DAY 1
Trieste, Italy
Up until the end of World War I, Trieste was the only port of the vast Austro-Hungarian Empire and therefore a major industrial and financial centre. In the early years of the 20th century, Trieste and its surroundings also became famous by their association with some of the most important names of Italian literature, such as Italo Svevo, and English and German letters. James Joyce drew inspiration from the city’s multiethnic population, and Rainer Maria Rilke was inspired by the seacoast west of the city. Although it has lost its importance as a port and a centre of finance, it has never fully lost its roll as an intellectual centre. The streets hold a mix of monumental, neoclassical, and art-nouveau architecture built by the Austrians during Trieste’s days of glory, granting an air of melancholy stateliness to a city that lives as much in the past as the present.
Arrive: 30/10/2023- Depart: 30/10/2023
DAY 2
Split, Croatia
Split’s ancient core is so spectacular and unusual that a visit is more than worth your time. The heart of the city lies within the walls of Roman emperor Diocletian’s retirement palace, which was built in the 3rd century AD. Upon his death, Diocletian was laid to rest in an octagonal mausoleum, around which Split’s magnificent cathedral was built. In 615, when Salona was sacked by barbarian tribes, those fortunate enough to escape found refuge within the stout palace walls and divided up the vast imperial apartments into more modest living quarters. Thus, the palace developed into an urban centre, and by the 11th century the settlement had expanded beyond the ancient walls. Today the historic centre of Split is included on UNESCO’s list of World Heritage Sites.
Arrive: 31/10/2023- Depart: 31/10/2023
DAY 3
Bari, Italy
Bari, capital of the province of Apulia, lies on southern Italy’s Adriatic coast. Its busy port is a leading commercial and industrial centre as well as a transit point for travellers catching ferries across the Adriatic to Greece. Bari comprises a new and an old town. To the north, on a promontory between the old and new harbours, lies the picturesque old town, or Citta Vecchia, with a maze of narrow, crooked streets. To the south is the spacious and regularly planned new town, which has developed considerably since 1930, when the Levant Fair was first held here. The heart of the modern town is Piazza della Liberta. The busy thoroughfare, Corso Vittorio Emanuele II, separates the new town from the old. At the eastern end of the Corso begins the Lungomare Nazario Sauro, a magnificent seafront promenade that runs along the old harbour.
Arrive: 01/11/2023- Depart: 01/11/2023
DAY 4
Kotor, Montenegro
Backed by imposing mountains, tiny Kotor lies hidden from the open sea, tucked into the deepest channel of the Bokor Kotorska (Kotor Bay), which is Europe’s most southerly fjord. To many, this town is more charming than its sister UNESCO World Heritage Site, Dubrovnik, retaining more authenticity, but with fewer tourists and spared the war damage and subsequent rebuilding which has given Dubrovnik something of a Disney feel. Kotor’s medieval Stari Grad (Old Town) is enclosed within well-preserved defensive walls built between the 9th and 18th centuries and is presided over by a proud hilltop fortress. Within the walls, a labyrinth of winding cobbled streets leads through a series of splendid paved piazzas, rimmed by centuries-old stone buildings. The squares are now haunted by strains from buskers but although many now house trendy cafés and chic boutiques, directions are still given medieval-style by reference to the town’s landmark churches.
Arrive: 02/11/2023- Depart: 02/11/2023
DAY 5
At sea
Arrive: 03/11/2023- Depart: 03/11/2023
DAY 6
Kavala, Greece
Kavala is a picturesque coastal city in northern Greece, known for its historic sites, beautiful beaches and charming old town.
Arrive: 04/11/2023- Depart: 04/11/2023
DAY 7
Istanbul, Turkey
The only city in the world that can lay claim to straddling two continents, Istanbul—once known as Constantinople, capital of the Byzantine and then the Ottoman Empire—has for centuries been a bustling metropolis with one foot in Europe and the other in Asia. Istanbul embraces this enviable position with both a certain chaos and inventiveness, ever evolving as one of the world’s most cosmopolitan crossroads. It’s often said that Istanbul is the meeting point of East and West, but visitors to this city built over the former capital of two great empires are likely to be just as impressed by the juxtaposition of old and new. Office towers creep up behind historic palaces, women in chic designer outfits pass others wearing long skirts and head coverings, peddlers’ pushcarts vie with battered old Fiats and shiny BMWs for dominance of the noisy, narrow streets, and the Grand Bazaar competes with modern shopping malls. At dawn, when the muezzin’s call to prayer resounds from ancient minarets, there are inevitably a few hearty revellers still making their way home from nightclubs and bars.
Arrive: 05/11/2023- Depart: 06/11/2023
DAY 9
Izmir, Turkey
Composed of nine metropolitan districts, Izmir is the third largest city in Turkey and the country’s second largest port after Istanbul.
Arrive: 07/11/2023- Depart: 07/11/2023
DAY 10
Crete (Heraklion), Greece
Having been controlled by Arabic, Venetian and Ottoman empires over the years – it’s no surprise that Heraklion is a diverse patchwork of exotic cultures and historical treasures. Celebrated as the birthplace of the Spanish Renaissance artist, El Greco, you can visit to explore the storied ruins of the Minoan empire’s capital, and unearth the rich cultural treasures that Crete’s bustling modern capital has to offer.
Arrive: 08/11/2023- Depart: 08/11/2023
DAY 11
Athens (Piraeus), Greece
Just beyond the Athen’s southern fringes is Piraeus, a bustling port city of waterside fish tavernas and Saronic Gulf views. It’s no wonder that all roads lead to the fascinating and maddening metropolis of Athens. Lift your eyes 200 feet above the city to the Parthenon, its honey-colour marble columns rising from a massive limestone base, and you behold architectural perfection that has not been surpassed in 2,500 years. But, today, this shrine of classical form dominates a 21st-century boomtown. To experience Athens fully is to understand the essence of Greece: ancient monuments surviving in a sea of cement, startling beauty amid the squalor, tradition juxtaposed with modernity. Locals depend on humour and flexibility to deal with the chaos; you should do the same. The rewards are immense. Although Athens covers a huge area, the major landmarks of the ancient Greek, Roman, and Byzantine periods are close to the modern city centre.
Arrive: 09/11/2023- Depart: 09/11/2023
