to stroll around the picturesque alleys of the island. The final stop of the trip is Aegina: during your 2-hour stay on the island you will have the chance to discover its authentic beauty and charming landscapes. On board you will be able to enjoy a Greek buffet menu as well as Greek music and dancing to the accompaniment of a live orchestra. Finally, on the last stop at Aegina, you will have the chance to select from a range of organized excursions at an additional cost, should you be interested in learning more about the intriguing history of the island.
Pickup and drop off at the selected hotels. The times quoted refer to the ship’s departure from and return to the port of Piraeus. Please calculate approximately 1.5h additional time for pickup and drop off. Exact timings will be communicated closer to the date.
