| Top Ten Destinations of Greece | |
Here we go - the basic "must-see" list for first-time visitors to Greece. These are the places, for better or worse, that attract visitors by the thousands every year. For once, herd instinct is a good thing - there's much, much more to Greece, but if your budget or time is limited, these are the spots to include or be met by "You didn't go to ____!?" when you get back home.
1. Athens - The Acropolis
Say what you like (or don't like!) about Athens, no one's trip to Greece can be complete without a visit to its supreme symbol, the outcropping of rock called the Acropolis, crowned with Athena's sacred temple, the Parthenon. It looks great all day, but visit in the early morning or late afternoon to avoid the crowds. Skip the Sound and Light show - cold in temperature and corny in tone.
2. Athens - The National Archaeological Museum
Even if you hate museums, grit your teeth and get cultured here. It's a world-class display of seemingly endless artifacts. Most dramatic are the tall, enigmatic kouroi, archaic statues of godlike young men or man-like young gods, displayed against a rich red background that reminds us that the real temples, statues, and walls of Ancient Greece weren't bleached white by centuries of sun and rain. If you can bear to be (briefly) unfaithful to Greece, the Egyptian antiquities collection upstairs and in back is well worth a look.
3. Near Athens - Temple of Poseidon at Cape Sounion
It's worth the tour bus tth the tour bus trip or car ride to visit this cliff top temple, the empty spaces between the columns framing the sky and looking like a portal into eternity. You will feel poetic or heroic just looking at these ruins. With the Aegean Sea below spread out below like an endless shimmering sea of silk, one wonders if sea god Poseidon misses the loss of his temple's roof and walls very much. Most popular at sunset, it's as beautiful in the early morning, and much, much less crowded. Give the on-site restaurant a miss for anything but a snack. Keep reading below...
4. Island of Santorini
Atlantis legends, missing Minoans, a living volcanic legacy, swell sunsets, good local wine, fine restaurants, vampire stories, oodles of tourists. There's nothing like it. But rearrange your trip, cancel your tickets, do anything in your power to be able to arrive by sea, slowly crawling up the coast watching the banded cliffs of brown, black, and red crowned by snow-white tufa, a light lava which still clings to parts of the island like frosting on a cake. Signature site of the once-buried city of Akrotiri is under a tin roof, gets extraordinarily hot - go early in the day. The hotels carved into the cliff sides are not for those with vertigo. Looking for activity, bustle, lots of restaurant choices? Stay in Fira. Want more of a retreat but still with all the amenities? Stay in Oia.
5. Island of Mykonos
The most famous Greek island got that way for good reason. It's charming, fun, beautiful, and now, renowned for sophisticated, international goings-on. Vibrant nightlife, terrific shopping, more nude and non-nude beaches per square mile than anywhere else in Greece, loved by gays, straights, honeymoon couples, Greeks, tourists...though half of all these groups will insist that the island is passé or over-developed, they still come in droves. Genuinely sick of the frenzy? Get over onto the other side of the island for an entirely different Mykonos, with open country, charming private chapels, and less tourist-shocked Greeks.
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