Corfu, Pelion & Athens Greece

Depending on your flights, it might be advisable to come in a pre tour night so you are rested and ready to get together for an evening meal as a group and meet our guide, Christina. 

Please indicate on your registration form if you wish a pre tour night at time of registration so we can confirm.

https://www.acrotel.gr/elea-beach/

Elea Beach Hotel is a 4-star hotel boasting an outdoor salt-water pool as well as freshwater pool surrounded by gardens. All rooms off Air/con, Coffee & Tea facilities, Free wifi, Fridge, Hairdryer, TV

Evening meal at hotel to meet each other and Christina Lambert, our tour guide in Corfu and Athens. Christina now lives and gardens on Corfu after many years of plant cultivation in Athens.

Welcome Dinner Included

Depart 09.30 by coach for a visit to the iconic Vlacherna Monastery, built on a small island off the coast accessible via a short walkway. https://www.mykerkyra.com/en/vlacherna-monastery/

Return to coach and drive to Achilleion Palace The former summer residence of Empress Elisabeth of Austria, also known as Sissi Schlösschen, is currently closed for restoration work and only the garden is open to visitors. However we hope both will be open for our tour.

https://atcorfu.com/corfu-achillion-palace/

A very special treat for you today … Christina, our guide, has invited us to her place of work, the large Stockdale Estate at Gastouri,  where they are planning new gardens as well as renovations to existing ones. They have offered us lunch AND we will also meet Rachel Weaving, author of ‘Gardens of Corfu’. Rachel would love to share some of her vast knowledge on the history of Corfu gardens with you plus she will sign copies of her book if you choose to buy one. We had the pleasure of meeting Rachel on our last visit there and I know you will all love getting to know her. Please, if you want a copy of her book and want to reserve it so you have one, let me know and when together she will sign your copy so you can get a photo of that.

‘‘What makes a garden Corfiot? Certain ingredients based on local craft traditions appear in gardens both old and new, and form elements of a Corfiot style:

• Stonework for building, terracing, and ornament;

• Wrought ironwork, often using patterns based on old Venetian models; and

• Big terracotta urns like those that were once used for storing and exporting olive oil.

• Corfu gardeners also make quite distinctive plant choices: olive, citrus, and, in the last thirty years, native pencil cypress trees, are favorites, as are wisteria, jasmine, and orange trumpet vine. People also noticeably choose plants for their scent.

And a tradition that Corfu shares with the rest of Greece is the avlí—the courtyard garden close to the house—in which people grow both flowers and fruit.’ Rachel Weaving

After lunch transfer to Corfu town for a wonderful guided walk of around 2 hours…After our guided walk you have free time in Corfu and can either go back to hotel for dinner at hotel (return by bus or taxi) or stay in Corfu for dinner (return by taxi) at your leisure.

Breakfast & Lunch Included with dinner on own

Corfu has many beautiful gardens, large and small. We will visit some of the gardens in Rachel’s book. This will be a full day tour by coach at a leisurely pace and we will see parts of the island which we will not visit later while on Corfu. Expect to visit some of the smaller, more personal gardens. Lunch will be a picnic in a suitable location, possibly an olive oil tasting centre, depending on which gardens we visit      https://gardensofcorfu.com/      and   https://gardensofcorfu.com/about

Breakfast and Picnic Lunch Included with dinner on own

Depart 9 am for visit to the beautiful and extensive and very private Rothschild Estate, Kassiopi, with its many varied landscapes and rich history.  A spectacular garden on an estate which occupies the two peninsulas at Kanonas and Strongilo overlooking the coast of Albania, the Rothschild Estate is a place which has been nurtured by three generations of the same family and skillfully embraces the wild landscape. The natural rock formations contribute a dramatic element with a former quarry transformed into a great pool by the Spanish architect Xavier Barba. Here pendulous forms of fragrant clumped rosemary on the cliff face and a long tightly-clipped undulating hedge of rosemary define views of the sea and wild mountains beyond. From the moment I walked through the archway of this garden I knew it was going to be special and dare I say extraordinary…

Did you know?  The villa has often hosted both royals and celebrities, while it was a favourite summer retreat for Princess Diana.

Lunch at Kerasia Taverna right by the beach

Afternoon visit to two exceptional private gardens in north-eastern Corfu – Lamari and Sto Dasos and return inland to the hotel.

Breakfast & Lunch Included with dinner on own

Depart early by coach to catch ferry to Igoumenitsa, port for entry to mainland Greece.  Time to eat our breakfast box as we cross the strait to the mainland.

Our route takes us through the mighty Pindus mountains and we will have a stop for lunch at Ioannina lake.  We pass through Kalambaka, home of the perched monasteries at Meteora and will make a short stop at Volos marina for a refreshment and short walk by the yacht harbour. We then follow the Pagasitic coast of the Pelion peninsula to the traditional hilltop village of Lafkos.

Our hotel for the next few days will be at Lagou Raxi Country Hotel.  This is the hotel of my ground handler, Sue, and you will love it.  One of the most glorious views across the pool area where you can sit and enjoy your morning coffee or evening drink.  The hotel is surrounded by gardens as well…draw a bit, read a bit – lots of books and magazines there –  and even take part in botanical painting if you wish…the village is a short walk away and really charming.

http://www.lagouraxi.com/

Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner Included

After breakfast we leave for an amazing drive by coach along the Aegean sea, with spectacular views across to the Sporadic islands and maybe even Mt. Athos. We visit another very special private garden – Serpentin Garden Tsagarada   http://www.serpentin-garden.com/contact.html)

We drive down to the sea for lunch at Karagatsi Taverna – Damouchari.  If you watched the movie Mama Mia do you remember where they did the dance scene on the dock? Well this is where we will have lunch …. the film location. (When I was there, the dock was gone but not my memories.) the food, the little village to stroll in, the ambiance of it all…joyful.

On return the private garden of botanist Gereon Bueschges and his wife Karin with wonderful views west across the Pagassitic Gulf.  House and garden nestled in an ancient olive grove.

Breakfast & Lunch Included with dinner on own … we are thinking of having dinner in the local square in Lafkos with Sue who runs Lagou Raxi as well as the Mediterranean Centre for Art, Gardens, Plants and Design. It was such a lovely experience before. https://www.volosinfo.gr/discover/lafkos-village/

Morning free or take the opportunity to try your hand at Botanical Illustration before a snack of your choice at hotel followed by local wine tasting at Milea winery https://milea-winery.business.site/#gallerym

We enjoyed this so much, just sitting and sipping while the sun set enveloped in a sea of grape vines.

Breakfast and Wine Tasting and on our way back from the winery, a very tasty treat!

In the morning we will visit by coach first a Greek pottery museum and after that to Heart and Fire Cretan Pots, a gardening centre where there is a large collection of typical Greek pots.  Landscape gardener Lily Bakratsa-Papantoniou, who has studied and worked in London, will talk about how to choose and place pots, as well as giving some valuable ideas for how to mix plants for the best ongoing results.

Picnic lunch in a large garden nearby where the owners have successfully combined olive trees left in situ alongside new dwarf fruiting trees to create a small orchard and a large vegetable garden.  (They also have geese, ducks and other animals!)

Breakfast, Picnic Lunch and Dinner Included

Early departure from Pelion for drive to Marathonas, north of Athens.  (Breakfast box on coach.)

Visit to Ioannis Gryllis Water Lilies.  This is nursery which is constantly evolving with much more to see than the water lilies.  Ioannis’s mother will prepare lunch for us (incredible home cooking and such a lovely warm family) while we stroll around the grounds and marvel at the range of grasses, Mediterranean plants and specialist varieties which are on display.  Ioannis is fascinated by unusual plants and will let you see some of his collection and show you some of his newer garden ideas resulting from his overseas travels…you will frankly be amazed at how much there is here.

‘Gryllis Water Lilies was founded in 2011 by Ioannis Gryllis, Agronomist, M.Sc. Landscape Architect at first specializing in the production of aquatic plants. The company’s headquarters and production facility is located in Marathon where you can find a wide variety of plants (over 400 species) suitable for ponds but also for garden planting. Nursery for ornamental aquatic & aquatic plants, ornamental grasses, shade plants, perennial herbs, exotic plants, and xylosophytes. ‘Our love for the plants that started as a hobby, combined with the university studies, contribute to our excellent training and experience, with the construction and supply of plants in Greece and abroad.’

https://www.grylliswaterlilies.gr/

Continue by coach to our Hotel in Athens.      TBC

Breakfast Box, Lunch and Dinner included

Sparoza Garden is the home of the Mediterranean Garden Society which has branches and members throughout the world in Mediterranean climate regions (for example California, South and West Australia, South Africa, European countries in the Mediterranean basin, Israel and Chile)

This garden has a fascinating history and you can read more about it and the MGS at

https://www.mediterraneangardensociety.org/sparoza.html

Did you know? If it weren’t for an olive tree, Poseidon might have been the city’s patron. According to mythology Athena and Poseidon competed for the title of the guardian of the city. They each offered a gift to gain favour of its people and the gods, but Athena’s olive tree was deemed more valuable than the salt water spring given by Poseidon, so her name was given to the city-state. The Olive Tree symbolizes Peace and Prosperity.

Nearby is the fascinating Vorres Museum where a light  lunch at ‘To Cafe’ is available before a visit to the gardens 

I have to tell you that I was so taken with this place, loved every square inch of the folk art museum and those gardens… wow. The Vorres Museum is a cultural foundation that was established in 1983, with the purpose of promoting Greek art and culture, through a broad spectrum of activities, from the organization of exhibitions in Greece and abroad, to educational programs for children.

The Vorres Museum which sprawls over six acres, is divided into two main sections: the museum of contemporary Greek art and the folk art museum, both of which house collections that cover at least 2500 years of Greek history. The whole complex is laid out in a way that showcases the Greek spirit in a unique fashion. In the contemporary part, one of the most important and representative collections of its kind in the world is exhibited, comprising paintings, installations and sculptures by leading Greek artists, displaying a Greek interpretation of most of the international artistic currents of the second half of the 20th century. The folk art section, is an extraordinary complex of 19th century buildings, courtyards and gardens or rather a re-adaptation and readjustment of traditional Greek architectural features housing antiquities, icons, ceramics, popular artifacts and objects used in daily Greek life centuries ago, in a manner, revealing their inherent beauty and their practical use.

The gardens, wild and consisting almost entirely of Mediterranean flora are an indispensable part of the museum being described by many as the most beautiful gardens in Athens.

https://www.vorresmuseum.gr/content/93/the-gardens-/eng

We will then move on to the gardens of Liberto Dario in the same area.  Liberto grows flowers for seed which he originally collects in the wild.  His collection is huge and the compact gardens are fully stocked, particularly in May…He is an incredible and passionate plants person…you will really enjoy this visit!

https://www.facebook.com/liberto.dario

Breakfast and Lunch Included with dinner on own

Today, after a later breakfast we have a unique visit planned…a public space that includes the Greek National Opera, the National Library of Greece as well as the Stavros Niarchos Park, one of the largest green areas in Athens. The SNFCC was created thanks to an exclusive grant by the Stavros Niarchos Foundation, which delivered it to the Greek State upon completion and it is supervised by the Greek Ministry of Finance.

The Stavros Niarchos Park, a modern Landscape Architecture project, has been designed in accordance with the principles of sustainability, ecosystems and the alternations of a place that is in constant evolution. It is a welcoming and open space, with plantings and a character that reflects the Mediterranean landscape. Occupying 85% of the SNFCC’s total area, Stavros Niarchos Park stretches over an area of 21 hectares. It is home to a rich variety of flora, including olive trees, evergreen shrubs, carob trees, laurels, cypress trees, as well as an extensive selection of indigenous Greek aromatic plants. Plants were selected and arranged with an eye to providing a variety of seasonal blooming and creating exciting color schemes and textures. The Park includes 16 tree species and 161 shrub species, a variety of grasses and bulbs. Greece’s strong horticultural tradition is celebrated in the open, sunlit Mediterranean Garden. The plant palette alone makes the garden a destination: evergreen and other endemic plants such as boxwood, coronilla, cistus, and lentisc, salvia, oregano, thyme, lavender, rosemary, roses and euphorbias – all add to the sensual pleasure of a visit. Each month brings a new color, and each season introduces a different combination of flowers or foliage.

https://www.snfcc.org/en/snfcc/stavros-niarchos-park

https://www.snfcc.org/en

https://www.snfcc.org/en/snfcc/architecture

Lunch at Thalassino restaurant, very close to Gardens of the SNFCC . Taxis back to hotel (5 minutes)

Breakfast and Lunch Included with dinner on own

Acropolis and Parthenon…As thought and art flourished, an exceptional group of artists put into effect the ambitious plans of Athenian statesman Pericles and under the inspired guidance of the sculptor Pheidias, transformed the rocky hill into a unique monument of thought and the arts. The most important monuments were built during that time. The Acropolis of Athens is an ancient citadel located on a rocky outcrop above the city of Athens and contains the remains of several ancient buildings of great architectural and historic significance, the most famous being the Parthenon.

https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/404/

Afterwards we will visit the Acropolis museum to enjoy our Farewell lunch in the Acropolis Museum restaurant before our visit. The museum was built to house every artifact found on the rock and on the surrounding slopes, from the Greek Bronze Age to Roman and Byzantine Greece. It also lies over the ruins of a part of Roman and early Byzantine Athens.

https://www.theacropolismuseum.gr/en

Then the rest of the day/evening at leisure after we spend a bit of time in the Plaka area…returning with the group to the hotel or staying on and making your own way back. We will set a time for this…

One of my favorite neighborhoods in Athens, in the shadow of the Acropolis, the Plaka is like a village within the city, an island for those who don’t have the time to visit the Greek Islands. The Plaka is the oldest section of Athens. Most of the streets have been closed to automobile traffic, though you should still keep a watchful eye for a speeding motorcycle or delivery truck. At one time it was the nightclub district, but most of these closed down when the government outlawed amplified music in the neighborhood in the seventies in an effort to get rid of undesirables. The strategy was very successful and it is now an area of restaurants, jewelry stores, tourist shops, and cafes. Though it is quite commercialized it is still a neighborhood and arguably the nicest neighborhood in central Athens.

https://www.athensguide.com/the-plaka/index.html

Did you know? When crossing the streets in Greece, use caution as drivers don’t generally pay attention to pedestrian crossings. It’s so crazy in fact that a driver is more likely to make a sharp turn around you than actually slow down or stop to let you cross.

Breakfast, Farewell Lunch included with dinner on your own.

Transfers to Athens International Airport from hotel on your own– confirm with hotel concierge