Greece Travel Holidays Greek Islands Holiday Travel Guide

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Patmos has been blessed with many small islands around it, some with as few as 100 permanent inhabitants but most of them uninhabited. Completely isolated by crystal-clear waters, some have nothing more than a small chapel, some only a taverna or two, and some might even have a small village. These are the uninhabited and truly spectacular islets of Marathi, Asrponissi, Tiganakia, Arki, Lipsi, and Agathonisi - the last three with a few permanent inhabitants still resisting the move to larger islands.

If TrueGreece has included this unforgettable private boat trip in you package you will explore some beaches of indescribable beauty, will visit picturesque settings, and will taste amazing fresh seafood. And, of course, don’t forget your diving masks: the visibility is quite good, and there might be no better place to go snorkelling than the islands around Patmos.

The northern part of the island is marked by one of the most famous and beautiful villages of Greece, Oia. Although Fira draws most of the island’s visitors and has the ultimate cosmopolitan atmosphere, Oia is the place for more quiet moments and boasts the best view of the island and caldera. Sunsets here are really magical and visitors attest that the most spectacular and breathtaking sunset can be seen from the medieval ruins of Oia, at the location called Goulas (don’t go there without enough space in your film or digital memory cards!). Traditional Cycladic architecture enjoys its finest moments at Oia, and you can spend what seems like an infinite amount of time walking around the small white houses, built deep in the volcanic soil (the famous yposcafa, literally “built underground”), decorated with the sparkling blue domes of the uncountable little churches (for the record, 79). Among the typical traditional houses you can see the mariners’ mansions built in the late 19th century with strong characteristics of neoclassical architecture. At the fine Naval Museum of Oia, located in the Birbilis mansion, you can take a journey in the past and share in the memories of the times when Oia was a naval power and its mariners owned 164 vessels.

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The trademark of Arachova is its central road splitting the town in half, filled with shops that sell hand-woven goods, rugs, embroideries, and various souvenirs. Within the many local groceries you will find the local specialty food products, such as chilopites (a traditional kind of pasta), honey, sausages, and local cheese. Arachova’s famed delicacy is called formaela: a variety of cheese that is especially tasty when baked. Since customs officials may object to some of these fine food items entering your home country, you are lucky that a lot of the wonderful local tavernas offer dishes made out of those local products.

Once you gain a sense of direction and are able to navigate the town - and this will happen quickly - you will admire the city plan dating back to the Renaissance, the Ottoman fountains, numerous historic monuments and statues, and several buildings that played a role in Greek history, including the former Vouleftika Mosque that served as a site for the first Greek parliament (1827-34). Then there is the Akronafplia-the “summit of Nafplion”: known sometimes by its Turkish name, the Its Kale, this rocky prominence along the little Bay of Arvanitia, has been the site of fortresses since antiquity and what remains is a jumble of ruins now sharing the top with tourist hotels. On the edge of Nafplion is the even more impressive Palamidi-the 18 th-century castle overlooking the town. Climbing its famous 999 stairs or choosing the more relaxing way of a short car drive, you can get to this Venetian fortress that has remains of three other castles inside it! From the top of its fortifications, after catching your breath from the 999 steps ascent, you will enjoy the spectacular view over the tiled rooftops of Nafplion below, while in the distance you can look either to the great plain of the Argolid and the distant mountains or to the horizon of the calm waters of the gulf: it is a view that you will never forget.

There can be no denying that the main attraction of the island is the Old Town of Rhodes, the medieval quarter of the capital city. There is so much to see that it is hard to know where to start - or stop - but the walls are the obvious boundary. Built by the Knights of St. John (using locals, captives, and slave labor), the original foundations were of an earlier period but the great walls we see today-with their gates, towers, bastions, and ditches - are largely the result of work done in the late 15 th and early 16 th centuries. Their total perimeter is some two miles, and much of this can be walked on a combination of the upper and lower courses. The walls of Rhodes are a Hollywood vision of a medieval fortress; little wonder that each year between April and October there is a spectacular Sound-and-Light production that tells the story of medieval Rhodes by focusing on this extraordinary structure.

Chania may be the best preserved old town in Crete, a magical and romantic maze full of Venetian and Turkish neighborhoods-countless houses with surprising architectural details, Venetian arsenals (shipyards, not weapons factories!), old Turkish baths, Italianate churches, Muslim mosques and minarets-glamorous districts with neoclassical mansions, and a “trademark” old lighthouse distinctive in its architecture. The best time to see the charming Venetian harbor is early in the morning, when the sun creates playful red and orange colorful variations on the water and the old houses on the Akti (Quay) Kountourioti.

Rethymnon, competing with Chania for claiming the unofficial title of the most picturesque major Cretan town, has kept a Venetian/Turkish atmosphere in its old quarters that will certainly enchant you. You may start your exploration by visiting the magnificent Fortezza, the Venetian fortress (1573-83), which sits over the old town like a handsome crown. The fortress is surprisingly large, so be prepared for a walk across the field full of wild flowers where you will encounter Venetian army buildings, a Byzantine church, the Mosque of the Pasha Ibrahim, and of course the spectacular view over the rocky coasts of the Cretan Sea. Before leaving the Fortezza, you might visit the Archaeological Museum located at the fortress’s entrance; here you can see a small collection of Minoan and Hellenistic-Roman antiquities.