Athens

The cradle of ancient civilisation, the Greek capital of Athens, is often regarded as one of the most culturally rich and distinctive charter destinations in the Mediterranean. The city leverages more than two and a half millennia of history with a thriving contemporary energy, and its unique position on the Attica peninsula, flanked by the glittering Saronic Gulf, makes it an easy departure point to some of the more varied island cruising areas in Greece. An Athens charter offers charterers a broad array of historic sites, like the UNESCO-listed Acropolis crowned by the Parthenon, the Temple of Olympian Zeus, and the Panathenaic Stadium, host of the first modern Olympic Games. Guests will thoroughly enjoy wandering through the cobbled lanes of Plaka, where neoclassical buildings, family-run tavernas, and late-night street markets are dotted beneath the ancient citadel. From the marinas of the Athens Riviera, the Saronic Islands are just a short cruising distance away.  Aegina, less than an hour away, is home to the remarkably preserved Temple of Aphaia and celebrated pistachio groves. Further south, car-free Hydra remains one of the most distinctive harbours in the Mediterranean, with its amphitheatre of stone mansions rising directly from the waterfront. Here, donkeys are still used as the island’s main mode of transport. Other islands like Spetses combine old-world elegance with pine-fringed beaches, while Poros offers sheltered anchorages beneath its iconic clock tower. The proximity of these islands to one another makes Athens an ideal starting point for both short cruises and extended charters through the Saronic and on towards the Peloponnese coast.