Half Day Tour to Pella – Archeological site and museum at Pella
Private tour tailored to your needs with an English speaking professional driver to Pella. Flexi Transfer provides everything you need for an exciting excursion to the museum of Pella and the archeological site of the Ancient Macedonian Palace fully customized by you.
Send us an email with your request or give us a call to speak to a travel expert and plan with him your tour.
tel.: +306937039967
Enjoy the luxury of a private tour. We provide our best vehicles, designed specifically to give maximum comfort and safety for your excursion:
| premium car: | 1-4 persons |
| premium minivan: | 1-8 persons |
What to expect?
Pickup from your hotel in Thessaloniki in a private vehicle. We drive to the village of Pella, the birthplace of Alexander the Great and visit the museum and the archeological site of Pella. The average travel duration from Thessaloniki city to Pella is 45 min and the road distance is aproximately 52 km.
When we will arrive at the village of Pella, we have enough time to visit the museum of Pella, one of the newest museums in Greece, discovering the most important exhibits,excavation finds and other findings as inscriptions, vases, mosaics, and after the archeological site of the Ancient Macedonian Palace. The excursion concludes with a drop-off to your hotel in Thessaloniki.
This tour can be modified to a full-day excursion upon request. It can be combined with a visit to a nearby city such as Gianitsa or Edessa for lunch or with a visit to other nearby archeological site such as Vergina.
Inclusions
• hotel pickup and drop-off.
• half day tour (total duration: 4 hours, ~1h 30min on road)
• transport by private vehicle (premium car or premium minivan)
• professional English-speaking driver
• all taxes
Exclusions
• entrance fee of the museum (8€ per person)
• professional guide (unless stated differently)
• meals
About Pella
At the end of the 5th / early 4th century BC the capital of the Macedonian state was transferred from Aigai until then the core of the Macedonian kingdom to Pella , which soon evolved into the most important political, economic and cultural center of the entire Hellenic territory.
When it was designated as the new capital of the Macedonian state (probably by King Archelaos), Pella was a small seaside settlement on the shores of the Thermaic Gulf. Its choice as the new core of the Macedonian kingdom was obviously due to its geographical locationwhich allowed easy access to the fertile lands of the hinterland, the implementation of Macedonian expansive projects and the development of commercial activities focusing on the city ‘s port .
From the end of the 4th century BC Pella had ceased to be a seaside settlement, but its harbor continued to operate (the city’s communication with Thermaikos secured a floating channel).
The virtuoso king Archelaus , the courtyard of which they lived, among others, the great Euripides and the tragic poet Agathon, commissioned the greatest artist of his time, Zefxin , to decorate the new palace was building in Pella. Inside this palace the Philip B ‘(386-336 BC) and his son, Alexander III (356-323 BC), Alexander the Great , the brightest child born of Macedonia.
Pella was organized and expanded in the years of Philip II (359-336 BC) and Cassander (302-297 BC). At the end of Classical times, Pella was now a large urban center, built according to the Hippodamian system.
The city has enjoyed its greatest prosperity during the Hellenistic Times , in the second half of the 4th century, in the 3rd and 2nd centuries BC, as the capital of the Macedonian state with intense commercial activity. After the battle of Pydna , in 168 BC, the Roman troops of the prominent generalAimilion Pavlos captured and plundered the capital of the defeated Macedonian king Perseus , which marked the abolition of the Macedonian state.
The latest data of archaeological research shows that, even after the dissolution of the Macedonian kingdom and the victory of the Romans, Pella remained a thriving commercial and industrial center with a strong productive and creative activity through the Early post-Christian Era (4th c. M ).
The floods of the Loudias, Aliakmonas and Axios rivers in the later centuries, as well as the drainage of the lake of Giannitsa during the interwar period, formed an entirely different setting in the wider area, with ancient Pella being more than twenty kilometers from the coastline of the Thermaic Gulf.
The excavations in the archaeological site of Pella (the first were conducted in the 1950s and 1960s) have revealed, among others, parts of the monumental building complex of the palace and the fortification , the city market (with production labs and shops selling products and food), private homes with excellent mosaic floorsand walls with color decoration, sanctuaries , prehistoric and historical cemeteries .
The Archaeological Museum of Pella, adapted to the terrain morphology, is located in the northeastern part of the archaeological site, at the foot of the hill where the palace of the kings was built.
It includes findings of Prehistoric and Historical Times, originating from the private houses, the market, the sanctuaries and cemeteries of Pella, as well as from settlements and cemeteries of the wider region.
Exhibited mosaics, vases, figurines, metalwork products, coins, sculptures, inscriptions, tombstones and votive columns, architectural etc.
article credits Vangelis Stergiopoulos
Do I have to wear a mask in transports – inside taxi or private hired vehicles – in Greece?
(2022 guidance on the use of face masks in Greece – Covid19 update)
TAXIS / PRIVATE TRANSFERS / MINIVANS / MINIBUSES / CITY BUSES
Our staff will wear a face covering inside the taxis and all private-hired cars for the duration of your journey. Our driver will use hand satinizer before and after any transaction or contact with your luggage etc. In Greece, it is the law that you must wear either a face covering or face mask even if you are vaccinated inside the taxis or private hired cars. Exemptions include people who have medical issues (trouble breathing, unability to wear a mask properly etc), children under the age of three (3) or you have any other legitamate reason not to – however please note that proof maybe requested by local authorities. Our drivers treat everyone with respect and compassion and understand if it is not immediately obvious that some people are not able to wear face covering for medical reasons.
AIRPORTS / AIRPLANES / TRAINS / INTERCITY BUSES:
From Wednesday 1st of June 2022 and after, Greek state decided and it is the law now that masks are not mandatory.
SHIPS / FERRYBOATS
From Thursday 2nd of June 2022 and after Greek state decided and it is the law now that masks are not mandatory, but it is strongly reccomended.
Where do I have to wear mask in Greece?
(in use after 1st of June 2022 for summer/autumn period – Covid19 update)
From Wednesday 1st of June 2022 and after, Greek state decided and it is the law now that:
– Masks are NOT mandatory anymore INDOORS. This means that you DON’T have to wear a facemask anymore, if you want to visit a coffee shop, a restaurant, a beach bar, a shop, hotel or supermarket.
– You MUST wear a mask, if you visit the following places: public hospital, pharmacy, private clinic, doctor’s office, medical centre, retirement and nursing home. You must also wear a mask, when using public transportation (public bus, taxi, chauffeurred-driven vehicles etc)