My wife and I will be travelling by taxi from Bitola to Thessaloniki later this year. It looks like we go fairly close to Vergina, so we would like to have a look at the tombs and museum if that's practical. I imagine that we could only spend an hour or so there (as our taxi driver will no doubt have to drive back to Bitola after he delivers us to Thessaloniki). Is it worthwhile going to Vergina for such a short time or would it realistically require several hours or a day to do it justice? THank you.
1
bthdth
Is it worthwhile going to Vergina for such a short time or would it realistically require several hours or a day to do it justice?
I hope you realize that it is impossible to give an objective answer to your question, other than "it depends". Depends on what, you may ask. How tolerant are you of situations with a forced deadline? I don't like them. I prefer to visit attractions having the security of an open-ended agenda. This gives me the chance to spend as much time there as I feel inclined to. If a time limit is imposed on me .. a time limit that is less than my usual average .. then I do not go.
Aside from forced deadlines, how much time is enough? "An hour or so" is under my own average, although, on a case by case basis, it could also be more than enough time. A day, for me, is too long; at least, one uninterrupted day. If any location might need that many hours then I'd spread the time over 2-3 days .. since a half day anywhere results in information overload. I like to give myself 2-4 hours, then see what happens, but this is also the effect of a serious personal interest in history/archaeology.
I was lucky enough to have once been at a conference in Thessaloniki, where an afternoon excursion to Vergina was on offer. The differences in individual reactions said it all. One person praised the place as a not-to-be-missed highlight; someone else was bored and (admittedly) tired; a third person saw 'nothing new' in his own words. But then, for some people, archaeology is just one more pile of rocks.
So, where do you fit into the spectrum? What's the rest of your schedule look like? Could you leave it as a last minute decision, and decide whether to stop or not depending on the actual time you have? Maybe, on the day, you'll have a bit more, or a bit less. Perhaps if you leave a half hour earlier in the morning you'll give yourself additional time flexibility. Or, if you tell your driver the plan he might drive faster (not necessarily a good thing).
2
Thorn Tree
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