Map view
Acropolis
Walk difficulty: Moderate
Best time to visit: March-May, Sept-Nov
Cost: $
- An acropolis was the settlement of an upper part of an ancient Greek city, especially a citadel, and frequently a hill with precipitous sides, mainly chosen for purposes of defense
- Acropolises were used as religious centers and places of worship, forts, and places in which the royal and high-status resided
- Acropolises became the nuclei of large cities of classical ancient times, and served as important centers of a community
Navagio Beach
Walk difficulty: Easy
Best time to visit: March-May, Sept-Nov
Cost: $
- Navagio Beach, or Shipwreck Beach, is an exposed cove, sometimes referred to as "Smugglers Cove", on the coast of Zakynthos
- On 2 October 1980, the coaster MV Panagiotis, ran aground in the waters around Zakynthos Island on Navagio Beach during stormy weather and bad visibility
- Recently released court documents and photos relating to the incident back up the smuggler story, suggesting that Panagiotis was allegedly making its way from Turkey with a freight of contraband cigarettes headed for Italy
- The ship was abandoned and still rests buried in the limestone gravel of the beach that now bears the nickname Shipwreck
Odeon of Herodes Atticus, Athens
Best time to visit: March-May, Sept-Nov
Cost: $
- Stone Roman theatre structure located on the southwest slope of the Acropolis of Athens
- The building was completed in AD 161
- It was used as a venue for music concerts with a capacity of 5,000
- It lasted intact until it was destroyed and left in ruins by the Heruli in AD 267
Meteora
Walk difficulty: Moderate
Best time to visit: April-May, Sept-Oct
Cost: $
- Rock formation in Thessaly, Greece, hosting one of the largest and most precipitously built complexes of Eastern Orthodox monasteries, second in importance only to Mount Athos
- The six (of an original twenty-four) monasteries are built on immense natural pillars and hill-like rounded boulders that dominate the local area
- Between the 13th and 14th centuries, the twenty-four monasteries were established atop the rocks
Acropolis Museum
Best time to visit: March-May, Sept-Nov
Cost: $
- Archaeological museum focused on the findings of the archaeological site of the Acropolis of Athens
- The museum was built to house every artifact found on the rock and on the surrounding slopes, from the Greek Bronze Age to Roman and Byzantine Greece
- The Acropolis Museum also lies over the ruins of part of Roman and early Byzantine Athens
#13 in Best Museums in the World
Blue Domes of Oia
Best time to visit: April-May, Sept-Oct
Cost: $
- Town noted for its white and blue domed houses
- The houses are painted in white lime water so that the rainwater which falls over it runs down and can be collected
- The other reason for painting the houses white is for aesthetic purposes
- Impressive houses in the town are those "cliff houses" built in the niches carved into the caldera slopes with provision of air-filled pumice which provides insulation benefits to the building, keeping it warm in winter and cool in summer
#18 in Best Landmarks in the World
Fira - Oia, Faros Akrotiriou-Oias (Thiras Thesi Kalnteras)
Walk difficulty: Moderate
Best time to visit: April-May, Sept-Oct
Cost: $
- Modern capital of the Greek Aegean island of Santorini (Thera)
- Fira is a city of whitewashed houses built on the edge of the high caldera
Skaros, Santorini
Walk difficulty: Moderate
Best time to visit: April-May, Sept-Oct
Cost: $
- Skaros Rock is a large rock promontory on the Aegean island of Santorini
- The formation was created through the volcanic activity (likely in an eruption dated to 68,000 B.C) of the nearby Santorini caldera, and has since been further shaped by erosion and earthquakes
Elafonisi Beach
Walk difficulty: Moderate
Best time to visit: June-Aug
Cost: $
- Island located close to the Mediterranean island of Crete, in the regional unit of Chania
- When the weather is fine it is possible to walk to the island through the shallow water
- It is known for its pink sand beaches, created by tidal and wave-induced deposits of pigmented microorganisms living in a symbiotic relationship with native seaweed
Old Venetian Port of Chania, Crete
Best time to visit: mid May-June, Sept-Oct
Cost: $
- Chania is a city that lies along the coast of the island Crete
- Chania is the site of the Minoan settlement the Greeks called Kydonia
- Some notable archaeological evidence for the existence of this Minoan city below some parts of today's Chania was found by excavations on the Old Town
- This area appears to have been inhabited since the Neolithic
Ancient Theater of Delphi
Best time to visit: March-May, Sept-Nov
Cost: $
- Delphi was an ancient sacred precinct and the seat of Pythia, the major oracle who was consulted about important decisions throughout the ancient classical world
- The ancient Greeks considered the centre of the world to be in Delphi, marked by the stone monument known as the omphalos (navel)
Maganos - Myrtos Beach, Myrtos Beach
Walk difficulty: Moderate
Best time to visit: April-May, Sept-Nov
Cost: $
- Beach generally made up of marble material
- The beach is made up of round, white cobblestones
- The sediment gradually becomes smaller as you approach the shoreline. Because the slope angle has an abrupt drop near the edge of the shoreline, the wave energy is very high and causes the gradation trends from cobbles to pebbles along the beach
#22 in Best Beaches in the World
Parthenon
Best time to visit: April-May, Sept-Nov
Cost: $
- Former temple on the Athenian Acropolis, that was dedicated to the goddess Athena during the fifth century BC
- Its decorative sculptures are considered some of the high points of Greek art, an enduring symbol of Ancient Greece, democracy and Western civilization
Palace of the Grand Master of the Knights of Rhodes
Best time to visit: April-May, Sept-Oct
Cost: $
- Medieval castle in the city of Rhodes, on the island of Rhodes
- It is one of the few examples of Gothic architecture in Greece
- The site was previously a citadel of the Knights Hospitaller that functioned as a palace, headquarters, and fortress
Samariá Gorge, Samariá Gorge National Park
Walk difficulty: Moderate
Best time to visit: May, Sept-Oct
Cost: $
- National Park of Greece since 1962 on the island of Crete
- The gorge is in Crete in the regional unit of Chania
- It was created by a small river running between the White Mountains (Lefká Óri) and Mt. Volakias
- The gorge became a national park particularly as a refuge for the rare kri-kri (Cretan goat), which is largely restricted to the park
National Garden, Temple of Olympian Zeus
Walk difficulty: Moderate
Best time to visit: March-May, Sept-Nov
Cost: $
- Public park of 15.5 hectares (38 acres) in the center of the Greek capital, Athens
- It is located directly behind the Greek Parliament building (The Old Palace) and is across from the Panathenaiko or Kalimarmaro Olympic Stadium of the 1896 Olympic Games
- The Garden also encloses some ancient ruins, column drums and Corinthian capitals of columns, mosaics, and other features
National Archaeological Museum
Best time to visit: March-May, Sept-Nov
Cost: $
- The National Archaeological Museum in Athens houses some of the most important artifacts from a variety of archaeological locations around Greece from prehistory to late antiquity
- It is considered one of the greatest museums in the world and contains the richest collection of Greek Antiquity artifacts worldwide
Delos
Walk difficulty: Moderate
Best time to visit: mid April-mid June, Sept-mid Oct
Cost: $
- The island of Delos is one of the most important mythological, historical, and archaeological sites in Greece
- The excavations in the island are among the most extensive in the Mediterranean
- Delos had a position as a holy sanctuary for a millennium before Olympian Greek mythology made it the birthplace of Apollo and Artemis
Ancient Agora of Athens
Best time to visit: March-May, Sept-Nov
Cost: $
- The ancient Agora of Athens is the best-known example of an ancient Greek agora
- The Agora's initial use was for a commercial, assembly, or residential gathering place