🇬🇷 🇹🇷 SUMMER IN ITALY, GREECE, & TURKEY
Sample Itinerary
Imagine spending your summer walking through the places you’ve studied in history, literature, art, philosophy, and Scripture.
DAY 1 | Depart the USA
Our adventure begins as we fly overnight to Italy.
DAY 2 | Arrive in Rome 🇮🇹
Welcome to Italy! Settle in, explore the neighborhood, enjoy our first Italian meal together, and get our first look at the Eternal City.
DAY 3 | Ancient Rome
🏛 Colosseum
🏛 Roman Forum
🏛 Palatine Hill
🏛 Pantheon
⛲ Trevi Fountain
🏛 Piazza Navona
Walk through the center of the Roman Empire and experience the world that shaped much of Western civilization and the New Testament era.
DAY 4 | Christian Rome & Vatican City
⛪ St. Peter’s Basilica
🏛 Vatican Museums
🎨 Sistine Chapel
⛪ Sites connected with the early Church
Explore the development of Christianity in Rome and experience some of the most important art and architecture in the world.
DAY 5 | Explore Rome
Spend another day discovering the Eternal City.
Possible experiences include:
⛪ Additional early Christian sites
🏛 Historic neighborhoods and piazzas
🍕 Italian food and local culture
🛍 Shopping and free exploration
This extra day gives us time to experience Rome beyond the major tourist sites and enjoy the rhythm of life in one of Europe’s great cities.
DAY 6 | Florence
Travel by high-speed train to the birthplace of the Renaissance.
Experience:
🎨 Michelangelo’s David
🎨 Accademia Gallery
🎨 Uffizi Gallery
⛪ Florence Cathedral & Duomo
🏛 Piazza della Signoria
🌉 Ponte Vecchio
Spend the day exploring the art, architecture, and history that helped transform Europe.
DAY 7 | Rome → Athens 🇬🇷
Fly across the Adriatic to Greece and settle into our base in Athens.
Enjoy our first Greek meal together and begin exploring one of the great cities of the ancient world.
DAY 8 | Ancient Athens
🏛 Acropolis & Parthenon
🏛 Ancient Agora
🏛 Mars Hill
🏛 Plaka & Monastiraki
Walk where Socrates, Plato, Pericles, and the Apostle Paul walked and explore the heart of classical Athens.
DAY 9 | Delphi
Travel into the mountains of central Greece to visit:
🏛 Sanctuary of Apollo
🏛 Temple of Apollo
🏛 Ancient Theater & Stadium
🏛 Delphi Archaeological Museum
We’ll also experience the beautiful mountain village of Arachova.
DAY 10 | Corinth
Follow the footsteps of the Apostle Paul:
🏛 Ancient Corinth
🏛 Temple of Apollo
🏛 Bema of Corinth
🏛 Acrocorinth
🏛 Cenchreae
Return to Athens for the evening.
DAY 11 | Experience Athens
Enjoy another day in the Greek capital with opportunities for:
🏛 National Archaeological Museum
🌊 Beach time
🛍 Shopping and markets
🍽 Greek food and local culture
This day gives us time to experience Athens beyond the major archaeological sites.
DAY 12 | Athens & the Aegean
Spend an additional day experiencing Greece.
Depending on the trip, the day may include:
🌊 Time along the Aegean coast
🏛 Additional historical sites
🍽 Local neighborhoods and Greek food
🛍 Free time for shopping and exploration
It’s a chance to slow down, enjoy Greece, and experience more than just the major landmarks.
DAY 13 | Athens → Turkey 🇹🇷
Cruise across the Aegean to Turkey and travel to our base near ancient Ephesus.
DAY 14 | Ephesus
Explore one of the best-preserved cities of the ancient Roman world:
🏛 Library of Celsus
🏛 Great Theater
🏛 Ancient streets of Ephesus
🏛 Terrace Houses
🏛 Temple of Artemis
🏛 Basilica of St. John
This is one of the most important locations for understanding the world of the New Testament and the early Church.
DAY 15 | Pergamum
Journey north to ancient Pergamum:
🏛 Pergamum Acropolis
🏛 Temple of Trajan
🏛 Ancient Theater
🏛 Asclepion
Explore the city referred to in Revelation as the place “where Satan’s throne is.”
DAY 16 | Miletus & Didyma
Travel south along the Aegean coast:
🏛 Ancient Miletus
🏛 Theater of Miletus
🏛 Site connected with Paul’s farewell to the Ephesian elders
🏛 Temple of Apollo at Didyma
Depending on time, we may also explore Kuşadası or additional ancient sites along the route.
DAY 17 | Istanbul
Travel to one of the world’s great crossroads: Istanbul.
Settle in and begin experiencing the city once known as Constantinople, where Europe and Asia meet.
DAY 18 | Historic Istanbul
Experience:
🕌 Hagia Sophia
🕌 Blue Mosque
🏛 Hippodrome
🏛 Basilica Cistern
🛍 Grand Bazaar
Walk through the historic heart of a city that served as the capital of both the Byzantine and Ottoman Empires.
DAY 19 | Imperial Constantinople
Continue exploring this extraordinary city:
🏛 Topkapı Palace
🏛 Istanbul Archaeological Museums
🛍 Spice Market
🌊 Bosphorus
🍽 Turkish food and local culture
Experience the city where Europe and Asia, Christianity and Islam, and the ancient and modern worlds come together.
DAY 20 | Return Home
Head to the airport with a camera full of pictures, a lot of memories, and a completely different understanding of the ancient world.
More Than a Tour
A ClassicalTrips journey isn’t simply about seeing famous places.
We want students to experience the world they have studied.
They’ll stand in the Roman Forum, walk through the Colosseum, see Michelangelo’s David, climb the Acropolis, explore Delphi, climb Acrocorinth, walk the streets of Ephesus, visit Pergamum, and experience Constantinople.
History becomes geography.
Art becomes experience.
Literature becomes landscape.
Scripture gains context.
And the ancient world becomes real.
