Private tours

A private tour is exactly that – private. It’s just you, me and the sights. Since it’s your tour, you decide what you want to see – the tour is tailored to what you would like to do and see. It may even change on the way, depending on your mood and/or fatigue (jet lag and the heat may hit harder than expected).

The tours listed below are just a small sample of the many tours that I often do. They are by no means set in stone – I like my tours to fit my guests so I always tweak the plan to accommodate personal preferences or needs. 

Custom tours is what I do best – tours tailored to your particular tastes or needs. You have a child who is a fan of Percy Jackson and would like a Mythology tour? By all means. Someone in your party has mobility issues? We can work around that, using a vehicle and opting for the more accessible sights. You’d rather avoid the crowds? Sure, there are plenty of options to choose from.

As a licensed guide, I can offer tours in all the archaeological sites and public Museums of Greece; I also offer tours in most of the country’s private museums, with few exceptions (those who have their own guides).

You may read reviews of my work at this blog, on Viator and on TripAdvisor (here and here).

For questions, information and bookings, please contact me at  arkoskinas@ymail.com or (+30)6977065160.

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ATHENS TOURS

Must-see Athens Tour

This tour covers the absolute musts for any visit to Athens.

 

Temple of Athena Nike

1. Walk (or drive) around the city to get familiar with the city’s layout. On the way, a brief outline of Greek history is given.
2. Syntagma square
3. Stadium
4. Temple of Olympic Zeus, Arch of Hadrian
5. Theatre of Dionysus, Asclepieion, Odeon of Pericles
6. Odeon of Herod Atticus
7. Visit to the Acropolis
8. Visit to the Acropolis museum.

Duration: about 4 hours.

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Ancient Athens Tour

This is an extension of the Must-see Athens tour, with the addition of:

4. Visit to the Ancient Agora (centre of the ancient city and birthplace of Athenian Democracy), including the temple of Theseus and the site’s museum.

Combined duration: about 5-6 hours.

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Athenian Democracy Tour

This is a tour which focuses on the Athenian Democratic system, it’s history, evolution and peculiarities. It includes:

1. Visit to Ancient Agora (centre of the ancient city
   and birthplace of Athenian Democracy), including the temple of Theseus and the site’s museum.
2. Visit to the Pnyx, site of assembly of the Athenian people.

Duration: about 2 hours.

The tour may be extended with a visit to the Kerameikos (where Pericles gave his famous Funeral Oration) and/or the Epigraphic Museum (which houses inscriptions pertaining to the Athenian democratic system).

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Athens off-the-beaten-path Tours

For Paris it’s the Eiffel Tower. For Athens its the Acropolis (plus a few other sites included in the Must-see Tour). But what happens if you’ve already seen the top sights or you simply fancy doing things differently?

There are several options to choose from:

1. The Philopappou Tour, taking a scenic route to the Hill of
   Philopappou and seeing Athens from above. We can talk about the city, its history and monuments from up there or simply enjoy the view.
2. The Agora-Kerameikos tour. Similar to the Athenian Democracy tour above, this one skips the site of Pnyx to focus on the workings of the Athenian city-state and its people. The sites and artifacts we see will let us explore politics, war, religious practices, daily life and death in the ancient city.
3. The Contemporary Athens Tour, focusing on residential areas and discussing the daily life of modern Greeks.
   

   

   

   Grandmother and granddaughter at a playground, Athens, Greece

   

   

   

   

   Commuters at the entrance of the Syntagma Metro station, Athens, Greece
4. The Hymmetus Hike – a long or short hike on the slope of Mt.
   Hymettus, overlooking the city. We will see a monastery and other Byzantine ruins while enjoying a walk in a typical Mediterranean landscape.

Duration: variable

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Athens Drama Tour

This may taken as an extension of the Must-See Athens Tour. Before or after visiting the Acropolis (depending on the weather and time of day) we visit the theatres of Dionysus and Herod (no relation to the Biblical one), telling how ancient drama evolved, in relation to the historic and social circumstances of the time. A reading of selected excerpts may take place.

In the summer months, tickets may be reserved for a performance in the theatre of Herod, still in use.

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Greek Art Tour

 This tour places an emphasis on Ancient Greek art.

1. We start at the National Archaeological Museum, with an introduction to Greek art, from prehistoric times ’till the cusp of the middle ages
2. Visit to the Acropolis, to discuss architecture and the use of sculptures on temples
3. Visit to the New Acropolis Museum for a viewing of the famous Parthenon Sculptures, among other treasures.

 

New Acropolis Museum: the Western Pediment of the Parthenon, showing the contest between Athena and Poseidon. Behind the pediments badly damaged statues, the temple’s metopes and frieze are also exhibited.

Duration: about 4 hours

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Plaka Tour
Plaka is the “old city” in the heart of Athens. Its monuments span a few thousand years, from prehistoric to modern times. This tour can be an extension of the Must-see Athens tour, or can be taken separately, by those who have already seen the top sites.

 

1. Start at Monastiraki Square (Church of Pantanassa, Tzistarakis Mosque, etc.)
2. Ancient Agora (optional)
3. Library of Hadrian
4. Mosque of the Conqueror and Madrasa (Muslim school)
5. Roman Forum (including the Tower of the winds)
6. Benizelos house
7. Anafiotika
8. Monument of Lysicrates
9. Modern graffiti and other curiosities

Duration: about 3-4 hours

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Modern Greek Architecture Tour

A walking tour in downtown Athens, taking in the most important buildings of the 20th century in the city. A running commentary of recent Greek history is offered, upon request. The tour may be extended with the use of transportation.

Duration: variable

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Athens View Tour
A walking tour of the hills around the Acropolis (Philopappou and Pnyx) to enjoy the full view of the city, from the sea to the mountains where the marble that built the Parthenon was quarried. We will also talk about the monuments found on these two hills, plus those we can see below.

Duration: variable

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Sounion Tour

Cape Sounion is the tip of Attica, the peninsula where Athens is located, famous for its Temple of Poseidon, marvelous views of the sea and stunning sunsets.

A late tour is recommended, timed to coincide with the sunset.

Duration: variable

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Battle of Marathon Tour

Marathon is the site of one of the most important battles of antiquity, one that perhaps determined the future of Europe.

The tour includes a visit to the monument and museum of the site, plus an analytic description of the battle and the surrounding history.

Duration: variable

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Athens Mythology Tour

A tour which places emphasis on the myths associated with the various sites and landmarks of ancient Athens. It includes:

1. Visit to the Acropolis
2. Visit to Areopagus (Hill of Mars, where the first mythical court passed judgement)
3. Visit to the southern slope of the Acropolis, associated with Dionysus

During the visit the myths associated with the sites are narrated.

Duration: about 3 hours

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Athens Jewish Tour

Jewish presence in Athens dates from as early as the 3^rd century BCE, probably even earlier, but few Jewish monuments survive to this day.

The tour includes:

1. Walk through the neighborhoods where Jewish population was mostly concentrated (there was no ghetto), with a running commentary on their history.
2. Visit to the Ancient Agora, where the Ancient Synagogue was located.
3. Visit to the old and the new synagogues
4. Visit to the Holocaust memorial
5. Visit to the Jewish Museum of Greece.

Duration: about 3 hours

Note 1: I’m not Jewish and my knowledge of Judaism is fuzzy at best, so I will limit myself to providing the historic and social context of Jewish presence in Greece.

Note 2: This tour may be taken as an extension of the Plaka tour.

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Athens Muslim Tour

Centuries of Ottoman occupation endowed Athens with several structures which were nearly all destroyed in the Greek War of Independence.

The tour includes what remains:

1. The Tzistaraki Mosque at Monastiraki Square
2. The Conqueror’s Mosque near the Roman Forum
3. The Madrasa, across from the latter
4. The Islamic Museum

 Duration: about 3 hours

Note 1: I’m not Muslim and I claim no knowledge of Islam, so I will limit myself to providing the historic and social context of Muslim presence in Greece.

Note 2: This tour may be taken as an extension of the Plaka tour.

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MAINLAND TOURS

 

The Palaistra of Olympia in spring.

The temple of Nemeian Zeus, Nemea, Greece

The tholos at Delphi

The same rocks, from a different angle.

The tours available for the Mainland are just too many to list here. Please contact me for details at arkoskinas@ymail.com. They may include any of the following:

Mycenai, Tiryns, Nafplio, Olympia, Delphi, Vergina, Sparta, Meteora and more.

ISLAND TOURS

 

Icaria island. From here.

The Aegean sea as seen from a ridge in Ikaria, Greece. From here.

The tours available for the Islands are too many to list here. Please contact me for details at arkoskinas@ymail.com. They may include any of the following:

Crete

Euboia

Saronic islands: Aegina, Angistri, Salamina, Hydra, Poros, Spetses

Cycladic islands: Amorgos, Andros, Delos, Folegandros, Ios, Kea, Kimolos, Kythnos, Milos, Mykonos, Naxos, Paros, Santorini, Serifos, Sifnos, Sikinos, Syros, Tinos

Dodecanese: Rhodes, Patmos, Symi, Tilos, Kos, Kalymnos, Karpathos, Kassos, Kastellorizo, Nisyros, Leros, Leipsoi, Halki, Astypalaia

Northern Sporades: Alonnisos, Skiathos, Skyros, Skopelos

Other Aegean islands: Chios, Lesbos, Lemnos, Samos, Ikaria, Samothrace, Thasos

Ionian Islands: Corfu, Kefalonia, Lefkada, Ithaca, Zakynthos, Paxoi, Atnipaxoi, Kythera, Antikythera, Elafonissos