PIRAEUS, GREECE

Departing from Piraeus by coach we will follow the new coastal road to Sounion, passing beautiful beaches and attractive coves, and enjoying magnificent views over the Saronic Gulf.

Departing from Piraeus by coach we will follow the new coastal road to Sounion, passing beautiful beaches and attractive coves, and enjoying magnificent views over the Saronic Gulf. The crowning feature of this tour will be the visit to Cape Sounion itself. Dominated by the Temple of Poseidon. We shall climb the pathway to the acropolis of ancient Sounion. Traces of walls and towers of the ancient fort are still in situ, as well as the ruins of the sanctuary. The Temple was built around 440 BC, yet nearly half of its original marble columns still stand – the so-called ‘Cavocolones’ (cape columns). The cliff on which it stands has a sheer drop of almost 60 metres (200 feet) down to the Aegean Sea below. In clear weather, several of the Aegean Islands can be seen from the Cape. One of the temple’s most famous past visitors was Lord Byron, who carved his name on one of the pillars and later wrote a poem about Sounion. On the return journey to our ship, a refreshment stop will be made in Vouliagmeni – an attractive resort of Southern Attica. This tour involves approximately 1 hour of walking. Please take into consideration that the pathway leading up to the Temple of Poseidon is uphill and uneven. There are also approximately 20 well-graduated steps to negotiate.

DESCRIPTION CORRECT FOR 2007 CANARIES & MEDITERRANEAN CRUISES