Ancient Cities of the Mediterranean

The Greek capital city is located on the edge of the Saronic gulf, in the east of the country. It bears a plural name in reference to the first villages that surround the Acropolis. You will be enchanted by the rocky plateau presided by its monuments listed as UNESCO World Heritage. In the city below, you can visit some of the liveliest districts in Athens: Plaka, with its maze of colourful streets, and where, in the evenings the drifting aroma of moussaka and garlic prawns will tickle your taste buds. The National Archaeological museum and the Cycladic Art Museum are also some of the city’s key attractions and allow visitors to discover Athens’ cultural past.

The engaging town of Nafplion is staggered up green hillsides of the Argolic Gulf, to the east of the Peloponnese. Don’t be surprised by its extremely varied cultural heritage. Some of the must-see visits are the ancient agora on the plateau of Akronafplia, Italianate arcades in Syntagma square as well as the baroque fortress of Palamidi on a hillside of the same name. At the top of the hill, views of the gulf and the surrounding mountains are simply awesome. If you want to chill out by the water’s edge, walk along the Arvanitia promenade to a beautiful creek in the shade of cedars and cypresses.

Gytheio or Gythio, also the ancient Gythium or Gytheion, is a town on the eastern shore of the Mani Peninsula, and a former municipality in Laconia, Peloponnese, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality East Mani, of which it is a municipal unit.

Corfu, an island off Greece’s northwest coast in the Ionian Sea, is defined by rugged mountains and a resort-studded shoreline. Its cultural heritage reflects years spent under Venetian, French and British rule before it was united with Greece in 1864. Corfu Town, flanked by 2 imposing Venetian fortresses, features winding medieval lanes, a French-style arcade and the grand Palace of St. Michael and St. George.

Das italienische Syrakus war eine der angesehensten Städte Siziliens und konnte es auf dem Höhenpunkt seiner Pracht mit Athen aufnehmen. Wenn man Syrakus besucht, ist es, als würde man in der Zeit zurück reisen und in die sagenhafte Geschichte Siziliens eintauchen. Nachdem die Stadt eine zentrale Rolle im antiken Griechenland gespielt hatte, haben sich an diesen Gestaden zahlreiche Zivilisationen nacheinander angesiedelt, von denen eine jede ihre Spuren in der Stadt hinterlassen hat. Arabische, römische, normannische, byzantinische und spanische Einflüsse machen die syrakusische Kultur ungewöhnlich vielseitig und zu einem Mosaik aus Düften, Farben und Geschmäckern.