The main center of tourism in the country is its capital – Athens, one of the oldest cities in the world, located in a bowl-shaped valley on the western coast of Attica, surrounded by the mountains of Egaleo, Parnita, Pendeli and Gimet (Imitos). The city itself was built somewhat chaotically and, due to its location in an intermountain basin, has a rather difficult ecological situation, but its beautiful ancient monuments and excellent museums attract millions of tourists here. The Acropolis and Lycabettus (Lycabettus) hills are considered the center of Athens, from which the city began more than 6 thousand years ago.
According to Youremailverifier, the Acropolis of Athens is a symbol of ancient Greece. The pearl of the Acropolis is the Parthenon (V century BC) – the temple of Athena Parthenos, which is a unique architectural structure – it is designed in such a way that its different-sized columns and the curvature of seemingly flat structures give this huge building an amazing lightness and proportionality. Near the Parthenon is the oldest place of worship of the Athenians – a small classical temple Erechtheion (421-407 BC), built on the site of the Mycenaean royal palace. According to legend, it was at this place that the dispute between Athena and Poseidon for the right to patronize the city was resolved. In honor of this event, two temples were built under one roof. Of greatest interest is the “Porch of the Daughters” – six sculptures of Caryatids, one of which was taken by the English ambassador to London (now stored in the British Museum), which gave rise to a legend about the crying of the remaining Caryatids heard in the night for their kidnapped sister.
The metropolitan region of Attica, on whose territory Athens and Piraeus are located, is famous for its extraordinary diversity of landscape – mountainous regions, endless coasts and beaches, and many historical monuments fit on a small piece of land. “Golden Delphi” with their sanctuary of Apollo (IX century BC), sacred Kastalsky and Kassotida sources, the famous “stone of Sybil”, the oracle and the pan-Greek Pythian games, were considered the center of the entire Hellenic world.
In the vicinity of Athens, visit the port of Piraeus – the greenest suburb of the capital, with its excellent Archaeological and Naval Museums and an open theater on the top of the Profitis Elias hill.
Be sure to visit the resort suburbs of Glyfada (16 km from Athens) with its famous yacht club and luxury hotels, Voulyameni (25 km) with a picturesque lake filled with healing thermal water with a high sulfur content, the resort village of Mati (25 km), in the lying on the small picturesque cape resort of Lagonisi, or in the famous Byzantine monasteries of Kesariani and Daphni (XI century, 11 km from Athens) with a nearby festive pavilion, which hosts the annual Athens Wine Festival.
Mountainous Peloponnese, lying in the south of Greece, is one of the centers of Greek civilization, the “homeland” of many myths and a modern resort area.
Be sure to visit ancient Corinth with its ruins of the temple of Apollo (VI century BC), Roman agora, odeon and theater, or the ruins of the famous Lacedaemon (Sparta) with the remains of the acropolis, the temple of Athena (VI century BC), numerous sanctuaries and a theater (I – II centuries AD).
Macedonia is the largest and most fertile region of Greece. The famous Ancient Macedonia was born and flourished here, the most beautiful capes and bays of Halkidiki, mountains covered with green forests and waterfalls of fabulous beauty, as well as thousands of world-famous archaeological sites – Olynthos, Dion, Vergina, Pella, Thassos and Platamon.
In the south of the Aegean Sea is the largest island of Greece – Crete (8.3 thousand sq. km), one of the centers of the ancient Minoan culture (III-II millennium BC), which had a huge impact on the culture of ancient Greece. On this island, covered with the legendary glory of ancient myths, Zeus was born, the palace of Minos and the famous Labyrinth of the Minotaur towered here. On its northern coast are the best beaches in Greece, and in the mountainous central regions – about 3 thousand caves, deep canyons and fertile valleys. The most picturesque are the Lasithi plateau irrigated by thousands of windmills, the longest gorge in Europe – Samaria, the only date forest in Europe in the Vai and Preveli regions, as well as the highest peak of the island – Mt. Ida (2456 m). The capital of Crete and at the same time the center of the largest area of the island of the same name is the city Heraklion (Heraclion), named after the legendary Hercules. Once Heraklion was the main port of the Venetians in the eastern Mediterranean. The powerful defensive walls of the Fortress (XVI century), built around the “old city”, have been well preserved to this day. But the main attraction of this major port is the Archaeological Museum, which stores unique frescoes from the palaces of Knossos and Phaistos, the famous “Phaistos Disc” and many sculptural forms.
Cyclades – a group of almost 2 thousand large and small islands, forming a ring (“kyklos”) around the ancient sacred island of Delos with its sanctuaries of Apollo and Artemis, in the southern Aegean Sea.
Delos, the center of the first Athenian maritime union (477-404 BC) and a major religious and political center of the Mediterranean, has now become a well-known resort center, a real museum island with innumerable monuments of history and culture.
Mykonos is the most famous of the Cyclades and a trendy bohemian resort. The island is strikingly beautiful – low rocky hills, picturesque windmills, snow-white houses and narrow streets, many churches and the azure sea, framed by the beautiful beaches of Agios Stefanos, Psarou, Kalafatis, Platys Gialos, Ornos, Elia and Panormos. Paros
Islandwas in ancient times one of the centers of the Cycladic civilization, the famous Parian marble mined here was used to make masterpieces of ancient sculpture. Now it is a large resort area famous for its stone houses, the ruins of the temple of Asclepius, the church of Ekatondapiliani (Assumption of the Virgin), the Venetian castle, the unusual rocks of Columbitres near the village of Naoussa, the monastery of Zoodocho-Pigi-Longovard (Life-giving Spring of Longovard) and the temple of Christos tou Dassos, vast vineyards and numerous archaeological sites.
Tiny Antiparos attracts attention with many beaches with golden sand, hundreds of tiny islands, a stalactite cave with an area of 5600 sq. m. on the hill of St. John with the chapel of Agios Ioanis Spiliotis (St. John of the Cave) and a medieval castle in the capital of the island – Kastro.
Santorini is the only volcanic island in Europe, which is associated with many legends about Atlantis. The capital of the island – Fira, located directly opposite the volcano, which is still spewing clouds of smoke.
Be sure to see the ruins of the Mycenaean sanctuary and the impressive gates of the temple of Apollo, the excavations of the ancient capital of the island – Thira, the famous volcano crater in Nea Kameni, as well as the Akrotiri peninsula.
Numerous islands of the Aegean Sea are less “mastered” by tourists, but upon closer examination, their sights and natural monuments will not yield to the best resorts in the country.
The famous Lesvos (Mytilini) is famous for its huge olive plantations, the hottest mineral water spring in Europe, and the “Petrified Forest” in the Yeresu area.
Mountainous Chios is rich in monuments of ancient Greek and medieval architecture.
Ikaria is famous for its healing mud, vineyards and wonderful pine groves. The birthplace of Pythagoras is Samos, known for its excellent wines, numerous ruins of ancient buildings and cozy beaches.
