Achilleion Palace Corfu

In Greek mythology, Achilles was a Greek hero of the Trojan War, the central character and the greatest warrior of Homer's Iliad.

Achilleion Palace

Corfu, Greece

Achilleion Palace was built in 1889-1891 for Princess Elisabeth von Witelsbach of Austria, and paid homage to Greek mythology. Upon her death, Kaiser Wilhelm II made the palace his summer home until WWII. 

Departing by motorcoach from the port of Corfu, we embarked on a scenic 30-minute drive to the Achilleion Palace. En route, we passed through olive, lemon and orange groves interspersed with cypress trees, and the Old Fortress that stands guard over the harbor and Corfu.

In this photo: Achilles as guardian of the palace in the gardens of the Achilleion. He gazes northward, toward the city. The inscription in Greek reads: ΑΧΙΛΛΕΥΣ i.e. Achilles. It was commissioned by Kaiser Wilhelm II.

As we approached the palace we were awestruck by the architecture of the building and the formal Italian garden with its trees and statuary.

Here statues of Achilles, both in the main hall and in the lavish gardens depicting the heroic and tragic scenes of the Trojan war can be seen. The architectural style is Pompeian and has many parallels to that of the Russian imperial residence in Crimea

Entering the palace murals, statues, and other artifacts abound, but none are more impressive than the primary mural seen here.

The Triumph of Achilles by Franz Matsch

Achilles is seen dragging Hector's lifeless body in front of the Gates of Troy. (From a panoramic fresco on the upper level of the main hall.

Achilleion Palace was featured in the James Bond classic, "For Your Eyes Only".

These few images are just the beginning of what you will see during your visit to Achilleion Palace in Corfu.  We have posted several more images for you enjoyment on our Facebook Fan Page:  Achilleion Palace

Additional photos can be found on our Facebook Albums.




Click on the image to the left for more Blog posts about this trip.

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Diary of Cruise with Chris to Greek Isles

 

Virtual Cruise with Chris

12-Night Mediterranean

& Greek Isles Cruise

Star Princess

May 30 - June 11, 2011

Our 12-Night Mediterranean & Greek Isles Cruise began in Rome, Italy with a two night pre-cruise stay.  We then took a train to Civitavecchia, Italy, where we boarded Princess Cruises' Star Princess for our cruise throughout the region.   The cruise concluded with an overnight stay in Venice, Italy.   The next morning we departed Venice for Rome via train for another day exploring the eternal city before heading home the next morning.   Click on the Blog Posts and FB Photo Albums to virtually journey with us on our trip.

	Port	Blog Posts	Photo Albums
1	Pre-Cruise Rome (Civitavecchia), Italy	Our Rome Adventure Begins Day 1 Pre-cruise in Rome Exploring Palatine Hill and Roman Forum When in Rome Relaxing at Trevi Fountain Visiting Vatican Museum St. Peter's Basilica - Vatican Special Vatican Exhibit Pope John Paul II Walking Tour of Rome from Vatican As Night Falls in Rome Rome to Civitavecchia by Train Sail Away From Civitavecchia	Rome - Colosseum Album Palatine Hill - Roman Forum Trevi Fountain Vatican Museum Line Vatican Museum Part 2 St. Peter's Vatican Pope John Paul II Exhibit Walking from Vatican Piazza Navona  Rome at Night
	Monte Carlo, Monaco	Cruising to Monte Carlo Monaco Monaco Grand Prix Track Excursion to Eze	Monte Carlo Off the Beaten Path - Eze
3	Florence/Pisa (Livorno), Italy	Off the Beaten Path Lucca Italy	Lucca - Walking Tour  Lucca - Church of San Michele in Foro  Lucca Duomo (Cathedral of St Martin )
4	Naples/Capri, Italy	Naples/Capri, Italy Amalfi Coastal Cruise Exploring A Lost City From Ancient Ruins to Shells in Napoli	Naples/Capri Arrival Drive to Salerno Amalfi Coastal Cruise Exploring Amalfi Drive to Pompeii / Lunch Exploring Pompeii Cameo Factory
5	At Sea	Star Princess Main Dining Room	Star Princess Food
6	Santorini, Greece	SantoWines Santorini Greece Village of Oia, Santorini Greece Continuing Santorini Exploration in Fira Sunset on Santorini	Santo Winery - Santorini Drive to Oia - Santorini Village of Oia Village of Fira Santorini Sunset
7	Mykonos, Greece	Images of Mykonos Kalafati Beach in Mykonos Panagia Tourliani Monastery Mykonos Windmills and Little Venice Mykonos Town Walking Tour Meet Petros - Mascot of Mykonos A Man and His Donkey	Kalafati Beach Panagia Tourliani Monastery Returning to Port of Mykonos Mykonos Countryside Mykonos Walking Tour
8	Athens (Piraeus), Greece	The Acropolis a Journey Into Antiquity Plaka The Neighborhood of the Gods Lunch at Metropolitan Hotel Athens Athens City of Contrasts Along The Attica Coast Temple of Poseidon Overlooks Aegean Sea	The Acropolis The Plaka Lunch Buffet - Athens Central Athens Scenic Attica Coast  Temple of Poseidon
9	Katakolon (Olympia), Greece	Step Back in Time to Ancient Olympia	Ancient Olympia Archeological Site
10	Corfu, Greece	Achilleion Palace Corfu	Achilleion Palace Corfu Town
11	Split, Croatia	Off the Beaten Path Krka National Park	KRKA National Park & Waterfalls Adriatic Coastal Drive to Krka
12	Venice, Italy	Concordia Disaster Rekindles Venice Restrictions Venice in Spring and Winter Sailing Into Venice by Cruise Ship Exploring Venice at Night	Arriving in Venice by Cruise Ship Venice Walking Tour Part 1 Venice Walking tour - Part 2 Venice - Evening 64 photos Venice at Dusk  38 photos Venice at Night  50 photos
13	Venice, Italy to Rome, Italy Post-Cruise	Venice Cruise Terminal to Pizzale Roma People Mover from Cruise Terminal Arriving Back in Rome  Back Home from Mediterranean Cruise	Venice to Rome by Train 39 photos

As you can see from the itinerary, this was a very port intensive cruise vacation.  As usual, when we travel "over the pond" to Europe, we like to arrive a couple days early so that we can extend our time there while getting accustomed to the time change.  In order to obtain round-trip airline tickets, it was necessary to return to Rome, Italy from Venice following the cruise.   This allowed us to spend another day in Rome and also made the trip a lot less stressful since we didn't have to worry about missing our flight home.

We hope that you enjoy your virtual journey with us to the Greek Isles.   As you can see, we haven't completed all the ports of call yet, so be sure to visit again for the updates.  Even better, "Like" us on Facebook so that you'll be notified as we post more pictures and stories.

New Star Princess Deployments

Two popular 12-day Greek Isles sailings have been added for 2010

An Exciting Variety of European Itineraries for 2010

Princess Cruises 2010 program features more choices than ever before — 39 unique itineraries, nine of which are new — plus 11 new ports this season, seven of which are maiden calls, including Cephalonia, Khios, Itea (for Delphi), Koper (for Ljubljana), Nice, Lübeck (Travemünde) and Eidfjord.

Also see previous blog post: Princess Announces 2010 Europe Program

Travel back to civilization’s roots

Discover ancient lands and legendary cities on a magical 12-day Greek Isles voyage with Princess®. Sail between Venice and Rome on the spectacular Ruby Princess,® Crown Princess® or Star Princess®. You’ll visit Croatia’s walled seaside city of Dubrovnik, stroll the Parthenon at the Acropolis in Athens, and take in the timeless beauty of Rhodes, Santorini and Mykonos, plus an overnight in romantic Venice and much more.

Oct 29th and Nov 10th Added on Star Princess

Venice (Overnight), Dubrovnik, Corfu, Katakolon (for Olympia), Athens (Piraeus), Mykonos, Kusadasi (for Ephesus), Rhodes, Santorini, Naples (for Capri & Pompeii), Rome (Civitavecchia)

(Port order may vary depending on sail date)

Take an unforgettable gondola through the Venice's winding canals or a walk through its alleys and piazzas, and you’ll soon be under city’s spell just as visitors have been for centuries. Nearly every view in this picture–perfect city presents a new photo opportunity, from St. Mark’s Square to the Doge’s Palace, Venice is a feast for the senses. Imagine, that's just the start of your adventure.

Special Exclusive Offer
Book by January 21, 2010
Receive Princess Coupon Book
$325 Value
Plus Reduced Deposits
(click for details)

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