697 Best Sights in Greece

Accessible by water taxi from Chialos, or via a long walk, taking the 1-km-long (½-mile-long) rough path leading east of Pedi Bay. Once there, a sandy beach slopes gently into the sea, providing shallow waters that are excellent for children; it's backed by a grove of shade-giving trees. Despite the relative isolation, the beach attracts summertime crowds and is well equipped with food vendors and other facilities. Amenities: food and drink;  toilets; water sports. Best for: snorkeling; swimming.

This beach owes its name to the small chapel that stands to its western end. Its shores are hardly pious though. This is the sportiest of the sands lining the Vasilikos, with the thwack of volleyballs accompanying loud music, the roar of Jet Skis, and a mostly younger crowd. It's also very pretty, with a thick ring of pines fringing the white-pebble shore and twinkling sapphire waters. There's every variety of water sport here, but it's an especially good spot for diving and snorkeling. Some restaurants offer free sun beds if you stop to eat. Amenities: food and drink; parking (no fee); showers; water sports. Best for: snorkeling.

Not a beach per se, but one of the best swimming spots on the island. From Ia, walk down to Ammoudi, then follow the path past the Sunset taverna to the narrow channel that separates Santorini from little Agios Nikolaos island, so named because of the small chapel that rests on it. Intrepid adventurers swim across and rest on ledges beneath the chapel, enjoying sensational views of the cliffs and Ia perched high above. Amenities: parking (no fee). Best for: swimming.

Noted frescoes here include the unusual Agion Mandilion in the apse, which shows Jesus superimposed on a veil sent to an Anatolian king, and the Niptir, also in the apse, in which Jesus is washing the disciples' feet. The artist is said to have depicted himself in the right-hand corner wearing a turban and riding a horse. The 14th-century church, which became a dependency of the Vlatádon Monastery in the 17th century, has an intriguing mix of Byzantine architectural styles and perhaps the most beautiful midnight Easter service in the city.

Of Nissi's several monasteries, Agios Nikolaos ton Filanthropinon has the best frescoes. The monastery was built in the 13th century by an important Byzantine family, the Filanthropinos, and a fresco in the northern exonarthex (the outer narthex) depicts five of them kneeling before St. Nikolaos (1542). Many of the frescoes are by the Kontaris brothers, who later decorated the mighty Varlaam in Meteora. Note the similarities in the bold coloring, expressiveness, realism, and Italian influence—especially in the bloody scenes of martyrdom. Folk tradition says the corner crypts in the south chapel were the meeting places of the secret school of Hellenic culture during the Ottoman occupation. A most unusual fresco here of seven sages of antiquity, including Solon, Aristotle, and Plutarch, gives credence to this story. It is not really feasible, however, that the school would have been kept a secret from the Ottoman governors for long; more likely, the reigning Turkish pasha was one who allowed religious and cultural freedom (as long as the taxes were paid).

A prime example of 14th-century Macedonian religious architecture, Agios Panteleimon is an eye-catching church that draws you in to take a closer look. Restored in 1993 after an earthquake in 1978, the facade reveals the ornamental interplay of brick and stonework, and a dome displays typically strong upward motion.

At Agios Sostis all you will find is turquoise waters lapping against the sand and small-pebble shore. Without natural shade, or any touristic development whatsoever, beachgoers who need shade should come prepared. This is a beach with hidden elements, though, so be sure to go in search of the small unnamed beach, accessible by footpath and tucked in between it and neighboring Panormos, or head north with your best beloved to tiny Lover's beach. Off another path that leads to the main road, you'll find the small church that this beach is named after. Amenities: food and drink; parking (no fee). Best for: solitude; swimming.

Known for its shallow turquoise waters and excellent, clear view of Mykonos, the yellow sand–filled Agios Sostis Beach is said to be a continuation of Agios Kyriaki Beach. In the summer, beach chairs and umbrellas are available to rent. A few tavernas and cafés are within walking distance for a meal break or refreshments. There are several ways to get to the beach, including a few small roads lined with bougainvillea and tall reeds, and the beach is served by bus. Amenities: food and drink; parking (no fee). Best for: swimming.

Like many beaches in Greece, Agios Stefanos takes its name from the little chapel built on it. Just north of Mykonos Town and next to the new harbor, this sandy stretch attracts its share of families for its shallow waters and array of eating, lodging, and café options within reach. Protected from northern winds, it’s always been an ideal beach to view the sunsets of Mykonos. Amenities: food and drink; lifeguards; parking (no fee); water sports. Best for: sunset; swimming.

A chapel to the left of the entrance contains St. Tito's skull, set in a silver-and-gilt reliquary. Titus is credited with converting the islanders to Christianity in the 1st century AD on the instructions of St. Paul. Agios Titos was founded in the 10th century, rebuilt as a mosque under Turkish rule in the 19th century, and rededicated as a church in the 1920s, when the minaret was removed.

This pretty and pebbled seaside settlement fronts exceptionally clean waters and is backed by numerous friendly tavernas, each serving fresh seafood. It's a relaxed marina, and you'll find brightly colored boats bobbing in the water here, making the swimming area a little small. Agnonda is named after a local boy who returned here victorious from Olympia in 569 BC brandishing the victor's wreath. Amenities: food and drink; parking (no fee); showers; toilets. Best for: snorkeling; solitude; swimming.

Excavations by Italian and Greek archaeologists have revealed ancient agora and harbor ruins that date from the 4th century BC through Roman times. Remnants include parts of the walls of the old city, of a Hellenistic stoa, and of temples dedicated to Aphrodite and Hercules. The ruins are not fenced and, laced with pine-shaded paths, are a pleasant retreat in the modern city. In spring the site is covered with brightly colored flowers, which nicely frame the ancient gray-and-white marble blocks tumbled in every direction.

The first monument you'll see, on the left from the harbor, is the Agora of the Competialists (circa 150 BC). The competialists were members of Roman guilds, mostly freedmen and slaves from Sicily who worked for Italian traders. They worshipped the Lares Competales, the Roman "crossroads" gods; in Greek they were known as Hermaistai, after the god Hermes, protector of merchants and the crossroads.

Agrari is a low-key beach with yellow pebble sand flanked by a low hill of small whitewashed buildings to the left and a rocky island hill to the right. Umbrellas and sun beds are available for rent. You can grab a snack, drinks, or a full meal at the beach’s own bar and restaurant, but there are more options just a walk away. Boats leave from Platis Gialos and Ornos Bay. It’s also walkable via a footpath from neighboring Elia Beach, attracting nudists who tend to stay in a small cove between the two. Amenities: food and drink; water sports. Best for: swimming.

The town's longest stretch of beach is one of the most popular on the Riviera. The entrance fee has rocketed in recent years but gives you access to elegant wooden lounge chairs, white umbrellas, and shiny beach bars. Also on-site are basketball, volleyball, and tennis courts as well as a playground for pre- or post-swimming fun. There's also Wi-Fi and a first-aid station during the summer. Amenities: food and drink; free parking; toilets. Best for: swimming; walking.

The main attraction on Nissi is the 16th-century Agios Pandelimonos Monastery, now the Ali Pasha Museum. Ali Pasha was killed here in the monks' cells on January 17, 1822, after holding out for almost two years. In the final battle, Ali ran into an upstairs cell, but the soldiers shot him through its floorboards from below. (The several "bullet" holes in the floor were drilled there when the original floor had to be replaced.) A wax version of the assassination can be seen at the Pavlos Vrellis Museum of Greek History in Bizani, south of Ioannina. A happier (and significantly less dead) Ali Pasha, asleep on the lap of his wife, Vasiliki, can be seen in the museum's famous portrait. The Ali Pasha Museum also houses the crypt where Vasiliki hid, some evocative etchings and paintings of that era, an edict signed by Ali Pasha with his ring seal (he couldn't write), and his magnificent narghile water pipe standing on the fireplace. The community-run museum is generally open as long as boats are running; if the doors are shut, ask around to be let in. The local ticket taker will give a brief tour of the museum (supplemented by an English-language printed guide).

The town of Alimos has the nearest developed—and clean—beach to Athens. The so-called Akti Tou Iliou ("Sunshine Coast") extends over 60,000 square meters and has umbrellas and lounge chairs for rent, beach bars, a couple of tavernas, and one minimarket. Expect it to be packed over the hot summer months. There is an entry fee (slightly higher on weekends) for non-locals; sun beds start from around €2/€4 depending on whether it's a weekday or weekend. Amenities: food and drink; parking (fee); showers; toilets. Best for: swimming; walking.

Of the many excellent beaches surrounding Kavala, Ammolofoi remains the most popular. Located about 16 km (10 miles) west of Kavala, just past the town of Nea Paramos, the Blue Flag beach is set in idyllic scenery, with soft green hills leading down to the sand dunes from which it takes its name, before disappearing into the clear, shallow waters. Rocky outcrops divide the beach into three sections, commonly know as first, second, and third Ammolofoi, which offer different levels of crowding and service; the third tends to be the busiest. Entrance and parking is free and beach bars decked out with umbrellas and sun loungers abound. Amenities: food and drink; parking; water sports. Best for: partiers; snorkeling; swimming; walking.

This pretty, yellow-walled Venetian-era monastery lies within a pine forest and has some of the oldest and finest frescoes on the island. It was founded in the 15th century and takes its name from an icon smuggled away from Constantinople after it was captured by the Ottomans. Its complex spans several buildings, including a belfry converted from an old defensive tower. Zakynthos's patron saint Dionysios was said to have lived his final few years here. Bear in mind it closes to visitors early, at 1:30 pm.

Known as the inspiration for the school in John Fowles's The Magus, this institution was established in 1927 as an English-style boarding school for the children of Greece's Anglophile wealthy elite. Until 2010, tourism management students studied amid the elegant amphitheaters, black-and-white-tile floors, and huge windows. Today, the buildings are used for conferences, private seminars, and summer schools. Nevertheless, visitors can still take a peek (free) inside the school and stroll around the fabulous gardens throughout the year.

The broad, sandy beach at Anavyssos is very popular with windsurfers (especially the stretch called Alykes), and it is usually pretty busy. There's a children's playground and beach volleyball courts, as well as sun beds and umbrellas for hire. Amenities: food and drink; showers; toilets; water sports. Best for: swimming; windsurfing.

Another way to approach the gorge walk is to start among the ruins of Ancient Gortys, 1½ km (1 mile) south of Timou Prodromou Monastery. Little is known about when this city was built, but by the 4th century BC it was in its pomp, and its name was acclaimed across Arcadia. Many of the fragments of its defensive enclosures, baths, public buildings, and its temple to Asklepios date from this era.

This vestige of ancient Mytilini is within a pine grove and easily accessed. One of the largest theaters in ancient Greece, it is from the Hellenistic period and seated an estimated audience of 10,000. Plutarch, in Pompeius, tells us that the Roman general admired it so much that he copied it for his theater in Rome. Though the marbles are gone, the shape, carved into the mountain, remains beautifully intact.

Beyond the path that leads to the southern part of the island is this ancient theater, built in the early 3rd century BC. It once sat 5,500 people. Close by was the elegant residential quarter inhabited by Roman bankers and Egyptian and Phoenician merchants. Their one- and two-story houses were typically built around a central courtyard, sometimes with columns on all sides. Floor mosaics of snakes, panthers, birds, dolphins, and Dionysus channeled rainwater into cisterns below; the best preserved can be seen in the House of the Dolphins, the House of the Masks, and the House of the Trident.

A Dorian city—with 9th-century BC tombs, an engraved phallus, Hellenistic houses, and traces of Byzantine fortifications and churches—floats more than 2,100 feet above the island. At the Sanctuary of Apollo, graffiti dating to the 8th century BC records the names of some of the boys who danced naked at the god's festival (Satie's famed musical compositions, Gymnopédies, reimagine these). To get here, hike up from Perissa or Kamari or take a taxi up Mesa Vouno. On the summit are the scattered ruins, excavated by a German archaeology school around the turn of the 20th century; there is a fine view, too.

In the quaint 17th-century settlement just above the port, wood-and-plaster houses with pastel facades and red-tile roofs are clustered together, their balconies protruding over narrow cobbled paths. From here you can savor a beautiful view of the gulf.

A few kilometers' walk or drive from Sami lies one of the island's more famous beaches: a forested bay wrapping narrow white-pebble shores and glistening emerald-blue waters. It got a boost in popularity after featuring in the film Captain Corelli's Mandolin, though it's a tad more active than the usual beauty spots, with a range of water sports on offer. Toward the end of the bay, a rock provides enough seclusion that naturism is generally considered acceptable. How that goes down with those who run the 18th-century-built Agrillion Monastery, atop a nearby hill, is anyone's guess. Amenities: food and drink; parking (no fee); water sports. Best for: nudists; swimming.

This pre-Lenten Carnival revelry relates to pre-Christian Dyonisian fertility rites and is famous throughout Greece. Young men dressed as old men, maidens, or "Europeans" roam the streets teasing and tormenting onlookers with ribald songs and clanging bells. The "old men" wear elaborate shepherd's outfits, with masks made of baby-goat hides and belts dangling with as many as 40 sheep bells.

Built in 1864 as a small-scale version of Milan’s La Scala, the Apollo Theater is another example of Syros's wealth. Severely damaged during World War II, the theater was finally restored and reopened in 2000. Today, operas and other cultural events fill the summer schedule, including the world-famous Festival of the Aegean, which takes place every July.

This remote spot, at the end of a well-marked road that leads southeast toward the coast from Mesta, is one of the nicer beaches on Chios. The clear waters lap against the sand and pebbles that make up this small stretch of coast in the wind-protected bay. A canteen looks down upon the unspoiled beach. Amenities: food and drink; parking (no fee); showers; toilets; water sports. Best for: snorkeling; sunset; swimming; walking; windsurfing.