Argolis
On a hilltop backed by powerful mountains stand the sombre and mighty ruins of Ancient Mycenae, home of Agamemnon, the legendary king who commanded the…
Must-see attractions in Greece
Delphi
Serving as the heart of Ancient Delphi, the hillside Sanctuary of Apollo is where pilgrims would journey to hear prophecies from the god Apollo, voiced…
Peloponnese
This is where the Olympic Games took place every four years for over 1100 years, until their abolition by Emperor Theodosius I in AD 393. The Olympic…
Delos
Delos has a special place in Greek mythology. When Leto was pregnant with twins Apollo and Artemis, she was relentlessly pursued by a vengeful Hera – the…
Delphi
Delphi’s magnificent modern museum, 500m east of town, perfectly complements the ancient site alongside. Which you visit first doesn’t matter, but the…
Monemvasia
Almost wholly surrounded by ocean, Monemvasia's fortified medieval village is divided into the lower town, bisected by a main cobbled street lined with…
Peloponnese
This superb museum features finds from the adjacent archaeological site of Olympia. Visiting it in conjunction with the ruins helps to put the ancient…
Athens
The Agora was ancient Athens' heart, the lively hub of administrative, commercial, political and social activity. Socrates expounded his philosophy here;…
Macedonia
A grass-covered tumulus (burial mound) has been converted into a truly spine-tingling museum where visitors can descend to unspoiled royal Macedonian…
Macedonia
The cloud-covered lair of the Ancient Greek pantheon, awe-inspiring Mt Olympus is simply spectacular. It fires visitors' imaginations today, just as it…
Athens
This outstanding museum, based in the 1848 Villa Ilissia, offers exhibition halls, most of them underground, crammed with religious art. The exhibits go…
Heraklion Archaeological Museum
Iraklio
This state-of-the-art museum is one of the largest and most important in Greece. The two-storey revamped 1930s Bauhaus building makes a gleaming showcase…
Lindos
A short, steep-stepped footpath climbs the rocky 116m-high headland above the village to reach Lindos’ beautifully preserved Acropolis. First fortified in…
Benaki Museum of Greek Culture
Athens
In 1930 Antonis Benakis – a politician's son born in Alexandria, Egypt, in the late 19th century – endowed what is perhaps the finest museum in Greece…
National Archaeological Museum
Athens
Housing the world's finest collection of Greek antiquities in an enormous neoclassical building, this museum is one of Athens' top attractions. Treasures…
Syntagma & Plaka
A can't-miss on two counts: it's a marvellous temple, once the largest in Greece, and it's smack in the centre of Athens. Of the temple's 104 original…
Rhodes Town
A weathered, sun-kissed stone lion, visible from the street, invites visitors into the magnificent 15th-century Knights' Hospital that holds Rhodes’…
Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Center
Athens
Sitting beneath a man-made slope above Faliron Bay, and shaded by a 'Magic Carpet' roof covered with solar panels, this stunning Renzo Piano building,…
Meteora
Of all the Meteora monasteries, Moni Agias Triados, which featured in the 1981 James Bond film For Your Eyes Only, feels the most remote. A long down-then…
Argolis
Built of limestone, yet one of the best-preserved Ancient Greek structures in existence, this late-4th-century-BC theatre is the undisputed highlight of…
Meteora
Dramatically perched atop a steep pinnacle and accessed via a high narrow wooden bridge, Rousanou convent has an intimate atmosphere. Its small community…
Santorini
First settled by the Dorians in the 9th century BC, Ancient Thira consists of Hellenistic, Roman and Byzantine ruins and is an atmospheric and rewarding…
Skiathos
Framed by electric-green pine trees, two forested headlands and a small salt-water wetland, Koukounaries' silky 1200m-long sweep of bleach-blonde sand is…
Monastery of St John the Theologian
Dodecanese
As this immense 11th-century monastery-cum-fortress remains active, only a small portion is open to visitors. The entrance courtyard leads to a…
Dodecanese
Nestled amid the pines halfway to Hora, the Monastery of the Apocalypse focuses on the cave where St John lived as a hermit and received his revelation…
Messinia
The remains of this vast ancient city are as extensive as those of Olympia and Epidavros, yet Ancient Messini receives only a fraction of their visitors…
Peloponnese
Ancient Nemea was once the venue for the biennial Nemean Games, held in honour of Zeus. Three original columns of the imposing 4th-century-BC Doric Temple…
Peloponnese
Within a modern village loom the extensive yet compact ruins of this ancient (mostly Roman) city. Home to legendary Jason of the Argonauts, stealer of the…
Argolis
In its day Epidavros, 30km east of Nafplio, was famed and revered across the Mediterranean as a place of miraculous healing. Visitors came great distances…
Around Athens
The Ancient Greeks knew how to choose a site for a temple. At Cape Sounion, 70km south of Athens, the Temple of Poseidon stands on a craggy spur that…
Museum of the Kalavryta Holocaust
Peloponnese
This is a powerful tribute to the residents of Kalavryta who perished in the 13 December 1943 slaughter perpetrated by the German army. It’s a dignified,…
Messinia
The best preserved of all Mycenaean palaces lies 17km north of Pylos and is a thrilling sight. It's described in Homer's 'Odyssey' as the court of the…
Elounda
Tiny Spinalonga Island became a leper colony in 1903 and catapulted into pop-cultural consciousness thanks to Victoria Hislop's 2005 bestselling novel The…
Peloponnese
Situated on a wild, isolated spot overlooking rugged mountains and hills, this World Heritage–listed temple is one of Greece’s most atmospheric…
Zagorohoria
The Voïdomatis ('Good Water' in its Slavic roots) River, a tributary of the Aoös, carved the 12km-long, 900m-deep Vikos Gorge over millions of years. Per…
Rethymno Province
The 16th-century Arkadi Monastery, 23km southeast of Rethymno, has deep significance for Cretans. As the site where hundreds of cornered locals massacred…
Hania Province
Tucked into Crete’s southwestern corner, this symphony of fine pink-white sand, turquoise water and gentle rose dunes looks like a magical dreamscape. As…
Hania Province
The ruins of the ancient city of Aptera, about 13.5km east of Hania, spread over two hills that lord grandly over Souda Bay. Founded in the 7th century BC…
Peloponnese
The remarkable Cave of the Lakes lies 16.5km south of Kalavryta near the village of Kastria. A 500m boardwalk snakes its way through the cave, through the…
National Marine Park of Alonnisos Northern Sporades
Alonnisos
In a country not particularly noted for ecological foresight, Europe's largest marine park (2260 sq km) is a welcome innovation. Created in 1992, its…
