Written by John Morris, WheelchairTravel.org, June 11, 2025
Hello from Greece!
Today is Day 8 of the 10-day Wheelchair Travel Group Trip to Greece — By the time you receive this email, our group of American and Australian travelers will be enjoying a wine tasting and traditional meal in a small village in the foothills of Mount Olympus. It’s one of my favorite activities on the tour, and I’m thrilled that I will get to experience it one more time this year — during the third and final group tour of Greece, between September 26 and October 5, 2025.
You can join that tour too — One of my travelers had to cancel his participation and, as a result, I now have one accessible hotel room available. Check out the Fall Group Trip to Greece itinerary and, if you’d like to join our group, please complete the interest form at bottom of the page. I would love to travel with you!
Experiencing the Acropolis of Athens
A new “slope lift” was installed at the Acropolis of Athens in 2020, to replace the outdated elevator inaugurated in advance of the 2004 Olympic and Paralympic Games. The new lift received significant press coverage, and the Prime Minister of Greece was present at its inauguration.
Yet, last month, when I brought travelers from three countries to Greece as part of an accessible group trip — that relatively “new” lift, once lauded for its design and technical specifications, was out of service. Though each of my travelers were disappointed, one was particularly so, as it was her third attempt to visit the Acropolis over multiple trips to Greece! Lengthy outages are common and local advocates have told me that travelers are denied access “more often than not.”
Better news awaited my group this month. The lift had returned to service after an outage of nearly two months, and we were able to visit the Acropolis as planned on Day 3 of our trip! It was magnificent to appreciate the monuments at this UNESCO World Heritage Site, which the agency accurately describes as “universal symbols of the classical spirit and civilization” that together “form the greatest architectural and artistic complex bequeathed by Greek Antiquity to the world.”
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Seeing the Parthenon up close, admiring the six statue-columns on the Porch of the Maidens and taking in the panoramic view of the city below is an experience no one could forget — it’s a jaw-dropping moment that I look forward to sharing with travelers again and again.
After touring the Acropolis, the group enjoyed free time in the Plaka neighborhood. Located in the shadow of the Acropolis, the Plaka is filled with shops and restaurants and is steps from attractions like the Acropolis Museum. It was at that museum that I met up with a local friend, Kamil, who is a strong advocate for accessibility and inclusion, and works professionally with the European Network on Independent Living (ENIL). It was wonderful to meet in person for the first time, share travel stories and enjoy an afternoon drink. You can follow his adventures on his website, The Trawheeler (in Greek) or on Instagram at @thetrawheeler.
Slowing down and smelling the sheep
My tour itinerary here in Greece contains a bit of everything — the action-packed sights and sounds of the two largest cities, Athens and Thessaloniki, but also the slow pace of the countryside in what I previously referred to as “My Home in Greek Macedonia.”
At the incredible, wheelchair accessible villa from which I am writing this newsletter, I have the opportunity each evening to go outside and watch the local shepherd tend his flock of sheep. He takes them from farm to farm, where they graze on the grass that grows amidst the olive trees. The Aegean Sea is seen in the distance, and Mount Olympus towers behind me. I marvel at the beautiful life of the shepherd — his work is hard, to be sure, but so meaningful!
It is nice to slow down sometimes, enjoying nature and the scenes of everyday life in this small Greek village nestled between the Mediterranean and the mountain that was home to the twelve Olympian gods.