Your Travel Guide to the Natural and Cultural Landscapes of Greece

Our Best of Greece list includes the top travel destinations to help you plan a memorable visit. With so many candidates, compiling such a list is not easy. We include here both the most photogenic and culturally significant destinations. Read on, and choose a perfect spot for your vacation.

Best Greek Islands and Mainland Holiday Destinations

Popular Island Choice: Santorini (Thera)

The combination of breathtaking topography and culture automatically elevate Santorini to a favorite destination. The island’s popularity is probably its only flaw.

Visiting in May or early June is better to avoid the crowds. Staying at a hotel in Ia, or in Fira atop the volcanic caldera is also imperative. The views are unforgettable.

Good beaches (Perissa, and Kamari), a great museum of prehistoric art, a unique excavation site at Akrotiri, and the far-out legend of Atlantis would keep any visitor happy.

If you were to visit only one island in Greece, we would recommend Santorini, mainly because of the unique landscape and experience.

Classy Town on the Mainland: Nafplio

Nafplio is a wonderful little town in the Peloponnese, popular adults, families, and couples.

It’s location in the middle of the most historic areas of Greece make it a great place to stay if you want to combine city life, swimming, and historical/cultural excursions.

If you like visiting archaeological sites, we recommend you spend at least a week in Nafplio.

From there you can visit ancient Mycenae, Epidaurus, Franchthi cave, Asini, and Nemea.

If you time it well, you can also watch an ancient Comedy or Drama in the ancient theatre of Epidaurus

If Athens is just a short stop on your way to another destination or island, don’t sweat it. Your time in Athens will be memorable at any season. But if you plan just for a visit to Athens, you might want to avoid the most touristy months.

Athens by Season

Visiting in the Summer

Let’s start with when it’s not the best time to visit Athens. Late June and July are the hottest months in Greece, and all the concrete that is Athens tends to retain and amplify both heat and humidity even at night. Combined with the smog from all the traffic they can make your days in Athens feel kind of “sticky”.

August is equally hot and humid, but the city is practically empty because most Athenians go on holiday back to their ancestral villages. During this time, Athens becomes a ghost town and a very comfortable place to move about and enjoy both the city and the sunshine. Between June and August rainy days are very rare in Athens.

If you find yourself there in the middle of the summer heat, avoid being outdoors between 11 AM and 7 PM. At this time, its best to be in the cool rooms of a museum, or do as all Athenians do and retreat to your room for a long afternoon nap.

It’s important that you adjust to the local rhythm of activity. Stores close between 1 and 6 PM (except the museums and tourist shops), the city comes alive after the sun has gone down, around 9 PM. It stays that way until the wee hours of the morning since there is no “closing time” for bars and night clubs.

Spring is the Best Time to Plan Your Visit

If you plan to spend a week or more in Athens, and you have the luxury of picking the best time, April and May would be best in terms of weather and prices.

April and May are beautiful in Greece. You will still get the occasional rain showers, but most of the time the sun is shining, and the temperatures remain comfortable day and night. September and October are also a good time to visit in terms of temperature, but rain showers can be persistent after mid-September so plan and pack accordingly.

Winter Might be a Bit Too Cold

Between November and late February you can expect bitterly cold weather. Most who have visited Greece only in the summer have a hard time understanding how cold Greece can get in the winter.

But such is the beauty of the Mediterranean climate that you get to experience each season in its distinct beauty: very hot summers, very cold winters, amazingly pleasant springs, and wet fall seasons.

Don’t expect to see much snow around Athens in any seasons, but do plan for the temperatures to hover a few degrees above freezing most of the winter days. Even through the cold days the sun is usually shining in the sky so you won’t get the depressing gray cloud cover customary in north America and Europe.

Prepare for your visit