Rome and Athens

Day 1:

Overnight Flight to Rome

Day 2:

Welcome to Italy!

• Meet your Tour Director at the airport
  
• Explore Rome on foot with your Tour Director, walking from Piazza Navona to the Pantheon, tossing a coin into the Trevi Fountain, and climbing the Spanish Steps with views over the Eternal City

Day 3:

Explore Ancient Rome

• Guided by a local expert, explore Ancient Rome, exploring the epicenter of a vast empire where emperors ruled, gladiators fought, and temples anchored everyday life
• Visit the Colosseum, stepping into the arena where thousands once gathered to witness gladiator battles and Roman spectacle on a monumental scale
  
• Visit the Roman Forum, walking pathways once traveled by Julius Caesar and Cicero, surrounded by the remains of temples, basilicas, and the heart of public life in ancient Rome
  
• Free time or Optional Guided excursion to Tivoli
• Opt to take a guided excursion to Tivoli. Visit Villa d’Este, where terraced gardens and elaborate fountains offer a glimpse into Renaissance luxury and landscape design

Day 4:

Explore Rome

• Guided by a local expert, explore Vatican City, the world’s smallest country and a sanctuary of Renaissance genius.
• Visit the Vatican Museums and the Sistine Chapel, where Michelangelo’s ceiling continues to awe.
  
• Step into St. Peter’s Basilica to see masterpieces like the Pietà and Bernini’s towering Baldachin.
  
• Free time or Optional Catacombs and Gladiator center excursion
• Opt to visit the Roman Catacombs and Gladiator Training Center. Explore an early Christian burial site beneath the city, then learn how Rome’s arena fighters trained, fought, and lived at a dedicated exhibition space

Day 5:

Explore Pompeii

• Take an excursion to the ruins of Pompeii, a once-thriving Roman city frozen in time by volcanic ash. Guided by a local expert, walk its stone streets and glimpse the lives of those who lived, worked, and worshipped here.
  

Day 6:

Rome - Athens

• Fly to Athens
  
• Explore Athens on foot with your Tour Director, wandering through the Plaka district’s shops and cafés, past Hadrian’s Arch, and to the Temple of Olympian Zeus rising quietly beside modern streets

Day 7:

Explore Athens

• Guided by a local expert, follow the footsteps of philosophers and revolutionaries through Athens. Pass Syntagma Square and the Olympic Stadium, wander streets where ancient debates shaped democracy, and see where modern Athens still carries echoes of its past
• Visit the Acropolis and climb the slopes of the ancient citadel. Stand before the Parthenon, visit the Temple of Athena Nike, and see the Erechtheion’s Porch of the Caryatids while taking in sweeping city views.
  

Day 8:

Athens

• Free time or Optional Full day excursion to Delphi
• Opt to take a full-day excursion to Delphi. With a licensed local guide, visit the archaeological site and walk the Sacred Way to the Temple of Apollo, where myths and mountains meet at the ancient center of the world
• Enjoy a special farewell dinner to celebrate your journey and share a final meal with your group
  

Day 9:

Depart for home