Greece is, of course, the land of ancient sites and architectural treasures -- the Acropolis in Athens, the amphitheater of Epidaurus, and the reconstructed palace at Knossos being among the best known. But Greece is much more: it offers age-old spectacular natural sights, for instance -- from Santorini's caldera to the gray pinnacles of rock of the Meteora -- and modern diversions ranging from elegant museums to luxury resorts.

The Best Travel Experiences

Making Haste Slowly: Give yourself time to sit in a seaside taverna and watch the fishing boats come and go. If you're visiting Greece in the spring, take the time to smell the flowers: the fields are covered with poppies and daisies. Even in Athens, you'll see hardy species growing through the cracks in concrete sidewalks -- or better yet, visit Athens's ancient agora, which will be carpeted in a dazzling variety of wildflowers.

Island-Hopping in the Cyclades: Though the Cyclades are bound by unmistakable family resemblance, each island has its own unique personality. Distances between islands are small, making travel by ferry pleasant and logistically straightforward (at least in principle). The element of uncertainty inherent to ferry timetables and all island events is part of the experience, and your vacation will be much less stressful if you don't plan too much in advance and allow yourself to ``go with the flow.''

Leaving the Beaten Path: Persist against your body's and mind's signals that ``this may be pushing too far,'' leave the main routes and major attractions behind, and make your own discoveries of landscape, villages, or activities. For instance, seek out some obscure church or monastery such as Moni Ayios Nikolaos outside Metsovo -- to be rewarded by a moving encounter with the church and its caretaker. Such experiences can still happen -- but you must overrule common sense!

Exploring the Naturalists' Greece: There is a Greece beyond the columns and cafes -- a land of rugged terrain and wildflowers and birds and other natural forms and phenomena. Sign up to join a special tour or go it alone with one of the several beautifully illustrated handbooks available, such as George Sfikas's Wildflowers of Greece (Efstathiadis Books) or Birds of Europe (McGraw-Hill), by Bertel Bruun and Arthur Singer. And don't forget your binoculars!

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The Best Islands

Hydra (Saronic Gulf Islands): Old-timers keep waiting for Hydra, with its handsome stone mansions overlooking a picture-postcard harbor, to be ``spoiled.'' After all, even before Mykonos and Santorini, Hydra was one of the first Greek islands to be ``discovered.'' So far, so good: donkeys still outnumber motorcycles, and the day-trippers who blitz the appealing harborside shops leave at twilight. That means you can almost always find the table you want at one of Hydra's pleasant small restaurants.

Crete: Whether for its rugged mountains or its countless beaches, its ancient remains or its ultramodern hotels, its layered history or its intense people, Crete cannot be denied. It is not just a distinctive Greek island -- it is a world unto itself.

Santorini (Cyclades): This is undoubtedly one of the most spectacular islands in the world. The streets of Fira and Ia are carved into the face of a high cliff, overlooking the circular caldera left by an ancient volcanic eruption and now filled with the deep blue waters of the Aegean. The site of Akrotiri offers a unique glimpse into life in a Minoan city, frozen in time by the eruption 3,600 years ago. Add to this the Fira nightlife scene, and you'll see why this is one of the most popular (and overcrowded) summer vacation spots in the Aegean.

Siros (Cyclades): This tiny island has it all: a vivacious, cosmopolitan capital town; thriving beach resorts; and a starkly beautiful region of farming communities, archaeological remains, and remote beaches to the north. Siros is also one of the centers of rembetika, a form of Greek traditional music with roots in Asia Minor; the Fragosiriani, a classic known throughout Greece, was composed by the Siriot Markos Vamvakaris, and you're sure to hear its simple and infectious rhythms many times during your stay here.

Rhodes (Dodecanese): The island of Rhodes has everything a visitor could want -- dazzling ancient and medieval ruins, great food, spectacular beaches, and the hottest nightlife outside of Athens -- the one drawback being that everyone knows it.

Skyros (Sporades): Winding roads and remote beaches, one main town and a few minor villages, some ancient legends and 20th-century tales: Skyros's charms remain perhaps the most elusive of the four Northern Sporades. But though the island remains a bit difficult to access and still not overstocked with touristy amenities, Skyros also offers both a living local culture and some natural wildness.

Corfu (Ionian Islands): Lush vegetation, some still undeveloped interior and unspoiled coast, ancient sites and a 19th-century presence, a dash of Italy and a dose of the cosmopolitan, Corfu is a Greek island like no other. Tourism may be rampant, but Corfu's attractions have survived worse.

Hios (Northeastern Aegean): You'd think that an island with such gorgeous beaches, exquisite medieval towns, and remarkable scenery wouldn't remain a secret for long. Despite the qualities that attract a small group of devotees year after year, Hios remains surprisingly quiet. If you like the idea of getting away from the tour buses, being alone on a beach to rival any in the Cyclades, and exploring towns that preserve the contours of medieval life, Hios is for you. Another benefit: the local hospitality hasn't worn thin here, as it has on many of the more heavily toured islands.

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The Best Beaches

Nafplion (Peloponnese): After a vigorous and tiring day of sightseeing, this small municipal beach can seem like the best in Greece. Handy changing rooms and showers make this a great place for a quick break between exploring the ruins at Mycenae and heading off to take in a play at Epidaurus.

Plaka (Naxos, Cyclades): Naxos has the longest stretches of sea sand in the Cyclades, and Plaka is the most beautiful and pristine beach on the island. A 3-mile stretch of mostly undeveloped shoreline, you could easily imagine yourself here as Robinson Crusoe in his island isolation (bending the plot somewhat to include a few sunbathing Fridays). If you need abundant amenities and a more active social scene, you can always head north to Ayia Anna or Ayios Prokopios.

Paradise (Mykonos, Cyclades): Paradise is the quintessential party beach, known for wild revelry that continues through the night. An extensive complex built on the beach includes a bar, taverna, changing rooms, and souvenir shops. This is a place to see and be seen, a place to show off muscles laboriously acquired during the long winter months. Don't miss the opportunity to experience the pure, unrestrained hedonism on which Mykonos has built its international reputation.

Grammata (Siros, Cyclades): Grammata possesses all the elements of a vision of paradise. The small beach is enclosed by a lush oasis of palm trees at the outlet of a natural spring, sheltered and hidden by a rocky promontory extending into the bay. The beach is only accessible on foot or by boat, so it's rarely crowded.

Lalaria Beach (Skiathos, Sporades): This gleaming white pebble beach boasts vivid aquamarine water and white limestone cliffs, with natural arches cut into them by the elements. Lalaria is not nearly as popular nor accessible as Skiathos's famous Koukounaries, which is one of the reasons why it's still gorgeous and pristine.

Megalo Seitani (Samos, Northeastern Aegean): Megalo Seitani and its neighbor, Micro Seitani, are situated on the mountainous and remote northwest coast of Samos. There aren't any roads to this part of the island, so the only way to reach the beaches is a short boat ride or a rather long (and beautiful) hike. You won't regret taking the trouble, since both beaches are superb: Micro Seitani's crescent of pebbles in a rocky cove, and Megalo Seitani's expanse of pristine sand.

Vroulidia (Hios, Northeastern Aegean): White sand, a cliff-rimmed cove, and a remote location at the southern tip of the island of Hios combine to make this one of the most exquisite small beaches in the Northeastern Aegean. The rocky coast conceals many cove beaches similar to this one, and it's rare for them to become crowded.

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The Best Of Ancient Greece

The Acropolis (Athens): No matter how many photographs you've seen, nothing can prepare you for watching the light turn the marble of the buildings, still standing after thousands of years, from honey to rose to deep red to stark white. If the crowds get you down, remember how crowded the Acropolis was during religious festivals in antiquity.

Nemea (Peloponnese): This gem of a site has it all: a beautifully restored stadium, a handsome museum, and picnic tables with a view of the romantic Doric temple with its three long-standing columns. If you're lucky, you may see Nemea's archaeologists lovingly reconstructing and re-erecting columns from the temple's north facade in an ambitious restoration project.

Olympia (Peloponnese) & Delphi (Central Greece): Try to visit both Olympia, where the Olympic Games began, and Delphi, home of the Delphic Oracle. That's the only way you'll be able to decide whether you think Olympia, with its massive temples and shady groves of trees, or Delphi, perched on mountain slopes overlooking olive trees and the sea, is the most beautiful ancient site in Greece.

Palace of Knossos (Crete): A seemingly unending maze of rooms and levels and stairways and corridors and frescoed walls -- the Minoan Palace of Knossos. It can be packed at peak hours, but it still exerts its power if you enter into the spirit of the labyrinth, where King Minos ruled over the richest and most powerful of Minoan cities and, according to legend, his daughter Ariadne helped Theseus kill the Minotaur and escape.

Delos (Cyclades): This temple city, on a tiny isle just 2 miles offshore of Mykonos, was considered by the ancient Greeks to be the spiritual center of the Cyclades and its holiest sanctuary. Although in ruins, much of this remarkable site still remains in testament to its former grandeur. From Mount Kinthos (really just a hill, but the island's highest point), you can see the whole archipelago on a clear day. The 3 hours allotted by excursion boats from Mykonos or Tinos are hardly sufficient to explore this vast archaeological treasure.

Vergina (Northern Greece): In the brilliantly designed museum here, you can peek into what may have been the tomb of Alexander the Great's father, Philip of Macedon, and see the more than 300 burial mounds that stretch for miles across the Macedonian plain.

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The Best Of Byzantine Greece

Mistra (Peloponnese): This Byzantine ghost town has streets lined with the remains of homes both humble and palatial, as well as some of the most beautiful churches in all Greece. If you have the energy, climb to the top of the defense walls for the superb view over the plain of Sparta. Try to visit in the spring, when Mistra is carpeted with wildflowers.

Church of Panayia Kera (Kritsa, Crete): If Byzantine art sometimes seems a bit stilted and remote, this striking chapel in the foothills of eastern Crete will reward you with its unexpected intimacy. The 14th- and 15th-century frescoes not only are stunning, but also depict all the familiar Biblical stories. See

The Churches of Thessaloniki (Northern Greece): Thessaloniki's Byzantine churches are the finest not just in Greece, but in the entire world. From the tiny Osios David to the towering Ayios Dimitrios, these churches boast mosaics and frescoes that give you an astonishing glimpse of the artistic grandeur of the mighty Byzantine empire.

Nea Moni (Hios, Northeastern Aegean): Once home to 1,000 monks, this 12th-century monastery high in the interior mountains of Hios is now quietly inhabited by one elderly but sprightly nun and two friendly monks -- try to catch one of the excellent tours sometimes offered by the monks. The mosaics in the cathedral dome are works of extraordinary power and beauty; even in the half-obscurity of the nave they radiate a brilliant gold. Check out the small museum, and take some time to explore the extensive monastery grounds.

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The Best Scenic Villages & Towns

Monemvassia & Nafplion (Peloponnese): Everyone says it, and for once, everyone is right: Nafplion is the loveliest town in the Peloponnese, and Monemvassia is the region's most spectacular village. Thanks to the speedy hydrofoils (Flying Dolphins), you can visit both spots and decide for yourself which has the best cafes, castles, and sunsets.

Chania (Crete): Radiating from its handsome harbor and backdropped by the White Mountains, Chania has managed to hold on to much of its Venetian-Renaissance and later Turkish heritage. This allows you to wander the old town's narrow lanes, filled with a heady mix of colorful local culture, yet still enjoy its charming hotels, excellent restaurants, interesting shops, and swinging nightspots.

Hora (Folegandros, Cyclades): In this town huddled at the edge of a cliff, one square spills into the next, its green and blue paving slates outlined in brilliant white. On a steep hill overlooking the town is the looming form of Panayia, the church that holds an icon of the Virgin which is paraded through the streets of Hora with great ceremony and revelry each Easter Sunday. Mercifully free of vehicular traffic, Hora is one of the most beautiful and least spoiled villages in the Cyclades.

Yialos (Simi, Dodecanese): The entirety of Yialos, the main port of the tiny, rugged island of Simi, has been declared a protected architectural treasure, and for good reason. This pristine port with its extraordinary array of neoclassical mansions is a large part of why Simi is known as ``the jewel of the Dodecanese.''

Skopelos Town (Skopelos, Sporades): The amazingly well preserved Skopelos, a traditional whitewashed island port town, is adorned everywhere with pots of flowering plants. It offers some fairly sophisticated diversions, several excellent restaurants, some good hotels, and lots of shopping.

Metsovo (Western Greece): Steep slopes, ever-green conifers, stone houses with slate and slanted roofs, stolid villagers in traditional clothing speaking a Latin-based language[md]if this is Thursday, you must be in Switzerland. But no, it's Metsovo, in Epirus. Occasionally jammed with excursionists, this mountain town still comes through as an authentic locale, refreshing in the summer and invigorating in the winter ski season.

Corfu Town (Corfu, Ionian Islands): With its Esplanade framed by a 19th-century palace and the arcaded Liston, its old town a Venice-like warren of structures practically untouched for several centuries, its massive Venetian fortresses, and all this enclosing a lively population and constant visitors, here is urban Greece at its most appealing.

Piryi & Mesta (Hios, Northeastern Aegean): These two small towns, in the pastoral southern hills of Hios, are marvelous creations of the medieval imagination. Connected by their physical proximity and a shared history, each is quirkily unique and a delight to explore. In Piryi, every available surface is covered with elaborate geometric black-and-white decorations known as Ksisti, a technique that reaches extraordinary levels of virtuosity in the town square. Mesta has preserved its medieval urban fabric, and conceals two fine churches within its maze of narrow streets.

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The Best Places To Get Away From It All

National Garden (Athens): It's all too easy to overlook this oasis of calm and cool in the heart of Athens. If you explore, you'll discover shady benches, a small cafe, and lots of opportunities to enjoy watching Greek families out for a stroll.

Folegandros (Cyclades): Many visitors have passed the formidable Folegandros cliffs from the Santorini-Paros ferry, and glimpsed whitewashed Kastro walls perched 300 meters above the sea. The austere beauty of Hora, the fine beaches, and the great walking trails are no longer a secret, but if you arrive off-season, Folegandros still offers a restful retreat. Completely free from the commercialism that has engulfed so many Aegean isles, the only shopping here seems to involve milk, bread, and eggs. There's still no bank; a recent addition is a taxi that travels up and down the island's only paved road.

Sifnos (Cyclades): Sifnos is an island of ravines, mountaintops, and pristine beaches. Despite its small size (a hardy walker can explore the entire island on foot), Sifnos has numerous attractive small towns which can be used as bases for your explorations. Apollonia, in the central hills, offers elegant small-town civility, with the added benefit of being the hub of an excellent public transportation system. Kastro, on its seaside rock, is the medieval locus of the island, while Platis Yialos is a quiet beach resort. Don't visit in August, when the island is mobbed with vacationing Athenians.

Zagori & the Vikos Gorge (Western Greece): If the 40-some tiny villages linked by roads lined with spectacular terrain are not enough, you can venture into at least a section of one of the most spectacular gorges in Europe. Greeks and some Europeans have long appreciated this undeveloped corner of northwestern Greece known as the Zagoria.

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The Best Natural Wonders

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The Caves of Dirou (Peloponnese): No one knows just how far these caves run into the seaside cliffs of Dirou in the Peloponnese's Mani peninsula. You can get some idea of how vast they are by taking a tour on one of the boats that explore this underground labyrinth.

Samaria Gorge (Crete): At 18 kilometers (11 miles) long, the Samaria is the longest gorge in Europe. But although its walls reach up to 500 meters and at one point are only 2 meters apart, it's not the physical dimensions that attract thousands each year. For that, you can credit the wildflowers, the cold stream, and the whole experience of making your way from the heart of Crete to its coast.

The Santorini Caldera (Cyclades): As you approach Santorini by ferry, the whitewashed clifftop villages of Ia and Fira resemble at first a new dusting of mountain snow. Then the ferry enters the caldera, the cliff walls rise steeply on either side, and you're suddenly enclosed in a fantastic bowl whose sides are formed of red, yellow, and ochre rock, and whose surface is the shimmering blue Aegean. Some 3,600 years ago, the center of the island was blown away in a colossal volcanic eruption, leaving behind a roughly circular depression in the sea floor and the crescent-shaped sliver of rock known as Santorini. The best places to view the caldera are the walking path between Fira and Ia, or the clifftop streets in either of these two towns.

Vikos Gorge (Western Greece): With its wooded slopes, often taxing terrain, and rugged riverbed, the Vikos Gorge in Epirus is in many ways at least as impressive as the far better known Samaria Gorge of Crete. Its remoteness means that it is also far less frequented -- and that much more of a wilderness challenge.

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