Country guide
Greece has the longest coastline on the Mediterranean and somewhere between 1,200 and 6,000 islands depending on how an island is counted, of which 227 are inha...
Photograph · George E. Koronaios · CC BY-SA 4.0
Reviewed by Elena Voss · Roavina Travel Editor
Greece has the longest coastline on the Mediterranean and somewhere between 1,200 and 6,000 islands depending on how an island is counted, of which 227 are inhabited. That figure is the whole planning problem. Around 10 million people live in the country's nine regions, and the three largest cities - Athens, Thessaloniki, Patras - are all on the mainland, while the 21 UNESCO World Heritage Sites are spread across mainland and islands alike. Most trips split accordingly: the mainland for antiquity and the mountains that fill the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, the islands for the sea, with Crete, the largest of them, big enough to fill a week on its own.
Checked 2026-08-25
Every city catalogued in this country so far, ranked by how much there is to see.
Photograph · Thomas Wolf, www.foto-tw.de · CC BY-SA 3.0 de
Photograph · Ymblanter · CC BY-SA 4.0
Ranked by importance — sitelinks, pageviews and heritage status, not editor preference.
60 places match
Category
Typical visit duration
Interests
The National Archaeological Museum stands as one of Athens's principal institutions for ancient Greek art and archaeology. It occupies a substantial neoclassical building that has served this purpose since the nineteenth century.
Plaka is the historic old quarter of Athens, clustered around the northeastern slopes of the Acropolis. Its narrow labyrinthine streets, neoclassical architecture, and Byzantine churches preserve the atmosphere of Ottoman-era Athens.
Monastiraki Square is a public square in central Athens, Greece. It serves as a meeting point between the old city and the modern commercial district.
The National Historical Museum occupies the Old Parliament House on Stadiou Street in central Athens. The neoclassical building served as the seat of the Greek parliament from 1875 to 1935.
The National Museum of Contemporary Art Athens is a major cultural institution in the Greek capital dedicated to contemporary artistic practice.
Technopolis City of Athens is a major cultural venue housed in a converted industrial complex in the Gazi district. Formerly the Athens gasworks, the site has been repurposed as a multipurpose cultural center.
The Basil and Elise Goulandris Foundation is a museum in Athens devoted to the private collection assembled by Basil and Elise Goulandris.
Ακρόπολη
The Acropolis of Athens is an ancient citadel located on a rocky outcrop above the city of Athens. It contains the remains of several ancient buildings of great architectural and historic significance, the most famous being the Parthenon.
The Athens Olympic Museum explores the history of the Olympic Games through the city’s powerful connection with both ancient and modern sport. Athens hosted the first modern Olympic Games in 1896 and returned to the Olympic stage in 2004.
Παναθηναϊκό Στάδιο
The Panathenaic Stadium, called Kallimarmaro for its marble, is the horseshoe-shaped arena of Athens's first modern Olympic Games in 1896.
The National Theatre of Greece is the country’s leading state theatrical institution and one of Athens’s major places for live performance.
Ναός του Ολυμπίου Διός
The Temple of Olympian Zeus stands inside the archaeological site of the Olympieion, the sanctuary of Olympian Zeus that occupied the low ground between the Acropolis and the hill of Ardittos, on the banks of the Ilissos.
Αρχαία Αγορά
The Ancient Agora is the flat ground below the north slope of the Acropolis, hemmed in by the Areopagus to the south and the low hill of Kolonos Agoraios to the west.
Athens Conservatoire is a working music-education institution in central Athens, rather than a museum with continuous public admission. Its significance lies in the role it plays in Greek musical training and performance culture.
Βιβλιοθήκη του Αδριανού
Hadrian's Library is a walled Roman enclosure in the middle of Athens, a few minutes north of the Acropolis and immediately east of Monastiraki Square.
The Academy of Athens is a neoclassical landmark on Panepistimiou Street and one of the three buildings known as the Athenian Trilogy, together with the National Library and the University of Athens.
Ναός Ηφαίστου
The Temple of Hephaestus stands in the Ancient Agora of Athens, a well-preserved Doric temple dedicated to Hephaestus, god of fire and metalworking. Constructed largely of Pentelic marble, it dominates the western side of the agora.
Ωδείο Ηρώδου Αττικού
The Odeon of Herodes Atticus is a stone Roman theatre structure on the southwest slope of the Acropolis in Athens, Greece.
Αρχαιολογικός Χώρος Κεραμεικού
Kerameikos is an ancient cemetery and archaeological site in Athens, located northwest of the Acropolis along the Eridanos River. The area served as the primary burial ground for the city from the 12th century BC through Roman times.
Kaisariani Monastery is a Byzantine-era monastery on the wooded slopes of Mount Hymettus, east of central Athens. It combines a historic Orthodox religious complex with a peaceful mountain setting, making it a rewarding change from the city's archaeological centre.
Μνημείο Φιλοπάππου
The Philopappos Monument is an ancient funerary monument situated on Mouseion Hill, southwest of the Athenian Acropolis.
Πύλη του Αδριανού
The Arch of Hadrian, known locally as Πύλη του Αδριανού, is a monumental gateway in Athens, Greece. Erected in the second century CE, it stands on the ancient road between the Athenian Agora and the Olympieion.
Ρωμαϊκή Αγορά Αθηνών
The Roman Agora is an archaeological site in central Athens, located to the north of the Acropolis. It was constructed during the Roman period and served as a commercial and administrative centre, distinct from the earlier Classical Agora.
Μουσείο Ακρόπολης
The Acropolis Museum is a single-site museum: everything in it was found on the Athenian Acropolis or on the slopes below it, and nothing in it comes from anywhere else.
Πλατεία Συντάγματος
Syntagma Square is the central plaza of Athens, Greece, serving as the political and geographic heart of the capital. It derives its name from the Greek constitution (syntagma) granted in 1843.
Eight to twelve days can cover Athens, one mainland archaeological route and one island group. Every ferry leg consumes real itinerary time, so collecting ports across several island chains is poor use of a first visit.
Greece’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs provides the visa framework for entry. Passport nationality, stay length and the wider Schengen route determine whether an application is needed and where it must be lodged.
Athens is the main gateway, while ferries and domestic flights connect island groups and regional airports. Mainland buses and limited rail corridors require route-specific planning; ferry schedules should be rechecked close to travel.
April to June and September to October suit many archaeological and island itineraries without peak midsummer heat. Ferry exposure, island seasonality and mountain weather still vary by destination.
Greece prices transactions in euros (EUR). National card-acceptance and fee details are Not recorded in this bundle; confirm payment expectations with small accommodations, boat operators and remote businesses.
Greece uses 112 for emergency assistance and 230 V Type C and F sockets. A single nationwide tap-water recommendation is Not recorded, so use the relevant island or municipal guidance.
