Greece is one of the most beautiful European countries, at least that's how I see it.
It attracts more and more tourists every year. But what's to wonder, it has an amazing nature, delicious food, great wine and mezmerizing blue sea!
There are many amazing cities in Greece, starting with Athens and Thessaloniki and ending with Naflpion and Kalamata. And there are definitely sights to see and places you can't miss - Acropolis for example.
But in this post I will introduce you top 5 places what to add to your bucket list when planning to visit Greece which are not located in big cities:
1. Meteroa monastery
Meteora monastry has considered as one of Greek miracles.Just few kilometers north of Kalabaka town, there are impressive rocks of Meteora that are rising from the plains of Thessaly and are one of the most amazing places in Greece.
Centuries ago on these gigantic rocks which has breathtaking views from the top, that reaches heights of more than 600 meters, was formed one of the most important monastic communities of Greece. In translation, Greek word "Meteora" means “suspended in the air”. Meteroa monastery is also park of UNESCO-world heritage list. There are in total of six monasteries on top of the mountains: The Monastery of Great Meteoron, Varlaam, Roussanou, St. Stephen, Holy Trinity and St. Nikolaos.
Find opening hours here: https://visitmeteora.travel/monasteries-opening-hours-and-days/
2. Halkidiki
If you want to spend time at the beach and just unwind and enjoy most beautiful blue waters and white fine sand - Halkidiki is the place for you.
Just rent a car, take some cold drinks and sun protection with you and go explore these amazing beaches.
Beaches I recommend you to check out when in Halkidiki are the following:
- Afytos
- Kallithea
- Pefkochori
- Sani
- Megaportokali
- Possidi
- Kavoroutripes
- Tristinika
3. Vikos Gorge
Vikos Gorge is located in the mountain range of Epirus, being part of the northwest side of Greece, it is an extremely spectacular natural gorge. It is the second deepest Gorge in the world, after the Grand Canyon in the States. Walls of Vikos gorge are very steep, being in height of 1,040 meters in several places, providing amazing views of this unique natural phenomenon.
Vikos National Park was founded in 1973 and extends for 126 square km. It consists of Vikos Gorge, Mount Tymfi, Aoos River and Zagorian villages. It has very beautiful nature scenary that you can enjoy along your walk.
4. Shipwreck beach
One of the most beautiful beaches in Greece is located in Zakynthos and is actually one of the most photographed beaches of all Greece.
Accessible only by sea, it gives you the idea of power of nature and 50 shades of blue as it's surrounded by high rocks and blue water.
This pebble loaded beach has fifty shades of blue as far as the eye can see, and of course plenty of boats bringing people to and from the beach.
5. Epidavros amphitheatre
Epidavros Amphitheatre is a true masterpiece. Originally, Epidaurus, was a small city in ancient Greece, on the Argolid Peninsula. Two modern towns have the name Epidavros: Palaia Epidavros and Nea Epidavros. Since 2010 they belong to the new municipality of Epidavros, part of the regional unit of Argolis. Epidavros theatre is considered as one of the most well preserved ancient theatre in Greece.
Due to its incomparable acoustics, the actors can be perfectly heard by all of the audience (can fit up tp 15,000!) as you can even hear the sound of a pin dropping when standing in the middle of the theatre. It's known from the antiquity until the present days for its size, the unique architecture and great proportions. It was built by the architect Polykleitos on the side of a mountain and is overlooking the sanctuary of Asklepius. This is a superb example of classical theater with an orchestra and the circular area between the seats and the stage. The highest distance of the concave is 58 meters, while the diameter of the stage is 20 meters.
GO and do the test yourself by one of you standing in the middle of the theatre and other one being up on the stalls. Now, the person in the middle of the theatre downstairs just needs to whisper something and believe it or not - person up on the theatre can hear it perfectly!
Hopefully you found this post useful and got some inspiration for your upcoming trip to Greece!