Agia Paraskevi

These Group Trips Help Young Travelers Connect With Their Heritage

"The National Hellenistic Society launched this two-week cultural immersion program for North American college students of Greek descent in 2009. Students are hosted at the American College of Greece’s sprawling, 64-acre campus in the Agia Paraskevi suburb of Athens, where they sleep in student housing. (They’re also paired up with a peer group plucked from the school, who are as likely to help nail down declensions as they are to explain national dating rituals.) Along the way, there are outings to archaeological sites like the Temple of Hephaestus, at the Agora, and visits to one of Athens’ many laikis, or traditional farmers’ markets."