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Cape Tenaro
From the car park below the taverna at Kokinogia, at the south of the Mani peninsula, its a beautiful 30-minute walk along an uneven rocky path to one of Europe’s southernmost points, Cape Tenaro (or Cape Matapan), where a restored lighthouse stands. The cape has been an important
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Della Rocca
This atmospheric museum is housed in a handsome old tower house of the 13th century. If it feels as if someone still lives here but has just stepped out, that’s because it’s true; the owners (direct descendants of the original Italian aristocrat owners) continue to live here a few
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Statue of Athena Promachos & Pedestals
As you walk beyond the Propylaia into the Acropolis site, along the Panathenaic Way, you will see to your left the foundations of pedestals for the statues that once lined the path, including one that held Pheidias’ 9m-high statue of Athena Promachos (promachos means ‘champion’). S
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Moni Tsoukas
Some 17km southeast of Ioannina, clifftop Moni Tsoukas overlooks the Arahthos Gorge. Its name derives from the Slavonic chouka (peak). The views of gorge, river and mountains are stunning. Byzantine Emperor Isaakios Angelos built this walled monastery in 1190. The church has a sump
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Akronafplia Fortress
Rising above the old part of town, the Akronafplia fortress is the oldest of Nafplio’s three castles, although there’s much less to see here than at the other two forts. The lower sections of the walls date back to the Bronze Age. Until the arrival of the Venetians, the town was re
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Hora
Hora is a charming Cycladic village with a labyrinth of narrow lanes and cubist houses. Visit during the day and wander into the quiet residential quarters to get a glimpse of village life that carries on behind the tourist hype scene. By night, Hora’s tiny central square is transf
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Moni Kaisarianis
Nestled on the slopes of Mt Hymettos, 5km east of the city, the beautiful 11th-century Moni Kaisarianis is a peaceful sanctuary. The walled complex has a central court surrounded by a kitchen and dining rooms, the monks’ cells and a bathhouse. The domed katholikon (main church) was
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Panagia Kardiotissa
Continuing on from the Aposelemis Dam takes you to Kerá, home to one of Crete’s most cherished monasteries, the Panagia Kardiotissa. Its teensy chapel is embellished with 14th-century frescoes depicting scenes from the life of Christ and the Virgin, but locals especially venerate a
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Meteora
The monasteries of Meteora are one of the most extraordinary sights in mainland Greece. Built into and on top of huge pinnacles of smooth rock, the earliest monasteries were reached by climbing articulated removable ladders. Later, windlasses were used so monks could be hauled up i
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Mt Ohi
From Myli, it’s a four-hour hike up Mt Ohi (1398m) for magnificent Aegean views. It’s possible to stay overnight at a refuge at 1000m, then hike up to catch sunrise. The summit (Profitis Ilias peak) is home to the ancient and mysterious drakospita (dragon houses), Stonehenge-like d
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Nisyros Volcano
There are five craters in the caldera of Greeces only active volcano. A path descends into the largest one, Stefanos, where you can examine the multicoloured fumaroles, listen to their hissing and smell their sulphurous vapours. The surface is soft and hot, making sturdy footwear e
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Sacred & Dipylon Gates
Inside the ancient site of Keramikos, lie the remains of the city wall built by Themistocles in 479 BC, and rebuilt by Konon in 394 BC. The wall is broken by the foundations of two gates. The first, the Sacred Gate, spanned the Sacred Way and was the one by which pilgrims from Eleu
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Neo Kastro
The more intact and accessible of two castles that lie on either side of Navarino Bay, this was built by the Turks in 1573 on the hilltop at the southern edge of town, off the road to Methoni. Within its formidable walls is an excellent little museum with exhibits on underwater arc
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Kouros of Flerio
In the green valley of Flerio, near Mili, is an area of ancient marble-working and there remain two examples of a kouros (youth) – large marble statues of the 6th and 7th centuries BC. Each kouros measures about 5.5m and both are in a broken state (the theory being that they were d
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Itanos
The ancient Minoan site of Itanos is about 3km north of Vaï. It may appear fairly forlorn today, but this was once an important site. Inhabited from about 1500 BC, Itanos was clearly prosperous by the 7th century BC since it was an important trading post for exports to the Near and
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National Art Gallery
Greece’s national art museum presents a rich collection of Greek art spanning four centuries from the post-Byzantine period. The newer wing houses its permanent collection and traces the key art movements chronologically. The 1st floor includes the post-Byzantine period, the galler
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Tiryns
This Mycenaean acropolis, 4km north of Nafplio, is the apogee of Mycenaean architectural achievement. Legend has it that its massive walls, 7m thick in parts, were built by a cyclops. You can stroll around the immense stonework and explore the Upper and Lower Citadels, but the vaul
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Melidoni Cave
Melidoni Cave, about 2km outside the village of Melidoni, has an eerie beauty and carries heavy, historical significance. A place of worship since neolithic times, it became the site of a nasty massacre in 1824 under the Turkish occupation when 370 villagers and 30 soldiers sought
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Horio
Climbing calf-crunching, knee-knobbling Kali Strata, the broad stair path that sets off from the alleyways behind the harbour, will bring you in a mere 500-or-so steps to the hilltop village of Horio. En route you’ll pass a bewitching succession of majestic villas built for long-go
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Lysikrates Monument
The only surviving example of a choregic monument, Lysikrates Monument was built in 334 BC to commemorate the eponymous Lysikrates sponsorship of a chorus that won in the dramatic contests of the Dionysia. Its the earliest-known monument using Corinthian capitals externally. The re
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