Explore Athens on a 5-hour tour by air-conditioned minibus, and get a glimpse of the lost walls of the city, built by Themistocles, en route from Piraeus. Pick-ups can also be arranged from city hotels. Upon arrival in central Athens, drive to the iconic Acropolis, which has dominated the city’s skyline for 2,500 years. Enter the complex, at your own expense, to see sites such as the Parthenon, Erechtion, Propylea, Temple of Athena Nike, and Mars Hill. Experience Athens through the eyes of Socrates, Plato, and the Olympian Gods, and learn about the golden age of Perikleus, and the goddess of Athens that gave her name to the city. Admire the last remaining of the 104 Corinthian columns of the Temple of Olympian Zeus, the largest temple in Greece. Your next stop will be the Panathinaikon Stadium on the site of Lucurgus’s 4th-century BC stadium, rebuilt in 1896 for the revival of the Olympic Games. Visit the Zappeion in the National Gardens, built to house the Greek Parliament in 1869. Drive along Amalias Avenue, named after the first queen of Greece, and admire the parliament buildings and Syntagma Square. Travel along Panepistimiou Street, lined with the neoclassical buildings of the Nomismatic Museum, Academy, University, and National Library. Explore the downtown neighborhoods of Thission and Monastiraki to see the ancient Agora and Hellenistic era “Stoa of Attalus,” made from Pentelic marble and limestone. End your Athens tour in historic Plaka, with free time to stroll the pedestrianized, narrow streets of the old town, full of traditional Greek tavernas and tourist shops. En route back to Piraeus, stop by the Arc of Hadrian. One final stop will reveal where the 2004 Olympic Games were held at the dynamic Stadium of Peace and Friendship.