The Best of the Mediterranean in 21 Nights

The port for Athens, about 8 km from the city centre. The Acropolis and the Parthenon, the Acropolis Museum and the old lanes of Plaka make the classic day, with the Ancient Agora and the changing of the guard at Syntagma Square close by. Photo: A.Savin, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Greece’s largest island. From Heraklion the trip is to Knossos, the Minoan palace 5 km south of the city, and the archaeological museum; from Souda Bay it is a short drive to Chania, with its Venetian harbour and lighthouse, old town lanes and covered market. Photo: Dietmar Rabich, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

The port for Ephesus, a short drive inland, where the Library of Celsus and the Great Theatre stand among the ruins of a great Roman city. The Basilica of St John at Selçuk and the House of the Virgin Mary are close by. Photo: Bernard Gagnon, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Ships anchor in the flooded caldera and tender guests ashore below Fira, where a cable car climbs the cliff. The white villages along the rim, the sunset view from Oia and Akrotiri, a Bronze Age town buried in ash by the great eruption, fill the day. Photo: Giles Laurent, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

A Cycladic island of whitewashed lanes and small churches. The row of windmills above the town, Little Venice with its balconies over the sea, the Paraportiani church and the beaches are the favourites, and boats run across to Delos, the sacred island of ancient Greece, 2 km away. Photo: Joe deSousa, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons

Greece’s largest island. From Heraklion the trip is to Knossos, the Minoan palace 5 km south of the city, and the archaeological museum; from Souda Bay it is a short drive to Chania, with its Venetian harbour and lighthouse, old town lanes and covered market. Photo: Dietmar Rabich, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

The largest island in the Mediterranean, where ships call at Messina, on the strait facing the mainland, or at Palermo. From Messina the trips go to Taormina and its ancient theatre and up Mount Etna; Palermo has its Arab-Norman cathedral and Palatine Chapel, nearby Monreale and lively street markets. Photo: Grey48, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons

A scenic sail-past, not a call. Stromboli, in the Aeolian Islands north of Sicily, has been erupting almost continuously for thousands of years, and the ship slows off the island so guests can watch from the deck; after dark the glowing bursts from the crater can often be seen. Photo: Carsten Steger, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

The port for Pompeii, the Roman town buried by Vesuvius in AD 79, and for the island of Capri and the Amalfi Coast. In Naples itself are the National Archaeological Museum, the churches and lanes of the old centre and the city’s famous pizza. Photo: Commonists, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

The port for Rome, about an hour and a half away by road. The Colosseum and the Roman Forum, St Peter’s and the Vatican Museums, the Pantheon and the Trevi Fountain make a long, full day. Photo: Diliff, CC BY-SA 2.5, via Wikimedia Commons

Gaudí’s city: the Sagrada Família, the mosaic terraces of Park Güell and Casa Batlló, then La Rambla, the Boqueria market and the medieval lanes of the Gothic Quarter. Montjuïc hill rises above the cruise terminals, with views over the city and the sea.

France’s oldest city, founded by Greek settlers about 600 BC. The Old Port, the basilica of Notre-Dame de la Garde high above the city, the Mucem museum on the waterfront and the old Panier quarter fill the day, and the Calanques, fjord-like coves in a national park, are close by.

A resort town on the Italian Riviera, where ships anchor in the Gulf of Tigullio and tender guests ashore. Portofino and its harbour are a short boat or bus ride away, and boats also run to the abbey of San Fruttuoso, set in its own cove. Photo: Pierre-Selim Huard, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

The port for Rome, about an hour and a half away by road. The Colosseum and the Roman Forum, St Peter’s and the Vatican Museums, the Pantheon and the Trevi Fountain make a long, full day. Photo: Diliff, CC BY-SA 2.5, via Wikimedia Commons

The port for Pompeii, the Roman town buried by Vesuvius in AD 79, and for the island of Capri and the Amalfi Coast. In Naples itself are the National Archaeological Museum, the churches and lanes of the old centre and the city’s famous pizza. Photo: Commonists, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

The largest island in the Mediterranean, where ships call at Messina, on the strait facing the mainland, or at Palermo. From Messina the trips go to Taormina and its ancient theatre and up Mount Etna; Palermo has its Arab-Norman cathedral and Palatine Chapel, nearby Monreale and lively street markets. Photo: Grey48, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons

Greece’s largest island. From Heraklion the trip is to Knossos, the Minoan palace 5 km south of the city, and the archaeological museum; from Souda Bay it is a short drive to Chania, with its Venetian harbour and lighthouse, old town lanes and covered market. Photo: Dietmar Rabich, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

The port for Ephesus, a short drive inland, where the Library of Celsus and the Great Theatre stand among the ruins of a great Roman city. The Basilica of St John at Selçuk and the House of the Virgin Mary are close by. Photo: Bernard Gagnon, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

A Cycladic island of whitewashed lanes and small churches. The row of windmills above the town, Little Venice with its balconies over the sea, the Paraportiani church and the beaches are the favourites, and boats run across to Delos, the sacred island of ancient Greece, 2 km away. Photo: Joe deSousa, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons

The port for Athens, about 8 km from the city centre. The Acropolis and the Parthenon, the Acropolis Museum and the old lanes of Plaka make the classic day, with the Ancient Agora and the changing of the guard at Syntagma Square close by. Photo: A.Savin, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons