Rough Guides - The Rough Guide to Greece (Travel Guide eBook)

Introduction to Greece

Despite the media battering its economic reputation has endured, Greece remains a premier-league travel destination. Its incredible historic sites span four millennia, encompassing both the legendary and the obscure. Its convoluted coastline is punctuated by superb beaches, while its mountainous interior urges you to dust off your hiking boots and explore. Yet perhaps its greatest riches are the islands, ranging from backwaters where the boat calls twice a week to resorts as cosmopolitan as any in the Mediterranean.

For anyone with a cultural bone in their body, Greece cannot fail to inspire. Minoans, Romans, Arabs, Latin Crusaders, Venetians, Slavs, Albanians and Turks have all left their mark, and almost every town or village has a link to the past , whether its a delicately crumbling temple to Aphrodite, a forbidding Venetian fort or a dusty Byzantine monastery decorated with exquisite frescoes. And youll be spoilt for choice when it comes to museums stuffed to bursting with classical sculpture and archeological treasures.

But the call to cultural duty will never be too overwhelming on a Greek holiday. The hedonistic pleasures of languor and warmth swimming in balmy seas at dusk, talking and drinking under the stars are just as appealing. Greek cuisine and wine production are going through a renaissance, with many young chefs and wine growers returning from abroad laden with ideas, while the genuine welcome youll receive at the simplest taverna is often enough to get you booking next years break as soon as you return home.

Whatever you come here for, its clear that Greece needs its tourists like never before: although the countrys titanic debt crisis (see page ) seems to have abated, tourism has been the main engine of the Greek economy since 2013 during its struggle through a long, painful recession, so the recent downturn in visitor numbers due to COVID-19 has been another cause for concern. Since the first edition of this guide was published in 1982, one thing has undoubtedly remained unchanged Greece can offer surprises and a true sense of discovery to even the most demanding traveller.

Where to go

Sprawling, globalized Athens is an obligatory, almost unavoidable introduction to Greece: home to over a third of the population, it is on first acquaintance a nightmare for many, but should not be dismissed so quickly. The city is currently enjoying a resurgence as a short-break destination, and, aside from the show-stopping Acropolis, it offers a truly metropolitan range of cultural diversions, from museums to concerts, well-stocked shops, gourmet restaurants and stimulating clubs, plus an excellent transport infrastructure a visible legacy of the 2004 Olympics. Thessalonki , the metropolis of the north, has emerged in its own right as a lively, sophisticated place, with restaurants and nightlife to match that of Athens, Byzantine monuments compensating for a lack of ancient ones, and a tremendous capacity among the citys inhabitants for enjoying life.

Apart from these cities, the mainland shows its best side in the well-preserved classical ruins of Mycenae, Olympia and Delphi, the frescoed Byzantine churches and monasteries at Mount thos, Metora, sios Louks, Kastori, rta and Mystra, the massive fortified towns of Monemvasi, Nfplio, Korni and Methni, the distinctive architecture of Zagri and the Mni, and the long, sandy beaches of the Peloponnese and the Pelion peninsula. Perhaps more surprisingly, the mainland mountains offer some of the best and least-exploited hiking , rafting, canyoning and skiing in Europe.

Panagitsa Tou Pirgou church, Skpelos

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Out in the Aegean or Ionian seas, youre more spoilt for choice. The best strategy for first-time visitors can be to sample assorted islands from nearby archipelagos the Dodecanese, the Cyclades, the Sporades, and the Argo-Saronic are all reasonably well connected with each other, while the northeast Aegean and Ionian groups are best visited in single trips. If time and money are short, the best place to head for is well-preserved dhra in the Argo-Saronic Gulf , just a short ride from Pires (the main port of Athens), but an utterly different place once the day-cruises have gone. Similarly,