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Italy, the Adriatic & Greece

Aboard Viking Venus with Viking Ocean Cruises

Departure Date

19 June 2025

Duration

14 Nights

Fly Cruise From

£7,290pp

Cruise Reference

ART-7ITVI13

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.
Katakolon could not seem less of a cruise port if it tried.

A tiny enclave clinging to the western Peloponnese coast, it's a sleepy place except when ships dock.

But it's a popular cruise destination because of its proximity to Olympia.

Ancient Olympia was one of the most important cities in classical Greece.

The Sanctuary of Zeus was the city's raison d'être, and attracted pilgrims from around the eastern Mediterranean, and later the city played host to Olympic Games, the original athletic games that were the inspiration for today's modern sporting pan-planetary meet.

At the foot of the tree-covered Kronion hill, in a valley near two rivers, Katakolon is today one of the most popular ancient sites in Greece.

If you don't want to make the trip to Olympia, then Katakolon is an ideal place for a leisurely Greek lunch while you watch the fishermen mend their nets, but there's just not much else to do there.
Corfu town today is a vivid tapestry of cultures—a sophisticated weave, where charm, history, and natural beauty blend.

Located about midway along the island's east coast, this spectacularly lively capital is the cultural heart of Corfu and has a remarkable historic center that UNESCO designated as a World Heritage Site in 2007.

All ships and planes dock or land near Corfu town, which occupies a small peninsula jutting into the Ionian Sea.Whether arriving by ferry from mainland Greece or Italy, from another island, or directly by plane, catch your breath by first relaxing with a coffee or a gelato in Corfu town's shaded Liston Arcade, then stroll the narrow lanes of its pedestrians-only quarter.

For an overview of the immediate area, and a quick tour of Mon Repos palace, hop on the little tourist train that runs from May to September.

Corfu town has a different feel at night, so book a table at one of its famed tavernas to savor the island's unique cuisine.The best way to get around Corfu town is on foot.

The town is small enough so that you can easily walk to every sight.

There are local buses, but they do not thread their way into the streets (many now car-free) of the historic center.

If you are arriving by ferry or plane, it's best to take a taxi to your hotel.

Expect to pay about €10 from the airport or ferry terminal to a hotel in Corfu town.

If there are no taxis waiting, you can call for one.

Cruise Itinerary

Aboard Viking Venus

Launch Year: 2020 Length: 227 Width: 29 Currency: EUR Capacity: 930 Crew Count: 465 Deck Count: 9 Cabin Count: 465

Expand your horizons on comfortable, state-of-the-art ships, intimate and thoughtfully created by experienced nautical architects and designers to enrich your interaction with your destination in every way. Each sister ship carries only 930 guests and is engineered at a scale that allows direct access into most ports. The fleet features understated elegance and modern Scandinavian design.

Viking Venus Facilities

Viking Venus Includes

Cabin Details

Our intimate, all-veranda ships offer a wide variety of staterooms for your selection. From Veranda Staterooms to the abundance of extra perks and amenities in our spacious Explorer Suites, there’s no finer way to travel. And whichever stateroom you choose, you will find it beautifully designed in the understated elegance for which Viking is known.

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