THE GLORY OF BYZANTIUM 1 DAY TOUR

Feel the hundreds of years of history in this one day tour that focus in the byzantine period.
Departure from Loutraki in the morning. After a short trip we will be in Athens, the capital of GREECE.
Our first stop will be the byzantine museum of Athens, which was founded in 1914 and houses more than 25.000 artefacts from between the 3rd and 20th century ad. The size and range of the collections and value of the exhibits makes the museum a veritable treasure of byzantine art and culture. This collection represents the artistic production of GREECE, and other regions both central and peripheral of the byzantine empire and subsequently of Hellenism on into post-byzantine times.
We then continue with a visit to the Benaki museum. This group of collections comprises many distinct categories totaling more than 40,000 items, illustrating the character of the Greek world through a spectacular historical panorama: 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 a short drive through the city center, we will visit the monastery of Kesariani. This 11th-century monastery located in the beautiful green slopes of mount Hymettos, is dedicated to the presentation of virgin Mary. It was built above the ruins of an ancient temple possibly dedicated to the goddess Demeter whose parts can be seen in the yard of the church. After visiting this well preserved byzantine monastery, we will have lunch in a traditional Greek tavern.
Return to Loutraki in the afternoon