The atlas

Themes

Most people arrive at Greece through an interest rather than a map — the water, the walking, the food, the ruins, the snow. Each theme here explains what the country actually offers, where it is strongest, and which months are worth the flight.

the month to come
good
possible

The crossing
Mid-morning, nobody there
Image slotTwo islands, one week, Cyclades. One famous, one quiet, linked by a 40-minute ferry. The most reliable island week there is.
Image slotOne island, one boat, Milos or Paxos. Stay put and let a private caïque do the moving. No packing, no timetables.
Image slotThe no-car islands, Hydra. Mules and boats only, ninety minutes from Piraeus, and quiet from ten at night.
Image slotSeptember, Everywhere. Warm sea, thinning crowds, full ferry timetable. The best month in the Aegean.

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Islands & island-hopping

Which group you choose sets the tone of the whole trip.

January: not the season
February: not the season
March: possible
April: good
May: the month to come
June: the month to come
July: good
August: good
September: the month to come
October: the month to come
November: possible
December: not the season

On the gorge floor
Above the cloud
Image slotThe Vikos gorge floor, Zagori. Six hours, nine hundred metres of wall above you, and a spring at the far end.
Image slotSamaria, Crete. Sixteen kilometres down to the Libyan Sea, May to October only.
Image slotMount Olympus in stages, Thessaly. Litochoro to the refuge and up, over two or three days.
Image slotThe kalderimia of Pelion, Magnesia. Cobbled paths from ridge villages down through chestnut forest to the sea.

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Mountains & gorges

Eighty per cent of Greece is mountain. Almost nobody visits it.

January: possible
February: possible
March: good
April: the month to come
May: the month to come
June: the month to come
July: good
August: good
September: the month to come
October: the month to come
November: good
December: possible

Lunch, at length
Harvest, late September
Image slotAssyrtiko in the cellar, Santorini. Basket-trained vines in ash, tasted where it is made rather than in a tasting room.
Image slotThessaloniki markets, Macedonia. Modiano and Kapani in the morning, then small plates until late.
Image slotXinomavro at Naoussa, Macedonia. The red that changes minds about Greek wine, at harvest in September.
Image slotPies before dawn, Zagori. Filo rolled by hand in a village kitchen, the only way to understand Epirot food.

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Food & wine

Regional, seasonal, and almost nothing like the Greek food exported abroad.

January: good
February: good
March: good
April: the month to come
May: the month to come
June: good
July: good
August: good
September: the month to come
October: the month to come
November: the month to come
December: good

At anchor
Afternoon breeze
Image slotKleftiko by sea, Milos. Sea caves and white rock arches with no land approach at all.
Image slotThe Ionian short hops, Paxos, Antipaxos, Meganisi. An hour between anchorages, sheltered water, and no swell to speak of.
Image slotThe marine park, Alonnisos. Europe's largest protected sea area, monk seals, and uninhabited islets.
Image slotThe Athos coast, Halkidiki. A thousand years of monasteries, seen only from the water.

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Sea & sailing

Half of Greece is only reachable from the water.

January: not the season
February: not the season
March: not the season
April: possible
May: good
June: the month to come
July: good
August: good
September: the month to come
October: good
November: not the season
December: not the season

First light at the temple
The theatre, empty
Image slotThe Acropolis at first entry, Athens. Before the gates open to the flags, with the museum after.
Image slotDelphi, Central Greece. The navel of the world, on a mountainside above a sea of olive trees.
Image slotDelos, Cyclades. An uninhabited sacred island — the most complete ancient city you can walk.
Image slotVergina, Macedonia. Philip II's tomb, underground, with the grave goods where they were found.

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Antiquity & archaeology

Eighteen UNESCO sites, and the hour you arrive matters more than anything else.

January: good
February: good
March: the month to come
April: the month to come
May: the month to come
June: good
July: possible
August: possible
September: good
October: the month to come
November: the month to come
December: good

Above the village
Indoors, January
Image slotParnassos & Arachova, Central Greece. The largest ski area, with Delphi twenty minutes below it.
Image slotKaimaktsalan, Macedonia. The highest lift-served skiing in Greece, above a crater lake.
Image slotPozar thermal baths, Macedonia. Natural hot pools steaming in a snow-filled gorge.
Image slotWinter Zagori, Epirus. Frost, empty paths, and a fire in the guesthouse by four in the afternoon.

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Winter & snow

Greece has twenty ski centres. Most people outside the country do not know it has one.

January: the month to come
February: the month to come
March: good
April: possible
May: not the season
June: not the season
July: not the season
August: not the season
September: not the season
October: possible
November: good
December: the month to come

Panigiri, after midnight
Easter week
Image slotOrthodox Easter, Anywhere, but Patmos and Corfu above all. The largest event in the Greek year. Dates move — usually later than Western Easter.
Image slotThe Dormition, 15 August, Islands and mountain villages. Panigiria everywhere, and the diaspora home for it.
Image slotSkyros carnival, Sporades. Goat-bell dancers and masked figures, late February. Pre-Christian.
Image slotZagori summer panigiria, Epirus. Clarinet, long tables, and villages that treble in size for one night.

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Festivals & panigiria

The village saint's day is still the most alive thing that happens in Greece.

January: possible
February: the month to come
March: the month to come
April: the month to come
May: good
June: good
July: good
August: the month to come
September: good
October: possible
November: possible
December: good

Above the water
Landing for lunch
Image slotKalymnos, Dodecanese. Thousands of sport routes on sea-cliff tufa, and a season from March to November.
Image slotRafting the Voidomatis, Epirus. Nine-degree spring water through the Vikos gorge; suitable from about eight years old.
Image slotClimbing Meteora, Thessaly. Guided multi-pitch on conglomerate pillars, above the monasteries.
Image slotRiding in Pelion, Magnesia. Forest tracks and old cobbled kalderimia on horseback.

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Active & sport

Rafting, climbing, riding, diving, cycling — mostly out of season, mostly empty.

January: possible
February: possible
March: good
April: the month to come
May: the month to come
June: good
July: possible
August: possible
September: good
October: the month to come
November: good
December: possible