Day 1: Arrival

Settle-in to your city centre hotel in Thessaloniki, Greece’s vibrant second city with a wonderful waterfront location. Your tour director will be on hand to help you get acquainted with your surroundings. Depending on arrival times, a welcome meeting and included dinner will be held either today or tomorrow.

Day 2: Thessaloniki

For our first full day, we get to know Thessaloniki, a city which has been strategically important since it was founded by the Macedonian King Cassander in the 4th century BC in honour of Alexander’s half-sister, Thessalonike. By Roman times, its position on the Via Egnatia, which led from the Adriatic to Byzantium, made it vital to the Roman Empire, and the city went on to become the co-capital of the Byzantine Empire alongside Constantinople.

We start in the ancient heart of the city, where the Greek agora and Roman forum once stood, and where we now find the Roman theatre and bath complex, and a museum occupying one of the ancient stoai of the forum. From late antiquity, when Thessaloniki was the residence of the emperor Galerius, we discover the emperor’s palace, monumental arch and burial tomb. Listed as World Heritage sites, these Paleochristian and Byzantine Monuments of Thessaloniki underscore the important role the city played in the development of Christianity. The most notable treasures are the mosaics of Galerius’s tomb, the so-called Rotunda, and the mosaics of the Church of St Demetrius, both considered among the great masterpieces of early Christian art.

We discover yet more treasures in the impressive Thessalonki Archaeological Museum, which features artefacts discovered throughout ancient Macedonia, including rare masterpieces such as the Derveni krater, perhaps the most important Hellenistic drinking vessel in the Greek world.

Day 3: Amphipolis and Philippi

Today we venture to Amphipolis and Philippi, two extraordinary sites with long histories extending from the Classical to the early Christian periods. We start with Amphipolis, site of the 5th century BC battle which claimed the lives of both the Athenian and Spartan commanders, namely Cleon and Brasidas. It was also from this city that Alexander launched his Asian campaign and it was here that his wife, Roxana, and young son, Alexander IV, were dramatically murdered. The site has extensive city walls and the precious remains of the ancient wooden bridge built over the river Strymon, but perhaps the most photogenic monument is the magnificent Lion of Amphipolis, once a funerary monument. The site’s museum contains the extraordinary silver ossuary and gold crown of Brasidas, as well as gold jewellery from the neighbouring Kastra tomb.

In the afternoon we visit the equally wonderful site of Philippi, where Caesar’s assassins, Brutus and Cassius were defeated in 42 BC. Named after Alexander’s father, Philip II, who re-founded the city because of its proximity to important gold mines, the city was colonised at the end of the 1st century BC by Roman soldiers settled by Octavian. Declared a World Heritage Site, Philippi has extensive remains dating from the Hellenistic, Roman and early Christian periods. Dominating the site are the remains of the well-preserved 4th century theatre, the prominent Roman forum, and several Christian basilicas which pay homage to the city’s connection with Saint Paul. The site museum has a fine collection of statues.

Day 4: Agios Athanasios and Pella

On our way to Pella, the main site of today, we stop off at the lovely village of Agios Athanasios to see the spectacular Macedonian tomb whose frescoes are some of the best-preserved of all the underground tombs for which Macedonia is so famous. Continuing to Pella, we arrive at the largest city in Macedonian before the Roman conquest, and birthplace of both Alexander and his formidable father, Philip II. The archaeological site reveals a perfectly laid out city, dominated by an agora and equipped with a pioneering water supply system. The city is famed for its elite houses, some of which were decorated with exquisite pebble mosaics, including the House of the Abduction of Helen which contains one of the largest mosaics in Greece. The most elite residence of all was, of course, the royal palace used by both Philip II and Alexander, which served also as an administrative centre. We also find a well-preserved Hellenistic bath complex and a fabulous site museum which exhibits some of the most finely crafted mosaics from any period anywhere in the Mediterranean.

Day 5: Dion

This morning, we set off to the foothills of Mount Olympus, the mythical home of the gods. Here, we explore the archaeological site of Dion, named after its Sanctuary to Olympian Zeus, and made hugely important in the 5th century BC by the institution of a nine-day annual religious festival directly managed by the Macedonian royal family. The city blossomed further in the 4th century BC as the most important sacred city of the Macedonians. The main sanctuary contains a victory monument erected by Alexander, once beautified by a sculptural group designed by Lysippus, one of the greatest sculptors of the 4th century BC. It was here that Alexander, who saw himself as the son of Zeus, sought the aid of the king of the gods before setting out for the East. The city was surrounded by a wall circuit and, like Pella, was laid out in neatly arranged streets, amongst which we find other gems, including a 2nd century AD bath complex, the magnificent Villa of Dionysus, and two theatres, one Hellenistic and the other Roman. The site’s museum is notable for its impressive hydraulic organ, the earliest known archeological example of a water-powered pipe organ, as well as the well-preserved mosaic of Dionysus found in the eponymous villa.

Day 6: Lefkadia, Mieza and Edessa

We have a feast of sites to visit today, starting with the wonderful Macedonian tumulus tombs of Lefkadia, on the outskirts of the ancient city of Mieza. Pride of place goes to the Tomb of Judgement, a superbly preserved early 3rd century BC underground tomb made up of an antechamber and a Doric tomb famed for its stunning facade, whose frescos depict battle scenes with Hermes, the god who led the dead to the afterlife, and two judges of the dead, Aeacus and Rhadamanthus. Only slightly less spectacular, the nearby 3rd century Tomb of the Palmettes contains wonderful floral decorations, as well as an unusual depiction of an elderly man and woman banqueting together.
The ancient city of Mieza is closely tied to Alexander as it is believed that it was here where he was taught by the famous Aristotle, probably in the stoai, or porticos, which likely served as Aristotle’s School. Mieza also includes a small 2nd century BC theatre, discovered only in the 1990s.

After lunch, we visit the Archaeological Site of Longos, in modern Edessa, where we see the impressive remains of the 4th century BC city walls, including a well-preserved gate, and the monumentalised street flanked by warehouses and shops. In the Roman period, the city’s prosperity was increased by the fact that it was placed on the Via Egnatia, linking Byzantium (Istanbul) with Dyrrachium (Durres, on the Adriatic). We pick up the Via Egnatia again at our final stop of the day, the very scenic waterfalls of the Edessa waterfall park.

Day 7: Vergina

We have saved the most important site for the last day of the tour. Ancient Aigai, now located in the modern city of Vergina, was the original capital of ancient Macedonia, before it was transferred to Pella. Aigai is where Philip II was assassinated and where Alexander was crowned king. The enormous royal palace here is considered to be not only the biggest but, together with the Parthenon, one of the most significant buildings of Classical Greece. Once covered in mosaics and beautifully decorated, it has recently been painstakingly restored, re-erecting thirty of its columns and bringing its mosaics back to life. A short walk away, we also visit the city’s ancient theatre.

Pride of place in Aigai, though, goes to the extraordinary tombs of the Macedonian royal family, including Philip II, Philip III and Alexander’s young son, Alexander IV. Alexander himself was supposed to be buried here, near his father, but the funerary cortege carrying his body from Babylon was re-routed by Ptolemy Soter, who laid him to rest in Alexandria. The tombs were discovered only in the late 1970s and, amazingly, Philip II’s tomb had survived intact, preserving priceless treasures, such as his gold and silver diadem, his funerary pyre, and the stunning, gold larnax which housed his ashes. These artefacts, along with others including a gold funerary wreath belonging to Meda, one of Philip’s many wives, are housed in the sumptuous underground museum constructed in 1993.

This evening we include a farewell dinner, an opportunity to celebrate our time together exploring the wonders of Macedonia and the epic story of Alexander the Great.

Day 7: Departure

Time to head home, or why not stay longer in Greece?