Greece Things to Do

The 3,000 plus Greek Islands fan out into the Aegean Sea from the mainland; those closest to Athens include the Saronic Islands, where Hydra, Poros, and Aegina are popular destinations. To the east highlights of the Cyclades encompass Delos, Mykonos, Kea, Paros, and Tinos.

Greece is a deeply religious country and accordingly Christmas celebrations in Athens are solemn, centered around family and the Greek Orthodox church. Celebrations may be more muted than ever in 2012 following this year of austerity.

There is a wide array of explored and unexplored caves and cave systems throughout the Greek Islands and Greece’s mainland.

Frequent travelers to Greece and the Mediterranean are fond of lamenting the neglect the Grecian mainland receives due to the popular fascination with the better-known islands and archeological sites in and around Athens and elsewhere. This may be a bit of a false dichotomy, as it’s perfectly feasible to sample a bit of all of the above with some careful planning (we’re not talking about mainland China here, Greece is relatively small and easily traversed), but it is true that the beauty of many coastal and interior destinations are unfairly overlooked by incurious tourists hustling off to Piraeus. This can work to your advantage, however, if you forgo the ferries for, say, a rental car or tour package.