Elafonisi

Greece

　　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 the water swirls across the sands, rainbows shimmer across its surface. Off Elafonisi's long, wide strand lies Elafonisi Islet, occasionally connected by a thin, sandy isthmus, which...

Vergina Royal Tombs Museum

Greece

　　A grass-covered tumulus (burial mound) has been converted into a truly spine-tingling museum where visitors can descend to unspoiled royal Macedonian tombs from the time of Alexander the Great and his dynast-warrior king father Philip II. The showpiece is the marble 336-BC tomb of Philip II: buried with silver chalices,...

Northern Pindos National Park

Greece

　　North of Ioannina, this large protected area includes the Vikos-Aoös region around the plunging Vikos Gorge, and the Valia Kalda forest north of Metsovo. Consistent across the nearly 200,000 hectares are pristine rivers and forests, flowering meadows, and shimmering lakes. Almost one-third of Greece’s flora (some endemic) lives here, along...

Falasarna

Greece

　　This broad sweep of beach has magical-looking pink-cream sands and teal waters and is known for its stunning sunsets. Along with superb water clarity, Falasarna has wonderfully big waves: long rollers coming from the open Mediterranean. It gets busy from mid-July to mid-August, primarily with day trippers from Hania and...

Kastro – Medieval Village

Greece

　　Almost wholly surrounded by ocean, Monemvasia's fortified medieval village is divided into the lower town, bisected by a main cobbled street lined with souvenir shops, hotels and tavernas that leads to the main square, and the upper town, with its ruins and fortress. The greatest pleasure of visiting the site...

Olympia Archaeological Museum

Greece

　　This superb museum features finds from the adjacent archaeological site of Olympia. Visiting it in conjunction with the ruins helps to put the ancient site into perspective. The museum's exhibits span the Olympic sanctuary's past, from the prehistoric to the Roman periods. Artefacts include increasingly sophisticated ceramics, votive offerings to...

Ancient Olympia

Greece

　　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 flame is still lit here for the modern Games. Thanks to the destruction ordered by Theodosius II in AD 420 and various subsequent...

Palace of Knossos

Greece

　　Crete’s most famous historical attraction is the Palace of Knossos, the grand capital of Minoan Crete, located 5km south of the city of Iraklio. The setting is evocative and the ruins and recreations impressive, incorporating an immense palace, courtyards, private apartments, baths, lively frescoes and more. 　　HistoryKnossos’ first palace (1900...

Ancient Mycenae

Greece

　　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 Greeks during the Trojan War. For four centuries in the second millennium BC, this kingdom was the most powerful in Greece, holding sway over the...

Mystras

Greece

　　Spread over a steep mountainside and surrounded by verdant olive and orange trees, this former Byzantine capital and fortified city is the single most compelling set of medieval ruins in Greece. Treading the cobblestones, worn smooth by centuries of footsteps, you can walk with the ghosts, ducking into the ruins...

Agia Triada Church

Lasithi Province

　　Right in the town centre, Agios Nikolaos' main church is a three-aisled Byzantine construction dedicated to the Holy Trinity. The mosaic above the main portal was added in 2001. ...

Folk Museum

Lasithi Province

　　This modest museum near the lake houses a well-curated collection of traditional handicrafts (especially textiles, costumes and embroidery), alongside photographs, rugs, books, manuscripts and other bits and bobs from the past. ...

Minotaur Mural

Lasithi Province

　　Walking along the waterfront on Akti Koundourou, keep an eye out for a superb perspective mural depicting the Minotaur on a zigzagging staircase (next to Manolis bike hire). It's a 2018 work by Athens-born artist Manolis Anastasakos, whose fascination with mythology often finds expression in his work. ...

Abduction of Europa Statue

Lasithi Province

　　The myth of the Phoenician princess Europa being abducted by Zeus in the guise of a bull finds expression in a monumental statue at the end of a ho-hum car park near the port, off Akti Themistokleous. 　　Designed by the late film director – and local boy – Nikos Koundouros,...

Maritime Museum

Santorini

　　This museum is located along a narrow lane that leads off north from Nikolaou Nomikou. It’s housed in a renovated and converted 19th-century mansion and has endearing displays on Santorini’s maritime history. Oia's prosperity was based on its merchant fleet, which serviced the eastern Mediterranean, especially between Alexandria and Russia....

Ammoudi

Santorini

　　This tiny port of colourful fishing boats lies 300 steps below Oia. It’s a steep haul down and up again but well worth it for the views of the blood-red cliffs, the harbour and back up at Oia. Once you’re down there, have lunch at one of the excellent, if...

Kolokytha Beach

Lasithi Province

　　On the eastern shore of Spinalonga Island, Kolokytha is a small but lovely sandy cove with a view over to Kolokytha Island. Tour boats drop their passengers here for swimming and barbecues between 12.30pm and 2.30pm, so come early or in the afternoon to revel in its remoteness. To get...

Spinalonga Island

Lasithi Province

　　Tiny Spinalonga Island became a leper colony in 1903 and catapulted into pop-cultural consciousness thanks to Victoria Hislop's 2005 bestselling novel The Island and the subsequent Greek TV series spin-off To Nisi. Boats departing from Elounda, Plaka and Agios Nikolaos drop visitors at Dante's Gate, the 20m-long tunnel through which...

Mykonos Folklore Museum

Mykonos

　　Housed in an 18th-century sea captain’s house, this moderately interesting museum features a large collection of furnishings and other artefacts, including a cellar full of nautical objects. ...

Aegean Maritime Museum

Mykonos

　　Amid the barnacle-encrusted amphorae, ye olde nautical maps and navigation instruments, there are numerous detailed models of famous sailing ships and paddle steamers. You can also learn the difference between an Athenian trireme, a Byzantine dromon and an ancient Egyptian seagoing ship. There's an enormous Fresnel lighthouse lantern in the...

Little Venice

Mykonos

　　Leaning right over the water, this picturesque cluster of arcaded Venetian houses hides numerous bars, boutiques and clubs. ...

Rarity Gallery

Mykonos

　　This excellent little gallery is well worth a peek for its temporary exhibitions that showcase contemporary paintings, sculpture and photography. ...

Windmills

Mykonos

　　Constructed in the 16th century by the Venetians for the milling of wheat, seven of Mykonos' iconic windmills are picturesquely situated on a small hill overlooking the harbour. ...

Megali Ammos

Mykonos

　　The best beach within easy walking distance of the centre of town, Megali Ammos has a couple of upmarket resorts and an excellent taverna right on the golden sands. It's a 10-minute walk south from the windmills. ...

Archaeological Museum of Mykonos

Mykonos

　　A headless, almost limbless 2nd-century BC statue of Hercules in Parian marble is the highlight of this small, well-presented collection. Otherwise it's very heavy on pottery and funerary stelae (carved monuments), much of it sourced from Delos and the neighbouring island of Rineia, which served as its cemetery. Periodic exhibitions...

Panagia Paraportiani

Mykonos

　　Built between the 15th and 17th centuries, Mykonos’ most famous church comprises four small chapels – plus another on an upper storey reached by an exterior staircase. It’s usually locked, but the fabulously photogenic whitewashed, rock-like exterior is the drawcard. ...

Arvanitia Beach

Nafplio

　　This small pebble beach is just five minutes’ walk south of town, tucked beside the Akronafplia fortress, past the Land Gate. It's a nice place for a sunset bathe, with great views. For a scenic stroll, take the blustery, cactus-adorned path that skirts the headland from the bottom of the...

Karathona Beach

Nafplio

　　A gorgeous pine-tree-lined 3km path runs from the car park next to Arvanitia Beach to the long, sandy Karathona Beach. It's a flat, easy walk, though the beach could be cleaner. Don't feel like walking? Head your car along 25 Martiou east of town. It's 5km from the centre. 　　At...

National Gallery – Nafplio Annex

Nafplio

　　This arm of the Athens National Gallery is housed in a stunningly restored neoclassical building (don't be deterred; the front door looks to be closed). It features numerous seascapes and different thematic takes on the 1821 Greek War of Independence, including paintings by Theodoros Vryzakis and Dionysios Tsokos, who are...

Bourtzi

Nafplio

　　Odyssey Cruises runs boat excursions to this island fortress. Built in 1473, it lies about 600m west of the town's port and has served variously as a pirate deterrent, a home for executioners and a hotel. Note that the battlements are identical in design to Moscow's Kremlin; both were built...

Komboloi Museum

Nafplio

　　Whether or not you wish to buy Greece's most popular souvenir item – komboloï (worry beads) – at the gift shop, it's worth popping into the incense-scented museum here to learn what distinguishes the komboloï from prayer beads and why the amber-mastic mix is so special. Among the collection of...

Peloponnesian Folklore Foundation Museum

Nafplio

　　Nafplio’s award-winning museum is a beautifully arranged collection of folk costumes and household items from Nafplio’s 19th- and early-20th-century history. Be wowed by the intricate embroidery of traditional costumes and the heavy silver adornments; admire the turn-of-the-20th-century couture and look out for the cute horse-tricycle. The gift shop sells high-quality...

Palamidi Fortress

Nafplio

　　This vast, spectacular citadel, reachable either by steep ascent on foot or a short drive, stands on a 216m-high outcrop of rock that gives all-encompassing views of Nafplio and the Argolic Gulf. It was built by the Venetians between 1711 and 1714, and is regarded as a masterpiece of military...

Archaeological Museum

Nafplio

　　Inside a splendid Venetian building, this museum traces the social development of Argolis, from the hunter-gatherers of the Franchthi Cave to the sophisticated Mycenaean-era civilisations, through beautifully presented archaeological finds from the surrounding area. Exhibits include a Palaeolithic hearth, Geometric-period pottery, a 6th-century-BC amphora that was a prize from the...

Church of Agios Nikolaos

Delphi

　　Even if it’s just for the views, it’s well worth the short climb up the steps from opposite Hotel Tholos to reach the Byzantine-style stone church of Agios Nikolaos. Come between 8am and 8.30am any morning to see its candles being lit. ...

Gymnasium

Delphi

　　The ruins of Delphi’s ancient gymnasium stand south of the Sanctuary of Apollo and west of the Sanctuary of Athena Pronea, in an area known as the Marmaria. This site is roped off for safety reasons, but you can easily see it from the road above, opposite the Castalia Spring....

Folklore Museum of Chrisso

Delphi

　　An imposing mansion and former school in the traditional village of Chrisso, 6km southwest of Delphi by road, now holds an enjoyable museum of local life. Fronted by colourful citrus trees, it shows off 19th-century costumes including a man's skirt with 400 pleats to symbolise 400 years of Ottoman rule,...

Sikelianos Museum

Delphi

　　Fans of Greek drama should head to this intimate 1920s mansion-turned-museum, which overlooks Delphi both ancient and modern. It's dedicated to Greek poet Angelos Sikelianos and his American-born wife Eva Palmer, who jointly reinvented Delphi as a modern Greek centre for drama and the arts. The museum displays intriguing photos...

Sanctuary of Athena Pronea

Delphi

　　For ancient pilgrims, Delphi’s first stop was the Sanctuary of Athena Pronea, now set just below the road 800m east of the Sanctuary of Apollo. This lovely spot is best known as home to the superbly photogenic Tholos, a graceful circular structure of unknown purpose that dates from the 4th...

Ancient Delphi

Delphi

　　Of all Greece's archaeological sites, Ancient Delphi has the most potent spirit of place. Centring on the mountainside Sanctuary of Apollo, home to the ancient world’s most renowned oracle, this sacred spot was never a city. To this day, the haunting ruins – a short walk east of the modern...

Delphi Archaeological Museum

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 treasures collected here will bring your image of ancient Delphi to life. Rich and powerful petitioners flocked to Delphi from the 8th century BC onwards, bringing fabulous gifts...

Sanctuary of Apollo

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 through his chosen oracle (a woman from the local area). The Sacred Way, the path that climbs to the complex's centrepiece Temple of Apollo, was lined in ancient...

Tris Ierarches

Skiathos Town

　　Dating from the mid-19th century, above the old port, Skiathos Town's main, dusty pink church contains the renowned icon of the Virgin of Kounistra, the island's patron. ...

Agios Nikolaos

Skiathos Town

　　Signposted just north of Plateia Papadiamanti, this plain 20th-century hilltop church opens up splendid views across Skiathos Town's red rooftops. It's a five-minute climb through winding white alleys. ...

Maritime and Culture Tradition Museum

Skiathos Town

　　A former school on Bourtzi islet houses a one-room local history museum. Staff point out exhibits, which are signed in Greek and consist mostly of 20th-century paraphernalia relating to shipbuilding and navigation. 　　The open-air theatre behind the museum is used for summer concerts. ...