Marathon & Eastern Attica in a Day Tour

The full day Marathon tour starts with a 22-mile drive through the northern suburbs of Athens such as Kifisia, one of the prettiest neighborhoods of the Athens.

Ekali is a village located on the slopes of Penteli mountain, constructed on 1922 according to the standards of the English garden cities. Nowadays, Ekali is the residence for many of the country's most powerful business and shipping families, politicians and artists.

Lake Marathon or the Marathon Reservoir is a water supply reservoir formed from the construction of Marathon Dam at the junction of Charadros and Varnavas Torrents near the town of Marathon. It was the primary water supply for Athens from 1931 until 1959. The dam is unique worldwide because its external cladding of white pentelikon marble is the same marble used in construction of the Parthenon and the other buildings in the Acropolis. We will make our first stop at the Lake where you will have the chance to have an early Greek coffee in a nice coffee shop right above the Marathon Lake, enjoy the scenery and take beautiful photos.

Arriving at the town of Marathon, we will visit the site of the battle of Marathon in 490 BC, in which the Athenian army (9.000 soldiers) defeated the Persians (500.000 soldiers). The Tomb of the 192 Athenians was erected near the battlefield reminding all of us of the sacrifice of those patriots for a free country. The outcome of the battle was important not only for Greece but for the rest of Europe. The name of the athletic long distance race, the ‘MARATHON’ comes from the legend of Pheidippides who was a Greek runner and was sent from the city of Marathon to Athens to announce that the Persians were defeated by the Athenians but after announcing his message “NENIKIKAMEN” (meaning We have won) he collapsed and died of exhaustion.

We will continue our tour by visiting the Marathon museum. Located in an idyllic rural location within close distance to the renown tumulus (grave mound) of Marathon, exhibits findings which cover a time span from the Prehistoric to the Late Roman era and derive from the excavated sites - mainly cemeteries - of the region.

Driving southern through vineyards and olive trees, we arrive at the Temple of Artemis at Vravrona. Artemis the goddess of protector of hunters, animals and the safe birth of humans was enraged by the murder of two small female bears. In order to revenge Athenians for this murder caused an epidemic. Athenians finally appeased the goddess by by sending her all their maids from 5 to 10 years old at the temple in order to serve her and participate in the events which took place there.

The Temple of Poseidon is built on top of the hill, exactly at the meeting point of the Saronic Sea with the Aegean Sea. The temple was dedicated to God Poseidon, the lord of the Sea and it was there where all the sailors offered a last sacrifice to appease God Poseidon before leaving the safety of the Saronic Golf. According to Greek mythology, the Cape Sounion was the point from which Greek King Aegeus flung himself off the cliff to his death, upon the mistaken belief that his son had died. This ancient tragic tale involves a theme that is still used in modern story-telling today.

On the way back to Athens, the visitor will enjoy the Greek traditional cuisine at a local tavern with a view to the sea.

A short stop for pictures will be made at Vouliagmeni Lake. The lagoon formed about 2,000 years ago. It was once a large cavern that collapsed following an earthquake. The outline of the collapsed cavern roof can be clearly discerned from a distance. The lake has quite unique environmental conditions: it is supplied with warm seawater (28-35ºCelsius) via an underground channel spreading through a network of flooded caves, so its temperature never drops below 18 °C (usually ranges around 21-24 °C), whereas a freshwater spring reduces its salinity to brackish levels (14.5-18 psu). Because of its constant warm water temperature and its rich content in hydrogen sulphide, the lake functions as a spa since the end of the 19th century.

On your way back to your accommodation, you will have the potentiality to absorb the southern suburbs of Athens, such as Glyfada, Alimos & Old Faliron . It is an undeniable fact that these areas are considered to be the most up-scaled ones of Attica. Moreover, the traveler is given the opportunity to observe coastline of Attica full of private and public marines, shops and cafes.