36 best attractions in Greece

Greece is a country with a long history, where there is something to see. Almost every city remembers the times of Odysseus and Achilles, and the smallest settlements have their own historical monuments. And the natural beauties are so diverse that it is hard to imagine how they could fit in one state.

Who and why should come to Greece

Greece is the very place where powerful ancient civilizations were born and died, leaving behind numerous temples and monuments. Well-known myths about gods and heroes come to life here, and many cities seem to have left the pages of history books.

Hiking enthusiasts can combine business with pleasure — for example, climb the legendary Mount Olympus on foot, where, according to myths, the ancient Greek gods lived. Natural beauty can be seen in the Samaria Gorge and in numerous caves.

From the centuries-old history of Greece, a large number of religious buildings of the ancient, Christian and Muslim periods remained. Impressive ruins of temples of the Greek gods, majestic monasteries and churches, even the holy Mount Athos — all this can only be seen in Greece.

ancient cities

Greece is a country where entire cities become museums. Many of them are included in the UNESCO World Heritage List.

Delphi

The ruins of the ancient city of Delphi, the former place of worship of the god Apollo, still make a strong impression. Actually, only a part of the temple of the ancient god, where the Pythians proclaimed his will, has survived. An ancient road leads to the temple, and an ancient stadium is located nearby.

Rhodes

The city of Rhodes on the island of the same name is famous for its medieval castles and impregnable fortifications. The most impressive building is the Palace of the Grand Masters, which was founded by the Hospitallers at a time when the entire island belonged to the order. On the site of the palace, at first there was a temple of the sun god Helios, then a Byzantine fortress.

In this palace, the top of the order sat for almost 200 years, ruling the Eastern Mediterranean. And now there is a museum with an exposition of 205 halls. Even at the top of the island, the ancient acropolis of Lindos, which is already 3000 years old, has been preserved.

Ancient Olympia

Reserve with museums and ancient temples in the Peloponnese. This is the site of the Olympic Games in ancient times — it is here that the Olympic flame is lit every 4 years. In addition to places for competitions, in Olympia there are temples dedicated to the main Greek gods.

sunken city

In addition to the ancient cities on land, you can go to see the remains of the city of Olous, which sank off the coast of Crete. In its place now stands the Greek village of Elund. But in calm weather, when the sea is calm, you can see the ruins of ancient walls and city buildings underwater.

Architectural monuments

athenian acropolis

This is a whole architectural complex, which includes the Parthenon, the Areopagus and two temples — one of them is dedicated to the goddess Nike, and the other is called the Erechtheion. The Parthenon is very well preserved — it even has a statue of Athena made of gold and ivory.

The Erechtheion temple at one time competed in beauty with the Parthenon. The Theater of Dionysus is the oldest known open-air theater in Ancient Greece. Most of the statues from the temples were transferred to the Acropolis Museum. It contains many real relics from ancient times and from other places in Greece.

Panathinaikos Antique Stadium in Athens

A huge stepped structure made of white marble was found two centuries ago. In ancient times, the Panathenaic Games were held here — sports competitions of local importance.

Temple of Olympian Zeus

It was once the most imposing building in Greece. Even the famous Parthenon against its background in those distant times would have looked like a small palace of a local nobleman. According to some reports, the temple was built for about 650 years. Unfortunately, today little remains of it — only 14 columns.

Knossos Palace in Crete

Once it was also a huge building with 1300 rooms. According to legend, King Minos built this palace, and the mythical monster Minotaur lived in a labyrinth specially built for him. Whether this was so is now difficult to find out — most of the palace collapsed from earthquakes.

Lion Gate at Mycenae

What is left of the fortress wall of the ancient city. The gates are made of four huge 20-ton cobblestones. Time of construction — XIII century BC. Where did such a name come from? It turns out that once a golden bas-relief with lion heads hung over the gate. Of course, it has not survived to this day.

Sanctuary of Poseidon

The sanctuary at Cape Sounion was built in 440 BC. on the site of an older temple. The structure is located on a high cliff — 60 meters above the water level.

Windmills in Mykonos

Windmills are considered a symbol of the island. These are tall stone towers with cone-shaped thatched roofs. Flour has been traded here for a long time. In ancient times there were about 600 of them, now only 7 pieces remain. The first mention of the mills of Mykonos dates back to the 12th century.

John’s Castle

The impressive fortress walls of the Ioannite castle on the island of Kos were built in the 14th-16th centuries. Inside the perimeter of the castle are Christian temples, tombs and altars. Hippocrates’ plane tree grows next to the fortress — according to legend, it was under this tree that the father of medicine instructed his students.

Palamidi

The medieval fortress in the city of Nafplio is located on an impregnable rock 216 meters high. It was built by the Venetians in 1711. Eight huge bastions are interconnected by an impregnable fortress wall.

Frangkokastello

A beautiful but eerie legend is associated with this fortress in Crete. At one time, the Turks could not conquer it — they were put to flight by the shadows of knight riders. Locals claim that ghost riders can still be seen today — every spring, early in the morning, they move along a centuries-old route.

Museums in Greece

Although most of Greece is a kind of open-air museum, you can also see a lot of interesting things in the rooms specially allocated for storing antiquities.

National Archaeological Museum

The main museum of the capital will acquaint its visitors with the history of ancient civilizations that have ever existed on Greek soil. Artifacts from the Neolithic, Bronze Age, Mycenaean, Cycladic and Roman eras are exhibited here.

Archaeological Museum of Heraklion

The museum in Crete keeps within its walls finds from the Palace of Knossos and other valuable relics from the time of the Minoan civilization. And it is also a full-fledged local history museum that tells about the history of the island, starting from the Neolithic era.

Olive Tree Museum

The oldest olive tree in the world grows in this unusual museum located in the Cretan village of Ano Vouves. It was planted in ancient times, but the old olive tree still regularly produces crops.

Maritime Museum

Another attraction of Crete, where you can see both ancient and more modern models of commercial and military ships, marine instruments and maps. Here you can learn a lot not only about the history of navigation, but also about the structure of the ships themselves.

Natural attractions and parks

Mount Olympus in Thessaly

In fact, this is a mountain range with three peaks up to 3000 meters high. There are no historical monuments there. According to legend, on one of the mountains called Stephanie, the throne of Zeus was located — the top of the mountain is very similar to it. Around the array is a national park. Here you can walk, and you can climb the tops of the mountains.

Lake Melissani

The cave lake on the island of Kefalonia is filled with clean and clear water. It is partly fresh, partly salty, carried by the current from the Ionian Sea. It was found relatively recently — in 1951.

The lake is located inside a cave, the arch of which has collapsed in places due to an earthquake. It is considered a place of worship for the ancient Greek god Pan.

Spileo Limnon

This is a natural complex of underground lakes, which are located at different levels. In spring, when they overflow, water begins to flow from the upper reservoirs to the lower ones in small waterfalls. The cave can be viewed not only from a boat — there is a footpath that runs along the entire perimeter.

Melidoni Cave

The cave on the island of Crete is not only a natural attraction, but also a historical monument. In ancient times, the sanctuary of Talos was located there, and in 1823, rebels who rebelled against the Turkish regime were blown up in it.

Volcano Nisyros

On the island of Nisyros, you can walk along the real volcano. It is still dormant, but under the petrified surface, you can feel the trembling and movement of the lava masses.

The impression is as if you are walking on the lunar surface — all around is a cosmic landscape with craters, volcanic dust, islands of boiling mud and smells of sulfur.

Drogarati

The cave in Kefalonia is a unique natural structure with perfect acoustics. In addition to the main hall, Drogarati has a “Royal Balcony” — a platform once formed by stalactites.

Castania

Kastania Cave, named after the village next to which it is located, was discovered at the beginning of the 20th century. This is a unique natural structure — stalagmite formations found in it for millions of years. They are not very similar to ordinary cave columns — in shape, the stalagmites of Castania are more reminiscent of mushrooms or animals unknown to science.

Lake Plastira (Tauropos reservoir)

The most beautiful man-made lake Plastira is in no way inferior to its naturally formed counterparts. Clear water, sandy beaches, mountains and forests around.

You can explore it by boat or walk along the trails through coastal forests and cliffs. But the best view of the local landscape opens from a dangerous alpine road.

Caves of Cape Metapan

These caves are covered with ancient legends. The ancient Greeks believed that it was there that the entrance to the kingdom of Hades was located. You can explore this interesting place only from a boat — the caves are partially flooded.

Petaludes

On the island of Rhodes there is an interesting place — the valley of butterflies (Petaloudes). This is a small reserve in the gorge, where many of their nocturnal species live. There grows a tree called styrax, whose sap is very fond of these winged insects. You can get there only on foot along the mountain path.

Santorini

The archipelago in the Aegean Sea is a resort center with many sandy and pebble beaches. An active volcano is dormant under water, which buried an ancient civilization in 1500 BC. Thanks to him, the sand on the beaches of Santorini is colored in white, black and red. The largest of them are Kamari, Perisa, Monolithos, Red Beach.

The most unusual beaches in Greece

Manganari

The beach on the island of Ios is characterized by warm water, pearl-colored sand, always comfortable weather and a complete lack of wind thanks to the high cliffs surrounding it.

Balos

The uncrowded beach in Crete is located far from noisy tourist centers — it can only be reached by ship or by car along a country road. This is the place where three seas merge, so the blue of the waters has several shades.

Thermal beach in Kos

An interesting place to relax is the thermal beach. In fact, this is a fairly common beach for Greece, but on the coast there is a fenced natural pool of a meter depth, which is filled with thermal springs. You can sit in it, and then go for a swim in the sea.

Navagio Bay

The most beautiful beach on the island of Zakynthos can only be reached by water — from the shore it is surrounded by high and impenetrable cliffs. This place is called the beach of shipwrecks — there is even one of the sunken ships thrown on the sand. The place is very quiet (when there are no boats scurrying around with tourists), amazingly beautiful and clean.

religious objects

Athos

Holy Mount Athos is not a historical object and not a place for idle hiking. Pilgrims come here from all over the world. Women are not allowed there — the monastery of John the Theologian in Suroti, which, by the way, is called the «female Athos», is allocated for them.

Meteora

«Soaring» monasteries in the city of Kalambaka were built in the VI century on the tops of high stone pillars from 300 to 600 m high, created by nature. To lift visitors, steps are carved right into the stone. Previously, it was possible to climb there only in a basket with a winch or on a rope ladder.

Filerimos Monastery

Located on the mountain of the same name on the island of Rhodes. In ancient times, there was the acropolis of the city-state of Ialyssos. It is noteworthy that the monastery church of the Mother of God is half Catholic, half Christian.

The memory of Byzantine rule is a Maltese cross on the wall of the temple. Near the monastery there is a stone font in the form of a cross, which is much older than all the other buildings.