The Jewels of the Aegean

Sail the Greek and Turkish shores during an exceptional journey, an 8-day cruise aboard L'Austral, during which you will fall under the spell of these island jewels and secular cities, featuring ancient ruins and splendid scenery, which people the Eastern Mediterranean. Throughout your journey, you will benefit from an excursion included per person per port of call, to choose from a selection offered by Ponant.

During this cruise, visit the archaeological site of Ephesus from Kusadasi, discover the monastery of Saint John and the Cave of the Apocalypse where the last book of the New...read more Testament was revealed to John the Apostle,from Patmos, or admire the sumptuous archaeological sites, from the Temples of Zeus, Apollo and Athena to the Terrace of the Lions, from Delos. The diversity of experiences on offer promises you intense and varied moments (to discover the full range of excursions, go to the itinerary tab).

The diversity of experiences on offer promises you intense and varied moments (to discover the full range of excursions, go to the itinerary tab). From Antalya, a former Roman port with picturesque alleyways and fine Ottoman residences, L'Austral will sail south for the Dodecanese archipelago. On the mythical island of Rhodes, let yourself be swept away by the charm of this medieval city with its gothic architecture, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Then, the island of Patmos, known as "the Jerusalem of the Aegean Sea", reveals itself to offer you a moment suspended between unique landscapes of white-sand beaches and rocky bays. L'Austral will leave Greece to reach Kusadasi in Turkey.

An old fishing village with history going back 5,000 years, not far from the Ephesus site, the town is now one of the country's most famous seaside resorts. In the south-eastern Aegean Sea, the Cyclades archipelago invites you to enjoy the wild and appealing beauty of its islands. Santorini, one of the pearls of the archipelago, awaits you for an enchanted interlude, unfurling the grandiose crater of its caldera. Then, Delos, a veritable open-air museum, offers a unique testimony of the succession of different civilisations during the Aegean period.

Next comes Mykonos, its beaches and windmills, with Alefkandra, a district that is typical of the island, with houses built right on the water's edge. Further north, you will arrive in Nafplio, the departure point for discovering the Ancient Theatre ofEpidaurus and the Mycenae archaeological site, both UNESCO World Heritage sites. Athens, the mythical city dominated by the Acropolis and its monuments, which form the most extraordinary architectural and artistic ensemble bequeathed to the world by Ancient Greece, will mark the end of this exceptional odyssey.