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Greece

Bask in the sea and sunshine of Greece’s islands or take in the beauty of the mainland’s mountains and lakes.

Wherever you go in Greece you’ll find ancient relics, incense-filled Orthodox churches, shaded olive groves and bustling tavernas.

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Popular places in Greece



Cityscape
 See the timeless Acropolis in Athens before heading north to the vibrant Balkan city of Thessaloniki. Go west to the busy port of Patra, or south to the peaceful seaside town of Nafplion. When the islands beckon, cruise to refined, Italianate Corfu, medieval-walled Rhodes, or Venetian-Ottoman Hania.

Landscape
 In Central Greece, wonder at the rocky pinnacles and monasteries of the Meteora, walk the Vikos Gorge, or climb the godly heights of Mount Olympus. Bird-watch on the Prespa Lakes in Epirus, or visit the lush landscapes of Arcadia on the Peloponnese. On the islands, check out Santorini’s collapsed-volcano caldera, scuba-dive off Mykonos, bathe on Lefkada’s white sands, or trek the Samaria Gorge on Crete.

Take Home
 Look for olive oil and raki on Crete, flokati rugs in Arahova near Delphi, and plasticine-like mastic resin from the island of Hios. Leather bags and gold jewellery are popular buys in Athens. Pick up wines from vineyards in the Peloponnese, and komboli worry beads all over Greece.

Eat & Drink
 In northern Greece, find spicy, Turkish-inspired meat and vegetable dishes, plus calorie-laden bougatsa (custard pie) in Thessaloniki. Travelling west, Venice bequeathed the island of Corfu with bourdheto (fish stew) and pastitsada (beef stewed in tomato and wine). In Central Greece, you’ll find hilopites (a type of pasta) in Metsovo and Arahova, loukanika (sausages) and, if you’re lucky, freshly picked horta (wild greens similar to spinach).

New Perspective
 Check out the spectacular 2,250m-long Rio Antirio cable-stayed bridge near Patra – which opened in 2004 – linking the Peloponnese to central Greece.

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3 Popular places in Greece

Photo courtesy of Greece National Tourist Office.
White Tower at night, Thessaloniki.
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Thessaloniki

Typically Balkan, the vibrant port of Thessaloniki is filled with Roman, Byzantine and Turkish monuments. Expect colourful markets, open-air dining, a large student population, and doleful rembetika music, a type of blues composed by Greek refugees who fled Anatolia in 1922.

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Photo courtesy of Athens Tourism & Economic Development Agency.
The Parthenon, Athens.
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Athens

Hot, passionate and chaotic, at first sight the classical capital of Western civilisation appears to be buried under concrete but further exploration reveals ancient temples, Byzantine churches, neoclassical townhouses and a hedonistic late-night party scene.

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Photo credit to Greece National Tourist Office.
A castle in the old town, Rhodes, Greece.
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Rhodes

Rhodes thanks its lucky stars for 300 days of sunshine and golden sands lapped by the Aegean. But it doesn’t stop there. Scratch the surface to find the Old Town’s medieval maze, Lindos’ hilltop Acropolis and join Faliraki’s 24-hour party.

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