Mainland

Holidays by Destination Europe Greece Mainland Where to Go 

Athens and Around

As direct flights to the islands increase the need to pass through Athens is decreasing. This is undoubtedly a benefit with very small children but with slightly older ones you might like to arrange a stopover anyway to take a look at the highlights of one of the world's most famous cities, continuously inhabited for more than 7,000 years and due to become better know when it stages the 2004 Olympics.

The city is notorious for its air pollution, though the authorities argue that this has been cut by 35% over the last couple of years by dint of discouraging traffic, and it is horribly hot in July and August, the combination making it unsuitable for anyone suffering breathing problems. However, it does boast the Parthenon, the Acropolis at its most spectacular when floodlit for sound and light shows at night. Background information would be extremely useful to interest children. You could start by pointing out that all seemingly straight lines are in fact curved - to prevent any apparent distortion of lines.

At the edge of the Acropolis area is Anafiotika with buildings erected by mid 19th century workers who if they managed to built four walls and a roof overnight were allowed to keep the building.

The main museum is the national Archeological Museum which the Rough Guide for example describes as the finest collection of Greek antiquities anywhere in the world. With short attention spans two visits would be best and you will need some guidance and the labelling offers little. There are plenty of others if you feel enthused, starting with the Acropolis Museum.

If you want to see something of the city the area which is the first draw is the pedestrianised Plaka with its different architecture, and just to the north a bazaar area where different strets specialise in different products, ranginf rom paint and brasswork through meat and seafood to flowers. There are a number of small museums which might appeal and worth considering would be the Hellenic Children's Museum with workrooms, playrooms and displays for example on the building of the city's metro. There is also a Museum of Greek Children's Art with changing displays plus tables and drawing materials for visiting children to use.

If you enjoy such things on Syndagma Square there is a regular changing of the guards dressed in a kind of traditional costume, in front of the tomb of the unknown soldier.

If you have time to fill a funicular some distance north of Syndagma on Lykavitos hill takes you to views over the city.

At nearby Piraeus, where you may have to await a ferry, there is a further Archaeological Museum with some good exhibits, generally found in the sea.

The coast south of Athens (the Apollo Coast) has decent beaches but highly developed to cater to the Athens trade and the area is particularly busy at weekends. You should certainly avoid swimming too close to the city/Piraeus because of poor water quality. One of the more attractive places to visit would be Cape Sounion and its Temple of Poseidon on a headland.

The coast to the east is less visited though there are the attractions of the site of Brauron and resort of Port Rafti which is in the process of being developed.

If you want a taste of the Greek countryside without going further, Mount Parnitha north from Athens' centre offers forest, rocks, gullies and in spring in particular, mountain flowers. There are waymarked paths for walkers.

The Peloponnese

This is a large area of the mainland, technically an island since the cutting of the Corinth Canal, with plenty of ancient sites, Venetian, Frankish and Turkish history, churches and castles plus fine beaches and striking interior landscape.

The area is shaped roughly like a three-fingered hand plus thumb, all pointing downwards. The thumb, to the east, is Argolidha, the next two fingers west and their hinterland are Lakonia of which the second finger is Mani, and the third finger is Messinia. Approximately above Messinia is Ilia, on the north coast is Ahaia, and in the centre is Arkadhia (Arcadia), traditionally fabled for its beauty and quality of life.

Argolidha - the Argolid - is the area with most ancient history sites offering Mycenae, (excavated by the same man who excavated Troy), and Epidaurus with its fine theatre, still with excellent acoustics, plus the remains of a healing sanctuary. A book of Greek legends would be helpful. Mycenae for example was said to have been founded by Perseus, the man who killed the gorgon Medusa.

You will find life considerably easier with your own transport which would also allow you to pick and choose your places to stay. Some of the most convenient modern towns, Korinthos for example, are uninspiring. Nafplio is probably the best of the modern options being attractively sited by the sea and with its own attractions including a castle .

The resorts round the south of the area lack good beaches and are generally overdeveloped so best avoided. The east cost is less exploited and popular with locals rather than foreigners. Resorts include Paralia Astrous and Plaka (though the first has a sand and gravel, the second a pebble beach).

On the Corinth Canal the company Sea Containers is planning a tourist complex, marina and ferry terminal at either end of the canal and has plans for sightseeing cruises through the canal which it has a contract to operate for 40 years. However, it may be more impressive simply viewed from above.

Lakonia, the old territory of the Spartans, is appropriately dramatic but harsh, except for one lush valley (Evrotas). The Byzantine town of Monemvasia is on a rock protruding into the sea this was a medieval port and Byzantine commercial centre. It is now touristy but worth a visit. At its height home to 60,000, today there are apparently just ten families living there. There is the option of safe swimming off the rocks and if you want to get away from the crowds by climbing to the upper town, taking drink and even a picnic is recommended.

There are more Byzantine remains at Yeraki with a Frankish castle and 15 chapels on a mountain site which was one of 12 founded by Frankish baronies after the fourth crusade and remaining important until the 14th century.

In the centre is Sparti (Sparta) with a fairly attractive modern city plus the remains of the old city where for example Spartan boys underwent endurance tests by flogging. Mystra is the most dramatic site in the area, a Byzantine town with a one-time population of around 20,000 and still alleys, gates medieval houses and palaces plus frescoed churches in a centre reported to have seen the last flourishes of Byzantine architecture. Part of the attraction is how uncommercialised the site is but that means it's wise to bring your own snacks/picnic.

Mani A particularly wild part of the country with a mountain in its centre and a sense of being unchanged over the centuries. The gateway to this is the old port of Yithio, an attractive seaside town. There is swimming off the rocks. The best beach nearby is at Mavrovouni though this can get busy.

In the Mani itself the south is edged by a rocky shore, interspersed by villages and a few churches. Most tourists however go to the caves at Pyrgos Dhirou, best visited on weekdays for shorter queues.

The northern part of Mani has more beaches with the resorts of Stoupa which has two good beaches, and Kardhamyli, with a decent though pebble beach, neither yet spoilt though in high season and at weekends Stoupa can be very crowded.

Tower villages, boasting the towers of feuding Maniot families, include Kitta and Vathia.

Messinia includes the plain of Kalamata where the olives come from, bordering some good beaches including near Kalamata city, better further south at Petalidhi, and stretching south from there almost uninterruptedly to Koroni. This is developing into something of a resort area though currently more with locals than foreigners. Koroni town is very attractive, with its citadel above and fine setting on a bluff. Finikounda is a small fishing village but with good beach which attracts windsurfers - so less suitable for small children. Methoni has a massive citadel with sea on three sides and a moat on the fourth. Near Voidhokilia and its fine bay is Pylos, another attractive centre with two medieval castles and a position over a natural harbour and Navarino Bay. There are more beaches on Navarino Bay.

The coast north of Pylos has particularly fine, long, sandy beaches which are not very developed, though doubtless this will come in time. Potential centres, though small, include Marathopoli, Filiatra (and its Castle of the Fairytales, built by a doctor returning from Chicago in the ‘60s) plus Kyparissia.

The main archaeological site is Nestor's Palace, north of Pylos, particularly well preserved because one of the most recently excavated, though there are also ruins at Messene, an ancient city of which walls, towers and gates remain.

To the north of Messinia and north of Kyparissia there are turtle nesting sites and again the option of good, sand beaches with the odd centre to stay in.

Inland Olympia, home to the Panhellenic games, is a large and beautiful site among wild olive and plane trees plus a couple of rivers. The site itself however is somewhat jumbled and background information is vital, especially with children though the stadium, at one time housing up to 20,000 spectators, and its 200-metre track and starting and finishing lines still in place still indicates what it was all about. The site museum also includes some of the best sculptures in the country plus items like a Persian helmet. At Kalamata itself for fans there is an open air Railway Museum.

Ahaia includes the Dhiakoft to Kalavryta rack and pinion railway - a feat of engineering with gradients of up to one in seven through tunnels, over bridge and via notable overhangs. It runs alongside a fast flowing river making it particularly attractive. Stops include the attractive Zkhlorou and Mega Spilio and in summer you should book tickets in advance.

Arkadhia The main old hill towns of interest are the medieval ones though their setting of green hills is part of their attractions. Karytena has a medieval bridge (missing a central section) and Frankish, Byzantine and Turkish history though now with a population of little more than 200. Stemnitsa is home to a particularly good Folklore museum with exhibitions of workshops of local crafts like candle-making, bell-casting, shoe-making and jewellers, this being for a long time a centre of metal and gold working. Dhimitsana has cobbled streets and plenty of charm plus an open air water power museum with reconstructed water mill tannery and powder mill.

Other draws include ancient Meglopolis, with 9km of city walls, though it never really became as successful as planned. The Temple of Apollo at Bassae is one of the country's best preserved classical monuments in a particularly spectacular setting.

Thessaly and Central Greece

The area running north from Athens and alongside the Aegean Sea offers plenty of coast here though inland highlights are rather scattered and, apart from Delphi (involving a lot of scrambling), and perhaps the inland rock monasteries of the Meteora, of less pressing interest than elsewhere. However, the country's best Byzantine mosaics are said to be at the monastery of Osios Loukas, and Gla is the largest Mycenaean site. Mount Parnassos, the mount of the muses, is quite Alpine but with the increase in skiing, rather developed.

More of a potential draw to those who wish to relax is the peninsula of Pilion which has fine beaches and inland fruit orchards plus forests of beech and oak. There are also villages (Makrinitsa is highlighted but Anakassia is also attractive, or to the west Milies or Vyzitsa, ), which have changed little in appearance over centuries and have a growing number of hiking routes linking them. Not surprisingly it's a long-standing favourite of Greeks but is likely to be appearing in more foreign tour operator brochures as well.

Potential bases for stays on the coast include Horefto, Auios Ioannis, the main resort on the east coast, Mylopotamos with pebble coves, or on the dryer western side Horto, though with poorish beach, or Platania. Ayia Kyriaki is a good working port but with no good beach. The part between Volos and Koropi is best avoided.

A narrow gauge railway runs steam services at weekends and holidays from Ano Lehonia on the coast to Milies. Tickets should be booked ahead.

There is little in the way of beaches on the north shore of the Gulf of Corinth but there are little pebble coves for example near Glaxidhi, not too far from Delphi.

To the north are fairly unspoilt mountains for example round Mount Iti with a national park on the northeast side, and there is also walking in the Karpenissi valley.

Western Greece

The part of mainland Greece running up to the Albanian border and bordering the Ionian Sea. The main attraction here is the Pindhos range of mountains where you still find traditional ways of life with shepherding still practised and bears and wolves still surviving, along with other wildlife like foxes. Potential stops include Kalambaka, Metsovo and Ioannina, or if you specifically want to walk, the Zagori area, which is particularly wild and includes a national park area. It is so popular you will need to book ahead for accommodation in July and August. Family Walking holidays have been run by some UK operators. [See Adventure Holidays].

The coast is less attractive and Parga, one of the centres developed as a resort, is of the more unfortunate concrete variety.

The North

This includes Macedonia and the Halkidiki peninsulas. Here again there are not too many good beaches though Halkidiki is being built up for this, particularly at the more overdeveloped resorts of Kassandhra and Sithonia which now feature in the brochures of plenty of big overseas operators. It has now seen a growing number of Blue Flags awarded for its beaches.

Kassandhra is the most westerly and most popular peninsula with long white beaches considered the best in the region. The middle peninsula is Sithonia is more rugged with forested mountains and valleys largely given over the olives. Here there is for example a hotel complex with an 18-hole golf course and casino (Porto Carras). If you want something slightly less mass market you could try the west coast of Kassandhra which caters more for weekending Greeks, or places like the modern Metamorfosi on Sithonia or better, Toroni on 2km of sand. There is also the third peninsula Athos which is home to monasteries and closed to all women and men can only visit on application for a permit. There are a few more reliable beaches further east from the peninsulas.

The area also includes Mount Olympus, the highest in the country and rising straight from the sea. It is particularly admired for its wild flowers. Prespa close to the Albanian border in the west is the main centre of a national park. A little south is Kastoria, named after now extinct beavers, plus a neighbouring lake. It remains a centre of fur trading so, though attractive, is not for the squeamish. There are villages you could visit en route such as Arnissa which comes alive for the weekly Tuesday market.

The only major monument is the tomb of the ancient Macedonian king Philip II. If you like urban culture there is Thessaloniki (Salonica) a very Turkish-influenced city and a major port, with mosques, Turkish baths, and other Ottoman monuments as well as bazaar, a surviving synagogue, churches and some archaeological remains. The Folklife Museum is said to be the best in the country but has been closed for works for some time.

To the east is Thrace though most visitors find the attractions elsewhere more of a draw.