Day 01
Marathon and Thermopylae Battlefield Tour
- Meet your tour guide and head from Athens to the sacred plain of Marathon, driving through Attica Highway and Marathon Avenue. This is the route of the original Marathon Race, marked by signs counting each kilometre.
- Reach the Tumulus of the Athenians, a site that portrays courage, bravery, and ultimately the victory of the Athenians against the Persians in 490 BCE.
- Continue to the Marathon Battlefield, its archaeological museum, and a prehistoric cemetery that provides evidence of the first civilized presence in this area.
- Driving by the present city of Marathon, your last stop in this area will be Marathon Lake on the slopes of Mt Penteli. This artificial lake serves as the main water reservoir for Athens. Along with the magnificent view, you will see the Marathon Dam, a miracle of engineering and the only dam in the world made entirely of Pentelic marble, the same marble used for the Parthenon on Acropolis Hill. At the bottom, you will also see an excellent modern model of the Treasury of the Athenians, which was located in the sanctuary of Delphi.
- Next, get back on board for the drive to Thermopylae. It was here, 10 years after the Battle of Marathon, that King Leonidas and his 300 brave Spartans heroically faced the Persian army. At the historical centre, you will watch an enjoyable 3D movie. As if travelling through time, you will feel the presence of the heroes who stood their ground for freedom against a foreign conqueror.
- You will then visit the Leonidas statue opposite Kolonos Hill, where the persistent Spartans took their last breath - a place too sacred for words.
- On the way back to Athens, stop at the coastal town of Kammena Vourla, where you will enjoy a relaxing, traditional Greek lunch by the sea and check out the warm springs.
- Finally, drive back to Athens safely and comfortably.
