Discovering Greece
Organized by the Italian MG Owners’ Club
Saturday September 21st Monday 30th, 2024
Dear friends, members and MG enthusiasts, next year our 2024 International IMGOC Meeting will take us to the Peloponnese peninsula in Greece, the cradle of Western civilisation, for ten days immersed in Greek culture. We have chosen four quality hotels from which we will explore Greek history, wonderful countryside, great beaches and superb food…all in the company of our shared passion…our MG’s!
Itinerary.
We will meet in Ancona, Saturday, 21st Sept 2024 and embark on the ferry to Patras. (Exact sailing times to follow).
Arriving in Greece on the afternoon of the 22nd, we will transfer to the beachside Aldmar Olympian Village hotel, located in the western Peloponnese, about 30km from Olympia, the first venue of the Olympic Games. We will spend two nights and relax in this luxurious five-star resort which overlooks a long sandy beach, washed by the crystal clear Ionian sea. The 23rd, Monday, will be a day of complete relaxation: sea (Blue Flag beach), swimming pools and for those who wish, short excursions to archaeological sites.
Tuesday 24th we will check out of the Aldmar hotel and drive to visit the city of Olympia where, according to the historian Timaeus in 776 BC. he saw the contest between the “Olympic” athletes for the first time. After Olympia a short drive to a taberna where we will refresh ourselves with a typical Greek lunch. Then our little British cars will be let loose along the road to Kalamata, the homeland of the olives of the same name .
In the afternoon of the 24th we arrive at the Grecotel Filoxenia Hotel for two more days of relaxation. Located at the foot of the Taygetos mountain range, the resort is surrounded by hectares of lush vegetation and a beach overlooking the blue Gulf of Messenia. Sea and swimming pool for everyone or visits to the surrounding area.
On Thursday the 26th we leave the Grecotel and drive north along beautiful country roads to reach Nauplia, the first capital of independent Greece. A characteristic bohemian and carefree town that will present itself to us in a combination of Venetian, oriental and typically Greek styles.
We will stay at the “The Grove Seaside” hotel and the following day, Friday 27th, we will visit two of the most important archaeological sites in Greece. Epidaurus with its astonishing theatre which has a circular stage, with a diameter of 20 meters, 55 rows with seats for 14,000 people, in an excellent state of conservation and with incredible acoustics. Later we will visit Mycenae, one of the most precious treasures of ancient Greece, hidden in the heart of the Peloponnese peninsula. Mycenae was home to the richest and most influential civilization that dominated the central Mediterranean between 1,600 and 1,200 BC.
The next day, Saturday the 28th, with a long excursion for our cars we will reach another important Greek archaeological sites, Delphi, which was considered the centre of the world since it was located between the communication routes running East and West. Furthermore, it was a very sacred place, as many people travelled there to ask questions of the Oracle. Nowadays, after the Acropolis in Athens, it is the second most visited archaeological site in Greece. On the way to Delphi we will cross the Corinth Canal, envisaged and started by the Emperor Nero in 67 AD and finally completed in 1893.
In Delphi, we stay at the Amalia hotel and on the morning of the 29th, Sunday, we will visit the temple of Apollo, the sanctuary of Athena, the theatre and the museum.
On the 30th we return to Patras for the return ferry to Ancona in the afternoon. The road takes us along the E65, through the valleys of centuries-old olive trees to descend towards the sea, then following the coast with breath-taking views and finally crossing the amazing 2.8 km long Rion-Antirion suspension bridge. After lunch at the Faro restaurant we board the ferry.
We look forward to seeing many of you for this next adventure!
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