Delphi - Meteora (Taxi tour from Athens, Volos...)

Levadia, Arachova, Delphi, Meteora, Thermopylae.

1st day: Starting from Athens  in the morning ,we drive through the fertile plain of Beotia through the town of Thebes which is connected with the tragedy of king Oedipus and on to Levadia, a busy town and an important junction in the road network. The town is also an industrial centre, its textile mills treat the cotton grown in the Copais valley. The upper town is graced by white houses with jutting wooden balconies dating from the 18th C.

Greece taxi stops for a drink by the beautiful spring of Mnemosyne (remembrance). A passage not far away leads to what is thought to be the spring of Lethe (oblivion). Next Greecetaxi drives to Delphi which is located on the slopes of Parnassus, the second highest mountain of Greece.

Visit Castalia Spring and the Sanctuary of Athena Pronaea then in the afternoon the Sanctuary of Apollo Pythios and the Museum. Overnight in Delphi or Arachova which is one of the most traditional villages in Greece.

2nd day: After breakfast Greece taxi departs for Meteora from the east side of Mount Parnassus, along Heracles' road - this is a superb mountain road running between Bralos and Iraklia (21km/13mi about 1 hr) with an impressive landscape and extensive views. The road descends into Lamia, passing through typical towns and numerous picturesque mountain villages of Central Greece. We'll arrive in Meteora which lies North of Kalambaka in the northwest corner of the Thessaly plain, a group of fantastic grey rocks rising up out of the trees in the Pinions Valley. Perched on the top of these huge and precipitous columns of rock, (there are some 60 of these columns of rock, a favorite haunt for climbers) are the famous coenobitic monasteries known as the Meteora which means "in the air" where you can see exquisite specimens of Byzantine Art. Of the 24 monasteries that were built between the 13^th and 16^th centuries only six are still inhabited:  The Great Meteoron, Agia Triada, Agios Nikolaos and Varlaam by monks: Agios Stephanos and Roussanou by nuns. Stay overnight in the closest village to Meteora with the best view of the giant rocks and monasteries (photo below). GreeceTaxi will take you for photo tour with the sunset.

3rd day: Visit the Monasteries: Agios Nikolaos daily, summer 9a.m to 5.45p.m Closed in winter. Poussanou daily except Wensdays, summer 9a.m to 6p.m Winter 9a.m to 1p.m and 3p.m to 5.pm Entrance fee2 Euro. Megalo Meteoron daily except Tuesdays 9a.m to 1p.m and 3p.m to 6 p.m (5p.m in winter) entrance fee 2 Euro. Varlaam daily except Fridays (and Thursdays in winter), same times as for the Megalo Meteoro. Agia Triada daily except Thursdays 9a.m to 12.30p.m and 3p.m to 5p.m Entrance fee 2 Euro Agios Stefanos daily except Mondays 9a.m to 1p.m and 3p. (5p.min winter)

Greece taxi departs noon to return to Athens via Trikala (Magnificent town, short stop) Larissa, Lamia. We will stop at Thermopylae (where in 480 B.C. a battle between the ancient Greeks and Persians took place)  to visit  Leonida's Monument and  then on to Kammena Vourla (last stop for coffee break or lunch by the sea). Arrive in Athens in the evening.

All the information & photos on this website is updated continuously.  You can view our portfolio of photos at  www.panoramio.com/user/45649/tags/Meteora-Monasteries Web masters who wish to buy the right to use them in web sites or writers who want to publish them in magazines or newspapers can do this once©  and only under the name greecetaxi.gr