Greece: Legends and Landscapes 2027

Athens: where myths are born and history echoes through every stone. Even arriving feels cinematic, the city sprawling beneath you as the plane descends, a vast tangle of white rooftops punctuated by the unmistakable silhouette of the Acropolis. This evening, we'll settle in and get to know our fellow travellers over our first included dinner at a charming local restaurant.  

Time travel back over 3,000 years: the iconic Acropolis awaits. We'll venture up through the Propylaea gateway, building anticipation with every step, before the Parthenon appears. Vast, sun-bleached and somehow more impressive in person than any photograph has conveyed, it's dedicated to Athena, goddess of wisdom and war. A local guide will bring its layers of history, myth and whispered scandal to life – including the extraordinary Erechtheion, with its famous porch of the Caryatids, where stone maidens have stood watch for over two millennia. 

Wisdom well and truly topped up, the rest of the day is yours. The National Archaeological Museum is worth an afternoon if ancient bronze helmets and Mycenaean gold are your thing, and they should be. Or simply settle in at a taverna in the Monastiraki neighbourhood, order a plate of slow-cooked moussaka and a carafe of local wine, and watch the city unfold around you. Athens is very good at that. 

Did you know that Naxos is the largest island in the Cyclades, and arguably the least fussed about being famous? This morning we'll transfer to the port of Piraeus and board our ferry, watching the open sea gradually give way to mist-topped mountains and the white geometry of Cycladic architecture as we approach. The great marble Portara gateway stands alone on a neighbouring islet as we dock, framing nothing but sky and sea. A sixth-century doorway to nowhere, and a silhouette you won’t forget.  

Green, fertile and laced with Venetian history, Naxos has a character that's harder to pin down than its more famous neighbours. The old town rises in a web of lantern-lit cobbled lanes and whitewashed walls, Byzantine churches tucked between Venetian towers, cats occupying the best spots in every doorway. We'll wander those lanes before sitting down together for dinner at a local taverna. Look out for loukoumades along the way: hot honey-drenched doughnuts sold from street stalls, ideal for the stroll back. 

Roll up your sleeves, today we're cooking! Our morning takes us to a beautiful family farm where the day begins not with a recipe but with a rustic spread – think homemade marmalades and sweet spoon preserves served alongside Naxian cheeses. Then the apron goes on and our host guides us through preparing a proper Greek lunch from scratch. Expect cheerful disagreements about oregano quantities and a heavy-handed helping of flour. 

We'll tour the farm, meet the family behind it and sit down to eat what we've made together. By the afternoon, you’ll find yourself back in Naxos town with the rest of the day entirely your own. The causeway to the Portara is at its best when the sky turns pink and the marble glows in the last of the light. Take the walk, take the photograph, then find a kafeneio and order a glass of kitron, Naxos' trademark spirit distilled from the leaves and fruit of the citrus tree. Yiamas! 

There's a particular wistfulness to leaving an island. The lightness of the air, the sound of water against the hull, the feeling that a different rhythm of life is being left behind. We'll take it in from the ferry deck as the Cyclades dissolve into the blue, before the mainland rises ahead and the pace shifts again. 

Once ashore at Piraeus, our luxury minicoach heads south. En route, we'll pull over at one of Greece's most striking feats of engineering: the Corinth Canal. Standing on the bridge above it and looking down at the ribbon of deep turquoise water far below, wedged between sheer limestone cliffs, is a sight that takes a moment to fully take in. The canal is just 24.6 metres wide at sea level, the narrowest navigable canal in the world! A photo stop here is all but irresistible. 

We continue to Nafplio, the elegant first capital of modern Greece and our base for the next two nights. Find a table by the water for dinner and toast to the Peloponnese. 

Nafplio rewards those who slow down and pay attention. This morning your Tour Leader will lead an orientation walk through its beautiful layered streets, past neoclassical mansions with crumbling plasterwork and window boxes dripping with bougainvillea, ornate fountains tucked into shaded corners, and the fortress of Bourtzi floating serenely in the middle of the harbour. The town's history – Greek, Byzantine, Venetian, Ottoman – reveals itself in small details at every turn. 

The rest of the day is entirely yours. The steps to the summit of Palamidi Castle reward with sweeping views over the Argolic Gulf. It's steep going, but the galaktoboureko at the bakery at the bottom makes for excellent motivation. Or simply browse the galleries and boutiques of the old town, find a seafront table and watch the afternoon unfold in front of you.  

After breakfast in Nafplio, we'll set off into the Peloponnese heartland towards mysterious Mystras. The landscape shifts: dry scrub and wild thyme, the air cooling as we rise into the Taygetos foothills. This fortified Byzantine city perches dramatically along a steep mountainside, its UNESCO World Heritage status well earned. Palaces, churches and monasteries tumble down the hillside in various states of beautiful ruin, frescoes still vivid in dim stone interiors and the faint ghost of incense lingering in centuries-old air. 

As the afternoon deepens, we'll descend to the coast and the pretty port town of Gytheio, built amphitheatrically around a natural bay with colourful neoclassical houses stepping down to the waterfront and fishing boats knocking gently against the quay. Tonight's group dinner is shared at a local restaurant, a chance to unwind and reflect on the day. 

We head out this morning into the stark, tower-house-strewn landscape of the Mani peninsula, a place that carries a slightly otherworldly quality, as if the myths are still being written. Our first stop takes us underground into the spellbinding Diros Caves with a local guide, where a boat carries us silently through subterranean waterways. The water is so still and turquoise it looks painted, stalactites reaching down to meet their own reflections through chambers shaped over millions of years before humans arrived to marvel at them. 

Above ground again, we'll make our way to the captivating village of Areopoli for a Tour Leader-led walk through its rustic stone streets, past tower houses and the Church of the Taxiarchs with its distinctive Mani-carved reliefs. 

Back in Gytheio by the afternoon, the rest of the day is yours to explore at your own pace. The long promenade, the stone-paved streets, the tiny islet of Kranae just offshore – according to Homer's Iliad, it was here that Paris and Helen spent their first night together on their fateful journey to Troy. An abundance of seafood tavernas lines the waterfront when hunger calls: order the grilled tsipoura and make time for an ouzo at a traditional ouzeri. It would be rude not to. 

Today's road takes us deeper into the Peloponnese, the heartland of Greek legend where the drum of rural life still beats steadily among ancient olive groves and terraced vineyards. The scenery is quietly breathtaking: mountain villages above deep gorges, the Messenian Gulf glinting far below and wild herbs scenting the air. 

We'll pause in Kardamyli, a picturesque fishing village with a sun-bleached, unhurried charm that has been drawing writers and wanderers for decades. Free time for lunch follows in nearby Kalamata, famous across Greece for the rich, silky olives that bear its name, though the city's pasteli (sesame and honey bars) run them close. 

Our afternoon takes us to a local farm where an expert guide leads us first through the ancient olive groves, among Koroneiki trees that have been producing oil here for generations, and then into the traditional olive mill to see where the harvest becomes something extraordinary. The tasting workshop that follows is quietly revelatory: three different extra virgin olive oils, assessed by a certified taster, each paired with freshly baked bread, graviera cheese, tomatoes, Kalamon olives and a square of chocolate. It’s a combination that sounds unlikely until you try it. The contrast between the oils is something you'll carry home long after the holiday itself has faded. When our day of exploring comes to an end, we'll reflect on the highlights so far over our group dinner. 

Limber up: this morning we'll walk in the footsteps of the ancient world's greatest athletes on a locally guided tour of legendary Olympia. The first Olympic Games were held here in 776 BC, and the ancient stadium is still here, the same starting line visible in the stone, the same earth beneath your feet that competitors ran across while 40,000 spectators roared from the embankments. The Archaeological Museum that follows, with its collection of bronze helmets, marble statues and the extraordinary statue of Hermes by Praxiteles, only deepens it all. 

Leaving Olympia behind, we'll stop in the lovely seaside town of Nafpaktos, with a dramatic Venetian castle rising above a perfect horseshoe harbour. Grab a frappe at a cafe by the waterfront and watch the boats for a while. It's the kind of place the guidebooks haven't quite caught up with yet, and all the better for it. 

By late afternoon we'll arrive in Delphi, set high on the slopes of Mount Parnassus. The valley of olive trees stretching to the sea far below is reason enough to understand why the ancient Greeks called this the navel of the world. 

Sacred stories await this morning as a knowledgeable local guide leads us through the ancient sanctuary of Delphi, a UNESCO World Heritage Site and one of the most dramatically situated archaeological sites on earth. For centuries this was the religious and cultural heartbeat of the Hellenic world. Kings, generals, merchants and farmers all made the long pilgrimage here to consult Pythia, the oracle, before any decision of consequence. Walking the Sacred Way up through the ruins, past the Treasury of the Athenians, the Temple of Apollo and the ancient theatre, the weight of all those centuries of belief is palpable. 

This afternoon we'll wind down through the olive groves to the coastal village of Itea for a honey-tasting experience that changes the way you think about this sweet condiment entirely. Dressed in beekeeping suits, we’ll step closer to the hives for a glimpse into the craft behind it, before tasting the results. The bees of this mountainous region, feeding on thyme, pine and wildflowers, produce something complex and fragrant and entirely unlike anything from a supermarket shelf. 

Back in Delphi, we'll gather for our final group dinner: twelve days of myth and landscape, ancient stones and island light, generous food and new friendships. Opa! 

One last drive through the Greek landscape, and one final stop worth savouring. The mountain town of Arachova clings to the slopes of Mount Parnassus at nearly 1,000 metres, its stone houses stacked above one another along steep winding lanes, bright handwoven rugs and wheels of formaela cheese spilling from shopfront doorways. It's celebrated across Greece for its wine and its wool, its pasta-like trachanas and its bakaliaros, and a slow wander through the old quarter makes for a deeply satisfying final chapter. Then it's back down to Athens, where we'll say our farewells. Until next time, Greece.