Where To Go
Sprawling, polluted Athens is an obligatory, almost unavoidable introduction to Greece: home to over a third of the population, on first acquaintance a nightmare for many, but also, as Greeks themselves often joke, to megalo horio - the largest "village" in the country. It also offers the widest range of cultural diversions, from museums to concerts, the best-stocked shops and some of the most accomplished restaurants. Thessaloniki , the metropolis of the North, after years of playing provincial second fiddle to the capital, has emerged in its own right as a stimulating, cutting-edge place with restaurants and nightlife to match Athens', Byzantine monuments compensating for a lack of "ancient" ones, and - among the inhabitants - a tremendous capacity for enjoying life. In all honesty, there are no other "world class" cities in Greece. The mainland shows its best side in the well-preserved ruins of Corinth, Olympia and Delphi (plus the Athenian Parthenon ), the frescoed and mosaiced Byzantine churches and monasteries at Mount Athos, Meteora, Osios Loukas, Kastoria and Mystra , the massive fortified towns of Monemvasia, Nafplio, Koroni and Methoni , the distinctive architecture of Zagori, Pilio and the Mani , and the long, sandy beaches on the Peloponnesian and Epirot west coast. Perhaps more surprisingly, the mainland mountains offer some of the best and least-exploited hiking, rafting, canyoning and skiing in Europe. Out in the Aegean or Ionian seas, you're even more spoilt for choice. Perhaps the best strategy for initial visits is to sample assorted islands from contiguous archipelagos - Crete, the Dodecanese, the Cyclades and the northeast Aegean are all reasonably well connected with each other, though the Sporades, Argo-Saronic and Ionian groups offer limited (or no) possibilities for island-hopping. If time and money are short, the best place to head for is well-preserved Idhra in the Argo-Saronic, just a short ride from Pireas (the main port of Athens), but an utterly different place once the day-cruises have gone. Among the Cyclades, cataclysmically volcanic Thira (Santorini) and Mykonos with its perfectly preserved harbour town rank as must-see spectacles, but fertile, mountainous Naxos , dramatically cliff-girt Amorgos or gently rolling Sifnos have life more independent of cruise-ship tourism and seem more amenable to long stays. Crete could (and does) fill an entire Rough Guide to itself, but the highlights have to be Knossos and the nearby archeological museum in Iraklion, the other Minoan palaces at Festos and Ayia Triadha , and the west in general - the proud city of Hania , with its hinterland extending to the relatively unspoiled southwest coast, reachable via the fabled Samarian gorge . Rhodes , with its unique old town, is capital of the Dodecanese, but picturesque, Neoclassical Symi opposite, and austere Patmos , the island of Revelations, are far more manageable. It's easy to continue  © 2003 by Rough Guides Ltd. as trustee for its Authors. Published by Rough Guides. All rights reserved. Rough Guides name is a trademark of Rough Guides Ltd. Buy the book here!
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north via Hios , with its striking medieval architecture, to balmy, olive-cloaked Lesvos , perhaps the most traditional of all islands in way of life. The Ionian islands are, probably more than any other spot except Crete and Rhodes, package-holiday territory, but if you're exiting Greece towards Italy by all means stop off at Corfu to at least savour the Venetian-style main town, which along with neighbouring Paxi islet survived severe 1953 earthquake damage.
Your Tips For Greece
Kavourotrypes beach.kostas says "An excellent,fantastic,superb beach in Sithonia peninsula of Chalkidiki.Its about half an hour trip from Porto Coufo by car.Its a mixed beach,for ordinary peolple and for nudists!Try a visit there."
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