Greece Travel Guide: Athens, Santorini, and the Best Greek Islands

Greece received 32.7 million international visitors in 2023, its highest ever, and the country's tourist infrastructure is simultaneously its greatest asset and most significant challenge. The iconic images (Oia's blue domes, the Acropolis at golden hour, the azure caldera waters) are real and extraordinary; so is the overcrowding at peak season on the most famous islands. The skill in planning a Greece trip is understanding which islands and which times reward the effort, and which have been degraded by the volume of tourism they attract. Greece has 6,000 islands, 227 of which are inhabited; the most popular 5 receive the majority of visitors and bear only a partial resemblance to the rest of the country.

Athens: Three Days in the Ancient City

Athens is one of the most historically layered cities on Earth, with a continuous inhabited history exceeding 3,400 years. The modern city of 3.7 million people surrounds an ancient centre that functions as a compressed archive of Western civilisation's foundations.

• The Acropolis: The Parthenon (dedicated to Athena, construction 447 to 432 BCE under the direction of Phidias) is the most important surviving example of Classical Greek architecture. The building's proportional refinements (optical corrections including slightly convex columns, curved floor, and tilted walls that counteract the visual distortions of parallel lines seen from below) are visible to the attentive eye and extraordinary in their sophistication. Book timed-entry tickets online (€30 in 2025; includes access to the Acropolis, Agora, Theatre of Dionysus, and four other sites). Arrive at opening (8am) or at 5pm for the best light and thinner crowds. The Acropolis Museum at the base of the hill (opened 2009, €15) displays the original Parthenon frieze sections retained in Athens alongside spectacular glass-floor views of the excavations below the building.
• Ancient Agora: The commercial and civic centre of ancient Athens, where Socrates taught and where Athenian democracy developed. The Temple of Hephaestus (449 BCE, the best-preserved Classical temple in Greece, more complete than the Parthenon) stands at the western edge; the Stoa of Attalos (rebuilt 1950s) provides a covered gallery of artefacts found in the Agora excavations.
• Monastiraki and Plaka: The neighbourhoods below the Acropolis, with the Monastiraki flea market (Sunday morning; genuine antiques, tourist goods, and everything between), excellent street food (souvlaki from To Steki tou Ilia on Eptachalkou Street is widely cited as the best in Athens), and the Roman Agora with the Tower of the Winds (a marble octagonal horologion from the 1st century BCE, possibly the world's first meteorological station).

The Cyclades: The Classic Island Group

Santorini

Santorini (Thira) is the most visited Greek island and the one whose reputation is most accurately formed by its photographs: the caldera views from Oia and Fira are genuinely extraordinary, the sunsets are exceptional, and the black and red volcanic beaches (Perissa, Red Beach) are unlike anywhere else in Greece. The limitations are equally real: in July and August, Oia is so crowded for the famous sunset that visitors stand shoulder to shoulder on every viewing terrace; cruise ship passengers (up to 17,000 per day in peak season) flood the caldera villages from 10am to 5pm; and prices are among the highest in Greece (hotel rooms: £200 to £2,000+ per night; restaurant mains: £25 to £60). The solution: visit in May, early June, September, or October, when crowds drop by 40% and prices by 25% to 35%.

Mykonos

Mykonos functions as the party island of the Aegean, with a nightlife and beach club scene (Paradise Beach, Super Paradise) that is internationally famous and very deliberately positioned as the Mediterranean's most high-end beach party destination. The old town (Chora) with its iconic windmills, whitewashed alleyways, and pelicans wandering the harbour is genuinely beautiful when seen outside peak hours. Mykonos has the highest accommodation costs in Greece (£300 to £3,000+ per night for premium properties) and attracts a predominantly young, affluent international party-going demographic in July and August.

Paros and Naxos

The quieter alternatives to Santorini and Mykonos. Paros has the same Cycladic architecture, excellent beaches (Kolymbithres with granite rock formations, Golden Beach for windsurfers), and Parikia's 5th-century Byzantine cathedral built partly from the marble of an ancient temple. Naxos is the largest Cycladic island, producing its own olives, cheese (graviera), and potatoes; the Portara (a massive marble gateway, the remains of an unfinished Temple of Apollo from 530 BCE) stands on a promontory at the harbour entrance. Both islands have fewer tourists, lower prices, and more authentic Cycladic village life than the famous two.

Crete: The Island That Could Be a Country

Crete is the fifth-largest island in the Mediterranean and functions more as a self-contained destination than as one island in a chain: it has its own dialect, cuisine, culture, and landscape that differ significantly from the Aegean islands. The Minoan Palace of Knossos (reconstructed by Arthur Evans between 1900 and 1935; 3,000 rooms, advanced drainage systems, sophisticated frescoes) was the administrative centre of the Minoan civilisation, the first advanced civilisation in Europe, from approximately 2000 to 1450 BCE. The Samariá Gorge (18km, 5 to 7 hours, one of Europe's longest walkable gorges, entirely within the Samariá National Park) is the best single hiking experience in Greece. The old Venetian harbour at Chania, with its reconstructed lighthouse and waterfront lined with former arsenals turned restaurants, is the most beautiful harbour town in Greece.

Practical Information

• Getting between islands: Ferries are the primary inter-island transport. Blue Star Ferries and Hellenic Seaways connect Athens' Piraeus port to most Cycladic islands in 2 to 8 hours depending on the route and service speed. Book online via Ferryhopper or directly with operators. High-speed catamaran services (SeaJets, Hellenic Seaways high-speed) halve journey times at roughly double the ticket price.
• Best time: May to June and September to October. July and August are extremely hot (35 to 40°C on islands), crowded, and expensive. The shoulder months provide excellent weather (25 to 30°C), significantly lower prices, and thinner tourist crowds at the major sites.
• Budget: Greece is moderately priced outside Mykonos and Santorini. Mid-range accommodation on most Cycladic islands: £80 to £180 per night. Restaurant meals: £15 to £30 for a full meal with wine at a taverna. Athens is comparable in cost to Southern European cities: £60 to £100 per person per day for accommodation, food, and transport.

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