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Athens to Athens

Aboard Silver Ray with Silversea Cruises

Departure Date

12 October 2024

Duration

11 Nights

Fly Cruise From

£7,300pp

Cruise Reference

ART-6ATSI16

Cruise Overview

It's no wonder that all roads lead to the fascinating and maddening metropolis of Athens.

Lift your eyes 200 feet above the city to the Parthenon, its honey-color marble columns rising from a massive limestone base, and you behold architectural perfection that has not been surpassed in 2,500 years.

But, today, this shrine of classical form dominates a 21st-century boomtown.

To experience Athens—Athína in Greek—fully is to understand the essence of Greece: ancient monuments surviving in a sea of cement, startling beauty amid the squalor, tradition juxtaposed with modernity.

Locals depend on humor and flexibility to deal with the chaos; you should do the same.

The rewards are immense.

Although Athens covers a huge area, the major landmarks of the ancient Greek, Roman, and Byzantine periods are close to the modern city center.

You can easily walk from the Acropolis to many other key sites, taking time to browse in shops and relax in cafés and tavernas along the way.

From many quarters of the city you can glimpse "the glory that was Greece" in the form of the Acropolis looming above the horizon, but only by actually climbing that rocky precipice can you feel the impact of the ancient settlement.

The Acropolis and Filopappou, two craggy hills sitting side by side; the ancient Agora (marketplace); and Kerameikos, the first cemetery, form the core of ancient and Roman Athens.

Along the Unification of Archaeological Sites promenade, you can follow stone-paved, tree-lined walkways from site to site, undisturbed by traffic.

Cars have also been banned or reduced in other streets in the historical center.

In the National Archaeological Museum, vast numbers of artifacts illustrate the many millennia of Greek civilization; smaller museums such as the Goulandris Museum of Cycladic Art Museum and the Byzantine and Christian Museum illuminate the history of particular regions or periods.

Athens may seem like one huge city, but it is really a conglomeration of neighborhoods with distinctive characters.

The Eastern influences that prevailed during the 400-year rule of the Ottoman Empire are still evident in Monastiraki, the bazaar area near the foot of the Acropolis.

On the northern slope of the Acropolis, stroll through Plaka (if possible by moonlight), an area of tranquil streets lined with renovated mansions, to get the flavor of the 19th-century's gracious lifestyle.

The narrow lanes of Anafiotika, a section of Plaka, thread past tiny churches and small, color-washed houses with wooden upper stories, recalling a Cycladic island village.

In this maze of winding streets, vestiges of the older city are everywhere: crumbling stairways lined with festive tavernas; dank cellars filled with wine vats; occasionally a court or diminutive garden, enclosed within high walls and filled with magnolia trees and the flaming trumpet-shaped flowers of hibiscus bushes.

Formerly run-down old quarters, such as Thission, Gazi and Psirri, popular nightlife areas filled with bars and mezedopoleia (similar to tapas bars), are now in the process of gentrification, although they still retain much of their original charm, as does the colorful produce and meat market on Athinas.

The area around Syntagma Square, the tourist hub, and Omonia Square, the commercial heart of the city about 1 km (½ mi) northwest, is distinctly European, having been designed by the court architects of King Otho, a Bavarian, in the 19th century.

The chic shops and bistros of ritzy Kolonaki nestle at the foot of Mt.

Lycabettus, Athens's highest hill (909 feet).

Each of Athens's outlying suburbs has a distinctive character: in the north is wealthy, tree-lined Kifissia, once a summer resort for aristocratic Athenians, and in the south and southeast lie Glyfada, Voula, and Vouliagmeni, with their sandy beaches, seaside bars, and lively summer nightlife.

Just beyond the city's southern fringes is Piraeus, a bustling port city of waterside fish tavernas and Saronic Gulf views.
Founded by Alexander the Great, Alexandria was Egypt's capital for over 1,000 years.

Now, it is visited by tourists looking to enjoy some diving and those interested in the Great Library, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World.
Founded by Alexander the Great, Alexandria was Egypt's capital for over 1,000 years.

Now, it is visited by tourists looking to enjoy some diving and those interested in the Great Library, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World.

Cruise Itinerary

Aboard Silver Ray

Launch Year: 2024 Length: 244 Width: 30 Currency: USD Capacity: 728 Crew Count: 556 Deck Count: Cabin Count: 363

Set sail from summer 2024 aboard the second Nova Class ship Silver Ray

Get ready for Silver Ray. Silversea’s second Nova Class ship arrives in summer 2024 and promises guests seamless destination connection. Silver Ray mirrors every aspect of her sister ship, Silver Nova, including a pioneering, asymmetrical design and extraordinary use of glass in both public areas and in suite for uninterrupted views wherever you are! What’s more, Silver Ray is one of the most spacious ships ever built, offering an exceptionally high space-to-guest ratio yet remaining nimble enough to offer purity in movement, as her name suggests. She is truly our ray of light.

Silver Ray preserves all our trademarks and delivers a new way of luxury cruising. Her revolutionary horizontal design ensures outstanding public areas, which fuse seamlessly together. Silver Ray will introduce a brand new selection of superb, spacious suites, many of which promise offer a 270˚ view from sea to sky. Eight restaurants and an unprecedented choice of bars complete the experience, offering delicious drinking and dining at any time of the day.

Silver Ray Facilities

Silver Ray Includes

Cabin Details

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