Greece 2027 promises to be an unmissable and unforgettable journey into the heart of Greek garden-making, set against some of the most extraordinary archaeological sites and wild landscapes in Europe. We will envelop ourselves in great gardens and ancient wonders, teasing out what we love, and what we can learn from their remarkable response to the climate and culture.

Please note, the final itinerary is subject to change.

DAY 1 | Monday 12th April

Our tour begins in Athens, the birthplace of democracy and one of the great cities of the world. In April the streets are abuzz with street-side diners and perfumed with the heady scent of orange blossom - a city of thrilling juxtapositions: ancient archaeology alongside street art, beautiful neoclassical buildings beside graffiti and glass.

We will be staying at The Modernist in the leafy, elegant neighbourhood of Kolonaki, between the parks of Lycabettus and the National Garden.

Meals included: Celebratory meal and pre-dinner drinks

Accommodation: The Modernist, Athens

DAY 2 | Tuesday 13th April

We begin with a walk through the ancient heart of the city and a visit to the Acropolis, the landmark around which the whole of Athens revolves.

In the afternoon we journey south to two of the most exciting contemporary landscape projects in Greece. The Stavros Niarchos Foundation gardens, designed by Deborah Nevins and Elli Pangalou, feature a vast roof garden of grasses that creates a seamless ramp from the park to the summit of Renzo Piano's extraordinary building. Nearby, Thomas Doxiadis's Ellinikon development on the former airport site repurposes beautiful sections of poured concrete as benches, anchored with broad sweeps of native Greek matrix planting.

Gardens: Stavros Niarchos Foundation gardens & Thomas Doxiadis's Ellinikon

Accommodation: The Modernist, Athens

DAY 3 | Wednesday 14th April

The ancient village of Paiania, to the east of the great mountain of Hymettos, has become quietly celebrated for its remarkable concentration of gardens.

We will spend the day visiting four of the most compelling. Lefteris Dariotis - Greece's leading plantsman - tends two extraordinary gardens here, including his Goat Garden: a jewel-box of over 300 rare drought-tolerant plants recently included in Phaidon's The Contemporary Garden.

We will also visit historic Sparoza, headquarters of the Mediterranean Garden Society since 1994, and the Vorres Museum's remarkable dry garden, which we will tour with Lefteris himself.

Gardens include: Lefteris Dariotis’s gardens, Sparoza & Vorres Museum

Meals include: Lunch at Vorres Museum

Accommodation: The Modernist, Athens

DAY 4 | Thursday 15th April

Perched above the city on the wooded slopes of Hymettos, the 11th-century Kaisariani Monastery is a place of extraordinary layered history - its Byzantine church adorned with jewel-like 17th-century frescoes, thought to have been built upon an ancient sanctuary to the goddess Aphrodite.

Beside it, the charming Philodassiki Botanic Garden contains over 200 local plant species, including the beautiful endemic Cretan ebony, Ebenus cretica. We travel south in the afternoon to Nafplio, where our base for the next two nights is the Naus Boutique Hotel.

Gardens: Philodassiki Botanic Garden

Meals include: Dinner in Nafplio

Accommodation: Naus Boutique Hotel, Nafplio

DAY 5 | Friday 16th April

Nafplio is the capital of Argolid - a picture-perfect coastal city of breathtaking views, elegant plateias (town squares), streets festooned with bougainvillea and a wonderful base from which to explore two of the great ancient sites of Greece.

At Mycenae, a UNESCO World Heritage site and Kingdom of Agamemnon, the Bronze Age ruins in April are carpeted with wildflowers and orchids. After lunch we travel on to Epidavros, famous for its sanctuary of Asclepius and spectacular 4th-century BC theatre. Designed by Polykleitos and seating 14,000 people, its acoustics continue to astonish. Return to Nafplio for the night.

Gardens: The wildflowers of Mycenae

Meals include: Lunch at Mycenae

Accommodation: Naus Boutique Hotel, Nafplio

DAY 6 | Saturday 17th April

We travel to the fishing village of Koilada to catch the boat to Coronis - the extraordinary private island retreat of the Livanos family, transformed from a rocky outcrop in the 1960s into a 60-acre garden paradise with an incredible collection of ancient olive trees and distinct themed gardens. It is never open to the public, and we are honoured that Lita Livanos has agreed to receive us. Return to the mainland for a visit to Jennifer Gay's sensitive and beautifully naturalistic coastal garden in Ermioni. Later we travel to Metochi port to catch our private boat to Hydra.

Gardens: Jennifer Gay’s garden on Coronis

Accommodation: Hydroussa Hotel, Hydra

DAY 7 | Sunday 18th April

There is nowhere quite like Hydra. With only donkeys, mules and handcarts for transport, the island moves at a pace entirely its own. A day here - peering behind the high walls of some of its most exquisite private gardens, including those designed by Monty Don and Louis Benech - feels unlike anywhere else in Greece. Our hotel, The Bratsera, is a former sponge factory transformed into a place of great beauty and character. You will wake to church bells and the occasional braying of a donkey.

Gardens: Private walled gardens designed by Monty Don and Louis Benech

Meals include: Lunch in Hydra

Accommodation: Hydroussa Hotel, Hydra

DAY 8 | Monday 19th April

We take the private boat back to the mainland and travel to the Byzantine fortified city of Mystras, a UNESCO World Heritage site on the slopes of the Taygetos Mountains.

Remarkably preserved and rich in endemic plants, Mystras shaped Byzantine culture and scholarship for centuries, and its 15th-century scholars played a formative role in the Italian Renaissance.

We end the day in Kardamyli, one of the most ancient villages of the Mani Peninsula - mentioned by Homer in the Iliad - where the boutique Diapori Suites will be our base for the next three nights.

Gardens: Wildflowers of Mystras

Meals include: Dinner in Kardamyli

Accommodation: Diapori Suites, Kardamyli

DAYS 9 & 10 | Tuesday 20th & Wednesday 21st April

The Mani is an extraordinary garden-visiting region. Over two days we visit four gardens of remarkable character: Ilias in the Mani estate, landscaped by Tania Compton in a naturalistic patchwork of aromatic Mediterranean shrubs and mature olives; the hilltop village garden of Katerina Georgi, acting President of the Mediterranean Garden Society; the celebrated house and garden of Sir Patrick and Joan Leigh Fermor, recently restored by the Benaki Museum; and the coastal garden of Swedish gardener Christina Fryle in Agios Nikolaos. We conclude at Cape Tainaro, the southernmost point of mainland Greece. In Greek mythology, it was believed to be one of the gateways to the Underworld, while today its windswept phrygana landscape offers a striking and unforgettable finale to the day.

Gardens: Ilias in the Mani estate, Katerina Georgi’s garden, the garden of St Patrick and Joan Leigh Fermor & the coastal garden of Christina Fryle

Accommodation: Diapori Suites, Kardamyli

DAY 11 | Thursday 22nd April

Our final full day takes in Ancient Messini, one of the finest and best-preserved ancient cities in Greece, set in a landscape of exceptional beauty. We also visit the miraculous Aghia Theodora in Vasta - a tiny Byzantine church from whose roof seventeen ancient plane trees grow, while a river emerges at its foundations. Neither architects nor scientists have been able to explain how the building remains standing, or how the trees remain alive.

We’ll spend our final night at Manna Arcadia, a stunning 5-star mountain retreat hidden in the fir forests of Mount Mainalo in the beautiful mountain region of Arcadia.

Meals: Farewell dinner

Accommodation: Manna, Arcadia

DAY 12 | Friday 23rd April

After breakfast we return to Athens where we say farewell.