Affectionately known as the City of the Argonauts, in Greek mythology, Volos was where Jason boarded the Argo on a quest for the Golden Fleece at Colchis. As a nod to this ancient hero there’s a replica of an ancient Trireme ship berthed at the city’s port. An industrial port city in modern times, Volos …
A well-to-do resort on the Athens Riviera, Glyfada is where Greek tycoons, politicians and foreign oligarchs go for sun, sea and sand a short drive of the capital. To the uninitiated it’s a kind of Greek Marbella, with luxury boutiques, snazzy cocktail bars, a golf course and a string of private beaches. There’s enough nightlife, …
In eastern Athens Zografou is a municipality with a big student population, where you’ll find the campus for the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, as well as the National Technical University of Athens. The neighbourhood is bounded to the east by the 1,000-metre Mount Hymettus and you can hike on the mountain through the …
The Mediterranean’s fifth-largest island was the birthplace of the oldest civilisation in Europe, blossoming in 2700 BC. To get to know the Minoans you can venture through Bronze Age archaeological sites across the island, and call in at the phenomenal Archaeological Museum in the capital, Heraklion. These Minoan palaces and cities blur the lines between …
Villages infused with the scent of jasmine and bougainvillea, a magical Medieval UNESCO-listed old town, superlative beaches with glistening waters: There are hundreds of reasons to come to Rhodes, but we’ll try to condense the tally to just 15. The largest of the Dodecanese islands in the southern Aegean, Rhodes has architecture that looks like …
The extraordinary island of Santorini in the Southern Aegean is on the eastern chunk of a collapsed caldera. Its villages have whitewashed cave houses with blue doors, carved in tiers at the top of menacing dark cliffs. These west facing settlements like Oia, Fira and Imerovigli enjoy front-row views of one of the world’s most …
The second-largest Ionian Island has seen the Byzantines, Venetians, French and British come and go over the last 1,000 years, and all these cultures have left something behind. If you need a place to begin, try the World Heritage Old Town of Corfu City, which is guarded by two mighty Venetian fortresses that withstood everything …
Mention Mykonos and a few images will spring to mind, whether it’s celebrities sunbathing on yachts, bright white Cycladic architecture or paradisiacal beaches. One of the most popular islands in the Aegean, Mykonos has a fun-loving, cosmopolitan atmosphere and is well-established as a gay-friendly destination. You’ll want to spend as much time as possible in …
A volcanic island with a big natural harbour and rich geology, Milos has been mined for millennia for minerals and material like obsidian, sulphur, and gypsum. The island’s geology gives rise to coastal sights that photos can’t do justice, like Sarakiniko and Kleftiko, and the kind of beaches that can make you gasp. In the …
In the Thessaly Valley, Kalambaka is a town watched by the surreal rock formations of Meteora. With wisps of greenery, these gigantic sandstone and conglomerate pillars are up to 400 metres high and topped with monasteries that make up a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The columns were separated by earthquakes and then shaped by wind …