GREEK ISLES & ADRIATIC COASTLINES

Trieste eases you in before the cruise even starts. Check into your hotel for the night and wander down to Piazza Unità d’Italia, one of Europe’s largest seafront squares, or find a table at one of the old coffee houses the city is known for. No rush tonight, tomorrow is for exploring properly.

A full day in Trieste before you set sail. The city sits on a narrow strip between the Adriatic and the Slovenian border, and its streets show it, a medieval old town giving way to a neoclassical Austrian quarter built when Trieste was the Habsburg empire’s main port. Spend the morning tracing that history through the Città Vecchia, then board Enchanted Princess this evening as she sets course for the Adriatic.

Split has been drawing admirers since a Roman emperor called it home. Diocletian built his retirement palace here, a fortress big enough to garrison three legions, and modern Split grew up inside and around its walls. Wander the palace basements turned market stalls, then head along the Dalmatian coast for a swim at one of the pebble coves just outside town.

Kotor hides at the end of Europe’s longest fjord. Enchanted Princess anchors in Boka Bay, with ship’s tenders carrying you ashore beneath cliffs that close in around a medieval old town. Stone houses and churches dating to the 12th century line the narrow streets, and it’s a short drive to Montenegro’s old royal capital at Cetinje if you want to see beyond the port.

Corfu wears its history in layers. Venetian fortresses still guard Corfu Town, and a French-built esplanade from the Napoleonic era runs along the waterfront. Spend the day wandering the old town’s narrow lanes or find a quiet corner on one of the island’s beaches.

Katakolon is a small fishing village with an outsized claim to fame. This sleepy port on the Peloponnese is your gateway to Olympia, where the original Games ran every four years for over a thousand years before being banned in 393 AD. The ruins, buried by earthquake and flood, weren’t excavated until 1875. Take the trip inland to walk the original stadium, or stay closer to port for a quieter day.

Santorini’s cliffs are the scar of an ancient eruption. A volcanic blast around 1600 BC carved out the caldera that gives the island its shape today, whitewashed villages clinging to the rim above a turquoise sea. Spend the day wandering Fira’s clifftop lanes or ride the cable car down to the old port for a closer look at the water.

Chania keeps its Venetian past close to the surface. Crete’s northwest coast holds one of the best-preserved old harbours in the Mediterranean, ringed by 14th-century buildings and watched over by a 16th-century lighthouse. Wander the streets behind the waterfront or stop at the Nautical Museum for a look at the city’s seafaring history.

Rhodes has been fought over since antiquity. The largest of the Dodecanese islands sits just off the Turkish coast, and its old town still carries the walls and cobbled streets built during the days of the Crusades. Walk past the ruins of the Temple of Apollo, or head to the new town’s harbour, where bronze statues mark the spot the Colossus of Rhodes is said to have once stood.

Limassol works as hard as it plays. Cyprus’s second city and busiest port sits between two ancient sites, Amathus and Kourion, both worth the short trip out of town if you have the time. Closer to port, the old town’s mix of Greek and British influence shows up in everything from the architecture to the coffee.

A day at sea to catch your breath before Turkey. Take a lecture on the ports still ahead, find a lounger by the pool, or book a treatment at the Lotus Spa before Enchanted Princess reaches Kusadasi tomorrow.

Kusadasi is where the past properly begins. Just inland from this Turkish port lie the ruins of ancient Ephesus, once a Roman provincial capital and one of Christianity’s holiest sites, where St Paul preached at the Great Theatre. Back in town, the palm-lined esplanade and market district give the port itself plenty to explore if you’d rather stay closer to the ship.

Piraeus has been Athens’ door to the sea for over two thousand years. Disembark this morning and transfer straight to your Athens hotel. Settle in with the afternoon free, and if you’ve got the legs for it after nearly two weeks at sea, the Acropolis is close enough for a first look before dinner.

Athens rewards time on the ground, from the Acropolis down to the tavernas of Plaka. Climb up for the Parthenon, then walk down to where the tragedies of Aeschylus and Sophocles once played out at the Theatre of Dionysus. Away from the ruins, the streets around Monastiraki fill with market stalls and a different kind of colour entirely.

Your Mediterranean run finishes where Western civilisation more or less began. Enjoy a final Greek breakfast before your transfer, or extend your stay if you’re not ready to leave Athens behind, ask your Cruise Travel Advisor about tailoring extra nights.