Classics Study Tours
Sadly, fewer schools than ever are teaching Latin and precious few Greek. For those of us with an abiding love of the classics and of the civilisations that they describe, little compares with a study visit to the Mediterranean lands where they flourished.
Although a longer stay is preferable, as little as three days in the Bay of Naples area, or in Rome or Athens, will give a real insight into the ancestors who gifted us philosophy, science, democracy and literature.
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Bay of Naples
To the Romans, this was Campania Felix – the Happy Land. As a result of the eruption of Vesuvius in 79 AD, the cities of Herculaneum and Pompeii on its lower slopes were obliterated, only to be preserved until the modern age as a record of ordinary daily life in a Roman town.
Our groups to the Bay of Naples visit both, together with tours to the rim of the volcano and to the Naples Museum, which contains the artefacts found during excavations.
Depending on time available and your own wishes, it is also possible to drive along the Amalfi Coast to the ancient Greek colony at Paestum.
You may combine this tour with some days in Rome – it’s only a little over two hours away.
Rome
The imperial capital still contains so many of the iconic sites of a great empire.
Our groups here visit the Colosseum and the Roman Forum, together with one of the catacombs. A trip out of the city takes you to Ostia Antica and the beautifully preserved ruins of the port city.
We recommend an excursion to Tivoli, to visit Hadrian’s Villa, a truly exceptional complex of classical buildings dating from the second century CE.
A tour to Rome may be extended to the Bay of Naples to take in the great archaeological sites of that area.
Athens
A few days in Athens, with excursions out of the city, can be a great way of visiting some of the major sites of Greek civilisation.
Our groups here typically spend their first day visiting the National Museum and the Parthenon on the Acropolis.
Then a day excursion to Mycenae and the theatre at Epidaurus, visiting Ancient Corinth en route.
Your third day’s excursion is to Delphi. This is still today a mystical place seemingly detached from the world below.
Athens and Olympia
In a six or seven day fully-guided tour, designed so that you do your sightseeing in the morning and travelling in air-conditioned coach in the afternoons, you may visit the National Museum and the Parthenon in Athens, Corinth, Mycenae and Epidaurus, just as in our Athens-only tour.
However, you will also travel on to ancient Sparta and to Nestor’s Palace at Pylos before experiencing the thrill of walking through the ancient stadium at Olympia.
From here, you head back towards Athens, with an overnight stop in Delphi and a morning visit to the Sanctuary en route.