ESCAPE TO NORTHERN GREECE

Arrival at Athens international airport. Transfer to your hotel.

Transfer to the motorcycle garage. Then you leave Athens for the Byzantine monastery of Osios Loukas, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Lunch en route.

Byzantine monastery of Osios Loukas

The tour continues along the slopes of Parnassus to reach the Panhellenic sanctuary of Delphi, also a UNESCO site.

After the visit, you continue to Galaxidi, a charming fishing village on the shores of the Gulf of Corinth. Dinner on the port and overnight at the hotel.

Archaeological site of Delphi

Departure for the first mountain stage to Karpenisi, via a route winding through the mountains. The roads here are reminiscent of the route des grandes alpes in France, but the Gulf of Corinth can still be seen in the distance. Lunch somewhere en route. Arrival around 5.30pm. Dinner in the village square and overnight at the hotel.

Breakfast at the hotel. You begin a grandiose mountain stage through sumptuous landscapes, skirting some of Europe's largest reservoirs. You drive along winding roads at the foot of the Agrafa massif. Arrive in Kalambaka in the late afternoon and check into your hotel at the foot of the Meteora mountains.

Leaving the hotel, take the panoramic road surrounding these astonishing perched monasteries, offering magnificent views. Visit one of the most emblematic of these monasteries.

The route continues due west towards the Tsoumerka massif, along an impressive road lined with ancient Orthodox buildings such as the Assumption Monastery, the Monastery of the Virgin and Child and the Church of the Holy Cross.

Arrive in Pramanta in the late afternoon and check into your hotel, at the foot of the spectacular Strongoula peak, facing the Tsoumerka rocky bar.

The day begins like yesterday, with a pass road through the heart of a huge national park. Then we descend gently to the town of Metsovo.

This is the most intense part of the trip. Located in Epirus, close to Albania, the Zagorias are part of the immense Pindus range, where nature is grandiose. From the Vikos Gorge, the deepest in the world after the Grand Canyon, to the peaks of the Astraka, you'll be riding "beyond the mountains".

After a short incursion into the heart of the Vikos Gorge, we set off for the shores of the Ionian Sea. End of game for the mountains, time for a marine sequence. Arrive at the hotel mid-afternoon for a "sea view" stopover.

We set off for Naupacte, the old Venetian port that defended the Gulf of Corinth from the Ottoman fleet.

Today's itinerary is set on the shores of the Ionian Sea. The road winds along jagged coastlines plunging into the blue waves. It's a magical sight, inviting you to enjoy the view as much as the road. Dinner and overnight in the old town of Naupacte.

This is your last day on the bike. You return to Athens via the road along the Gulf of Corinth, then across Attica towards the Greek capital. The last 50km are on the dual carriageway to the garage where the bikes are returned.

For those returning, check-out and transfer to the airport for the return flight.

For those who have taken an extension, transfer to the center of Athens. Dinner in Plaka at the foot of the Acropolis. Night in hotel.