The journey
The Acropolis, the monasteries of Meteora, and the Byzantine city of Thessaloniki.
Greece is one of the most visited countries in Europe and one of the most misunderstood. Athens is not just the Acropolis — it is a city of 4 million people with a street food culture, a music scene, and a neighbourhood life that most tourists never encounter.
This route moves beyond the obvious: Athens properly (not just the Acropolis), the Byzantine city of Thessaloniki with its magnificent mosaics, and Meteora — the Byzantine monasteries built on top of vertical rock towers in the Thessalian plain, one of the most dramatic landscapes in Europe.
Day by day
The itinerary
Athens
Athens — Beyond the Postcard
Two days in Athens, done properly. The Acropolis at opening time before the crowds. The National Archaeological Museum — the greatest collection of ancient Greek art in the world. Then the parts of Athens nobody tells you about: the Monastiraki flea market, the Exarcheia neighbourhood, a sunset on Lycabettus Hill.
Central Greece
Delphi — The Navel of the World
Delphi: where the ancient Greeks believed the world began, where the Oracle sat on her tripod above the fissure in the rock and spoke the future in riddles. The Temple of Apollo, the Omphalos stone, the theatre above the sacred way. The most dramatic archaeological site in Greece.
Thessaly
Meteora — The Monasteries in the Sky
Meteora: Byzantine monasteries built on top of vertical rock pillars 400 metres high, beginning in the 14th century. The monks who built them hauled their materials up in nets. Six monasteries survive, all active, all open to visitors. A landscape that looks like science fiction.
Thessaloniki
Thessaloniki — Byzantine Mosaics
Thessaloniki is Greece's second city and, many Greeks will tell you, its first culture. The Rotunda, the Arch of Galerius, the Church of Agios Demetrios with its 5th-century mosaics. The old Jewish quarter. The best souvlaki in Greece. A farewell dinner by the sea.
