Nafplio

Be enveloped by the warmth of the Greek home kitchen with this small-group cooking class. Your hostess is an instructor and cookbook author who is passionate and knowledgeable about the history and regional specialties of Greek cuisine, from her native Cyprus, in the eastern Mediterranean, to the peninsula and the mainland. She limits her class to 10 to ensure an intimate atmosphere and personal attention.

This full-day exploration of Greece’s unrivaled historic legacy begins some 30 kilometers east of Nafplion. On the cool slopes of a wooded valley, the ancient city of Epidaurus was dedicated to Aesclepius, the god of healing, and renowned throughout the Hellenic world as a center for medicine and curative treatments. Although most of its buildings, temples, spas, baths have been reduced to their foundations, the theater is a remarkable exception.

Begin with an exploration of the winery of Domaine Skouras, situated amidst acres of vineyards. Elegant Greek architecture houses the ultramodern winemaking facility, which includes world-class presses, temperature-controlled stainless steel tanks, a 1,000-barrel cellar, a state-of-the-art laboratory and more. After a tour, you will sample four of the Skouras wines, defined by the harmony and balance created by minimal intervention during the production process. Then continue to the Karonis Distilleries to learn about the production of one of Greece’s most iconic beverages, ouzo.

A certified mountaineer who runs an outdoor company is your guide for the scenic hike through the low mountains near Nafplion. From the yacht, it’s a short drive up to the Agia Moni, a hillside convent that was built around 1150. The complex of a beautiful church, small chapels and living quarters for the nuns is lush, thanks to a pond fed by a natural spring. It makes for a peaceful starting point for the hike. The guide leads the way as you make your way down a dirt road and across the back side of another mountain.

One of the most important cities of ancient Greece, Corinth occupied a strategic spot on the isthmus that connected the Peloponnese to mainland Greece and was roughly midway between the rival city-states of Athens and Sparta. When a thriving Greek city, it was destroyed by the Romans in 144 BC, then rebuilt in 44 BC as a provincial capital of the empire. Corinth again prospered and later survived numerous invasions, yet was ultimately abandoned following devastating earthquakes for modern Corinth. The ancient site is expansive.

Nafplion is one of Greece’s most beautiful cities, with a unique architectural legacy that reflects Venetian rule in the 15th through 17th centuries and a period in the 19th century as the capital of new, modern nation of Greece. Your guide will share the city’s rich layered history as you stroll past gorgeous neoclassical mansions and beautiful Venetian architecture and make your way down picturesque alleys. Sights include the old Catholic Church, the Church of Agios Spyidon, which dates to 1702, and the popular Constitution Square.

Enjoy a vinyasa practice on Karathona Beach, a quiet stretch of sand in a fishing hamlet on the other side of the Palamidhi Forttress. Your certified instructor is an Austrian native who has lived in Greece for more than a decade. Overlooking the blue waters, inhale the sea air and listen to waves gently lap the shore as you are guided through a series of asanas, culminating with a restorative final resting posture. Following the class, it’s a quick trip to the historic section of Napflion for some refreshment in a lovely café.

A scenic drive from Nafplion bring you to the ruins of Mycenae, where the renowned German archaeologist Heinrich Schliemann conducted the first in-depth excavation in the 1870s. He was convinced he had found the real-life realm of Agamemnon, the Mycenaen hero-king of myth who conquered Troy, as described in Homer’s epics, the Illiad and the Odyssey. Schliemann did discover a gold funeral mask that was later dated to the mid-16th century BCE, evidence that Mycenae was the center of a rich and powerful kingdom.