Frommer's Athens and the Greek Islands

By Stephen Brewer

This guide is geared to travelers who want to go to Greece for beaches, beautiful weather, island hopping, archaeological riches, and the capital city of Athens. Inside, you’ll find smart itineraries, important historic sights and museums, and the types of restaurants, nightlife, and hidden beauty spots that only the locals know about.

We'll start you off with an in-depth overview of Athens and rewarding day trips from there, before setting off to explore the most beautiful and appealing of Greece's many islands, including the Saronic Gulf Islands, Crete, the Cyclades, the Dodecanese, the Northeastern Aegean Islands, the Sporades, and the Ionian Islands.

The book contains:

• Insider advice on the best ways to experience some of the country's most dazzling historic sites and natural landscapes, including tips on the best views, the best scenic drives, and the best activities
• User-friendly features including star ratings, detailed maps, and a pullout map
• Exact pricing for hotels, restaurants, attractions, and more, so you can budget for your trip and avoid nasty surprises (no vague symbols for prices in a Frommer’s guide!)
• Opinionated and detailed reviews of historic sights, museums, hotels, restaurants, and other attractions to help you find what will appeal to you—and what you can skip. Since our authors’ only client is the reader, no listing in this book is paid advertising. Frommer’s takes pride in its tradition of journalistic reporting
• Large, easy-to-read fonts but thin paper, so the book isn’t too heavy to carry.
• Helpful planning tips for getting there, getting around, saving money and getting the most from your trip

About Frommer’s: There’s a reason that Frommer’s has been the most trusted name in travel for more than 60 years. Arthur Frommer created the bestselling guide series in 1957 to help American service members fulfill their dreams of travel in Europe. Since then, we have published thousands of titles, becoming a household name by helping millions upon millions of people realize their own dreams of seeing our planet. Travel is easy with Frommer’s.

• Language: English
• Publisher: FrommerMedia
• Release date: May 16, 2023
• ISBN: 9781628875508

Book preview

1

The Best of Athens & the Greek Islands

The Acropolis, the theater at Epidaurus, the palace at Knossos—Greece’s ancient wonders are legendary, and all the more alluring when you throw in that blue sky and those warm blue seas, a natural beauty that at times can seem almost mystical. Plus, there’s so much else: the beaches, some of the world’s most luxurious places to stay, simple tavernas where a meal on the terrace can seem like the feast of a lifetime. Just the experience of sitting, watching, and taking it all in can be profound. To help you enjoy your time in Greece to the fullest, here’s what we consider to be the best of the best.

The best Greek Travel Experiences

Enjoy a taverna meal under the stars: You can experience this pleasure anywhere in Greece, of course—maybe on an island with the sea in view, or in the countryside, with the scent of pine in the air, or even in busy, noisy Athens. The food is usually simple but fresh and delicious, the pace is almost always easygoing, and the spectacle of life buzzing around you is endlessly entertaining, like being in the theater. See Where to Eat sections throughout chapters 4 through 11.

Gasp at the Santorini caldera: The cliffs glimmer in transcendent light, white villages look like a dusting of snow on the cliff tops, and boats sailing in and out of the harbor far below appear almost Homeric. Come sunset, one of Greece’s most photogenic spectacles is a reliable show on this island where the sky is usually cloudless. See p. 215.

Gaze at the Acropolis, Athens: You don’t have to go out of your way to find a vantage point. The best approach is to let the sight catch you by surprise, as you look up from a narrow side street or traffic-choked square. One prime spot is the Grand Promenade; even Athenians get a thrill every time they follow this walkway around the base of the Acropolis Hill past some of the greatest monuments of antiquity. Think of the experience as time travel. See p. 92.

An alfresco dinner at even the simplest Greek taverna can be a transporting experience.

Get into the rhythms of Lalaria Beach, Skiathos: Greece’s beaches are among the most beautiful in the world, but nothing quite prepares you for the approach to this almost mystical cove in the Sporades archipelago. At first you won’t quite know what that murmur is. Then you slowly become accustomed to the soft rumble of white marble stones rolling back and forth in the surf, amplified by sun-dappled sea cliffs. See p. 338.

Descend onto the Lasithi Plateau, Crete: First the road climbs and climbs; then suddenly you reach the summit of the pass and at your feet spreads a high haven of orchards and fields, studded with windmills and protected by a tidy ring of mountains. Your explorations can include a cave that’s one of the alleged birthplaces of Zeus—it’s not hard to believe a god would choose to be born up here. See p. 298.

Catch your first glimpse of Skyros Town, Skyros: This hilltop hora appears to defy gravity—at first sight the white houses clinging to a rocky mount high above the coastal plain look like a mirage. Make the ascent to the upper town, where a walk along the steep, narrow lanes only heightens the illusion. See p. 354.

Succumb to the simple charms of Mykonos: For all its glitz and glamour, worldly Mykonos shows off its best side in Hora, where wooden balconies hang from square white houses, outdoor staircases are lined with pots of geraniums, and oleander and hibiscus scent the air. In the picturesque Little Venice quarter, the island’s sea captains built their homes so close to the water’s edge that waves wash against the lower floors. See p. 172.

best Encounters with the Ancient Greeks

Envision life as it once was in the Agora: Athens has no shortage of ancient ruins, but those of the Agora, the marketplace and social center of the ancient city, might be the most evocative. Even though most of the shops and stoas have been reduced to rubble, just enough remains (including the best-preserved Greek temple in the world and an ancient clock tower and weather station) to give you an idea of what the place must have been like when Socrates sat with his students on shady porticos and vendors hawked spices and oils. See p. 103.

Consult the oracle at Delphi: No other ancient site is quite as mysterious and alluring as this sanctuary to Apollo, nestled amid olive groves high above the Gulf of Corinth on the flanks of Mount Parnassus. It’s easy to see why the spot was so transporting for the ancients, who flocked here to seek the enigmatic counsel of Apollo. See p. 151.

There’s still a mystical air surrounding the ruined temples of Delphi, on the slopes of Mount Parnassus.

Encounter the gods on Delos: One of the most sacred places for ancient Greeks still inspires, even in jumbled ruin. As you walk among temples and skirt the shores of the sacred lake, you’ll get a sense of what a trip to this island—the central point of the Cyclades—might have meant to a pilgrim of long ago. See p. 179.

Look out to sea from the Temple of Poseidon: You only have to make the pleasant trip from Athens down the Attic coast to Sounion to appreciate how ancient Greeks understood the concept that location is everything. It’s easy to imagine how the sight of the majestic temple warmed the hearts of sailors returning to Athens after months at sea; you can even recreate the experience with a swim from the rocks below the site. See p. 118.

Walk beneath the pines in Olympia: The superheroes who bring most visitors to Olympia are not gods and artists but ancient athletes, who competed in the city’s games, inaugurated in 776 b.c. Remnants of the stadium, gymnasium, training hall, and dormitories scattered around the site make such a vivid experience, you wouldn’t be completely shocked to come upon a naked pankration competitor rubbing himself down with olive oil. See p. 147.

Gaze from the Acrocorinth: Atop one of the world’s most remarkable fortresses, high above the isthmus and the Corinth Plain, you seem to be sharing time and space with the Greek and Roman inhabitants of one of the most cosmopolitan cities in the ancient world. See p. 137.

Take a bow in the theater at Epidaurus: Even the inevitable crop of stage-struck wannabes belting out show tunes doesn’t detract from the thrill of standing on the spot where ancient actors performed the Greek classics when they were new. The 55 tiers of limestone seats remain much as they were, and acoustics are so sharp that a stage whisper can be heard at the top of the house. See p. 145.

Admire ancient marbles on Paros: Parian marble has a way of catching your gaze and not letting go. After all, the most famous statue in the world, the Venus de Milo, is sculpted from the translucently white and luminescent stone quarried on this island in the Cyclades. On the back lanes of Parikia you may also be intrigued by a much less formal display: Bits and pieces of columns and pediments, debris from ancient temples, are wedged willy-nilly into the walls of the 13th-century Venetian kastro, a head-spinning glimpse into civilizations past. See p. 204.

Greece’s best Museum Moments

Be mesmerized by ancient storytelling in the Acropolis Museum: More than any other ancient pieces, the exquisitely carved Parthenon friezes capture fascinating snippets of divinity and humanity—in one, the goddess Athena Nike fastens her sandal (something you didn’t think goddesses had to do). As priests, soldiers, and ordinary citizens parade across the marble strip, you almost want to jump in and join the procession. See p. 93.

Ancient Minoan culture seems to spring back to life in the vibrant frescoes of Iraklion’s Archeological Museum on Crete.

Lose track of time in Athens’s National Archaeological Museum: You don’t have to be a classics scholar to appreciate the embarrassment of riches here. Just wander and stop in front of the pieces that catch your eye—all those figures frozen in marble for eternity; all that gold, jewelry, and pottery. Irresistible favorites are the colorful frescoes depicting residents of the Minoan settlement of Akrotiri on Santorini, going about their everyday lives more than 3,500 years ago. See p. 110.

Regard the Minoan frescoes in the Archaeological Museum in Iraklion: The athletes, dancers, and other subjects seem to reach across the millennia and touch us—you can understand why a modern French archaeologist, looking at a 4,000-year-old scene of flounce-skirted court ladies, exclaimed, Les Parisiennes!, giving the fresco its modern nickname. See p. 291.

Enjoy frieze frenzy at the Archaeological Museum on Paros: The Parthenon scenes in Athens aren’t Greece’s only famous marble carvings. At the Archaeological Museum in Parikia, a fragment of the Parian Chronicle captures a march of Alexander the Great and other scenes from Greece’s distant past. Another frieze nearby portrays the poet Archilochus, a 7th-century-b.c. master of the bon mot who famously sniped ‘tis thy friends that make thee choke with rage. See p. 202.

Admire the figures in the Museum of Cycladic Art in Athens: It’s hard to distinguish these smooth, oblong, elongated figures from the modern pieces they’ve inspired by Henry Moore, Picasso, and Modigliani. More than 300 of these 3,500-year-old masterworks are housed in this Athens museum’s light-filled modern galleries. Their timelessness is haunting. See p. 113.

Surround yourself with statues at the Achilleion on Corfu: Few palaces are more beautifully situated, amid seaside gardens, and few are more ostentatious. Neoclassical, frescoed salons are filled with a forest of marble gods and goddesses, with Trojan War hero Achilles leading the pack. See p. 397.

At Empress Elisabeth of Bavaria’s Corfu getaway, Achilleion, the neoclassical statues abound.

Greece’s best Small Towns

Meander into Anafiotika: Charming, overused as the word is, really does apply to this village-unto-itself within the great city of Athens. The lower slopes of the Acropolis, just above the Plaka, were settled by craftsmen from the island of Anafi who came to Athens in the mid–19th century to work on the new buildings of the revived capital; here they recreated their homeland with stepped streets and square white houses. Blue shutters, blue-domed chapels, balconies with bougainvillea spilling over the railings—you’ll feel like you’ve been whisked off to a Cycladic island. See p. 102.

The medieval lanes of Rhodes’s Old Town bring the age of Crusader knights to vivid life.

Wander around Rhodes’s Old Town: Ancient, crusaders knights, Italian nobles, Ottoman lords, Italian aristocrats—who hasn’t left their mark on what’s arguably the most continuously inhabited medieval town in Europe? Behind the circuit of massive town walls, a maze of lanes presents a delight at every turn—beautiful mosques, fountains burbling in quiet squares, bright pink flowers cascading over balconies. See p. 248.

Take in the Venetian Harbor in Chania: Find a spot on the western side of the harbor in this Cretan port city—maybe the terrace of the Firkas, the waterside fortress the Venetians built—and take in the view. The shimmering sea, a lighthouse, and waterside palaces are rendered even more exotic by the presence of mosques and minarets the Turks left behind. See p. 322.

Explore the Tragaea villages, Naxos: Mazes of white houses interspersed with little chapels appear on pine-clad hillsides, Venetian towers cling to rocky spires, and boulders are strewn across green valleys carpeted with olive groves and lemon orchards. The highest and most noble village is Apiranthos, where streets are paved in marble and the houses are made of rough, gray stone hewn from the mountain. See p. 196.

Settle in for a while in Vamos, Crete: You’ll get a taste of rural Greece at Vamos Traditional Village, an unusual inn that’s a collection of houses spread around an old farming community amid orchards, fields, and vineyards east of Chania. Accommodations are more homey than fancy—being amid the rhythm of everyday Greek life is the real luxury. See p. 318.

Savor the spectacle of Hora, Folegandros: This sparkling white traditional village is a throwback to the Middle Ages, with interlocking tree-shaded squares and white cubical houses that huddle inside a Venetian castle and teeter on the edge of sea cliffs. Overlooking it all, atop a zigzag path, is the glistening white Church of Kimisis tis Theotokou (Mother of God). See p. 231.

Discover your favorite village on Tinos: There are 60 of them by official count, nestled onto mountainsides around the island. All cluster around shady squares, and even the simplest village houses are often decorated with elaborately carved marble lintels and fanlights. In the surrounding countryside you’ll also see the ornate peristerionades (dovecotes) for which the island is famous. See p. 186.

Greece’s most Fun Family Outings

Browse the Central Market, Athens: Big, noisy, smelly, and fragrant, this market’s indoor and outdoor stalls bring together all the food of Greece, from exotic denizens of the deep to country cheeses and swinging meat carcasses. It’s one of the city’s top culinary experiences. Your kids might never settle again for that boring stuff you pack in their school lunches. See p. 108.

Sail through the National Marine Park of Alonnisos Northern Sporades: Dolphins will escort your cruise through pristine waters off an archipelago that’s home to creatures as diverse as the shy Mediterranean monk seal and the mythical Cyclops (the cave where the one-eyed monster was blinded by Odysseus, according to Homer, is in the park). A swim in a secluded cove tops off the experience. See p. 348.

Squeeze into Spilia Skotini (Dark Cave), Skiathos: Even in the company of a boatload of camera-clicking fellow explorers, you and your young companions may feel an almost Robinson Crusoe–like sense of discovery as you float into this spectacular sea grotto. The splash of waves, the shimmer of the sea, and the luster of the light transport everyone aboard into a watery fantasy world. See p. 338.

Hike the Samaria Gorge: Yes, it will seem that you share the trail with just about every other traveler of all ages on the planet, but finding yourself in canyons only 3m (10 ft.) wide and 600m (1,969 ft.) deep is a profound experience nonetheless. It’s all the more exhilarating when an eagle soars overhead and a kri-kri, the shy, endangered Cretan wild goat, makes a rare appearance. See p. 327.

The longest gorge in Europe, Crete’s Samaria Gorge is a daylong hike that kids will never forget.

See Athens from atop Mount Lycabettus: Of the many heights in the capital, this craggy, pine-covered rise—Athens’s highest hill—provides the best vantage point. You don’t have to be a kid to think the ride up on the Teleferik (funicular) is a heck of a lot of fun, and the walk back down into Kolonaki is an adventure. You’ll get a kick out of being so high above Athens, seeing the city spread out at your feet and the Aegean glistening in the distance. See p. 113.

Greece’s best Seaside Escapes

Cruise along the southwestern coast of Crete: Even on a public ferry, you’ll feel like Odysseus or some other intrepid explorer as you chug past the mouths of mountain gorges, groves of cypress, hidden coves, and, every so often, a white-clad village tucked far away from the modern world. See p. 326.

Linger over lunch at Agios Sostis, Mykonos: Paradise and Super Paradise are the island’s famous beaches, but Agios Sostis’s crescent of sand is much more paradisiacal—a rare tranquil find on famously boisterous Mykonos. The water is warm, the sands are soft, and a lunch of grilled fish or pork is served beneath a flowering vine at a simple beachside taverna. See p. 178.

Soak in a hot spring at Bros Therma, Kos: For one of Greece’s most relaxing beach experiences, head to Bros Therma on the Dodecanese island of Kos, where sulfurous water bubbles to the surface of a natural, boulder-enclosed pool on the beach. Soak up therapeutic benefits—treatment of rheumatism and arthritis, among other ailments—then plunge into the cooler sea. See p. 272.

Feel the golden sands between your toes on Koukounaries Beach, Skiathos: The perfect crescent backed by pines is a Greek-isle fantasy. Your surfside stroll will not be a solitary experience, but a short walk through shady, sandy-floored groves will deliver you to a string of quieter sands on the Mandraki Peninsula of this popular Sporades island. See p. 338.

Take a stroll on the Nafplion Promenade: It’s hard to believe that this beautiful, busy Peloponnesian town—a fought-over prize for Turks and Venetians—is only a few steps behind you as you make your way along the Gulf of Argos, with blue water shimmering and gentle waves crashing onto the rocks below you. At the end of the walk you can dip into the sea beneath the Acronafplia Fortress at Arvanitia—one of the loveliest town beaches anywhere. See p. 143.

See the sea through the Portara, Naxos: The great unfinished ancient temple doorway may lead to nowhere, but it beautifully frames the blue sea and the heights of Naxos Town’s Venetian Kastro towering against the blue sky. According to legend, the massive marble portal was the entrance to the palace that the god Dionysus built for his lover, Ariadne. Taking a swim here is truly a divine experience. See p. 194.

The relaxing waters of Bros Therma, on Kos, lies right next to the beach.

Sail into Symi harbor: A beautiful, broad, horseshoe-shaped expanse of blue sea is lined with pastel-colored houses and gracious neoclassical mansions from this Dodecanese island’s shipbuilding and sponge-fishing heydays. The photogenic assemblage is particularly striking on this rough, rugged little island, which has so many chapels and monasteries that islanders claim you can worship in a different sanctuary every day of the year. See p. 258.

Get a good long look at Myrtos Beach: Even from the hillside high above, this stretch of sand on the northwestern coat of Kefalonia is a stunner, backed by white cliffs and deep green forests and washed by turquoise waters. You won’t be able to resist descending to sun and swim, and nearby Assos is beautiful in a quieter way, a gentle bay surrounded by pines beneath a ruined castle. See p. 407.

Swim through sea caves on Milos: This island is full of exotic beach experiences. At Kleftiko, you can submerge yourself in a remarkable seascape of rock formations and sea caves; Sarakaniko is an otherworldly landscape of smooth white rocks surrounding an inlet, and at Papafraga you can swim through a long, fjordlike channel into a sea cave that opens to the sky. See p. 237.

Take a dip in a roofless sea cave at Papafraga on the island of Milos in the Cyclades.

most Transporting Religious Moments in Greece

Walk down to the sea at Moni Gouverneto, Crete: Greece’s largest island is generously graced with beautiful monasteries, but this one on the Akrotiri Peninsula adds a pilgrimage hike—a walk that begins in a tranquil courtyard and descends through a ravine etched with millennia-old hermitages to an isolated cove. See p. 323.

Climb Profitis Elias o Pilos, Sifnos: It’s quite a trek up the 850m-tall (2,789-ft.) mountain, the highest on this Cycladean island, to the isolated monastery at the summit. You’ll understand the meaning of Pilos, or high one. A monk may be on hand to offer a glass of ice-cold water, and the views seem to extend across the entire Aegean Sea. See p. 212.

Tune into the spiritual aura of the Cave of the Apocalypse, Patmos: In the cave hermitage of St. John the Divine, you’ll be surrounded by many icons, the very stone that served as the saintly pillow, and a sense of holiness. You might even hear a great voice, as of a trumpet that rang through a cleft to deliver the Book of the Apocalypse, or Revelation. See p. 277.

Count church domes from the Kastro in Skopelos Town, Skopelos: In this Sporades island capital—one of the most appealing towns in Greece—123 churches punctuate the lanes that climb the hillside. The sight of so many blue domes will most likely inspire you to get to your feet and start exploring. See p. 343.

Chance upon Kapnikarea Church, Athens: Right in the middle of busy, shop-lined Ermou Street, this little Byzantine gem sits on the site of an ancient temple to Athena and incorporates Roman columns from the Forum. Just setting eyes on the old stones and carvings whisks you away from the contemporary buzz to a different time and place. See p. 103.

Find all the doors to the Church of the Hundred Doors, Paros: One of the oldest churches in the world is also, from the moment you step through the gates into the lemon-scented courtyard, one of the most other-worldly, steeped in legend. Founded in the 4th century, the landmark is filled with frescoes, icons, and even reminders of a famous murder. See p. 202.

Huff and puff your way up to the Meteora monasteries: These six religious communities are awash in colorful frescoes, but the real visual treat is their gravity-defying settings, clinging to pinnacles high above the plain of Thessaly. To reach these fascinating monasteries, you’ll climb what seem to be endless stairways—a vast improvement over the ladders and baskets the monks once had to use. See p. 155.

Witness the faithful on Tinos: Almost any day of the year you can see people crawling from the port on hands and knees up Megalocharis, the long, steep main street, one side of which is carpeted to protect the knees of the faithful. At the top is the final approach up red-carpeted stairs to the Panagia Evangelistria, where an icon is said to heal the sick and ensure good health to all. See p. 185.

On the Dodecanese island of Patmos, you can meditate in the very cave where St. John the Divine received his vision of the Book of Revelation.

The best Luxury Retreats in Greece

Aqua Blu, Kos: A sensational pool terrace merges seamlessly with handsome lounges, while guest rooms are design statements combining contemporary chic with comfort, intimacy, and elegance. Guests are pampered with sea views, terraces, and such perks as fireplaces and private pools in some rooms and suites. See p. 265.

Atrium Hotel, Skiathos: Beautiful accommodations ranging from doubles to lavish maisonettes tumble down a pine-clad hillside above one of the island’s nicest beaches, commanding endless sea views from multiple terraces and outdoor spaces. Antiques and island-style furnishings are all carefully chosen by the architect-family that built and still runs this stunning retreat. See p. 333.

Cavo Tagoo, Mykonos: Huge rooms and suites, set amid lovely gardens, are filled with high-tech gadgetry, gorgeous handcrafted furnishings, sunken tubs, and other soothing comforts. Most rooms have sea-facing terraces, many with private pools, built-in divans, and dining tables surrounded by exotic plantings. See p. 169.

Elounda Mare, Crete: At this low-key, intimate, idyllic retreat—one of Europe’s truly great getaways—swanky bungalows and other handsome guest quarters are tucked into verdant seaside gardens. All are furnished elegantly in traditional Cretan style, with expansive views over the Gulf of Elounda. A sandy beach and all sorts of shady seaside nooks are among many, many amenities. See p. 301.

Sleek contemporary design creates an aura of serenity at the Aqua Blu resort on Kos.

Esperas, Santorini: You’ll feel like a cliff dweller at this welcoming enclave of traditional houses teetering on the edge of the caldera in Ia, an enchanted perch that seems like a world unto itself. Soak in stupendous views from the private terraces, beautiful pool and terrace, and tasteful accommodations. See p. 217.

Kapsaliana Village Hotel, Crete: A rustic hamlet of honey-colored stone in hilly countryside above Rethymnon once belonged to the Arkadi monastery; it has now been shaped into a distinctive and relaxing country getaway. Village houses have been redone with designer flair, with contemporary furnishings offset by stone walls, arches, and wood beams. See p. 308.

Melenos Lindos Hotel, Lindos, Rhodes: An authentically Lindian-style villa is a work of art, where hand-painted tiles, local antiques, handcrafted lamps, and weavings provide the backdrop for an almost otherworldly experience on a pine-scented hillside looking out to an idyllic cove. Huge beds make anyone feel like a reclining pasha. See p. 245.

Petra Hotel and Apartments, Patmos: The Stergiou family has created a luxurious haven on a hillside above Grikos Bay, lavishing personal attention on guests in spacious, beautifully appointed rooms that exude island style. Most quarters have balconies or open to terraces furnished with pillowed divans for some Greek-island-style lounging. A pool glistens off to one side, and sandy Grikos beach is just at the bottom of the lane. See p. 274.

St. George Lycabettus Hotel, Athens: Large, nicely decorated guest rooms (each floor has a different theme, from art nouveau to minimalism) and a beautiful rooftop pool do justice to a wonderful location—the slopes of Lycabettus hill just above the designer-boutique-lined streets of Kolonaki. The choicest quarters have views of the Acropolis. See p. 78.

Spirit of the Knights, Rhodes City: In a beautifully restored Ottoman house in the quietest part of Old Rhodes Town, rooms are embellished with hand-painted ceilings, original beams, Ottoman stained glass, marble baths, and rich carpets and textiles, while a beautiful courtyard is cooled by a splashing fountain. See p. 243.

Villa Marandi, Naxos: A stone-and-stucco villa set in seaside gardens fulfills just about anyone’s fantasy of a Greek-island getaway. Beautifully designed rooms are large, stylish, and supremely comfortable; all have well-furnished terraces, most with sea views. A private strip of beach lies at the end of the garden path, and an expert staff serves cocktails and inspired Mediterranean-style meals on a beautiful poolside terrace. See p. 191.

Terraces open onto a private beach at Villa Marandi, on the island of Naxos in the Cyclades.

The best Affordable Greek Getaways

Carbonaki Hotel, Mykonos: On Greece’s most expensive island, there’s no need to break the bank or sacrifice style and comfort. Just about all of these simply furnished but stylish rooms surround a beautiful, multilevel courtyard garden with a plunge pool, ensuring quiet (an especially welcome feature at night on this party-hearty island). See p. 170.

Fresh Hotel, Athens: Soothing minimalist design, along with a rooftop pool, sun deck, and Zen-like spa, put a fresh face on the capital’s gritty Omonia neighborhood. Among many modern amenities in the stylish, colorful rooms are window blinds that can be controlled from the beds—perfect for night owls not ready to face the morning sun. See p. 79.

Perivoli Country Hotel & Retreat, Nafplion: A hillside planted with citrus and olive groves is a magical setting for this smart, comfortable little Peloponnese resort where handsome rooms all open to terraces and balconies facing a pool and, glistening in the distance, the Gulf of Argos. See p. 134.

Kalimera Archanes Village, Crete: Tucked away in a lush walled garden among Archanes’s lively lanes and squares of neoclassical houses, four meticulously restored 19th-century stone houses have been tastefully and traditionally furnished. See p. 299.

With their clean modern design, guest rooms at the Fresh Hotel make a welcome retreat after a day of sightseeing in Athens.

Antiques and architectural details set a medieval tone at the S. Nikolis Hotel in Rhodes Old Town.

Marco Polo Mansion, Rhodes Old Town: In this restored 15th-century Ottoman mansion, each room is distinctive—one was a harem, another a hamam, another is lined with kilims—all decorated in deep hues that show off low-lying couches and stunning antiques. Excellent meals are served in the lush garden, one of the island’s nicest dining experiences. See p. 246.

Museum Hotel George Molfetas, Kefalonia: A historic home is a rarity in Kefalonia, making this one all the more distinctive. Attractive accommodations filled with heirlooms and hand-crafted pieces open to a courtyard, where excellent meals are served. See p. 403.

Perleas Mansion, Chios: Your neighbors at this walled estate in the citrus-orchard filled Kambos district will be some of Greece’s wealthiest shipping families. But the comfortable stone mansion and two surrounding cottages are soundly rooted in the simple pleasures of gracious country living, amid trees filled with birdsong. Rooms filled with antiques and art works only add to the charm. See p. 372.

S. Nikolis Historic Boutique Hotel, Rhodes Old Town: You’d be hard-pressed to find a better place to soak in medieval ambiance than this charming and atmospheric cluster of houses from 1300. They’re filled with antiques and modern amenities and decorated with personal flair, all surrounding a flower-filled courtyard. See p. 244.

Votsala Hotel, Lesbos: Guests come back to the coast north of Mytilini time and again to enjoy a stay that that one-ups any typical resort experience. Seaside gardens, home-cooked meals beneath flowering trees, and breezy terraced rooms are matched by the almost legendary hospitality of hosts Yiannis, Daphne, and their family. See p. 361.

Greece’s best Places to Eat

Avli, Rethymnon, Crete: This veritable temple to Cretan cuisine introduces diners to the freshest island ingredients. Fish and lamb appear in many different guises, as do mountain greens and other fresh vegetables, all served in a delightfully romantic garden, an arched dining room, and on a narrow lane out front. Stylish accommodations also available. See p. 310.

The romantic courtyard garden of Avli, in Rethymnon, Crete.

Benetos Restaurant, Patmos: Benetos Matthaiou and his American wife, Susan, deliver one of this island’s nicest dining experiences, on the terrace of a Tuscan-style villa at the edge of the sea. Fresh ingredients come from gardens on the property and nearby waters, showing up in dishes such as shrimp in phyllo, fresh fish baked in a citrus sauce, or a simple arugula salad with shaved Parmesan. See p. 275.

Fresh-caught shellfish make a difference in the seafood pasta at Lithos, on the island of Naxos.

Kronio, Lasithi Plateau: This cozy and welcoming establishment serves the finest food on Crete’s Lasithi Plateau, from thick lamb stews to homemade bread and cheese-stuffed pies. Service is warm and welcoming. The proprietors’ also have a countryside guesthouse, Maison Kronio. See p. 299.

Lithos, Naxos: A stylishly contemporary dining room tucked beneath the walls of the Kastro is a quiet refuge of glistening white walls and floors accented with bright colors. These crisp surroundings are as fresh as the kitchen’s simple yet satisfying creations, a pleasant change from standard taverna fare. See p. 192.

Metaxi Mas, Santorini: An out-of-the-way countryside location doesn’t seem to deter diners, who pack into this stone-walled dining room and terrace from noon until the wee hours. The draws on this sophisticated island? Simple time-honored dishes made with the freshest ingredients. See p. 221.

O! Hamos!, Milos: If the Psatha family doesn’t raise it, they don’t serve it, so when you sit down to a meal in their homey courtyard expect the freshest salads and tastiest slow-cooked stews, accompanied by home-baked bread. See p. 235.

Taverna Sklithiri, Skiathos: If you’re not swept away by the setting—a flowery terrace on a golden beach with a turquoise sea almost lapping up against the tables—you really don’t belong on a Greek island. Off the grill comes the freshest fish, along with all manner of other seafood, including plump mussels roasted in white wine. See p. 335.

The Well of the Turk, Chania, Crete: To find your way to this all-but-hidden restaurant at the heart of the old Turkish quarter south of the Venetian Harbor, keep your eye on the minaret, and ask for directions along the way. An enticing selection of Greek and Middle Eastern appetizers, juicy lamb dishes, meatballs mixed with eggplant, and other specialties are served on the ground floor of a Turkish house and in a lovely courtyard. See p. 319.

To Maereio, Mykonos: When winter sets in back home, you’ll wistfully remember this delightful spot on a quiet lane set apart from the Mykonos bustle—simple and atmospheric, serving good traditional fare at reasonable prices. Country sausage, meatballs, zucchini fritters, and other delicious fare fill the tempting, ever-changing menu. See p. 172.

2

Greece in Context

While most Greeks are besotted with all that is new—a common greeting is Ti nea? (What’s new?)—most are also fiercely proud of those longtime attractions that enthrall visitors: Greece’s mind-boggling physical beauty and its glorious past. Certainly, for most of us, to leave Greece without seeing Athens’s Acropolis or Delphi, the most beautiful ancient site in all Greece, would be, as Aeschylus himself might have said, tragic. As for Greece’s physical beauty, a trip into the Peloponnese or to Santorini or just about any other island will have you spouting clichés. Palamas, the poet who wrote the words to the Olympic Hymn, was reduced to saying of his homeland, Here, sky is everywhere.

Of course, Palamas was right: The Greek sky, the Greek light, the Greek sea all deserve their fame. This is especially obvious on the islands. Greece has anywhere from 1,200 to about 6,000 islands (the count depends on what you count as an island, an islet, or a large rock). In any event, almost all of the approximately 200 inhabited islands are ready and waiting to welcome visitors. On the islands and on the mainland, throughout the countryside, picture-postcard scenes are around every corner. Shepherds still urge flocks of goats and sheep along mountain slopes, and fishermen still sit beside their caiques mending their nets.

If this sounds romantic and enticing, it is. But remember that the Greek love of the new includes a startling ability to adjust to the unexpected. Everything—absolutely everything—in Greece is subject to change. It’s not by accident that the most Greek of all remarks is, Etsi einai e zoe, which literally means That’s life, but might better be translated as Whatchya gonna do? With luck, you’ll learn the Greek shrug, and come to accept—even enjoy—the unpredictable as an essential part of life in Greece.

Recently, the unpredictable has become almost the only thing that is predictable in Greece. Massive debts and the government’s unpopular attempts to restructure the economy, involving tax hikes and salary and pension reductions, have led to strikes and demonstrations. Covid and the loss of tourist revenue were other serious setbacks. Greece is moving forward, but serious questions remain as to how the country will solve its financial problems. Many Greeks still suffer gravely, with high unemployment, especially among the young, and the crushing burden of harsh austerity measures, while an influx of immigrants puts new strains on the economy. You will probably notice that many Greeks voice concern about the future, yet in Athens, at least, new hotels, new restaurants, and such cultural arrivals as the new National Gallery, Goulandris Foundation, and Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Center are reshaping the city in bright and promising ways. Meanwhile, Greeks remain warm and hospitable to visitors—and convinced they will weather current storms as they have weathered so many others since the dawn of history.

A Look at the Past

Greece has a long history, indeed. Here is a brief introduction to some of the main periods in Greek history—though the nationalistic terms Greece and Greek are fairly modern concepts. Still, for millennia, the people who lived here regarded themselves as unified by a common language and many shared traditions and beliefs.

Ancient History

The history of Greece and its willful people is longer and more absorbing than a cursory look can convey. The earliest continuously occupied site was discovered at the Franchthi Cave in southeast Argolid, Peloponnese; evidence suggests the cavern was inhabited as early as 20,000

b.c.

The Ancient Greeks traveled and settled throughout the Mediterranean and along the Black Sea coast. Some of the oldest and most important civilizations in Europe were the Cycladic cultures (3200–2000

b.c

.) that flourished on Santorini (also known as Thera) and nearby islands, and the Minoan people (3000–1400

b.c.)

of Crete. While Cycladic architectural remains are sparse, at the National Archaeological Museum (p. 110) and the Museum of Cycladic Art in Athens and in other collections you can see elegant Cycladic figurines, fashioned from island marble, that are startlingly modern. Their culture was succeeded by the Minoans, the regional strongmen in seafaring and trade, who traded around the Mediterranean, selling timber, building ships, and possibly even sailing as far as England to obtain metal. Outstanding displays of Minoan culture can be viewed at the palace of Knossos (p. 293) near Iraklion, Crete, and the Iraklion Archaeological Museum (p. 291). Around 1627

b.c,

however, a volcano on Thera erupted

,

perhaps triggering a tsunami that destroyed settlements on Crete, 63 nautical miles away, and contributed to the Minoan civilization’s decline.

Ancient Cycladic figurines, like this one in the National Archaeological Museum (p. 110), look startlingly modern.

Next came the Mycenaeans (1600–1100

b.c.),

who flourished on the southern mainland, in the present-day Peloponnese. The extensive remains of Mycenae (p. 139), with its defense walls, palace, and enormous beehive tombs, demonstrates the architectural skill and political power of these people, while the National Archaeological Museum in Athens (p. 110) is a showcase for their famous gold. In the Iliad, Homer commemorates the expedition led by Mycenae’s best-known king, Agamemnon, to recapture the beautiful Helen. The Iliad ends with the fall of Troy to the Greeks; Mycenae’s own decline seems to have begun not long after and is sometimes blamed on mysterious invaders known as the Dorians.

Colorful frescoes, typical of Mycenean art, can be seen at Knossos (p. 293), outside Iraklion, Crete.

Dateline

After the decline of the Mycenaeans, it seems that people began to live in fiercely independent city states, often ruled by powerful leaders known as tyrants, though many were enlightened and relatively benign. This period saw the spread of trade, the invention of coinage, and the emergence of writing, as the Greek alphabet replaced Linear A, the ancient Minoan script, and Linear B, created by the Mycenaeans. Each city state had its own calendar, system of weights and measures, and important deities, yet later, during the Classical Era (see below), when the Persians from adjacent Asia Minor invaded Greece in 490 and 480

b.c.

, many of these Greek city-states—led by Athens and Sparta—stood together to turn back the Persians.

The Classical Era

Brief and glorious, the Classical era lasted from the 5th century

b.c.

to the rise of Philip of Macedon, in the mid-4th century

b.c

. This is when Pericles led Athens and when the Parthenon—and nearly every other ancient Greek monument, statue, and vase most of us are familiar with—was created. These ancient Greeks made advances in the arts, sciences, philosophy, and politics. Five of the seven Ancient Wonders were built during the Classical era: the statue of Zeus in Olympia (destroyed); the Colossus of Rhodes (destroyed); the Mausoleum at Halicarnassus, now Bodrum, Turkey (dismantled, with some bas reliefs in the U.K.); the Temple of Artemis at Ephesus (destroyed); and the Lighthouse in Alexandria (destroyed), at one time the tallest building in the world.

During the rule of Pericles (p. 96), most of Athens’s greatest classical landmarks were built.

While the Spartans were known for their austere and militaristic form of governance, Athens took a different course with democracy. These city-states fought each other in the Peloponnesian War (431–404

b.c

.), but soon thereafter united against the massive invading force of the Persians. First the Greeks won, at the Battle of Marathon (p. 116) in 490

b.c

. Ten years later, at Thermopylae, the Persians won against a small army led by King Leonidas of Sparta. Finally, the Athenians defeated the Persians in 480

b.c.

at the Battle of Salamis, led by Themistocles, who fought and won the battle decisively at sea.

The Hellenistic Era

Weakened by these wars, the cities were unable to stop Philip of Macedon when he moved south to conquer Greece. His son, Alexander, who became king of Macedon in 338

b.c.

when he was only 23, soon marched from his base camp at Dion all the way to India, conquering everything in his path. Alexander died under mysterious circumstances (poison? too much wine?) on the way home in 334

b.c

., leaving behind a vast empire that he had conquered but hadn’t had time to organize and administer. Alexander’s leading generals divided up his empire, declaring themselves not just rulers but, in many cases, divine rulers. Yet Alexander’s conquests, which included much of Asia Minor and Egypt, had one lasting effect: They made the Greek language the administrative and spoken language of much of the world.

Alexander the Great, whose conquests spread Greek culture far and wide, is pictured here on an old 100-drachma coin.

Within Greece itself, powerful new cities, such as Thessaloniki, were founded. Old cities, such as Athens, were revivified and ornamented with magnificent new civic buildings, such as the 2nd-century-

b.c

. Stoa of Attalos (p. 103), which contained shops and offices.

The Roman Conquest

From the 2nd century

b.c.

to the

a.d.

3rd century

,

Greece—along with most of Europe, North Africa, and Asia Minor—was ruled by Rome. The Romans honored the Greeks for their literature and art—a tour of Greece and perhaps a year studying in Athens was common for many well-born Roman youths. The Greeks participated in what has become known as the Pax Romana, several centuries of general peace and calm under the Roman Empire.

The Byzantine Empire & Beyond

In

a.d

. 324, emperor Constantine the Great took control of the Roman Empire, moving the capital from Rome to the Greek city of Byzantium on the Bosporus. He renamed his capital Constantinople (Constantine’s City) and, in a bold move, reversed the prosecutions of Diocletian, making Christianity the religion of his vast empire. The Byzantine empire lasted more than 1,000 years, until Constantinople fell on May 29, 1453, to the Ottoman Turks.

In the following centuries, Greece was ruled by a bewildering and often overlapping series of foreign powers: Venetians and Franks from the West and Turks from the East. Many Greeks left for Western Europe and brought ancient Greek texts with them, influencing the Renaissance. Those who remained became a subject people. The phrase under the Turkish yolk for 400 years became a common refrain.

Independence & a United Greece

Greece’s War of Independence began in 1821, when the bishop at the Monastery of Agia Lavra, on the Peloponnese, raised the flag of revolt, calling for freedom or death. The ideals of Greece captured the imagination of the Romantics in Western Europe; Lord George Gordon Byron (see box on p. 107) and others traveled to Greece to take up the fight. In 1827, combined forces from Britain, France, and Russia crushed the Ottoman and Egyptian naval forces at the Battle of Navarino in the Peloponnese and granted Greece autonomy under an appointed monarchy. Otto, the 17-year-old son of King Ludwig of Bavaria, became united Greece’s first king.

By the end of the 19th century, Greece’s capital was in Athens, but most of today’s country was still held by the Turks and Italians. The great Greek leader from Crete, Eleftherios Venizelos (after whom Athens International Airport is named) led Greece in the Balkan Wars of 1912–1913. When the wars were done, Greece had increased its territory by two-thirds, incorporating much of Epirus, Macedonia, and Thrace in the north and the large islands of Samos, Chios, and Crete.

King Otto I, united Greece's first king, as pictured on a 1956 Greek stamp.

At the end of World War I, Greece invaded Turkey in an attempt to reclaim Constantinople and much of its former territory on the Aegean coast. Initially, the invasion went well, but the Turks, led by their future leader Mustafa Kemal (Atatürk), rallied and pushed the Greeks back to the sea. There, in 1922, in Smyrna (Izmir) and other seaside towns, the Greeks were slaughtered in what is still referred to in Greece as The Catastrophe.

In the 1923 Treaty of Lausanne, the boundaries of Greece were fixed more or less as they are today, and Greece and Turkey agreed to an exchange of populations: Some 1.2 million ethnic Greeks who lived in Turkey were relocated to Greece, and about 500,000 Turks were sent from Greece to Turkey. Many spoke little or none of their ancestral language, and most were regarded with intense hostility in their new homelands.

Democracy, Prosperity & the Bailout

Whatever stability and prosperity Greece gained after the 1920s population exchange was seriously undercut by harsh German and Italian occupations during World War II. The famines of 1941 and 1942 were particularly severe; in Athens, carts went around the city each morning to collect the corpses of those who had died in the night. A bitter civil war (1944–49), between pro- and anti-communist forces, further weakened Greece. Recovery began slowly—assisted by U.S. support under the Marshall Plan—and did not take hold until well into the 1960s. In 1967, a right-wing junta of army officers, nicknamed the Colonels, seized power, ended the monarchy, and were themselves toppled when democracy was restored in 1974.

In 1981, Greece was accepted into the European Economic Community (EEC, also called the Common Market), the precursor of today’s European Union. A period of initial prosperity, jump-started by EEC funding, was followed by steady inflation. The euphoria of 2004, when Greece won the European soccer championship and hosted the wildly successful Athens Olympics, soon fizzled. Greece, along with its EU neighbors, struggled to cope with such problems as immigration, rising prices, an increasingly fragile ecosystem, and the worldwide economic recession that began in 2008.

Greece has since seen its finances crumble in a very public and, to many Greeks, humiliating way, forcing the country to ask for help from the EU and subsequently the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Bailout packages required a slashing of government spending and extreme austerity measures. Many Greeks have had to accept these tough measures, which have caused job losses and wage and pension cuts. Unemployment is high and jobs are scarce; wages are shockingly low and the cost of living is high. Meanwhile, the migrant population has swelled, and younger people are seeking employment in other countries, much as older generations had to do after World War II. Many Greeks feel as if their country has been occupied yet again—as it was so many times in its turbulent history—this time by the EU and the IMF. Unable to devalue its currency, Greece has had to give up much of its sovereignty in order to accept bailouts, along with new, even stricter, austerity measures.

Yet there are reasons for optimism. Greece owns the largest maritime fleet in the world, and shipping and tourism account for the two biggest sectors of its economy, with tourism rebounding after the 2020–2021 Covid shutdowns. Greece has untapped oil reserves in its sea and gold in its land and could become a major player in renewable energy in the near future. Meanwhile, much as they did in antiquity, all roads in Greece lead to Athens. With its enviable location, large port, and state-of-the-art infrastructure, the capital may well be the key to leading the country back into the light.

The Arts in Greece

Architecture

Many of the buildings we know best—from football stadiums to shopping malls—have Greek origins. The simple Greek megaron gave birth to both the temple and the basilica, the two building forms that many civic and religious shrines still embody. The Greek temple, with its pedimental facade, lives on in government buildings, palaces, and ostentatious private homes throughout the world. Football and soccer are played in oval stadiums, the spectators now sitting on seats more comfortable than the stone slabs or dirt slopes they sat on in ancient Greek stadiums. Most theaters are now indoors, not outdoors, but the layout of stage, wings, and orchestra goes back to Greek theaters. The prototypes of shopping malls, with their side-by-side multiplicity of shops, can be found in the agoras of almost every ancient Greek city. In fact, the mixture of shops and civic buildings, private homes, and public parks is one that most ancient Greeks knew very well.

In short, Greece was not just the cradle of democracy, but the nursery of much of Western art and architecture. The portrait busts and statues of heroes that ornament almost every European city have their origins in ancient Greece. Both the elaborate vaulted funerary monuments and the simple stone grave markers of today can be found throughout ancient Greece.

Ancient Art

Ancient Greek art and sculpture have been major influences in the West and the East, shaping what is still considered the ideal. The gods took on perfect human form in marble sculptures created during the classical era, when Hellenic art reached its apex. Artists began carving and painting scenes on pediments and friezes, and sculpture flourished around the Mediterranean.

Athletic performance was exalted then as now, and perfection of the human form in motion was achieved in sculpture with Myron’s Discus Thrower (surviving in copies). The greatest sculptor of classical Greece is said to be Phidias, who designed the Parthenon friezes on the Acropolis (p. 92)—battles, legends, and processions, including serene-faced gods, representing order triumphing over chaos.

Rhodes, Corinth, and Athens each had their own styles of pottery: plants and animals, fantastical creatures, and humans, respectively. Black-figure pottery first appeared in the 7th century

b.c.

with humans as the subject, and Athens produced most of it. With the 530-

b.c

. invention of the red-figure technique (black background, red clay), attributed to an Andokides workshop vase painter, artists were able to paint in finer detail. Athens became a center of ceramic exports by the 4th century

b.c

., but quality suffered with mass production,