5-Star Greece, Italy & Malta

Weaving a tapestry of awe and wonder, Chania is a centuries-old mix of Minoan myths, well-preserved Venetian mansions, a mesmerizing Old Town complete with labyrinthine passageways, and atmospheric Kastelli Hill, once the site of a Roman acropolis. But Chania may be best known as the gateway to the breathtaking 4,000 year-old Minoan ruins at Knossos, home of the legendary King Minos and the part man and part bull known creature as the Minotaur. And around every corner of this idyllic area you’ll find picturesque villages, breathtaking views and architectural wonders that will remain with you for a lifetime.

A holiday to Greece during a cruise of the Mediterranean means history and myth. Katakolon is a tiny seaside town in Greece in the bay of Agios Andreas, only 20 km away from the ancient site of Olympia.

The historic associations and resonance of Olympia, which for over a millennium hosted the most important Panhellenic games, are rivalled only by Delphi or Mycenae. It is one of the largest ancient sites in Greece, spread beside the twin rivers of Alfiós and Kládhios, and overlooked by the Hill of Krónos.

The sheer quantity of ruined structures can give a confusing impression of their ancient grandeur and function, but the site itself is picturesque, definitely deserving a visit on an excursion. The entrance to the site, located just 200m from the modern village, leads along the west side of the Altis wall, past a group of public and official buildings. The Prytaneion was the administrators’ residence, where athletes stayed and feasted at official expense.

You can see the ruins of a gymnasium and a palaestra (wrestling school), used by the competitors during their obligatory month of pre-games training. Beyond these stood the Priests’ House, the Theokoleion, a substantial colonnaded building in whose southeast corner is a structure adapted as a Byzantine church. The main focus of the Altis precinct is provided by the great Doric Temple of Zeus.

Built between 470 and 456 BC, it was as large as the Parthenon, a fact quietly substantiated by the vast column drums littering the ground. The temple’s decoration, too, rivalled the finest in Athens; partially recovered, its sculptures of Pelops in a chariot race, of Lapiths and Centaurs, and the Labours of Hercules, are now in the museum.

Messina may well be your first sight of Sicily, and – from your holiday cruise ship – it’s a fine one, the glittering town spread up the hillside beyond its sickle-shaped Mediterranean harbour.

On a shore excursion you can discover Messina’s most important monument, the Duomo, which epitomizes the city’s phoenix-like ability to re-create itself from the ashes of its last disaster. It’s the reconstruction of a twelfth-century cathedral erected by Roger II, one of a series of great Norman churches of Sicily that include the sumptuous cathedrals of Palermo and Cefalù. The Duomo’s detached campanile, or bell tower, claims to be the largest astronomical clock in the world, and puts on its best show at noon every day, when a bronze lion (Messina’s ancient emblem) unleashes a mighty roar over the city that can be quite alarming if you’re not expecting it!

While Milan may be home to all things chic, Florence to all that is worthy in art and Rome to historical grandeur, Naples can outdo them all in one count with its sheer ‘Napoletanità’!

Naples offers a mix of breathtaking beauty and a strong sense of life being lived to its limits.

Squeezed between Vesuvius, Europe’s second-largest active volcano on one side and the sulphurous springs and boiling mud pools of the Flegrean fields on the other, Naples and its famous blue bay is a ‘must-see’ city along your cruise.

The port of Civitavecchia is one of the largest in Italy. Civitavecchia enjoys a millenary history due to its coves along the coast, which offered a perfect shelter for vessels, making it a natural port long before cruise ships sailed the seas, and in fact the port was known to the Romans as Centumcellae. During your holiday in Civitavecchia you can easily visit its centre on foot. Amongst the most important monuments to visit are the Forte Michelangelo, built by Bramante in the 16th century, the ancient walls of the old port, where there is a fountain in travertine marble by Vanvitelli, and the Rock, an inexpugnable fortress that has been looming over the city and port for over a thousand years.

Following your departure from the Equinox, you will be transferred to the airport to catch your flight home to Dublin.