Greece Travel Guide

The Acropolis crowns a limestone hill at Athens' centre, the symbol of Western civilisation, built in the 5th century BC under Pericles with Ictinus, Callicrates and Phidias. The Parthenon atop dazzles with perfect Doric columns and golden proportion; below, the Acropolis Museum, Erechtheion and Temple of Athena Nike tell of classical Greek faith and order. From the summit you overlook modern Athens and the Aegean light — every traveller's first pilgrimage.

Parthenon is the greatest legacy of ancient Greek civilization. Built 447-432 BC for Athena Parthenos, it features perfect Doric proportions, exquisite reliefs and ~2,500 years of history — the Acropolis's most magnificent building and a symbol of Western civilization. Designed by Iktinos and Kallikrates; supervised by Phidias. 46 Doric columns. Acropolis combo ticket. Visit morning or evening to avoid crowds.

Meteora is a forest of giant sandstone pillars rising from the Thessalian plain in central Greece, topped by Orthodox monasteries hewn by monks from the 14th century — the 'sky cities', a UNESCO World Heritage site. The rocks tower like a stone forest; wrapped in mist they seem to float. Several monasteries are still reachable by stone steps, holding Byzantine frescoes and relics. Both a holy domain of Orthodox retreat and a hiking-photography wonder, it is Greece's most surreal landscape.

Oia crowns the northern cliffs of Santorini, the Aegean's most storied sunset stage. Blue-domed churches and whitewashed cave houses cascade down the 300-metre caldera rim above deep-blue water, while lanes wind past boutiques, galleries and clifftop restaurants. The Venetian windmills and the Byzantine castle ruins are the signature viewpoints. Every evening crowds gather among the castle ruins to watch the sun sink into the sea and turn the white walls honey-gold, drawing rounds of applause. In high season claim a spot an hour early; mornings restore the town's calm and are golden hours for photographers.

Shipwreck Bay is one of the most famous and most beautiful beaches in Greece and the world—a hidden cove embraced by towering white cliffs, with a rusty shipwreck and dreamy blue water, the most longed-for picture of Zakynthos and all of Greece. Shipwreck Bay (Navagio, Greek for 'shipwreck,' also called Shipwreck Beach) sits on Zakynthos's northwest coast, a world-famous beautiful cove in the Ionian Sea, almost the symbol and name card of Zakynthos. The bay's beauty and uniqueness are breathtaking: a fine white sandy beach tightly embraced by three sides of towering, steep white limestone cliffs, open to the sea only on the seaside—inside the cliffs lies a shallow, clear, dreamily colored water that shows rich layers of jade-green and azure under the sun (transparent, gem-like), set against the white sand, snow-white cliffs and deep-blue sky, forming a stunningly beautiful picture. The bay is named Shipwreck Bay because on this beach rests a rusty ancient shipwreck (said to be a vessel that wrecked and ran aground decades ago)—this weathered wreck adds a unique, legendary touch to the dreamy bay, making its picture one-of-a-kind and deeply memorable. Since the bay is embraced by cliffs on three sides with no land access, visitors can only take a boat trip from the sea into this hidden cove, land on the sand and witness the beauty; on the cliff top opposite the bay is a famous viewpoint overlooking the whole stunning panorama of Shipwreck Bay. Visiting Zakynthos, reaching the world-famous Shipwreck Bay and experiencing the stunning cove is Zakynthos's deserved number-one sight.

The Acropolis Museum is a modern hall treasuring the gems of the Acropolis—a museum at the foot of the Acropolis with a modern, transparent design, collecting and displaying precious sculptures and artifacts excavated from the Acropolis, an excellent window into the Acropolis and ancient Greek art. The Acropolis Museum sits at the southern foot of the Athens Acropolis, a modern museum completed in recent years—built with transparent glass and simple modern design, echoing the ancient Acropolis on the hill in a dialogue of old and new, the building itself ingenious (the museum is even built atop an ancient site, with glass floors revealing the antiquities beneath your feet). The museum specially collects and displays the precious artifacts and sculptural gems excavated from and preserved at the Athens Acropolis—the exquisite marble sculptures that once adorned the Parthenon, the Erechtheion and other Acropolis buildings (such as temple reliefs, pediment sculptures, and the original Caryatids of the Erechtheion), now carefully displayed and protected, letting visitors appreciate these masterpieces of ancient Greek sculpture up close and feel the solemn, harmonious and vivid eternal beauty of classical art. On the top floor is the Parthenon Gallery, designed to display the Parthenon frieze (the entablature band)—arranged at the temple's original size and orientation, through a huge glass curtain wall you can directly view the Parthenon on the hill, making the artifacts echo the temple itself, stunning (some sculptures originally from the Parthenon are now overseas, with their ownership an international discussion). Entering this modern hall, appreciating the Acropolis's sculptural gems up close and deepening understanding of ancient Greek art and civilization. Visiting Athens, entering the Acropolis Museum and admiring the gems of ancient Greek art is a must-see sight in Athens.