A three-fingered peninsula in Central Macedonia, Chalkidiki is mainland Greece’s sun and sand holiday paradise. The region has 72 Blue Flag beaches on 550 kilometres of coastline, and is sprinkled with archaeological sites like Stagira where the philosopher Aristotle was born. The Kassandra and Sithonia Peninsulas to the west and centre are the tourist go-tos, …
Between the Pindus range and the Ionian Sea, the mountainous region of Epirus is in the northwest of Greece. The coast has the kind of warm climate and pine trimmed coves you’d expect from the Ionian Islands, but inland the landscape becomes vast and winters blanket the peaks in snow. One of many awesome natural …
In the Ionian Sea and joined to the Greek mainland by road, Lefkada (Lefkas) is an island with mountainous topography and beaches so immaculate you may have seen them before ‘in advertising. One, Porto Katsiki is even more beautiful than it looks, with a white pebble beach resting at the foot of white, crescent-shaped cliffs. …
In antiquity some big hitters lived on the island of Samos, like the philosopher Epicurus, the astronomer Aristarchus and, most famous of all, the mathematician Pythagoras. You may remember him from the Pythagorean theorem in your school days, and on Samos you can journey to the caves where he is believed to have lived and …
The capital of Crete, Heraklion is a port with a long and compelling story to tell. Over the centuries the city has been controlled by the Byzantines, Moors, Venetians and Ottomans before joining modern Greece in the 20th century. The Venetians were in charge all through the late Medieval and Renaissance periods, when they built …
Capital of the Achaia prefecture, Patras has a heavenly setting on its namesake gulf at the very north of Peloponnese. Modern Patras by the water was rebuilt around impressive squares after the city was damaged Greek War of Independence in the 19th century. But up the slope is the old city, where you’ll happen upon …
A northwestern suburb of Athens, Peristeri is the fourth-largest municipality in Greece. For most of its history this was empty fields on the Sacred Way, an ancient procession route from Athens to Eleusis. But during the Greco-Turkish War from of 1919-1922 Peristeri was chosen for refugee camps. These grew into a suburb after the Second …
A port, a place of higher learning and a cultural giant, Thessaloniki in Central Macedonia is Greece’s second largest city. For centuries Thessaloniki was also the second city of the Byzantine Empire, deferring only to Constantinople. From that time, the Christian and Byzantine monuments like the Hagios Demetrios and Hagia Sophia churches are part of …
In ancient times Piraeus was the naval port of Athens, and the modern city lies in the same conurbation, only a Metro ride away from the capital. On the water Piraeus has two circular natural harbours with narrow openings and bowls of modern buildings behind. At the Bay of Zea the ruins of ancient shipyards …
If you’re like us then coming to the cradle of civilisation is like being a child in a candy shop. There’s no limit to the amount of Doric and Ionic temples, statues, vases and Archaic figurines we could devour before we get tired. In museums you can see the ballot disks from Ancient Greek courts, …