Wine tour in a suburban paradise in western Athens

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Half-day afternoon tour exploring a unique monument of Athenian cultural heritage.

Explore a unique and rather unknown monument of modern Athenian cultural heritage, the Queen’s Tower or Pyrgos Vasilissis (as it is known in Greek), a suburban paradise in western Athens with lush gardens, vineyards, olive groves and an impressive neo-gothic tower building that was used as a country retreat for Greece’s first king , Otto von Wittelsbach and his spouse, Queen Amalia.

The Queen’s passion for trees and nature brought to life this beautiful estate that served as a model farm for the improvement of Greece’s agricultural and livestock production. Queen Amalia, renowned for exploring the city on foot or horseback, was enchanted by the area during one of her strolls in 1848 and convinced King Otto to purchase it and turn it into a farm. She also wanted to build a hill to bring to seven the number of vantage points on her newly acquired expanse, and in 1854 she built her tower on her seventh hill, which also gave the area the name Eptalofos, or Seven Hills.

The Queen’s tower, an emblem of idealized romantic architecture, was constructed between 1851 and 1854 and was inspired by Bavaria’s Hohenschwangau Castle, where King Otto was born. It remaines untouched over the years, casting an almost fairy-tale light with its decorative towers and turrets and its landscaped gardens adorned with statues and fountains.

Today Queen Amalia’s estate has been transformed into a modern organic vineyard estate and winery, with vineyards, olive groves, fruit trees, organic vegetable gardens and horse stables.

Key highlights of this journey:

– Wine-tasting experience with organic wines produced at the estate
– Guided tour to the Queen’s Tower
– Stroll through the vineyards, olive groves, fruit trees and horse stables
– Visit to one of the oldest olive trees in the world, the “Peisistratos Tree”

Tour available only on Wednesdays!

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5.5 hours

Food & Wine Trips

Half-day Tours

Destination

Athens
Departure

Hotel pick-up!
Departure Time

16:00 PM
Dress Code

Casual. Comfortable athletic clothing and shoes.

From our gallery

Photos of the places we visit during this tour

Tour Plan

1

Itinerary

We start our afternoon tour from central Athens with a short driving tour around the main sights of the city of Athens: the Syntagma square and the Greek Parliament, that used to house the Royal Family in the past, the three impressive buildings of the Neoclassical Athenian Trilogy: the Academy, the University and the National Library, the Omonoia square and the beautiful building of the National Theatre. We continue the tour heading north-west until we reach the “Peisistratos Tree” in Agioi Anargyroi. This impressive olive tree, located by the banks of the Cephisus River, is said to be one of the oldest olive tress in the world, a remnant of an olive grove planted by Athenian tyrant Peisistratos in the 6th century BC. Our next stop is the Queen’s Tower estate where we will have a guided tour to the Tower and the surrounding gardens, vineyards, olive groves and organic vegetable gardens. This interesting tour will be completed in the stables – which once housed giraffes – with an excellent wine-tasting experience that includes five types of white and red wines from the organic vineyards, accompanied by homemade pies, smoked cheeses and chocolates.