Aboard Silver Spirit with Silversea
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.
Although the fishing boats still go out in good weather, Mykonos largely makes its living from tourism these days.
The summer crowds have turned one of the poorest islands in Greece into one of the richest.
Old Mykonians complain that their young, who have inherited stores where their grandfathers once sold eggs or wine, get so much rent that they have lost ambition, and in summer sit around pool bars at night with their friends, and hang out in Athens in winter when island life is less scintillating.
Put firmly on the map by Jackie O in the 1960s, Mykonos town—called Hora by the locals—remains the Saint-Tropez of the Greek islands.
The scenery is memorable, with its whitewashed streets, Little Venice, the Kato Myli ridge of windmills, and Kastro, the town's medieval quarter.
Its cubical two- or three-story houses and churches, with their red or blue doors and domes and wooden balconies, have been long celebrated as some of the best examples of classic Cycladic architecture.
Luckily, the Greek Archaeological Service decided to preserve the town, even when the Mykonians would have preferred to rebuild, and so the Old Town has been impressively preserved.
Pink oleander, scarlet hibiscus, and trailing green pepper trees form a contrast amid the dazzling whiteness, whose frequent renewal with whitewash is required by law.
Any visitor who has the pleasure of getting lost in its narrow streets (made all the narrower by the many outdoor stone staircases, which maximize housing space in the crowded village) will appreciate how its confusing layout was designed to foil pirates—if it was designed at all.
After Mykonos fell under Turkish rule in 1537, the Ottomans allowed the islanders to arm their vessels against pirates, which had a contradictory effect: many of them found that raiding other islands was more profitable than tilling arid land.
At the height of Aegean piracy, Mykonos was the principal headquarters of the corsair fleets—the place where pirates met their fellows, found willing women, and filled out their crews.
Eventually the illicit activity evolved into a legitimate and thriving trade network.
Morning on Mykonos town's main quay is busy with deliveries, visitors for the Delos boats, lazy breakfasters, and street cleaners dealing with the previous night's mess.
In late morning the cruise-boat people arrive, and the shops are all open.
In early afternoon, shaded outdoor tavernas are full of diners eating salads (Mykonos's produce is mostly imported); music is absent or kept low.
In mid- and late afternoon, the town feels sleepy, since so many people are at the beach, on excursions, or sleeping in their air-conditioned rooms; even some tourist shops close for siesta.
By sunset, people have come back from the beach, having taken their showers and rested.
At night, the atmosphere in Mykonos ramps up.
The cruise-boat people are mostly gone, coughing three-wheelers make no deliveries in the narrow streets, and everyone is dressed sexy for summer and starting to shimmy with the scene.
Many shops stay open past midnight, the restaurants fill up, and the bars and discos make ice cubes as fast as they can.
Ready to dive in?
Begin your tour of Mykonos town (Hora) by starting out at its heart: Mando Mavrogenous Square.
Monemvasia boasts a varied and colorful history that can be traced to the 8th-century when Greeks fleeing the Slav invasion of Lakonia found refuge here.
In its heyday it controlled sea travel between the Levant and European shores.
The wall-encircled Lower Town extends along the slopes of a 985-foot-high crag that projects into the sea on the east side of the Peloponnese.
For centuries an impressive stronghold, population dwindled as the inhabitants moved to the mainland.
But with the beginning of a restoration program aimed to preserve Monemvasia's heritage, the Lower Town experienced a new lease on life, and people have begun to return.
The Upper Town is situated on top of the Rock of Monemvasia.
It is reached via a zigzagging, paved lane.
An almost impregnable bastion in earlier days, it has been uninhabited for centuries, but still manages to preserve its magnificent appearance.
Visitors today can explore the remains of the ancient citadel-castle and visit the church of Hagia Sofia.
From the summit there is also a fantastic view of the surrounding area.
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.
Although the fishing boats still go out in good weather, Mykonos largely makes its living from tourism these days.
The summer crowds have turned one of the poorest islands in Greece into one of the richest.
Old Mykonians complain that their young, who have inherited stores where their grandfathers once sold eggs or wine, get so much rent that they have lost ambition, and in summer sit around pool bars at night with their friends, and hang out in Athens in winter when island life is less scintillating.
Put firmly on the map by Jackie O in the 1960s, Mykonos town—called Hora by the locals—remains the Saint-Tropez of the Greek islands.
The scenery is memorable, with its whitewashed streets, Little Venice, the Kato Myli ridge of windmills, and Kastro, the town's medieval quarter.
Its cubical two- or three-story houses and churches, with their red or blue doors and domes and wooden balconies, have been long celebrated as some of the best examples of classic Cycladic architecture.
Luckily, the Greek Archaeological Service decided to preserve the town, even when the Mykonians would have preferred to rebuild, and so the Old Town has been impressively preserved.
Pink oleander, scarlet hibiscus, and trailing green pepper trees form a contrast amid the dazzling whiteness, whose frequent renewal with whitewash is required by law.
Any visitor who has the pleasure of getting lost in its narrow streets (made all the narrower by the many outdoor stone staircases, which maximize housing space in the crowded village) will appreciate how its confusing layout was designed to foil pirates—if it was designed at all.
After Mykonos fell under Turkish rule in 1537, the Ottomans allowed the islanders to arm their vessels against pirates, which had a contradictory effect: many of them found that raiding other islands was more profitable than tilling arid land.
At the height of Aegean piracy, Mykonos was the principal headquarters of the corsair fleets—the place where pirates met their fellows, found willing women, and filled out their crews.
Eventually the illicit activity evolved into a legitimate and thriving trade network.
Morning on Mykonos town's main quay is busy with deliveries, visitors for the Delos boats, lazy breakfasters, and street cleaners dealing with the previous night's mess.
In late morning the cruise-boat people arrive, and the shops are all open.
In early afternoon, shaded outdoor tavernas are full of diners eating salads (Mykonos's produce is mostly imported); music is absent or kept low.
In mid- and late afternoon, the town feels sleepy, since so many people are at the beach, on excursions, or sleeping in their air-conditioned rooms; even some tourist shops close for siesta.
By sunset, people have come back from the beach, having taken their showers and rested.
At night, the atmosphere in Mykonos ramps up.
The cruise-boat people are mostly gone, coughing three-wheelers make no deliveries in the narrow streets, and everyone is dressed sexy for summer and starting to shimmy with the scene.
Many shops stay open past midnight, the restaurants fill up, and the bars and discos make ice cubes as fast as they can.
Ready to dive in?
Begin your tour of Mykonos town (Hora) by starting out at its heart: Mando Mavrogenous Square.
Monemvasia boasts a varied and colorful history that can be traced to the 8th-century when Greeks fleeing the Slav invasion of Lakonia found refuge here.
In its heyday it controlled sea travel between the Levant and European shores.
The wall-encircled Lower Town extends along the slopes of a 985-foot-high crag that projects into the sea on the east side of the Peloponnese.
For centuries an impressive stronghold, population dwindled as the inhabitants moved to the mainland.
But with the beginning of a restoration program aimed to preserve Monemvasia's heritage, the Lower Town experienced a new lease on life, and people have begun to return.
The Upper Town is situated on top of the Rock of Monemvasia.
It is reached via a zigzagging, paved lane.
An almost impregnable bastion in earlier days, it has been uninhabited for centuries, but still manages to preserve its magnificent appearance.
Visitors today can explore the remains of the ancient citadel-castle and visit the church of Hagia Sofia.
From the summit there is also a fantastic view of the surrounding area.
Cruise Itinerary
Aboard Silver Spirit
Launch Year: 2009 Length: 211 Width: 27 Currency: USD Capacity: 608 Crew Count: 411 Deck Count: 8 Cabin Count: 270
Fully refurbished in 2018 for a superlative onboard adventure, the all-new Silver Spirit has never looked better nor felt cosier.
Silver Spirit offers its guests one of the most complete cruise experiences available. With one of the highest space-to-guest ratios in the business and eight superlative luxury dining options, she retains our world-famous service standards and home away from home feel. Spacious decks leave plenty of room for relaxation, yet the cosy niches make sure that there is something for everyone. Meet like-minded friends, enjoy first-class dining and relax on our original Silversea flagship.
Refurbished and remodelled in 2018, Silver Spirit is the epitome of Silversea elegance. Her guest capacity of 608, her large, open spaces, her many dining options and her all-suite accommodation make her a modern answer for ultra-luxury cruising. View the deck plan here.
Silver Spirit Facilities
Silver Spirit Includes
Cabin Details
Silversea’s suites offer one of the highest space-per-guest ratios of any luxury cruise accommodations. All Silversea suites have ocean views, and most include a private teak veranda so that you can breathe in the fresh sea air simply by stepping outside your door. And regardless of the ship or suite category, all guests will be pampered with the personalised services of an attentive butler.
For a truly personal experience, customise your suite with an abundance of thoughtful options and luxurious amenities from Bulgari toiletries and personalised stationery to a bar with your favourite wines and liquors. Settle in with a complimentary movie or choose instead to simply watch the ocean swim by. You can even have dinner in-suite served course by course by your butler. Then, when it’s time to retire, curl up beneath Egyptian cotton linens and a fluffy duvet, with your choice of nine different pillow types. The ultimate in luxury cruise accommodations, Silversea’s suites are your home away from home.
