Delphi
Serving as the heart of Ancient Delphi, the hillside Sanctuary of Apollo is where pilgrims would journey to hear prophecies from the god Apollo, voiced…
Must-see attractions in Central Greece
Delphi
Delphi’s magnificent modern museum, 500m east of town, perfectly complements the ancient site alongside. Which you visit first doesn’t matter, but the…
Central Greece
The monastery of Moni Osios Loukas, a World Heritage site, overlooks a remote valley 23km southeast of Arahova, between the villages of Distomo and…
Meteora
Of all the Meteora monasteries, Moni Agias Triados, which featured in the 1981 James Bond film For Your Eyes Only, feels the most remote. A long down-then…
Meteora
Dramatically perched atop a steep pinnacle and accessed via a high narrow wooden bridge, Rousanou convent has an intimate atmosphere. Its small community…
Delphi
Of all Greece's archaeological sites, Ancient Delphi has the most potent spirit of place. Centring on the mountainside Sanctuary of Apollo, home to the…
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Central Greece
Towering northwards above Delphi and Arahova, Mt Parnassos was sacred to the gods Dionysos and Apollo. The modern Parnassos National Park holds three…
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Central Greece
One of the greatest military feats of antiquity, still legendary 2500 years on, took place at Thermopylae, signposted off the road to Athens 17km…
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Central Greece
Just inside the Gate of Exodus, where Ottoman forces massacred escaping Greeks in 1826, this memorial garden contains a prominent statue of Lord Byron …
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Delphi
For ancient pilgrims, Delphi’s first stop was the Sanctuary of Athena Pronea, now set just below the road 800m east of the Sanctuary of Apollo. This…
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Central Greece
An attractive road through a high mountain valley leads for 34km south of Karpenisi to the village of Prousos. To reach the 12th-century Moni Panagias…
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Meteora & Thessaly
The remains of a walled Neolithic settlement, where perhaps 250 people lived 7000 years ago, stand atop a low mound just north of the village of Dimini,…
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Meteora & Thessaly
Trikala's best museum, housed in the city’s former Ottoman baths (later a prison), houses an intriguing and unusual mixture of exhibits. Displays…
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Central Greece
Set in wooded grounds atop a hill northwest of the town centre, Amfissa’s ruined 13th-century castle retains around 600m of its original fortified wall.
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Central Greece
The white-painted Venetian-style Tower of Botsaris, 100m northwest of the port square, holds this museum devoted to the 1571 Battle of Lepanto. It’s a…
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Delphi
The ruins of Delphi’s ancient gymnasium stand south of the Sanctuary of Apollo and west of the Sanctuary of Athena Pronea, in an area known as the…
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Pelion Peninsula
This inconspicuous and faded mansion in little Anakasia preserves fanciful and colourful murals by Theofilos Hatzimihail (1866–1934). A wandering self…
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Central Greece
East of Amfissa towards Delphi, the 19th-century convent of Moni Profiti Ilia rests on a hillside with superb views across the olive groves to the Gulf of…
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Meteora
High above Kalambaka, at the end of the road, Moni Agiou Stefanou suffered considerable damage during and after WWII, and is less architecturally…
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Natural History & Mushroom Museum
Kalambaka
Once you pass its forbidding modern exterior, this museum comes as a quirky surprise. Downstairs, dioramas display stuffed birds and animals ranging from…
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Meteora & Thessaly
First inhabited before 6000 BC, and thus the oldest acropolis in Greece, this Neolithic site occupies a gently sloping hillside 14km west of Volos. Well…
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Meteora
Beside the road a few hundred metres short of Moni Megalou Meteorou, Moni Varlaam was first occupied by the hermit Varlaam around 1350. It’s now…
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Meteora
The 15th-century Moni Agiou Nikolaou is the first monastery you reach from Kastraki, 1km from the village square. Many visitors, keen to press on to the…
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Meteora & Thessaly
To reach this superb little 13th-century Byzantine church in a lovely riverside setting, cross the Portaikos river in modern Pyli, 18km southwest of…
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Pelion Peninsula
To find out what the Pelion’s historical mansions looked like in their prime – before being transformed into luxurious guesthouses – follow a circuitous…
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Meteora
The Meteora’s largest monastery looks down on Kastraki from the highest rock in the valley (613m). Founded by St Athanasios in the 14th century, it grew…
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Meteora & Thessaly
Set behind a pretty rose garden, this excellent museum is just back from the seafront at the southeastern limit of Volos. As well as some amazing…
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Central Greece
The ground floor of this neoclassical mansion on the central square holds a fine collection of Byron memorabilia. Treasures range from statues and…
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Central Greece
A tortuous mountain road climbs 7km west from Ipati to reach the lovely, still functioning Byzantine Agathon Monastery, into which visitors can freely…
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Meteora & Thessaly
Trikala’s castle crowns a hilltop just back from the northern side of the river, 400m west of the central squares. Although it stands on the site of…
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Central Greece
Lamia's medieval castle commands great views atop a wooded hill directly above the centre, a steep 1km hike or longer drive up. Within its walls, the city…
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Meteora & Thessaly
The amazing brick-built dome of this imposing mosque, built in the 16th century for the nephew of Süleyman the Magnificent, rises above the southern…
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Central Greece
On 25 November 1942, in one of the greatest acts of sabotage of WWII, a combined Greek and British guerrilla force blew up the Gorgopotamos Railway Bridge…
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Central Greece
This superb and much-expanded museum explores the rich history of Thiva, which as ancient Thebes played a major role in Greek civilisation from the Bronze…
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Archaeological Museum of Amfissa
Central Greece
This handsome museum, housed in an impressive mansion, holds a wonderful assortment of local finds dating from the Bronze Age to the early Byzantine…
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Kalambaka
This enjoyable museum focuses on a beautifully displayed collection of antiquarian books, from versions of Aesop’s Fables to a 1567 edition of Homer. The…
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Meteora & Thessaly
The Varousi quarter, just east of the fortress, was home to Trikala’s wealthiest Christians under Ottoman rule. Their fine old mansions, sporting…
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Byzantine Art and Culture Museum
Pelion Peninsula
Perched immediately above the village square (and church) in a mansion that’s been given a modern, air-conditioned makeover, Makrinitsa’s ‘showroom of…
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Central Greece
The well-preserved fortress and Venetian kastro that overlook Nafpaktos consist of a series of five terraced stone walls, built by successive conquerors …
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Church of the Dormition of the Virgin Mary
Kalambaka
The 14th-century frescoes in this Byzantine basilica, at Kalambaka’s highest point where the footpath sets off to Moni Agias Triados, are a match for…
