ETS Europe Trips

Each spring ETS students have the opportunity to experience first hand much of the history we study in class. In even years, we travel to Italy and visit sites particularly relevant to GBT III students and during odd years, we visit sites in Greece particularly relevant to GBT II students.

Greece Promo Video
Italy Promo Video
Alumni Testimonials

Below are itineraries from past trips showing the sites we usually visit.

Italy

Thursday - Travel
Get up very early and make it to the airport on time, at least two hours early.

Friday - Rome –

Arrive Rome and go to hotel, Hotel Madison- Via Marsala #60
http://www.hotelmadisonrome.com/pdf/rome_map.pdf
* 1:30 - 6:00 Colosseum / Roman Forum
6:00 – 7:00 Dinner
7:00 – Freetime

Saturday – Rome –

7:30-8:30 Breakfast at Hotel
*9:00 Depart for Vatican
10:30 Vatican Museum (Busy on Saturday)
1:00 Lunch
2:00 St. Peter’s and St. Peter’s Dome
4:45 – 7:00 Dinner
7:00- Freetime

Sunday – Rome/Florence

7:30-8:30 Breakfast at Hotel
*9:30-12:00 Pantheon, S. Maria Sopra Minerva and other churches
12:00 – Lunch
2:00 -3:30 Train to FLORENCE
3:30 Walk to Hotel Casci – Via Cavour #13
http://www.hotelcasci.com/images/stories/pdf/how_to_reach_us.pdf
3:30-5:30 Walking tour of Florence
5:30 – 7:00 Dinner
7:00- Freetime

Monday – Florence

Museums closed! Free day

7:30-8:30 Breakfast at Hotel
FREE DAY
Suggestions- City of Pisa or Sienna – 10 E bus ticket
Venice 90 E train ticket

Tuesday – Florence

7:30-8:30 Breakfast at Hotel
9:30- Duomo / Baptistry
12:00-2:00 Lunch
2:00-4:00 Museo del Opera del Duomo
4:00- 9:00 Dinner and Freetime
9:15 La Boheme Opera – Pucini –
Tickets are 16e. If you would like to go, please reserve a ticket with Mrs. Carr by Friday March 12th.
http://www.classictic.com/en/La-Boheme-by-Giacomo-Puccini/11011/89157

Wednesday – Florence

7:30-8:30 Breakfast at Hotel
9:00 Talk on history of Medicis on San Lorenzo steps
*9:30-12:00 San Lorenzo / Medici Chapels
12:00 Lunch in Boboli Garden
Costume, Silver and Porcelain museums
Walk to Fort Belvedere and San Miniato al Monte
5:00 Gregorian Mass and singing afterwards in San Miniato
6:00 – 7:00 Dinner
7:00- 9:00 Freetime or concert (near P. della Seniora)

Thursday – Florence

7:30-8:30 Breakfast at Hotel
*9:30-12:00 Academia / Bargello
Talk on history of musical instruments at Academia
12:00 – 2:00 Lunch at Market of Ospedale degli Innocenti
Also, talk on history of science
*2:00-4:00 History of Science Museum
*4:00-5:30 Ognissanti
5:30 – 7:00 Dinner
7:00- 9:00 Freetime

Friday – Florence

7:00-8:00 Breakfast at Hotel
*8:15-11:00 Uffizi (Make sure to go early to avoid the crowds)
I will be getting us an entrance reservation
1:30 FREE AFTERNOON AND EVENING
Perhaps trip to Sienna or Pisa

Saturday – Florence/Rome

7:30-8:30 Breakfast at Hotel
9:00 DEPART FOR ROME
Take train from Florence to Rome Termini
2:00-6:00 Visit Ostia and Santa Maria Maggiore

Sunday – Rome/Home

5:30 AM Walk to train station
Take train from Rome Termini to airport

GREECE

ITINERARY FOR MARCH/APRIL 2017

DAY 1 – FRI, MARCH 31: ATHENS ARRIVAL TRANSFER AIRPORT- HOTEL IN ATHENS
Upon arrival to Athens International Airport “Eleftherios Venizelos” our representative will meet, welcome and assist in your transfer to hotel in Athens.

Check-in at Crystal City. Rest of the day at leisure. Dinner and overnight. (D)

DAY 2 – SAT, APRIL 1: ATHENS – ACROPOLIS & ANCIENT AGORA
At 7.30a.m. breakfast at hotel.

At 8:30a.m. we enjoy our sightseeing tour of Athens. We climb up to the marble-capped Acropolis and visit the famous Parthenon and the Erechtheion. We now have become time travelers! Then we will go to the nearby Mars' Hill (Areopagus) where Paul delivered his soul-stirring sermon to the giants of philosophy, logic and learning and spoke about the inscription: “to an unknown god”. 

We then walk to the Ancient Agora which was formerly the commercial hub of ancient Athens and birthplace of politics and philosophy. Here the Apostle Paul reasoned with the most sceptical audience he met in the course of his travels. We see the very well preserved Doric Temple of Hephaestus (or Thesseion) and the Stoa of Attalos, an arcade built by Attalos II, king of Pergamum, used as a retail market. Today it is used as museum, displaying statutes, pottery and especially coins. Socrates is known to have discussed philosophy with his friends in the Stoa of Zeus Eleftherios. He was indicted in the Stoa Basileios or royal portico, where the archon Basileus held his court. He was executed in the state prison here in 399 BC by the Strategeion.

After the tour return to hotel Crystal City for dinner and overnight in Athens. (B,D)

DAY 3 – SUN, APRIL 2: NEW ACROPOLIS MUSEUM & NATIONAL ARCHAEOLOGICAL MUSEUM

Breakfast at hotel.

At 9a.m. today we will explore the two important museums of Athens: the Acropolis Museum which was built to house all the findings excavated on the Acropolis Hill.

Here we will see findings from the Bronze Age to Roman and Byzantine Greece.

It lies on the archaeological site of Makrygianni and the ruins of a part of Roman and early Byzantine Athens. It was opened to the public on June 21, 2009. Nearly 4,250 objects are exhibited over an area of 14,000 square meters.

After a brief lunch stop we continue our sightseeing tour with a visit to the National Archaeological Museum. It is one of the most important museums of the entire Greece, which displays finds from all parts of the ancient Greek world, dating from Neolithic times all the way to the last years of the Roman Empire. Some of the statues will enthrall you; gold findings from tombs will amaze you with their intricacy and unparalleled beauty; and artifacts of all ages and places will astound you! Marble statues of goddess Athena, whose name the city of Athens has taken will leave you, mesmerized! After the visit return to hotel Crystal City for dinner and overnight. (B,D)

DAY 4 – MON, APRIL 3: CORINTH – EPIDAURUS – NAFPLION

Early breakfast at hotel.

At 8:00 a.m. we drive along the coastal road of the Saronic Gulf to ancient Corinth, passing by the Corinthian Canal, a four miles narrow cut of land, connecting the waters of the Saronic with the Corinthian Gulfs. We have a brief stop at Isthmus of Corinth to take pictures. 
Then continue on to visit Ancient Corinth. It was Corinth where the Apostle Paul lived and preached for a year and a half, and to this church he wrote two of his New Testament letters.

We see all of the Greek and Roman sites associated with his ministry: the Agora, the Temple of Apollo, the Roman Odeon, the Bema, and Gallio’s Seat. The small local archaeological museum here is an eye opener!
After lunch break at Corinth we drive to Epidaurus: the Sanctuary of Asclepeios, ancient god of healing. We see the best-preserved ancient theater in all of Greece, famous for the harmony of its design and the perfection of its remarkable acoustics, easily accommodating 12,000 people. We continue on to Nafplion where we check-in at Hotel Park for dinner and overnight.(B,D)

DAY 5 – TUE, APRIL 4: NAFPLION – MYCENAE- OLYMPIA
After breakfast at hotel we check-out of rooms.

At 8.30a.m. we journey to Mycenae to visit the remains of the prehistoric citadel fortified with the Cyclopean Walls, the Lionesses' Gate, the remains of the Mycenaean Palace and the Tomb of King Agamemnon in which we will actually enter.
Then we continue towards Olympia passing by the central Peloponnese cities of Tripolis & Megalopolis. Arrive at Hotel Neda in Olympia in late afternoon for check-in, dinner and overnight. (B,D)

DAY 6 – WED, APRIL 5: OLYMPIA - DELPHI
Breakfast at hotel. Morning visit of Ancient Olympia which is the birthplace of the Olympic Games and the most important sanctuary of Zeus, father of all gods and goddesses.
The starting line is still visible etched on the marble in the stadium there, inviting you to run and in your imagination compete with the ancient athletes. Enjoy the play of light on the soft greenery and dappled ancient columns in this wonderful and peaceful setting. We visit the archaeological museum beside the ancient site. It contains most interesting exhibits such as the pediments and the metopes of the Temple of Zeus, the Statue of Nike and of Hermes. 

After the visit we leave Olympia and cross over the suspended bridge connecting Peloponnese peninsula with Central Greece. Pass from Rion to Antirrion and drive through Nafpaktos to arrive in Delphi. Check-in at Hotel Acropole for dinner and overnight. (B,D)

DAY 7 – THU, APRIL 6: DELPHI - KALAMBAKA
In the morning we visit the archaeological site of Delphi, the center of the Ancient world, the "omphalos" (navel) of the earth - whose prestige extended far beyond the boundaries of the Hellenic world. We visit the Sanctuary of Apollo, the Treasury of the Athenians and the Archaeological Museum containing such masterpieces of ancient Greek sculpture as the bronze Charioteer and the famous athlete Aghias.

After the visit continue on to Hotel Famissi in Kalambaka where we check-in at hotel for dinner and overnight. (B,D)

DAY 8 – FRI, APRIL 7: METEORA – ATHENS

In the morning we enjoy a spectacular drive up to visit Meteora. Colossal symmetrical gray and reddish boulders, as though pushed upwards from the bowels of mother earth by an invisible hand, sustain breathtaking beautiful monasteries perched precariously high above the ground. They were first built in the 14th century by monks seeking isolation and salvation, accessible only by ropes thrown from above. We will climb through steps built since. They are veritable Byzantine museums exhibiting superb icons, old manuscripts and unique mosaics and frescoes. After the visit we leave Kalambaka and we take the road back to Athens where we arrive in late afternoon. Check-in at Hotel Crystal City for dinner and overnight. (B,D)

DAY 9 – SAT, APRIL 8: ATHENS - ONE DAY CRUISE TO GREEK ISLANDS

We are offered the enjoyment of a cruise in just one-day to the Greek islands of Poros, Hydra and Aegina, including lunch on board and round-trip transfers by bus.

We sail at 8:15 a.m. from the port of Piraeus. First stop is Poros where the first naval arsenal of independent Greece was established. Poros provides delightful scenery marked by the low pine-wooded hills.

From here we continue our voyage to Hydra, fashionable artists' colony, a retreat of intellectuals and a favourite film location. An amphitheatric town rings the colorful harbor with well-preserved sea-merchant family mansions. Leisurely we have time for strolling, shopping or swimming (weather and sea permitting).

Our last port of call is Aegina, an attractive and tranquil resort place. Here we can either join the optional excursion to the Temple of Aphaia; one of the finest and the best preserved of the Greek temples, or walk leisurely around the harbour or browse in the small gift shops. Return back to Piraeus (the port of Athens) in the early evening around 7:30 p.m. Dinner and overnight at Hotel Crystal City in Athens. (B,L,D)

DAY 10 – SUN, APRIL 9: ATHENS DEPARTURE
After breakfast transfer with our representative to Athens International Airport for departure flight. (B)