We begin our tour from Athens in the morning via the National Athens-Lamia road, passing the cities of Thebes and Livadia, heading to mountain Parnassos. We stop at cosmopolitan Arachova village, known for its handicrafts, wine and cheese. Arachova is a mountain town of the prefecture of Viotia, built on the southern slopes of Parnassus at 968 meters altitude. A popular winter resort, thanks to the existence of ski resort and its small distance from Athens (153 km). Arachova is also 12 km from Delphi. Within our half hour stop you will have the chance to make your shopping of local traditional food and textile products as well as enjoy a walk at the village streets. Second stop will be Delphi. Delphi, also known as the center of the world. We will visit the Apollo Temple, the Delphi Archaeological museum, Castalia and the Ancient Theater. The lunch can be enjoyed at the traditional taverns with view to the olive trees field. We leave Delphi and after 2 hours driving, passing through the coasts of Sterea Hellas, like Galaxidi and Nafpaktos, we reach the Rio-Antirio bridge. We stop just before the bridge to take photographs of the beautiful scenery and have a small snack at a nearby traditional bakery. Continuing driving for one hour through a beautiful natural scenery, within fields and natural gardens, passing outside Patra, we reach Ancient Olympia. Arriving at the hotel, we will overnight in Ancient Olympia, so before that there will be free time, dinner and rest. Next day we leave the hotel at 8.00am to visit the archeological site of Ancient Olympia and museum spending 2 hours in the area. From then on, until the hour of leaving, you can enjoy shopping and walking. We leave Olympia at 12.00pm driving through the mountainous part of the Peloponnese. We make a stop for lunch at the Isthmus of Corinth, a canal that links the Peloponnesian peninsula in the south to the main part of the country to the north. The return to Athens will be around 4.00pm The tours at Archaeological part of Ancient Olympia and Delphi will be guided.
Arachova: The history of Arachova goes back to the ancient years. It is full of ancient settlements dating back as 1200BC and scattered traces of antiquity from Parnassus as Zemeno and as down in the valley of Pleistos. In Korykeion Cave the oldest traces are reduced to Neolithic period (about 3000 BC). In Homer's time Arachova was one of the famous cities of Fokika, since Delphi and the surrounding area belonged in Fokida. The years of Turkish occupation, Arachova had great participation to the cause and Georgios Karaiskakis won an important battle against the Turkalbanians in November 1826.
Delphi: The most important oracle of the ancient Greek world was built and operated in the city of Delphi. During Homeric times Delphi was mentioned as Pytho and constituted the center of the longest-lasting amphictyony known as the Delphic or Great Amphictyonic League which was organized to support the greater temples of Apollo and Demeter. Delphi retained its important position until the end of the fourth century AD where the oracle ceased to operate following the relative royal decree issued by Emperor Theodosius A’. During the following centuries the city faced a decline and it was permanently abandoned during the Slavic raids period.
Ancient Olympia: It is located at the Ileia country in west Peloponnese, is a sacred place dedicated to god Zeus, it being the most celebrated sanctuary of ancient Greece; the venue of the first Olympic Games and a place attracting a great stream of pilgrims. Besides being a place for worship Olympia was also an important battle and confrontation venue going back to many centuries. Local myths regarding the powerful regional king Pelops and the river god Alpheus reveal the close ties of the sanctuary between East and West. The status of Zeus, a work by famous sculptor Phidias was located inside the majestic temple and was included in the Seven Wonders of the World.
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