In Search of Alexander - Classical sites in northern Greece

Fly at c. 7.00am from London Gatwick to Thessaloniki (British Airways). From there drive eastwards via the recently constructed Egnatia motorway to the harbour town of Kavala. First of two nights in Kavala.

Reached by ferry, Thasos is a very attractive island, rugged and densely forested. The remains of the ancient city include one of the best-preserved agora complexes in Greece. The old part of Kavala, crowned by a Byzantine castle, sits on a promontory above the port joined to hills behind by a massive Ottoman aqueduct. 

Philippi is known for the battles in 42 bc that led to the victory of Octavian and Antony over Brutus and Cassius, and as the place where St Paul established the first Christian community in Europe. Striking ruins of a theatre, forum and Early Christian basilicas are situated in an attractive valley. Amphipolis was an important and prosperous city from its founding as an Athenian colony in 437 bc until its demise in the 8th–9th centuries. The Hellenistic gymnasium is the best preserved in Greece. First of four nights in Thessaloniki.

Start the day with a walk in the upper town along the ramparts, the Vlattadon Monastery and the little church of Hosios David with its early-Byzantine mosaics. The Archaeological Museum is an excellent, extensive and well presented collection. Free afternoon or an optional visit to three great Byzantine churches. 

Pella was the luxurious capital of Macedonia, birthplace of Philip II and his son Alexander the Great. The extensive but only partly excavated site has outstanding floor mosaics, and there are excellent finds in the attractive new museum. A Macedonian tomb at Lefkadia has rare, high-quality paintings. Vergina is the site of the tombs of Philip II and members of his family. Only fairly recently discovered, the astonishing grave goods are among the finest survivals from the ancient world. 

The most important of the Greek settlements on the fertile peninsula of Chalkidiki, Olynthos never recovered after destruction by Philip II (348 bc). The ruins, set in rolling farmland, provide the best evidence of Greek town-planning and a chance to walk residential streets of a Classical Greek city. Back in Thessaloniki, most of the significant Roman remains date to the city’s time as an Imperial capital under Emperor Galerius (ad 305–311): parts of his palace, the Arch of Galerius and the impressive bulk of the Rotonda, which was probably built as his mausoleum. The award-winning Museum of Byzantine Culture displays artworks and artefacts dating from the 2nd to the 20th centuries. 

Fly from Thessaloniki (Aegean Airways), arriving at London Gatwick at c. 3.00pm.