697 Best Sights in Greece

Squirreled away to the right of stairs leading to the city library, what this small museum lacks in explanation it makes up for in diversity. Life-size dioramas of 17th- and 18th-century island life, religious art, wood carvings rescued from derelict churches, embroidery, lithographs, furniture, and some rather excellent photographic studies of Argostoli pre- and post-earthquake make a visit worthwhile experience.

In a finely restored Ottoman house, this small museum has a collection of richly embroidered local costumes, rare woven textiles made by the nomadic tent-dwelling Sarakatsanis, ceramics, and cooking and farm implements.

Some fans call this scenic slice of shoreline "Golden Coast," after its fine, sparkling golden sand, but in high season, when sunseekers land by the boatload, you'll be lucky to find a free patch. The name, Greek for stone pines, comes from the forest that is almost watered by the waves. Enjoy a leisurely stroll behind the beach to Strofilia Lake, an impressive biotope where rare species of birds find shelter. Amenities: food and drink; lifeguard; parking (no fee); showers; toilets; water sports. Best for: partiers; snorkeling; sunrise; swimming; walking.

Heraklion's inner harbor, where fishing boats land their catch and yachts are moored, is dominated by this massive fortress so named by the Turks but, in fact, built by the Venetians as the Castello del Molo in the 16th century and decorated with the three stone lions of St. Mark, the symbol of Venetian imperialism. On the east side of the fortress are the vaulted arsenal; here Venetian galleys were repaired and refitted, and timber, cheeses, and sweet malmsey wine were loaded for the three-week voyage to Venice. The view from the battlements takes in the inner as well as the outer harbor, where freighters and passenger ferries drop anchor; to the south rises Mt. Louktas and, to the west, the pointed peak of Mt. Stromboulas.

Approached from a path just outside the village of Apollonas is the Kouros. Eleven meters (36 feet) long and weighing about 80 tons, it is the largest of Naxos's abandoned statues. It dates back to the 8th century BC and archaeologists are undecided as to why it remained unfinished; perhaps there was a fault in the marble, maybe they lacked the manpower to transport it, or, more prosaically, nobody wanted to pay for it.

Close to Paroikía, this sandy beach is a popular summer destination. Cliffs jut into the sand line, parting the coastline and providing protection from the summer island winds. From under a rented umbrella you can watch the boats and ferries slowly sail into the harbor. If you need to take a break, there's a selection of nearby bars and tavernas. To get here, either hike the half-hour-long cliff-top trail, take a water taxi from the harbor, or drive to the nearby parking area. Amenities: food and drink; parking (no fee). Best for: swimming; walking.

This delightful village on a mountainside above Agios Nikolaos is renowned for its weaving tradition, narrow lanes wide enough for only a donkey to pass, and whitewashed houses that surround a large, shady town square filled with café tables that afford views down green valleys planted with olive trees to the sea. The woven tablecloths and other wares are hard to miss—villagers drape them over every usable surface and hang them from storefronts and even trees. The lovely Byzantine church here, Panagia Kera, has an unusual shape, with three naves supported by heavy triangular buttresses. Built in the early years of Venetian occupation, it contains some of the liveliest and best-preserved medieval frescoes on the island, painted in the 13th century.

Just north of the Asfendhiou villages, in the eastern foothills of Mt. Dikioas, lie a smattering of the island's best vineyards. The most famous of these is the Triantafyllopoulos Winery, which grows local Malagouzia, Aegean Athiri, and Asyrtiko grapes, yielding an array of impressive dry white wines. Wine tasting tours are run Monday to Saturday and can be booked online.

Stretching uninterrupted for several miles, Lachania Beach lies below the unspoiled whitewashed village of the same name, one of the most picturesque in Rhodes. Though stretches are lined with sun beds, it's easy to find a fairly secluded spot backed by scrub-covered dunes. Amenities: food and drink; water sports. Best for: solitude; swimming; walking.

Icons and frescoes from religious buildings throughout Rhodes Town (most of them long since destroyed) are displayed within this 11th-century church. The building was transformed into a mosque under Ottoman rule, but later stripped of all remnants of this period under Italian administration as part of a wider attempt to revive the Knights Hospitaller character of the city.

Lageri is a long beach known for its fine sand, dunes, and calm, quiet atmosphere. Attracting its share of nudists, who prefer the less crowded Paros beaches, it is accessible via a small footpath from the main road. Completely unorganized, so bring your own shade and supplies. Amenities: parking (no fee). Best for: nudists; solitude; walking.

Crete's largest freshwater lake is inland from Georgioupoli with a scenic setting among mountains. The water is vodka-clear with turtles and fish, and many visitors hire pedalos and kayaks to get close to the aquatic wildlife. There are a handful of tavernas and cafés on the eastern shores and a paid parking as you enter the village, or, alternatively, it is a 20-minute walk from town. Try to arrive early as it is on the itinerary of many tour buses.

The huge man-made reservoir formed by the Marathon Dam (built by an American company in 1925–31) warrants a visit solely to see the only dam in the world said to be faced with real marble. At the downstream side is a marble replica of the Athenian Treasury of Delphi. This is a main source of water for Athens, supplemented with water from Parnitha and the Boeotia region. Wonderful views glimpsed from the tall front windows help make this a perfect and refreshing stop on your way back to Athens from Schinias Beach.

Despite the fact that the water level is so low (the streams that feed it are drying up) and it has become too polluted for swimming, Lake Pamvotis remains Ioannina's picturesque centerpiece. At night, youths gather with their friends to sit around the antique walls facing the lake, perhaps oblivious to the fact that it is a significant basin of biodiversity, with 170 bird species and nine amphibian species. It also has the longest rowing course in Greece—teams from all over the Balkans use it for training, while the Valkaniadia rowing championships are periodically hosted here. Legend has it that the notorious Ali Pasha drowned his son's lover (after she rejected the Pasha's advances and demands to make her his own mistress). The lake is also said to be haunted by other female victims of the tyrant, and that their spirits haunt it to this day.

The village of Lakones, built on the steep mountain behind the Paleokastritsa Monastery, looks rather forbidding, but tourists flock there for the view. Kaiser Wilhelm was among many famous people who would make the ascent to enjoy the magnificent panorama of Paleokastritsa's coves from the cafés at Bella Vista, just beyond the village. In the village center is a small folk museum showcasing old photographs of the village. From nearby Krini you can climb up to the ruins of the 13th-century Angelokastro, a fortress built by a despot of Epirus during his brief rule over Corfu. On many occasions during the medieval period, the fort sheltered Corfiots from attack by Ottoman invaders. Look for the chapel and caves, which served as sanctuaries and hiding places.

Flanking the northern coast above Kos Town, this long, narrow stretch of sand is guarded by a strip of resorts that run its length. Crowds ooze out from the hotels in their droves to hit the volleyball courts, bars, and sun beds, with the party continuing into the night. The farther west you go, the quieter the shore becomes. A cooling breeze means this area can be rather pleasant in the fierce burn of the afternoon; it also whips up the surf nicely, making it a good spot for windsurfing. Amenities: food and drink; lifeguards; parking (no fee); water sports. Best for: partiers.

This ancient city in the hills just above Agios Nikolaos was built by the Doric Greeks in a dip between two rocky peaks and named for the mother of Artemis and Apollo---her image appears on coins found at the site. Lato reached its peak in the 3rd century BC, but was gradually abandoned, although its port near latter-day Agios Nikolaos was in use during Roman times. Make your way over the expanse of ancient masonry to the far end of the ongoing excavations for one of the best views in Crete: on a clear day you can see Santorini, 100 km (62 miles) across the Cretan sea, as well as inland across a seemingly endless panorama of mountains and valleys.

Even if you're just drifting through, this small mineralogical museum is worth a stop to get a gist of the history of the area. Its 700 exhibits—including several rare and beautiful specimens of laurionite and azurite—are housed in a charming late-19th-century building once used by the French Mining Company to wash minerals. Coins made from the silver that the ancient Greeks mined around Lavrion are also on display.

Impressed by the architecture they saw abroad, shipowners incorporated many of the foreign influences into their archontika, old, gray-stone mansions facing the harbor. The forbidding, fortresslike exteriors are deliberately austere, the combined result of the steeply angled terrain and the need for buildings to blend into the gray landscape. One of the finest examples of this Hydriot architecture is the Lazaros Koundouriotis Mansion, built in 1780 and beautifully restored in the 1990s as a branch of Greece's National Historical Museum. The interior is lavish, with hand-painted ceiling borders, gilt moldings, marquetry, and floors of black-and-white marble tiles. Some rooms have pieces that belonged to the Koundouriotis family, who played an important role in the War of Independence; other rooms have exhibits of costumes, jewelry, wood carvings, and pottery from the National Museum of Folk History. The basement level has three rooms full of paintings by Periklis Vyzantinos and his son, friends of the Koundouriotis family. Temporary exhibitions regularly rotate, showcasing Greek folk history and culture; check ahead for current displays.

On your approach to the Temple of Poseidon, there is a decent sandy beach at Legrena (a stop on the bus from Athens). The fine golden sand is reminiscent of the Cycladic islands, while an added bonus is the usual lack of crowds. A few miles before you arrive (from the west coast), look for the sight of the small island of Patroklos. It is uninhabited today, has ancient fortress ruins, and is said to belong to a wealthy Greek family. Amenities: food and drink. Best for: solitude; swimming; walking.

Take a peek into Lena's House, an annex of the local Folk Museum, and experience an accurate restoration of a middle-class Mykonos house from the 19th century. The name refers to its last inhabitant, Lena Skrivanou.

By Mykonos standards, Lia Beach is considered tranquil and quiet, perhaps because it’s one of the farthest organized beaches from Mykonos Town, but it is not as isolated as in the past, mainly due to the popularity of the Italian-influenced beach bar, Liasti. You can drive to the beach or get off at the last stop on the Mykonos Town boat that brings people to the beaches. Rows of beach chairs and umbrellas line the pebble-and-sand beach, which is surrounded on both sides by a rocky coastline and the typical bare yet beautiful hills of the island. Divers head here to explore the wreck of the Anna II, a cargo ship that sank offshore. Amenities: food and drink; parking (no fee). Best for: snorkeling; swimming.

Exit the Eastern Wall gate to reach Monemvasia Lighthouse, a clean-cut innocuous building erected in the late 19th century. The beacon contains a small museum (free; open daily) about its history; it is also the start of a 2-km (1.2-mile) rocky path that skirts the northern rim of the island (follow the red trail marks) back to the car park next to To Kastro café. It's a testing scramble in parts, and one best avoided on a windy or wet day.

A "limanakia" isn't so much a place as a description. It means "small cove" in Greek, and these litter the coast south of Lake Vouliagmeni. They are especially popular among young Athenians, who go to sprawl on the hot rocks, cool off in the water, and then party in the evening. One in particular has gained something of a cult following in the city, geared around a popular bar called Lefteris Canteen—the bus south of Vouliagmeni even stops here. This is where you'll find the beautiful people, jazzed on coffee and their own sense of youthful invulnerability. A short walk east is a nudist cove. Amenities: food and drink. Best for: nudists; swimming.

Some of the best beaches on the island are in the vicinity, including Limnos and Lefkathia, with calm, turquoise waters surrounded by steep cliffs. A small scene has grown here with beach bars, tavernas, and a marina. Amenities: food and drink; parking (no fee). Best for: snorkeling; sunset; swimming.

This stunning 16th-century complex outside of Molyvos houses 40 chapels and an impressive collection of precious objects. Founded by St. Ignatios Agalianos on the ruins of an older Byzantine monastery, Limonos earned its name from the "flowering meadow of souls" surrounding it. The intimate St. Ignatios church is filled with colorful frescoes and is patrolled by peacocks. A folk-art museum with historic and religious works is accompanied by a treasury of 450 Byzantine manuscripts. Women are not allowed inside the main church.

This church snuggles up to the grandiose Mitropolis (on the northern edge of Plaka), the ornate Metropolitan Cathedral of the Annunciation, where the relics of the city's patron saint Agia Filothei lie in a silver box. Also called Panagia Gorgoepikoos ("the virgin who answers prayers quickly"), the smaller chapel dates to the 12th century; its most interesting features are its outer walls, covered with reliefs of animals and allegorical symbols dating from the classical to the Byzantine period. Light a candle for a loved one and then look for the ancient frieze with zodiac signs and a calendar of festivals in Attica. Most of the paintings inside were destroyed, but the famous 13th- to 14th-century Virgin, said to perform miracles, remains.

Considered the closest authentic beach near to Paroikía, Livadia is the first wide bay north of the harbor and it's made up of a series of smaller, white-sand beaches. Some areas are organized with umbrella rentals while others are untouched by tourism, and only trees provide shade. Just a 10-minute walk from the town and harbor and near campgrounds, it can get crowded. Amenities: food and drink; parking (no fee). Best for: swimming.

Kefalonia's second-largest town is less businesslike than Argostoli, and its post-quake rebuilding more in line with the old Venetian style, but there's little here to hold the imagination. One of a few buildings in the city to have survived 1953 intact is the Lakovatios library, a grand Neoclassical affair that hosts a small free museum. Otherwise, it's a colorful enough port town, mostly used as a jumping-off point by tourists en route to the southern beaches of Xi and Lepeda, or for picking up a boat tour.

Just around the bend from Piso Livadi is the long stretch of yellow sand known as Logaras Beach. A few tavernas are nearby, and to the north the little whitewashed church of Agios Georgios Thalassites, or St. George of the Sea, stands where it has since the 13th century. This quieter beach has umbrellas available for rent in the summer season. Amenities: food and drink; parking (no fee). Best for: swimming; walking.