Pre-conference dinner on Wednesday 13th October at Daphne’s restaurant in the Plaka district (7.30pm to 10.30pm – meet in lobby at 7.15pm for short walk to the restaurant)

Daphne’s is a celebrated restaurant only a short distance from hotel where we can meet, after a welcome drink, to catch up with colleagues and friends before the conference. Frescoes adorn the walls of this neo-classical 1830s former home, which includes a shady garden courtyard displaying bits of ancient marble found on-site. The food - recommended by the New York Times, Travel + Leisure, gives you all the old favourites with new distinction.

Cost per person: £60.00

Group dinner - Thursday, 14th October – external dinner and traditional musical entertainment (8.30pm to 10.30pm) - meet in lobby at 7.15pm

Thursday night has traditionally become an informal evening when we can celebrate traditional local cuisine and entertainment.  For dinner we will go to the Geros Toy Moria restaurant by foot from the hotel, which requires a final steep climb of some steps (not too many!). But before we get there, on the same route and to break up our short journey, we will make a short detour to a bar in Lyssikratous square for a drink kindly hosted by our Athens based member firm of Katsaounis & Associates… and then onto the restaurant with traditional Greek family style cuisine and music.

Cost per person: £60.00

Group city tour (by bus) - Friday, 15th October (2.45pm to 5.45pm – meet in lobby at 2.30pm)

This is a short guided discovery tour of Athens city by air-conditioned bus. We will see the Constitution Square - Syntagma, the House of Parliament (stop for photos) and the Memorial to the Unknown Soldier. Driving down Herod Atticus Street, we will see the Evzones in their traditional uniform and the Presidential Palace. On our way to the Acropolis we will see the Hadrian’s Arch, the Temple of Olympian Zeus and we will make a short stop at the Panathenaic Stadium where the first Olympic Games of the modern era were held in 1896. Finally, we will walk up to the Sacred Rock of Acropolis in order to visit the Parthenon, the Herodus Atticus Odeon, the Propylaia, the Temple of Athena Nike (no, it is not sponsored!) and the Erechtheion.

Cost per person: £35.00
(Includes English speaking guide)

Gala dinner at the Royal Olympic Hotel- Friday, 16th October (7.30pm to 10.30pm)

On Friday evening there will be a dinner in a rooftop room at the hotel, with stunning night time views towards the Acropolis, preceded by a drinks reception. After dinner, there will be the ‘famous’ World Link for Law quiz.  

Cost per person: £75.00

Spouse/guest excursions on Thursday and Friday
 
Thursday 14th October –Plaka ‘old town’ walking tour (10.00am-2.00pm – meet in lobby at 9.45am)

Starting from the Royal Olympic Hotel after breakfast this guided walking tour will discover the area below the Acropolis; the narrow small streets of the old town as well as numerous places of interest along the way. Lunch will be taken in a typical tavern.

A walk through the oldest neighbourhood in Athens reveals hundreds of shops from kitchy tourist to the workshops of some great artisans. There are also some little ‘ouzeries’ to see that are cozy when it is too cold to sit outside - the famous Brettos distillery on Kydatheneon could be in this top 10 list on its own. There are ancient Greek and Roman ruins scattered around as well as some beautiful 19th century and older buildings and several Byzantine churches. Let’s not forget Anafiotika, the neighbourhood closest to the stone slope of the Acropolis where you can wander around and feel like you are on an island in the middle of the Aegean instead of in the middle of a city.

Cost per person: £60.00
(Includes English speaking guide, round trip bus transfer and light lunch with soft drinks.)

Friday 15th October – The Benaki Museum; and shopping tour
(9.30am to 1.30pm – meet in lobby at 9.15am)

Depart from hotel by mini-bus to The Benaki Museum, one of the most famous museums in Greece, which guides the visitor through all eras of Greek history from ancient times to the present. The Benaki collection totals more than 40,000 items of art and artefacts, illustrating the character of the Greek world from antiquity and the age of Roman domination to the medieval Byzantine period; from the fall of Constantinople (1453) and the centuries of Frankish and Ottoman occupation to the outbreak of the struggle for independence in 1821; and from the formation of the modern state of Greece (1830) down to 1922, the year in which the Asia Minor disaster took place. After the visit, time permitting, the guide will take the group to the designer shopping area of Kolonaki, which is close by to the museum. A light lunch will be taken in the old town.

Cost per person: £65.00
(Includes English speaking guide, round trip bus transfer, museum entrance fees and light lunch with soft drinks).

Saturday 16th October - Full day Argolis/Peloponnese excursion (9.15am to 6.45/7.00pm– meet in lobby at 9.00am)

We depart by coach after breakfast for a full day excursion to Mycenae (ancient archaeological sites); Nafplion (former capital and coastal fortress town); the theatre of Epidaurus (Roman and famed for its acoustic qualities); and the Corinth canal.

Firstly we drive along the coastal road by the Saronic Gulf to the Corinth Canal, which connects the Aegean Sea with the Ionian Sea - short stop here to walk the canal bridge or have refreshment. Then we pass across to Peloponnese and we continue our drive to Mycenae, the legendary home city of the Atreides dynasty. We will visit the Lions Gate, the Cyclopean Walls, and King Agamemnon’s Tomb. Driving through the fertile Argolis region and the town of Argos, once one of the most important “cities-states” of the past, we will arrive at Nafplion, a picturesque seaside town, which was the first capital of modern Greece. Special places of interest are the Palamidi Fortress and Bourtzi Castle. Here, we will also have lunch - fried squid; octopus; fish roe cream; mixed salad; sea bream and desserts. After our stop at Nafplion, we head off to Epidaurus to visit the sanctuary of Asklepios, as well as the Theatre of Epidaurus. We return to Athens by the national road connecting Epidaurus with Corinth late in the afternoon.

Cost per person: £100.00 (including entrance fees and lunch with wine, water etc and soft drinks on the bus)

Saturday 17th October – Evening dinner in the city (to be arranged - depending on interest)

Cost per person: To be advised (about £40 including all drinks and transfers)