683 Best Sights in Greece

You don't have to look far in Athens to encounter perfection. Towering above all—both physically and spiritually—stands the Acropolis, a millennia-old survivor. The Greek term Akropolis means High City, and today's traveler who climbs this table-like hill is paying tribute to the prime source of Western civilization. Astounding at night, this amazing monument has been lit up with nearly seven hundred LED lights and every monument on the Acropolis can now be relished in a luminescent golden glow.

Most of the notable structures on this flat-top limestone outcrop, 512 feet high, were built from 461 to 429 BC, when the intellectual and artistic life of Athens flowered under the influence of the Athenian statesman Pericles. Since then, the buildings of the Acropolis have undergone transformations into, at various times, a Florentine palace, an Islamic mosque, and a Turkish harem. They have also weathered the hazards of wars, right up to 1944, when British paratroopers positioned their bazookas between the Parthenon's columns. Today, the Erechtheion temple has been completely restored, and conservation work on the Parthenon is ongoing, focusing now on the western side. With most of the major restoration work now completed, a visit to the Acropolis evokes the spirit of the ancient heroes and gods who were once worshipped here. The sight of the Parthenon—the Panathenaic temple at the crest of this ieros vrachos (sacred rock)—has the power to stir the heart as few other ancient relics do.

The walk through the Acropolis takes about 4 hours, depending on the crowds, including an hour spent in the New Acropolis Museum. In general, the earlier you start out the better—in summer the heat is blistering by noon and the light's reflection off the rock and marble ruins is almost blinding. Remember to bring water, sunscreen, nonslip footwear, and a hat to protect yourself from the sun. An alternative, in summer, is to visit after 5 pm, when the light is best for taking photographs. The two hours before sunset, when the fabled violet light occasionally spreads from the crest of Mt. Hymettus and embraces the Acropolis, is an ideal time to visit in any season. In recent years, because of extreme temperatures, the site has sometimes closed early in high season to protect visitors and staff; check opening hours to avoid disappointment. 

You enter the Acropolis complex through the Beulé Gate, a late-Roman structure named for the French archaeologist who discovered the gate in 1852. Before Roman times, the entrance to the Acropolis was a steep ramp below the Temple of Athena Nike that was used every fourth year for the Panathenaic procession, a spectacle that honored Athena's remarkable birth; she sprang from the head of her father, Zeus. When you enter the gate, ask for the free, information-packed bilingual (in English and Greek) pamphlet guide.

At the loftiest point of the Acropolis stands the Parthenon, the architectural masterpiece conceived by Pericles and executed between 447 and 438 BC. It not only raised the bar in terms of sheer size, but also in the perfection of its proportions. Dedicated to the goddess Athena (the name comes from the Athena Parthenos, the virgin Athena), the Parthenon served primarily as the treasury of the Delian League, an ancient alliance of cities formed to defeat the Persian incursion. In fact, the Parthenon was built as much to honor the city's power as to venerate the goddess. After the Persian army sacked Athens in 480–479 BC, the city-state banded with Sparta, and together they routed the Persians by 449 BC. To proclaim its hegemony over all Greece, Athens then set about constructing its Acropolis, ending a 30-year building moratorium.

Once you pass through the Beulé Gate you will find the Temple of Athena Nike. Designed by Kallikrates, the mini-temple was built in 427–424 BC to celebrate peace with Persia. The bas-reliefs on the surrounding parapet depict the Victories leading heifers to be sacrificed.

Past the temple, the imposing Propylaea structure was designed to instill the proper reverence in worshippers as they crossed from the temporal world into the spiritual world of the sanctuary, for this was the main function of the Acropolis. The Propylaea was intended to have been the same size as the Parthenon, and thus the grandest secular building in Greece, but construction was suspended during the Peloponnesian War and it was never finished. The structure shows the first use of the Attic style, which combines both Doric and Ionic columns. The building's slender Ionic columns had elegant capitals, some of which have been restored along with a section of the famed paneled ceiling, originally decorated with gold eight-pointed stars on a blue background. Adjacent to the Pinakotheke, or art gallery (which has paintings of scenes from Homer's epics and mythological tableaux), the south wing is a decorative portico (row of columns). The view from the inner porch of the Propylaea is stunning: the Parthenon is suddenly revealed in its full glory, framed by the columns.

If the Parthenon is the masterpiece of Doric architecture, the Erechtheion is undoubtedly the prime exemplar of the more graceful Ionic order. A considerably smaller structure than the Parthenon, it outmatches, for sheer elegance and refinement of design, all other buildings of the Greco-Roman world. For the populace, the Erechtheion, completed in 406 BC, remained Athena's holiest shrine, for legend has it that Poseidon plunged his trident into the rock on this spot, dramatically producing a spring of water, while Athena created a simple olive tree, whose produce remains a main staple of Greek society. A panel of judges declared the goddess the winner, and the city was named Athena. The most delightful feature is the south portico, known as the Caryatid Porch. It is supported on the heads of six maidens (caryatids) wearing delicately draped Ionian garments. What you see at the site today are copies; the originals are in the New Acropolis Museum.

Most people take the metro to the Acropolis station, where the Acropolis Museum is just across the main exit. They then follow the Dionyssiou Aeropagitou, the pedestrianized street that traces the foothill of the Acropolis to its entrance at the Beulé Gate. Another entrance is along the rock's northern face via the pretty Peripatos, a paved path from the Plaka district. The summit of the Acropolis can also now be reached by people with disabilities via an elevator.

Daily visitors are now limited, and you must purchase a timed ticket to ensure entry to the Acropolis; this is best done in advance to ensure your admission at your preferred time. Don't throw away your Acropolis ticket after your tour. It will get you into all the other sites in the Unification of Archaeological Sites for 5 days—at no extra cost. Guides to the Acropolis are quite informative and will also help kids understand the site better.

Designed by the celebrated Swiss architect Bernard Tschumi in collaboration with Greek architect Michalis Fotiadis, the Acropolis Museum made world headlines when it opened in 2009. If some buildings define an entire city in a particular era, Athens's monumental museum boldly sets the tone of Greece's modern aspirations. Occupying a large plot of the city's most prized real estate, the Acropolis Museum nods to the fabled ancient hill above it but speaks—thanks to a building that looks spectacular from its every angle—in a contemporary architectural language.

The museum drew 90,000 visitors in its first month and proved it is spacious enough to accommodate such crowds (a whopping 14½ million visitors had entered the doors of the ingenious airy structure by the end of its first decade). Unlike its crammed dusty predecessor, there is lots of elbow room, from the museum's olive tree–dotted grounds to its prized, top-floor Parthenon Gallery.

Regal glass walkways, very high ceilings, and panoramic views are all part of the experience. In the five-level museum, every shade of marble is on display and bathed in abundant UV-safe natural light. Visitors pass into the museum through a broad entrance and move ever upward.

The ground-floor exhibit, "The Acropolis Slopes," features objects found in the sanctuaries and settlements around the Acropolis—a highlight is the collection of theatrical masks and vases from the sanctuary of the matrimonial deity Nymphe. The next floor is devoted to the Archaic period (650 BC–480 BC), with rows of precious statues mounted for 360-degree viewing. The floor includes sculptural figures from the Hekatompedon—the temple that may have predated the classical Parthenon—such as the noted group of stone lions gorging on a bull from 570 BC. The legendary five caryatids (or korai)—the female figures supporting the Acropolis's Erectheion building—symbolically leave a space for their sister, who resides in London's British Museum.

The second floor is devoted to the terrace and a restaurant/coffee shop with a wonderful view of the Acropolis, which starts by serving a traditional Greek breakfast every day except Monday, before moving on to more delicious Greek dishes (every Friday the restaurant remains open until midnight).

Drifting into the top-floor atrium, the visitor can watch a video on the Parthenon before entering the star gallery devoted to the temple's Pentelic marble decorations, many of which depict a grand procession in the goddess Athena's honor. Frieze pieces (originals and copies), metopes, and pediments are all laid out in their original orientation. This is made remarkably apparent because the gallery consists of a magnificent rectangle-shape room tilted to align with the Parthenon itself. Floor-to-ceiling windows provide magnificent vistas of the temple just a few hundred feet away.

Museum politics are unavoidable here. This gallery was designed—as Greek officials have made obvious—to hold the Parthenon Marbles in their entirety. This includes the sculptures Lord Elgin brought to London two centuries ago. Currently, 50 meters of the frieze are in Athens, 80 meters in London's British Museum, and another 30 meters scattered in museums around the world. The spectacular and sumptuous new museum challenges the British claim that there is no suitable home for the Parthenon treasures in Greece. Pointedly, the museum avoids replicas, as the top-floor gallery makes a point of highlighting the abundant missing original pieces with empty space and outlines.

Elsewhere on view are other fabled works of art, including the Rampin Horseman and the compelling Hound, both by the sculptor Phaidimos; the noted pediment sculpted into a calf being devoured by a lioness—a 6th-century BC treasure that brings to mind Picasso's Guernica; striking pedimental figures from the Old Temple of Athena (525 BC) depicting the battle between Athena and the Giants; and the great Nike Unfastening Her Sandal, taken from the parapet of the Acropolis's famous Temple of Athena Nike.

A 15-minute climb (please don't ride a donkey) from the village center up to the Acropolis of Lindos leads past a gauntlet of Lindian women who spread out their lace and embroidery like fresh laundry over the rocks. The final approach ascends a steep flight of stairs, past a marvelous 2nd-century-BC relief of the prow of a Lindian ship, carved into the rock.

The entrance takes you through the medieval castle built by the Knights of St. John, then to the Byzantine Chapel of St. John on the next level. The Romans, too, left their mark on the acropolis, with a temple dedicated to Diocletian. On the upper terraces, begun by classical Greeks around 300 BC, are the remains of elaborate porticoes and stoas, commanding an immense sweep of sea and making a powerful statement on behalf of Athena and the Lydians (who dedicated the monuments on the acropolis to her). The lofty white columns of the temple and stoa on the summit must have presented a magnificent picture. The main portico of the stoa had 42 Doric columns, at the center of which an opening led to the staircase up to the Propylaia (or sanctuary). The Temple of Athena Lindia at the very top is surprisingly modest, given the drama of the approach. As was common in the 4th century BC, both the front and the rear are flanked by four Doric columns. Numerous inscribed statue bases were found all over the summit, attesting in many cases to the work of Lindian sculptors, who were clearly second to none.

You'd have to try very hard to find a Sporades beach, or in fact, a Greek beach with waters as crystal clear as at Agios Dimitrios, on Alonnisos. The almost spit-shape white pebble beach is long, uncrowded, and has a stupendous view of Peristera island directly opposite. The water is shallow and calm, and the beach is lined with just a handful of picturesque palm-leaf umbrellas and sun beds to rent. Behind the beach, along a tree-lined road, you'll find a couple of beach restaurants serving delicious traditional Greek dishes. Amenities: parking (free); food and drink. Best for: solitude; swimming; walking.

Fortifications have stood atop this hill since the Byzantine era, though the ruins of this castle date from the early 16th century. When the Venetians finally pried it from Turkish control in 1500, after a wearying three-month siege, they leveled the building in the process. Reconstruction took some 40 years, whereupon it became the administrative center for the island until the mid-1800s. By then, the rise of Argostolion had made the port town a better option. Shortly after, the castle was abandoned entirely when earthquakes tore the region apart. Little was done to rebuild it and subsequent historic tremors have all contributed to its current state. While the sprawling grounds offer incredible views over the island, there is little to explain what you're seeing, leaving visitors to pick over its bones largely unguided. A tiny village filled with a cluster of good tavernas lies at the foot of the hill.

Boats ferry bathers from Hydra Town harbor near the Mitropolis church to pebble beaches on the island's southern coast, the best of which is Agios Nikolaos, where there are sun beds and umbrellas for a charge (starting at €5) and you can also rent canoes. Agios Nikolaos is located on the south side of the island, facing the Aegean Sea, and it is the largest organized beach on the island. It is mostly pebbled with some small sandy stretches that are ideal for children's play. The large boats heading to and from here have set fees (to Agios Nikolaos from Hydra Town is €10; water taxis, max 8 passengers, charge around €165 for round-trip). Amenities: food and drink; water sports. Best for: snorkeling; swimming.

Visit a restored 14th-century monastery, about a 30-minute walk (each way) into the valley. Two images of the Pantocrator (Almighty), one in each dome—perhaps duplicated to give the segregated women their own view—stare down on the congregation. There is a guided tour in English which explains the 18th-century frescoes created in Epirote style. You'll visit the wine cellar where the a huge oak barrel ferments the strong rubini "Imperator" (make sure to buy a bottle) and take a peek into the monks' cells.

Close to the airport, this wonderful beach of white sand and pebbles is surrounded by lush greenery, with the little chapel of Agios Petrosa on a hill above as a serene backdrop. Don't be put off by the 4 km (2½ miles) of dirt road leading to the beach, it's definitely worth the effort. Amenities: none. Best for: snorkeling; swimming; walking; windsurfing.

This is one of the most popular beaches on the island due to its close proximity to Naxos Town and its long stretch of pure, fine white sand. It features a small leeward harbor with a unique view of small lagoons where herons find refuge. Its position protects it from island winds, so swimming is a calm experience that you don't always find on neighboring beaches. The small village surrounding it is lined with tavernas and cafés. Nudity is allowed in designated areas. Amenities: food and drink. Best for: nudists; swimming; walking.

A vast swath of beautiful Agios Stefanos Beach, just north of Kamari, is now occupied by the sprawling Ikos Aria resort village. Every yard of the rest is given over in summer to beach bars renting umbrellas and chairs and offering activities that include waterskiing and jet skiing. Expect to pay about €45 for a waterskiing session, €60 for jet skiing. Two early Christian basilicas crown a promontory at the southern end of the beach, adding to the allure of this lovely spot. Amenities: food and drink; parking (free); showers; water sports. Best for: snorkeling; swimming.

The enormous five-domed post-Baroque church of Agios Therapon, completed in 1935, was designed by architect Argyris Adalis, an islander who studied under Ernst Ziller, the prolific architect of so many of the municipal buildings in Athens. The church is dedicated to St. Therapon, whose name means "healer," and it has been visited by many people who came to Lesvos to recuperate from illness. It has an ornate interior, a frescoed dome, and there's a Byzantine museum in the courtyard that's filled with religious icons.

Some of antiquity's greatest treasures await you at the Royal Tombs of Vergina, opened to the public in 1993, 16 years after their discovery. Today the complex, including a museum, is a fitting shrine to the original capital of the kingdom of Macedonia, then known as Aigai. The entrance is appropriately stunning: you walk down a white-sandstone ramp into the partially underground structure, roofed over by a large earth-covered dome approximately the size of the original tumulus (mounded grave). Here on display are some of the legendary artifacts from the age of Philip II of Macedonia.

This was the first intact Macedonian tomb ever found—imposing and exquisite, with a huge frieze of a hunting scene, a masterpiece similar to those of the Italian Renaissance but 1,800 years older, along with a massive yet delicate fresco depicting the abduction of Persephone (a copy of which is displayed along one wall of the museum). Two of the few original works of great painting survive from antiquity. On the left are two tombs and one altar that had been looted and destroyed in varying degrees by the time Andronikos discovered them. Macedonian Tomb III, on the right, found intact in 1978, is believed to be that of the young Prince Alexander IV, Alexander the Great's son, who was at first kept alive by his "protectors" after Alexander's death and then poisoned (along with his mother) when he was 14. To the left of Tomb III is that of Philip II. He was assassinated in the nearby theater, a short drive away; his body was burned, his bones washed in wine, wrapped in royal purple, and put into the magnificent solid-gold casket with the 16-point sun, which is displayed in the museum. His wife, Cleopatra (not the Egyptian queen), was later buried with him.

The tombs alone would be worth a special trip, but the golden objects and unusual artifacts that were buried within them are equally impressive. Among these finds, in excellent condition and displayed in dramatic dimmed light, are delicate ivory reliefs; elegantly wrought gold laurel wreaths; and Philip's crown, armor, and shield. Especially interesting are those items that seem most certainly Philip's: a pair of greaves (shin guards), one shorter than the other—Philip was known to have a limp. To the right of the tombs, a gift shop sells books and postcards; the official gift shop is outside the entrance gate (across from Philippion restaurant), on the same side of the road. Macedonian souvenirs available here are scarce elsewhere.

The winding road to the site of Philip's assassination goes through rolling countryside west of modern Vergina, much of it part of the vast royal burial grounds of ancient Aigai. On the way you pass three more Macedonian tombs of little interest, being rough-hewn stone structures in typical Macedonian style; the admission to the Royal Tombs includes these. In the field below are the remnants of the theater, discovered by Andronikos in 1982. It was on Philip's way here, to attend the wedding games that were to follow the marriage of his daughter to the king of Epirus, that he was murdered and where his son, Alexander the Great, was crowned.

Perched high on a granite outcrop in the mountainous interior is an eerie testament to the violent history of the island. Anavatos (the name means "unassailable") was built in medieval times and flourished as a community until the massacres of 1822. The Ottomans attacked and fierce street-by-street fighting ensued until the Greeks were overwhelmed. Rather than be enslaved by the invading forces, the women and children of the village threw themselves over the steep cliffs to their death. Further devastated in the earthquake of 1881, the village lies abandoned but the views remain breathtaking in this ghostly, poignant monument.

The commercial hub of ancient Athens, the Agora was once lined with statues and expensive shops, the favorite strolling ground of fashionable Athenians and a mecca for merchants and students. The long colonnades offered shade in summer and protection from rain in winter to the throng of people who transacted the day-to-day business of the city, and, under their arches, Socrates discussed matters with Plato and Zeno expounded the philosophy of the Stoics (whose name comes from the six stoas, or colonnades of the Agora). Besides administrative buildings, the schools, theaters, workshops, houses, stores, and market stalls of a thriving town surrounded it. The foundations of some of the main buildings that may be most easily distinguished include the circular Tholos, the principal seat of executive power in the city; the Mitroon, shrine to Rhea, the mother of gods, which included the vast state archives and registry office (mitroon is still used today to mean registry); the Vouleuterion, where the council met; the Monument of Eponymous Heroes, the Agora's information center, where announcements such as the list of military recruits were hung; and the Sanctuary of the Twelve Gods, a shelter for refugees and the point from which all distances were measured.

The Agora's showpiece was the Stoa of Attalos II, where Socrates once lectured and incited the youth of Athens to adopt his progressive ideas on mortality and morality. Today the Museum of Agora Excavations, this two-story building was first designed as a retail complex and erected in the 2nd century BC by Attalos, a king of Pergamum. The reconstruction in 1953–56 used Pendelic marble and creamy limestone from the original structure. The colonnade, designed for promenades, is protected from the blistering sun and cooled by breezes. The most notable sculptures, of historical and mythological figures from the 3rd and 4th centuries BC, are at ground level outside the museum.

Take a walk around the site and speculate on the location of Simon the Cobbler's house and shop, which was a meeting place for Socrates and his pupils. The carefully landscaped grounds display a number of plants known in antiquity, such as almond, myrtle, and pomegranate. By standing in the center, you have a glorious view up to the Acropolis. Ayii Apostoloi is the only one of the Agora's nine churches to survive, saved because of its location and beauty. A quirky ruin to visit here is the 1st century AD latrine in the northeastern corner.

On the low hill called Kolonos Agoraios in the Agora's northwest corner stands the best-preserved Doric temple in all Greece, the Hephaistion, sometimes called the Thission because of its friezes showing the exploits of Theseus. Like the other monuments, it is roped off, but you can walk around it to admire its preservation. A little older than the Parthenon, it is surrounded by 34 columns and is 104 feet in length, and was once filled with sculptures (the only remnant of which is the mutilated frieze, formerly brightly colored). It never quite makes the impact of the Parthenon, in large part due to the fact that it lacks a noble site and can never be seen from below, its sun-matured columns towering heavenward. The Hephaistion was originally dedicated to Hephaistos, god of metalworkers, and it is interesting to note that metal workshops still existed in this area near Ifestou Street until recently.

If Santorini is known as the "Greek Pompeii" and is claimant to the title of the lost Atlantis, it is because of the archaeological site of Ancient Akrotiri, near the tip of the southern horn of the island. The site now has a protective roof spanning the entire enclosed area, which is in fact a whole ancient city buried under the volcanic ashes, much of it still waiting to be unearthed, almost intact. Only 1 in 20 of Santorini's visitors come to the site, which is a great shame as it helps to remind of the centuries of history that the island hides beneath traveler's feet.

In the 1860s, in the course of quarrying volcanic ash for use in building the Suez Canal, workmen discovered the remains of an ancient town. The town was frozen in time by ash from an eruption 3,600 years ago, long before Pompeii's disaster. In 1967 Spyridon Marinatos of the University of Athens began excavations, which continue to this day. It is thought that the 40 buildings that have been uncovered are only one-third of the huge site and that excavating the rest will probably take a century.

Marinatos's team discovered many well-preserved frescoes depicting aspects of Akrotiri life, some are now displayed in the National Archaeological Museum in Athens but many have been returned to the Museum of Prehistoric Thera in Fira. Meanwhile, postcard-size pictures of them are posted outside the houses where they were found. The antelopes, monkeys, and wildcats they portray suggest trade with Egypt.

Akrotiri was settled as early as 3000 BC, possibly as an outpost of Minoan Crete, and reached its peak after 2000 BC, when it developed trade and agriculture and settled the present town. The inhabitants cultivated olive trees and grain, and their advanced architecture with three-story frescoed houses faced with masonry and balconies and public buildings of sophisticated construction is evidence of an elaborate lifestyle. Remains of the inhabitants have never been found, possibly because they might have had advance warning of the eruptions and fled in boats; beds have been found outside the houses, suggesting the island was shaken with earthquakes that made it unwise to sleep indoors.

It is worth noting that the collection is unusually weak in jewelry, but this can probably be explained by the fact that such items are high value and easy to carry and so their owners took them with them, despite the urgency of their departure.

Excavations of one of the great cities of classical and Roman Greece have gone on since 1896, exposing ruins on the slopes of Acrocorinth and northward toward the coast. In ancient times, goods and often entire ships were hauled across the isthmus on a paved road between Corinth's two ports—Lechaion on the Gulf of Corinth and Kenchreai on the Saronic Gulf—ensuring a lively trade with colonies and empires throughout Europe and the Middle East. Most of the buildings that have been excavated are from the Roman era; only a few from before the sack of Corinth in 146 BC were rehabilitated when the city was refounded under orders of Julius Caesar.

The Glauke Fountain is past the parking lot on the left. According to the Greek traveler Pausanias, Glauke, Jason's second wife, also known as Creusa, threw herself into the water to obtain relief from a poisoned dress sent to her by the vengeful Medea. Beyond the fountain is the museum, which displays examples of the black-figure pottery—decorated with friezes of panthers, sphinxes, bulls, and warriors—for which Corinth was famous.

Seven of the original 38 columns of the Temple of Apollo (just above the museum) are still standing, and the structure is by far the most striking of Corinth's ancient buildings—as well as one of the oldest stone temples in Greece (mid-6th century BC). Beyond the temple are the remains of the North Market, a colonnaded square once surrounded by many small shops, and south of the temple is the main forum of Ancient Corinth. A row of shops bounds the forum at the far western end. East of the market is a series of small temples, and beyond is the forum's main plaza. A long line of shops runs lengthwise through the forum, dividing it into an upper (southern) and lower (northern) terrace, in the center of which is the bema (large podium), perhaps the very one where in AD 52 St. Paul delivered his defense of Christianity before the Roman proconsul Gallio.

The southern boundary of the forum was the South Stoa, a 4th-century-BC building, perhaps erected by Philip II of Macedonia to house delegates to his Hellenic confederacy. There were originally 33 shops across the front, and the back was altered in Roman times to accommodate such civic offices as the council hall, or bouleuterion, in the center. The road to Kenchreai began next to the bouleuterion and headed south. Farther along the South Stoa was the entrance to the South Basilica and, at the far end, the Southeast Building, which probably was the city archive.

In the lower forum, below the Southeast Building, was the Julian Basilica, a former law court. Continuing to the northeast corner of the forum, you approach the facade of the Fountain of Peirene. Water from a spring was gathered into four reservoirs before flowing out through the arcadelike facade into a drawing basin in front. Frescoes of swimming fish from a 2nd-century Roman refurbishment can still be seen. The Lechaion road heads out of the forum to the north. A colonnaded courtyard, the Peribolos of Apollo, is directly to the east of the Lechaion road, and beyond it lies a public latrine, with toilets in place, and the remains of a Roman-era bath, probably the Baths of Eurykles, which was described by Pausanias as Corinth's best known.

Along the west side of the Lechaion road is a large basilica entered from the forum through the Captives' Facade, named for its sculptures of captive barbarians. West of the Captives' Facade the row of northwest shops completes the circuit.

Northwest of the parking lot is the odeon (a roofed theater), cut into a natural slope, which was built during the 1st century AD but burned around the year 175. By 225 the theater was renovated and used as an arena for combats between gladiators and wild beasts. North of the odeon is the theater (5th century BC), one of the few Greek buildings reused by the Romans, who filled in the original seats and built new ones at a steeper angle. By the 3rd century, they had adapted it for gladiatorial contests and finally for mock naval battles.

North of the theater, inside the city wall, are the Fountain of Lerna and the Asklepieion, the sanctuary of the god of healing with a small temple (4th century BC) set in a colonnaded courtyard and a series of dining rooms in a second courtyard. Terra-cotta votive offerings representing afflicted body parts (hands, legs, breasts, genitals, and so on) were found in the excavation of the Asklepieion, and many of them are displayed at the museum.

After a square surrounded by late-Roman porticoes, pass through the main gate to Ancient Delphi and continue on to the Sacred Way, the approach to the Altar of Apollo. Walk between building foundations and bases for votive dedications, stripped now of ornament and statue, mere scraps of what was one of the richest collections of art and treasures in antiquity. Thanks to the 2nd-century-AD writings of Greek geographer Pausanias, archaeologists have identified treasuries built by the Thebans, the Corinthians, the Syracusans, and others—a roster of 5th- and 6th-century-BC powers. The Treasury of the Athenians, on your left as you turn right, was built with money from the victory over the Persians at Marathon. The Stoa of the Athenians, northeast of the treasury, housed, among other objects, an immense cable with which the Persian king Xerxes roped together a pontoon bridge for his army to cross the Hellespont from Asia to Europe.

The Temple of Apollo visible today (there were three successive temples built on the site) is from the 4th century BC. Although ancient sources speak of a chasm within, there is no trace of that opening in the earth from which emanated trance-inducing vapors. Above the temple is the well-preserved theater, which seated 5,000. It was built in the 4th century BC, restored in about 160 BC, and later restored again by the Romans. From a sun-warmed seat on the last tier, you see a panoramic bird's-eye view of the sanctuary and the convulsed landscape that encloses it. Also worth the climb is the view from the stadium still farther up the mountain, at the highest point of the ancient town. Built and restored in various periods and cut partially from the living rock, the stadium underwent a final transformation under Herodes Atticus, the Athenian benefactor of the 2nd century AD. It lies cradled in a grove of pine trees, a quiet refuge removed from the sanctuary below and backed by the sheer, majestic rise of the mountain. Markers for the starting line inspire many to race the length of the stadium.

In terms of footprints, this is one of the most awe-inspiring sites of ancient Greece, thanks to its impressive walls, famed entry gates, vast theater arenas, and temples. One temple alone, the Asklepion, was thought to be an entire town by archaeologists until recently (see  www.ancientmessene.gr for an excellent scholarly take on the site).

The most striking aspect of the ruins is the city's circuit wall, a feat of defensive architecture that rises and dips across the hillsides for an astonishing 9 km (5½ miles). Four gates remain; the best preserved is the north or Arcadian Gate, a double set of gates separated by a round courtyard. On the ancient paving stone below the arch, grooves worn by chariot wheels are still visible. In the main site, excavations have uncovered the most important public buildings, including a theater, whose seats have now been restored; the Synedrion, a meeting hall for representatives of independent Messene; the Sebasteion, dedicated to worship of a Roman emperor; the sanctuary to the god Asklepios; and a temple to Artemis Orthia. One of the more unusual finds is the "treasury," a rather grim crypt-like hole where the captured general Philopoemen, of the Achaean Confederacy, a collection of states that banded together against Roman control, was imprisoned and later poisoned in 183 BC. The most impressive sights are the large stadium, wrapped by a collar of Doric columns, and the gymnasium where the Messinian youth were schooled in both fighting and the arts. The site is a bit confusing, as the ruins are spread over the hillside and approached from different paths; follow the signposts indicating the theater, gates, and other major excavations. Guides hang around the entrance offering their services, though these don't come cheap and bargaining starts at around €50 for an hour, so it's better to arrange a tour beforehand. Some of the finds are held in Mavromati's's small museum, which is included in the ticket price.

Nemea, like Olympia, was a sanctuary to Zeus. The main monuments at the site include the Temple of Zeus (built about 330 BC to replace a 6th-century BC structure) and a stadium, which once held as many as 40,000 and was where the panhellenic Nemean Games took place, in honor of the god king. Several Doric columns of the temple still stand, and an extraordinary feature of the 4th-century stadium is its vaulted tunnel and entranceway. The evidence suggests that the use of the arch in its construction may have been brought back from India with Alexander the Great (arches were previously believed to be a Roman invention). A spacious museum displays finds from the site, including pieces of athletic gear and coins of various city-states and rulers. There is also evidence of an early Christian basilica here that dates back to around the 5th or 6th century AD. Around Nemea, keep an eye out for roadside stands where local growers sell the famous red Nemean wine of this region.

One of the most celebrated archaeological sites in Greece is located at the foot of the pine-covered Kronion Hill and set in a valley where the Kladeos and Alpheios rivers join. Just as athletes from city-states throughout ancient Greece made the journey to compete in the ancient Olympics—the first sports competition—visitors from all over the world today make their way to the small modern Arcadian town. The Games, first staged around the 8th century BC, were played out here in the stadium, hippodrome, and other venues for some 1,100 years. Today, the venerable ruins of these structures attest to the majesty and importance of the first Olympiads. 

As famous as the Olympic Games were—and still are—Olympia was first and foremost a sacred place, a sanctuary honoring Zeus, king of the gods, and Hera, his wife and older sister. The sacred quarter was known as the Altis, or the Sacred Grove of Zeus, and was enclosed by a wall on three sides and the Kronion Hill on the other. Inside the Altis were temples, altars, and 12 treasuries of various city-states.

To honor the cult of Zeus, established at Olympia as early as the 10th century BC, altars were first constructed outdoors, among the pine forests that encroach upon the site. Around the turn of the 6th century BC, the earliest building at Olympia was constructed, the Temple of Hera, which originally honored Zeus and Hera jointly until the Temple of Zeus was constructed around 470 BC. The latter was one of the finest temples in all of Greece: 13 columns flanked the sides, and its interior housed the most famous work of the era—a gold and ivory statue of Zeus. Earthquakes in 551 and 552 finished off the temple.

After the Treasuries, the Bouleuterion, and the Pelopeion were constructed, while the 5th and 4th centuries BC—the golden age of the ancient games—saw a virtual building boom. The monumental Temple of Zeus, the Prytaneion, and the Metroon went up at this time. The enormous Leonidaion was built around 300 BC, and as the games continued to thrive, the Palaestra and Gymnasium were added to the complex.

The history of the Olympic Games is long and fabled. For almost 11 centuries, freeborn Greeks from the various city-states gathered to participate in the games, held every four years in August or September. These games became so much a part of the culture that the four-year interval between the games became a standard unit of time, an Olympiad. An Olympic truce—the Ekecheiria—allowed safe passage for athletes from the different city-states traveling to the games, and participation in them meant allegiance to a Panhellenic ideal of a united Greece. The exact date of the first games is not known, but the first recorded event is a footrace, a stade, run in 776 BC. A longer race, a diaulos, was added in 724 BC, and wrestling and a pentathlon—consisting of the long jump, the javelin throw, the discus throw, a footrace, and wrestling—in 708 BC. Boxing and chariot racing were 7th-century BC additions, as was the pankration, a no-holds-barred match (broken limbs were frequent and strangulation sometimes the end)—Plato, the great philosopher, was a big wrestling fan. By the 5th century BC, the games featured nine events, held over four days, with the fifth day reserved for the ceremonies. Most of the participants were professional athletes, for whom winning a laurel wreath at Olympia ensured wealth and glory from the city-states that sponsored them.

Today's tranquil pine-forested valley at Olympia, set with weathered stones of peaceful dignity, belies the sweaty drama of the first sporting festivals. Stadium footraces were run in the nude; pankration wrestling was so violent that today's Ultimate Fighting matches look tame; weeklong bacchanals—serviced by an army of prostitutes—were held in the Olympic Village: little wonder this ancient event is now called the "Woodstock of its day" by modern scholars (wrestlers, boxers, and discus throwers being the rock stars of ancient Greece).

For today's sightseer, the ruins of many of Olympia's main structures are still visible. The Altis was the sacred quarter, also known as the Sacred Grove of Zeus. In the Bouleuterion, the seat of the organizers of the games, the Elean senate, athletes swore an oath of fair play. In the Gymnasium, athletes practiced for track and field events in an open field surrounded by porticoes. In the Hippodrome, horse and chariot races were run on a vast racecourse. The House of Nero was a lavish villa built for the emperor's visit to the games of AD 67, in which he competed. The Leonidaion was a luxurious hostel for distinguished visitors to the games; it later housed Roman governors. The Metroon was a small Doric temple dedicated to Rhea (also known as Cybele), mother of the Gods. The Nymphaion, a semicircular reservoir, stored water from a spring to the east that was distributed throughout the site by a network of pipes. The Palaestra was a section of the gymnasium complex used for athletic training; athletes bathed and socialized in rooms around the square field. The Pelopeion, a shrine to Pelops, the legendary king of the region now known as the Peloponnese, housed an altar in a sacred grove. Pheidias's Workshop was the studio of the great ancient sculptor famed for his enormous Zeus statue, sculpted for the site's Temple of Zeus. The Prytaneion was a banquet room where magistrates feted the winners and a perpetual flame burned in the hearth. The Stadium held as many as 50,000 spectators, who crowded onto earthen embankments to watch running events. The starting and finishing lines are still in place. The Temple of Hera, one of the earliest monumental Greek temples, was built in the 7th century BC. The Temple of Zeus, a great temple and fine example of Doric architecture, housed Pheidias's enormous statue of the god, one of the seven wonders of the ancient world. The famous Treasuries were temple-like buildings that housed valuables and equipment of 12 of the most powerful of the city-states competing in the games.

You'll need at least 3 hours to fully see the ruins and the Archaeological Museum of Olympia (to the north of the ancient site), though 4 or more hours would be better.

A makeover and extensive remodeling have brought the island's flagship museum into modern times. Partly using interpretive panels and video screens, the lower floor takes you through the ancient history of mankind in Corfu and how it is revealed by way of the various finds, from Stone Age culture through the development of society and skills. This area also tells the story of archaeological discoveries, with contemporary photographs and documents from a succession of digs, including the one that uncovered the museum's star attraction, the Medusa, on display as the centerpiece of the upper floor. This massive bas-relief once formed the pediment of the 6th-century BC Temple of Artemis at Kanoni, but nowadays, the snake-coiffed figure---one of the largest and best-preserved pieces of Archaic sculpture in Greece---is housed in a vast open-plan area that affords visitors a dramatic encounter. Other exhibits are arrayed thematically and stylishly throughout the four main spaces, each one focusing on a distinct aspect of life in ancient times.

The island's archaeological museum houses Hellenistic and Roman sculpture by Koan artists, much of it unearthed by Italians during their tenure on the island in the early 20th century. Among the treasures are a renowned statue of Hippocrates—the great physician who practiced on Kos—and Asclepius, god of healing; a group of sculptures from various Roman phases, all discovered in the House of the Europa Mosaic; and a remarkable series of Hellenistic draped female statues mainly from the Sanctuary of Demeter at Kyparissi and the Odeon.

In a magnificent new home, the rich collection from all over western Crete has been relocated to the new building and enriched with many new exhibits. The artifacts bear witness to the presence of Minoans, ancient Greeks, Romans, Venetians, and Ottomans with over 3,500 objects on show. The painted Minoan clay coffins and elegant late-Minoan pottery indicate that the region was as wealthy as the center of the island under the Minoans, though no palace has yet been located.

Of all the sights in ancient Olympia, some say the modern archaeological museum gets the gold medal. Housed in a handsome glass and marble pavilion at the edge of the ancient site, the magnificent collections include the sculptures from the Temple of Zeus and Hermes Carrying the Infant Dionysus, sculpted by the great Praxiteles, which was discovered in the Temple of Hera in the place noted by Pausanias. The central gallery of the museum holds one of the greatest sculptural achievements of classical antiquity: the pedimental sculptures and metopes from the Temple of Zeus, depicting Hercules's Twelve Labors. The Hermes was buried under the fallen clay of the temple's upper walls and is one of the best-preserved classical statues. Also on display is the famous Nike of Paionios. Other treasures include notable terra-cottas of Zeus and Ganymede; the head of the cult statue of Hera; sculptures of the family and imperial patrons of Herodes Atticus; and bronzes found at the site, including votive figurines, cauldrons, and armor. Of great historical interest are a helmet dedicated by Miltiades, the Athenian general who defeated the Persians at Marathon, and a cup owned by the sculptor Pheidias, which was found in his workshop on the Olympia grounds.

Stunning galleries are laden with Mycenaean-through-Roman-period finds, including tools, cups, and jewelry reflecting everyday life in the Peloponnese. More than 15 mosaics from Roman villas around Patras have been reassembled, and many items are from the ancient Roman odeon in town. A large collection of burial items includes several reconstructed tombs. It's a good 40-minute walk from the town center; take the train to Panachaika and walk from there to avoid a sweaty arrival.

The unpretentious, single-story white structure gives no hint from the outside of the treasures within. A superb collection of artifacts from Neolithic times; sculptures from the Archaic, classical, and Roman eras; and remains from the Archaic temple at Thermi all reside under this roof. Objects discovered during construction of the Egnatia and Thessaloniki–North Macedonia highways were added in 2005 to the collection, which is displayed in eight galleries. Thessaloniki, the Metropolis of Macedonia traces the city's history through artifacts and a multimedia collection. Towards the Birth of Cities shows prehistoric artifacts from settlements from Kastoria to Mt. Athos that date to as early as the Iron Age. In Macedonia from the 7th Century BC until the Late Antiquity charts the rise and fall from the foundation of the Macedonian kingdom in the 7th century BC to the late antiquity.

Samian sculptures from past millennia were considered among the best in Greece, and examples here show why. The newer wing holds the impressive kouros from Heraion, a colossal statue of a male youth, built as an offering to the goddess Hera and the largest freestanding sculpture surviving from ancient Greece, dating from 580 BC. The work of a Samian artist, this statue was made of the typical Samian gray-and-white-band marble. Pieces of the kouros were discovered in various peculiar locations: its thigh was being used as part of a Hellenistic house wall, and its left forearm was being used as a step for a Roman cistern. The statue is so large (16½ feet tall) that the gallery had to be rebuilt specifically to house it. The museum's older section has a collection of pottery and cast-bronze griffin heads (the symbol of Samos). An exceptional collection of tributary gifts from ancient cities far and wide, including bronzes and ivory miniatures, affirms the importance of the shrine to Hera.

This Byzantine and Frankish structure incorporates remnants of classical walls and was later expanded by the Turks and Venetians. Even in its diminished state, it takes your breath away. You also still can see sections of the original Mycenean walls that date back to the acropolis on which the castle was later built. You can drive almost to the entrance (we don't recommend walking from town—it's about 3 km [1½ miles] of winding roads), and the grounds provide an unsurpassed view of the Argive plain.

A kilometer-long seaside promenade skirts the Nafplion Peninsula. It is paved with flagstones and opens every so often onto pretty terraces planted with rosebushes and olive and cedar trees. Halfway along lies the tiny church of the Virgin Mary, or Agia Panagitsa, which once hid one of Greece's "secret schools," where pupils were reputedly taught Greek history and culture during the Ottoman occupation. You'll also find steps to Arvanitia Beach, which is a lovely place for a dip but be careful if you go swimming because the rocks are covered with sea urchins, which can inflict a painful wound. Directly above the beach, starting at the car park, a forested path wraps its way for 4 km (2½ miles) around the coast to the sands of Karathona, passing umpteen stretches of wild rocky shore along the way; it makes a wonderfully shaded and scenic stroll.

Hippocrates began to teach the art of healing on Kos in the 5th century BC, attracting health seekers to the island almost up to the time of his death, allegedly at age 103, in 357 BC. This elaborate, multitier complex dedicated to the god of medicine, Asklepios, was begun shortly after Hippocrates's death and flourished until the decline of the Roman Empire as the most renowned center of healing in the Roman-Hellenic world. The lower terrace probably held the Asklepieion Festivals, famed drama and dance contests held in honor of the god of healing. On the middle terrace is an Ionic temple, once decorated with works by the legendary 4th-century BC painter Apelles, including his renowned depiction of Aphrodite (much celebrated in antiquity, it was said the artist used a mistress of Alexander the Great as a model). On the uppermost terrace is the Doric Temple of Asklepios, once surrounded by colonnaded porticoes.