The Holy Mountain culminates as Mount Athos (2 033m), its steep slopes plunging into the sea. Dedicated to the contemplative life since the 9C, this is Orthodox monasticism at its purest. A timeless place enriched by centuries of heritage, few are ad..

The monastery of Agia Paraskevi hangs vertiginously over the gorge, where the Voidomatis flows 1 000m below. From the monastery, a path winds along the cliff. From the viewpoint overlooking the confluence of the Voidomatis, there is an impressive p..

Traditionally, Cape Sounion is visited from the Apollo Coast, returning to Athens at sunset. An outrider of Attica, watching over the entrance to the Saronic gulf, Homer’s “sacred promontory” is admirably situated facing the Aegean and Cyclades. The ..

The southernmost point of the Peleponnese was once crowned by a temple to Poseidon, later replaced by the church of the Assumption. Returning from Alinka, take the route to Lagia crossing the Mani ridge. Beyond Lagia, the route drops through a wild..

Among the beaches near Hora on Andros, Achaia is accessible only by caique or along a footpath through a gorge. Crystal-clear water and an enchanting backdrop for lovers of unspoilt beauty.

A windswept deserted island, once the site of the Aegean’s greatest ancient city; this is Delos, the home of Apollo, god of beauty and light. In Antiquity, it played a leading commercial and religious role: the whole of the Greek world came through h..

The northernmost island of the Dodecanese is an important place of Christian devotion: St John the Apostle wrote the Apocalypse here, and an 11C monastery dedicated to him vies with Mount Athos as the centre of Orthodox Christianity. Around it lies..

The sunshine island of Rhodes is a seductive mix of gentle climate, varied landscape ideal for walkers, lovely beaches and exceptional history (as typified by its citadel , Lindos and Monolithos Castle ). The largest of the Dodecanese is also sea..

Boat trips leave from Zante Town and head around the island head north to Cape Skinari , then follow the impressive cliffs of the west coast interspersed by lovely beaches, before reaching Shipwreck bay where they put in. Alternatively head to the..

Looking towards the Sacred Lake, these famous ancient lions carved from Naxos marble numbered at least nine; five have been replaced by copies, a sixth was removed by the Venetians in the 17C and today stands guard over the Arsenale in Venice, the ot..

On a square, this Byzantine church was founded by St Helena, mother of Emperor Constantine (280-337); the current building is largely 10C. The church of Our Lady of the Hundred Doors blends a thee-nave basilica plan with a Greek cross plan. Note the ..

In an extraordinary site, this venerable monastery literally clings to a cliff-face.Sparkling white against the sombre rock, the building appears halfway up a 500m-high vertcal cliff. Visiting this holy place is an other-worldly experience. Accompani..

Above the Pleistos ravine, amid the grandiose scenery of the Parnassus massif, Delphi was in ancient times a mystical place; its sanctuary of Apollo attracted hordes of pilgrims drawn by its oracle. The site is situated by a road, about 1km before ..

On a dry hilltop encircled by mountains are the ruins of Mycenae, described by Homer as “rich in gold”. This fortified settlement was in the second millennium BC a distinct civilisation, which greatly influenced later Greek culture. Ruled by the Atre..

Intellectual and physical prowess, the spirit of concord and peace: such were the principles of the games which in Antiquity drew all Greeks together at Olympos. 2 800 years later, today’s Olympics embody the same ideal. At the heart of the idyllic A..

In a melancholy spot at altitude (1 130m) on the south flank of Mount Minthi and surrounded by ravines, the temple looks across a sweeping horizon with the mountains of Lakonia and Messenia in the distance. Built around 450-420 BC by the residents of..

In an exceptionally beautiful site on the outskirts of the modern village of Vergina stand the ruins of Aigai, the ancient Macedonian capital, unearthed by French archaeologists in 1856. Excavations resumed in the 1930s with a Greek team, and archaeo..

In a site dominating the Messara plain, on a spur of the Mount Ida massif, stand the remains of the Minoan palace of Phaestos, built by Rhadamanthus. Excavations by Italian archaeologists revealed two sequential buildings, the first dating to 2000-16..

In a bowl below its citadel, Mistras has Byzantine monasteries and chuches, decayed palaces and houses on its slopes (a spur of Mount Taigetos). Only clerics live here now yet it remains splendid, and its ruins (a Unesco World Heritage site) testify ..

This elegant 5C B.C. temple, with many places of worship, was a church, a palace, a harem and then a military magazine. The famous portico of the kores was named the «Caryatids tribune» because 6 statues of young women, clad in tunics with parallel f..