We recovered well from the long flight and picked up the hire car mid-morning. It’s a four hour drive to Trikala and we broke it in half.
Stopped at Karmena Vourla on the Gulf of Evia for a swim and lunch. The tavernas have seating along the waterfront with their kitchens and other seating across the main street. Waiters dodge the traffic to bring you your food and drinks. It felt great to be back in Greece!
Arrived in Trikala, checked in then had a drink on the vine covered terrace. The town sits on a plain straddling the Lithaios river. Took a late afternoon walk to get our bearings.
Next day (Saturday) was the main event, visiting the World Heritage monasteries of Meteora which are built on top of rock pinnacles. It’s possible to visit the site using public transport, but it’s far easier with a car. We planned an anticlockwise route to visit five of the main monasteries.
Moni Agiou Stefanou (St Stephen) was first. Built in 1798 it sits at the end of the road with a spectacular drop off to the plain below.
Moni Agias Triados (Holy Trinity) was next. It has a cute little cable car to ferry people and provisions, and a less sophisticated winch system. It’s famous for being featured in the James Bond film For You Eyes Only.
Stopped at Psaropetra lookout to take in the full panorama. We could see down to Moni Varlaam which we visted later in the day.
Moni Agiou Nikolaou (St Nikolaou Anapafsa) was the next stop. It was built in the 15th C and is a great spot to see the geology up close. We lingered here to eat our lunch on a shaded terrace.
Moni Varlaam was next. It has a rope and basket system on display so you can see how things used to get in and out.
Moni Megalou Meteora (Great Meteora) was our last stop for the day. Founded in the 14th C it’s a large and seemingly prosperous monastery. The frescoes and major church building (katholikon) were most impressive.
Headed back to Trikala for the evening with our heads full and our legs weary. And kinda wondering, why?
Started slow on Sunday morning after a big day yesterday.
Drove out to Pyli to visit the 13th C church of Porta Panagia. It’s a beautiful building in a gorgeous setting.
The priest was getting ready for a baptism but took time out to tell us about its history. Originally it was a Greek temple. A medieval monstery was built on the site then destroyed by the Turks. The church was not destroyed, and he showed us doors that had been bricked up and turned into windows to stop the Ottomans bringing their horses in. He explained that in orthodox churches, icons of Christ are always on the right of the altar, Virgin on the left.
Nearby we saw the Portaikos bridge, an arched bridge built by the bishop/ Saint Bessarion II in 1514. It’s a very elegant structure.
The south bank of the river is shaded by trees and there’s a cafe and restuarant. Lots of locals had driven or ridden out there for a drink or something to eat. It was a lovely spot to linger for a while.
Headed back to Trikala for the afternoon/evening. This ended up being a very pleasant day. A nice change of pace from yesterday.
Left Trikala and drove east towards the Gulf of Thessaloniki. Passed through a narrow gorge called the Vale of Tempe, between Mt Olympus and Mt Ossa. Historically it was of great strategic importance and is quite spectacular.
Visited the crusader castle of Platamonas finished in 1222. It sits in a commanding position above Panteleimon beach, which beckoned us for a swim and served up a very decent seafood lunch.
Next stop Ancient Dion. Lying in the shadow of Mt Olympus it was a sacred place of the ancient Macedonians. It’s a sprawling archaeological park that’s easy to walk around, though much of it is given over to swamp. Reached Veria late afternoon.
We stayed in the old jewish quarter of Veria, called the Barbouta. Our hotel sat above the Tripitamos river that runs through the city. It was a delightful spot.
A main reason for coming here was to visit the World Heritage royal tombs at Vergina, including the 336 BC tomb of Philip II, father of Alexander the Great.
It’s a truly magnificent site. The burial mound (tumulus) has been excavated out to create a museum in situ. Several original tombs can be seen in chambers leading off a central area that has all of the treasures from the tombs on display in illuminated cases. The whole thing is brilliantly executed and we found it very affecting. If you’re ever in this part of the world, do make the effort to visit.
Drove back to Veria and spent some time in the Byzantine Museum. It’s housed in a nicely restored mill and has a great collection of religous paintings.
The museum had an exhibition on the Greek/ Egyptian poet Constantine Peter Cavafy. For music buffs, Cavafy’s poems have been used in songs by Leonard Cohen, Donovan (Leitch), and the Australian band Weddings Parties Anything (fronted by Mick Thomas).
Another main reason for coming to this area was to visit the site of Pella, capital of the ancient kingdom of Macedon.
Pella is one of those sites where the physical ruins aren’t particularly spectacular, but there’s an atmosphere that seems to spark the imagination.
The excellent museum attached to the site helps to explain the vibe, with expanses of wonderful mosaics and displays of glittering burial treasures.
We drove back to Veria via the town of Edessa. It’s a place of water, full of waterfalls, rivers, streams, bridges and fountains.
Before leaving Veria we checked out the old cathedral, deconsecrated and under restoration as a museum, and the archaeological museum.
Then drove to Thessaloniki via Potamos beach on the Halkidiki peninnsula.
Dropped off the hire car at the airport and headed into the city to check in to our hotel.
We spent four very enjoyable days in Thessaloniki. It’s a city of substance that has a deep, rich history. It doesn’t feel the need to put on any airs and graces, and we really liked that.
One day we explored its Roman heritage and visited the Archaeological Museum.
Another day we took a ‘Byzantine’ slice through the city, checking out the churches and monasteries, the Byzantine Walls, and the Byzantine Museum. This was a fantatstic day.
For the rest of the time we kicked back, wandered around the waterfront and ate in some excellent restaurants recommended by the young crew who ran the hotel we stayed in. All in all a great time.
The Roman Agora built in 1 AD sits nonchalantly in the middle of the modern city. It was built on an older Macedonian commercial centre from 3 BC.
When it comes to Roman Thessaloniki, Emperor Galerius is the man. It was the base he used for most of his administrative actions. He built the Rotunda as a future mausoleum (though didn’t get to use it), and the Arch of Galerius and Palace of Galerius bear his name.
We spent an afternoon in the very fine Achaeological Museum. It steps through the history of Macedonia from pre-history to about 400 AD.
Thessaloniki was established in 315 BC by the Macedonian King Cassander, and named after his wife who was the daughter of Philip II. It’s said that 26 nearby settlements were unified to form the city, and burial artefacts from these settlements represent a core part of the collection. The Derveni Krater is an outstanding piece.
The wall painting ensembles, mosaics and frescoes of Thessaloniki’s Byzantine churches and monasteries are among the great masterpieces of Early Christian art, recognised as World Heritage Paleochristian and Byzantine Monuments. This heritage stems from its strategic location, and its role as capital of the eastern Roman empire under Galerius. Thessaloniki morphed into being the ‘second city’ of the eastern empire (behind Constantinople) when east and west were permanently split by the Emperor Theodosius in 395 AD. Under Theodosius the city’s Byzantine Walls were commenced and the Roman Rotunda of Galerius was converted to a Christian Church and decorated with high quality mosaics.
We spent a day zigzagging between the ancient churches and monasteries, gradually climbing up to the old walls that sit high above the modern city.
On the way up we visited Agia Sofia (750 AD), Church of the Acheiropoietos (470), Agios Dimitrios (634), Latomou Monastery (Osios David, 490), and Vlatadon Monastery (14th C).
After a well-earned and delightful lunch behind the Byzantine Walls, we visited Agios Nikolaos Orfanes (14th C) on the way down to the Byzantine Museum.
What a day…
Thessaloniki is a coastal city. It has an extensive waterfront that’s very lively and we walked it several times during our stay.
The White Tower is a major landmark at the eastern end of the old waterfront. ‘Cafe boats’ depart nearby. For the price of one drink (or more if you like) you get to cruise around the harbour for a while.
At the western end of the waterfront is Ladadika, an old commercial district. There’s a couple of nice churches in this area, St Catherine and Agios Apostoli, as well as some remnant byzantine walls.
Flew from Thessaloniki to Heraklion on a Monday evening then picked up a hire car and drove to Agios Nikolaos as our first stop. The internal flight worked really well as a way to transition from northern Greece to the start of our island phase.
We’d travelled to Western Crete in 2008 and wanted to focus on Central Crete this trip. Perhaps Eastern Crete next time? It’s a big island and quite culturally distinctive. We certainly didn’t regret making a second visit.
We took 11 days to do a circuit of Central Crete. Four nights in Agios Nikolaos then an overnight in Matala en route to Plakias on the south coast, with some fine ancient sites along the way. Three nights in Plakias then back to the north coast at Rethmyno (two nights) before finishing with an overnight in Heraklion.
In Agios Nikolaos we stayed in an apartment on Voulismeni Lake, fed by a small inlet off the Bay of Mirabello. The balcony was a lush spot for sundowners and for breakfast.
Spent our first morning on the town beach called Kytroplatia then headed off to visit Spinalonga Island in the afternoon. We drove to Plaka then caught a small boat to the island. There’s a Venetian fortress on the highest point, built on top of an ancient fortress from the Hellenistic period. The Venetians also built extensive walls around the edge of the island and it was used as a leper colony in the early 20th C. It’s all very atmospheric and we had a lovely time walking around the perimeter and exploring the ruins.
Next day we headed out to visit some sites nearby. First stop was the Dorian city of Lato with remains from 4-300 BC. Crete is mainly associated with Minoan civilisation so Lato is quite unusual. It’s a fabulous site in a remote mountain setting with views down to the coast. You enter through a main gate and walk up a walled main street with the remains of houses and shops on either side. It flattens out onto the central agora (public space) with a large cistern. Terraces lead up to a prytaneion (seat of government), temples and houses, with a theatre area further afield.
From here we headed to the town of Krista and the Church of Panagia Kera adorned with Byzantine frescoes in excellent condition.
Driving further east we visited the late Minoan settlement of Gournia. It’s ruins are draped over a hill quite close to the coast and it’s a pleasant place to wander along ancient streets and lanes.
Dropped down to the nearby village of Pacheia Ammos for a swim and excellent taverna lunch. Got into a hilarious converation with the lady running the restaurant when she found out we were from Tasmania. Turned out that she knows the Cretan Greeks we know in Hobart, who come from Ierapetra about 15 kms away. Small world.
The rest of the time in Agios Nikolaos was spent at the beach, eating and drinking and generally relaxing.
When checking out we were charged a Special Accommodation Tax (S.A.T.) of 50 Euro cents per night, two Euros in total. It was introduced to help combat the austerity measures forced on Greece. Hope it makes a positive difference overall, though I reckon it would have cost much more than two Euros to administer this particular transaction.
Crete is a wide island from east to west, narrow from north to south, and mountainous in the middle. Depending where you choose to cross, it doesn’t take long to get from the north to the south coast. We’d decided on Plakias as a base on the south coast but chose to break the journey from Agios Nikolaos with an overnight in Matala. This gave us time to visit the site of Gortyna and see Matala on the first day, then visit the sites of Phaestos and Agia Triada en route to Plakias on the second day.
We set off mid-morning and stopped at Myrtos for a swim and some lunch. Next stop was the site of Gortyna. It’s said that the site has been occupied since Neolithic times, standing on a plain watered by the river Lethaeus. At its peak it had a population of perhaps 100,000. We found it a strange site. Much of it is locked away, being restored, or on the other side of the highway which is currently no access. It’s most visible remains are the Basilica of St Titus and the huge stone tablets inscribed with the Codex of Gortyna. It felt like it could be an awesome site if fully excavated and protected.
Arrived in Matala on Friday evening to find it was the start of a three-day beach festival. The place was heaving, not at all what we’d expected. Matala is part of Greek mythology and was both a Minoan port and a Roman port. The Romans used its cliffside caves as tombs. In the 1960s the caves became a hippie hangout and Joni Mitchell made them famous through her song ‘Carey’ from the Blue album. Seems like it remains a ‘go to’ place. I heard the DJ winding up the crowd at 4:30am and think it was finally quiet at 6am. We sought out breakfast with the walking wounded and headed off as soon as we could. Not our finest moment of travel planning.
Phaestos was the second city of Minoan Crete, behind Knossos. It’s perhaps most famous for the Phaestos Disc (held in the Heraklion Archaeological Museum), an intruiging artefact dated to around 1,400 BC. The site sits atop a ridge separating the plains of Messara (inland ) and Debaki (coastal). We loved it and spent several hours exploring it in full.
Nearby Agia Triada is much smaller but also worth a visit. Many of the finds from this site are also in the Heraklion Museum, including a beautiful painted sarcophagus.
Drove on to Plakias that evening and settled in to our apartment for a few days. It was a short walk down to the beach with a nice cafe and a very decent restaurant, and a longer walk/ short drive to the town centre for all other amenities. The guy who owned the apartment left us eggs from his chickens and oil from his olive grove. All good. We did a boat trip to Preveli Beach on one of the days. It sits at the mouth of the Kissano Faraggi river, with a palm-lined gorge reaching back into the mountains. It is very popular but we had a fun day swimming, drying off, seeking shade, walking, eating and drinking. And seeing the coast and mountains from the boat, both going there and coming home, was spectacular.
Drove north to Rethmyno for a couple of nights. It has a long sandy beach lined with hotels and resorts that slice the coast into a series of sunbed concessions. We stayed in the old town and found walking around the Venetian fortress (fortezza) and wandering the backstreets and lanes to be more our style. The fortezza is huge and it’s a great place for a late afternoon/ early evening promenade. In one of the old buildings there was an exhibition by the artist Cryssoula Skepetzi. After some beach time on the second day we spent an afternoon wandering the old town. We also found an excellent restaurant that we ate at a couple of times.
Drove on to Heraklion next morning, dropped the hire car at the airport and headed into town. Our focus was the Archaeological Museum. It was being renovated when we first visited Crete in 2008, and though I’d seen the finished version on a work trip in 2015, Julie hadn’t. It’s a wonderful facility and we got a lot more out of it having visited not just Knossos but also Phaestos, Agia Triada and Gortyna. Ended the day with a fine seafood dinner on the waterfront. It’s always good to leave a place with the feeling that you’d like to come back. We’d definitely come back to Crete..
Caught a 9am ferry from Heralkion to Santorini (Thira). It’s a one and a three quarter hour journey under normal conditions, but there was a bit of a swell about and we got in 50 minutes late. Quite a lot of people on the ferry were sick along the way. I was OK (though had to stop reading and writing) and Julie has a cast iron stomach when it comes to being on the water.
Sailing into Santorini’s drowned caldera and seeing the clusters of white, geometric buildings clinging to the cliffs is a remarkable sight. Many people obviously think so and the place is completely overrun. I confess to having mixed feelings about it.
This visit we decided to stay at Perissa Beach on the eastern side of the island to avoid the hurly burly of the caldera. The hotel we stayed at will pick you up and drop you off for free if you stay at least three nights. It turned out to be a pretty chilled spot, with a decent black sand beach, good cafes and tavernas and easy access to ancient sites and other beaches.
Julie was happy to hit the beach for a while so I walked up to Ancient Thira, a lovely site sprawled over a hilltop (567m) at the northern end of Perissa Beach. You can drive up from the other side at Kamari Beach.
Next day we hired a small car and toured the southern part of the island. Visited the impressive site of Ancient Akrotiri which was buried in a volcanic eruption in 1613 BC. It’s now protected in a climate controlled building with wooden walkways criss-crossing the site. Take your time, let the pulses of bus tour groups blow past, and you’ll find it a very rewarding experience. Stopped at the village of Akrotiri and wandered around its backstreets and lanes. A lovely interlude. Drove on to the amazing looking Red Beach but it was super crowded so we headed down to the lighthouse at Cape Akrotiri and then found a decent taverna for lunch. Finished up the day with a swim and relax under the wind sculpted cliffs of Vlychada Beach.
On our last day we caught the bus up to Fira for a walk around the edge of the caldera. Back to Perissa Beach then off to the port to catch a 19:00 ferry to Milos, via Folegandros. It’s about a two hour journey.
We had the luxury of extra time on this trip, taking a six week holiday rather than the usual four. Decided to spend a full week on a Greek island and chose Milos in the Cyclades.
Most people would only know of Milos because of the famous statue in the Louvre in Paris, the Venus de Milo. In fact the island has very interesting geology which makes for amazing beaches (the most of any Greek island) and stunning coastline.
We rented an apartment right on the waterfront in the port town of Adamas. Took a boat trip, caught the bus to Pollonia, hired a car to explore the island, and wandered between Adamas and the hilltop twin towns of Plaka and Trypiti. All in all we found Milos to be an ideal island for a chillout week.
We’re not sailors but we like it on the water, so boat trips are something we always seek out. If you’re in a place for a few days it’s generally good to check out the local offerings at the port, see the boats, the crew, who’s getting on and off.
We did a great, day-long boat trip out of Adamas along the west coast of Milos, as far as Kleftiko and back. This part of the island is largely inaccessible due to poor roads, and prevalence of the Milos viper. There were maybe twenty passengers on the boat and the crew had a dinghy to ferry us into caves and swimming spots. Great fun.
We chose to stay at the port to be close to amenities. Just 5km uphill is the gorgeous little town of Plaka, which morphs into the equally lovely Trypiti as you descend. We bussed/ walked up and back a few times, for wandering and eating at the excellent tavernas. We had a great time on Milos. In hindsight, if we’d have changed anything it would be to reverse this order i.e. stay in Plaka/ Trypiti and head down to Adamas for amenity.
For a change of scenery one day, we caught the bus to Pollonia which lies at the north east tip of Milos. It’s quite a chic little place and we spent a pleasant day moving from beach to taverna and back again.
Milos has about 45 beaches so we hired a car one day to check out some of the most iconic ones.
Drove to Paleochori on the south coast which has beautiful coloured cliffs and thermal activity. In places the sand is way too hot to stand in, and in spots the water is also warmed. This is probably great in the cooler months but no more than a curiousity in summer.
Drove further west to Provatos Bay where we ate in a nice taverna overlooking the ocean and had a swim after lunch.
Headed back to the north coast of the island to Sarakininiko, perhaps the most iconic of all Milos beaches. You swim in an inlet carved out of gleaming white rock, backed with a valley created by seasonal water flows. Mine tunnels have been excavated deep into the surrounding cliffs. All in all it’s a surreally beautiful landscape.
From here we timed our run to visit the Christian catacombs carved in soft rock just below Plaka.
Drove on to Mandrakia which is another beautiful little coastal village.
Finished the day at Fyropotamos where white buildings with blue trim draped the rocky coastline, and chilled beats oozed from the beach bar as we enjoyed an end of day swim. Nothing more to say.
We caught an 11am ferry from Milos arriving in Piraeus about 14:30. Headed to our hotel in Athens city. We were staying in the Makrygianni district, just south of the Acropolis. It has good restaurants, cafes, bars and bakeries, some happily filling more than one role to keep the cash flow positive.
When we arrived it was a lovely afternoon so we walked up to the Acropolis then down to the Ancient Agora. It felt great to be back in Athens again. Wandering around the Temple of Hephastus in the golden light of a summer evening is a delightful experience. It makes you appreciate the efforts made to preserve cultural World Heritage.
Next morning we headed to the National Archaeological Museum for a day. We hadn’t been here since our first trip to Greece in 2006. In three subsequent trips we’d been to many of the places associated with artefacts in the museum and thought it was time to revisit. It was a fabulous experience. As hoped, the fact that we’d now been to so many of the places referenced in the exhibits provided depth and resonance to what we were looking at on the floors and walls and in the glass cases.
We always visit the Temple of Olympian Zeus when in Athens. It defines the word ‘monumental’. We then walked what’s known as ‘the triangle’ in Athens city, defined by the three squares of Syntagma, Omonia and Monastiraki. We’d read that this was an epicentre for rebounding from austerity and it felt like it on the ground. There was a gritty, can-do energy about the place. Visited Hadrian’s Library before it closed at 15:00. It was very hot by then so we retreated to the hotel for a while before an evening visit to the Acropolis. It was glorious, and we ended up being kicked out of the Theatre of Dionysos at 20:00 closing time.
Next day we took it pretty easy, sourcing presents for family and friends from shops at the Acropolis Museum and Benaki Museum. On our last night of the trip we had a great dinner on a rooftop terrace looking up at the Acropolis. Only in Greece.
On our last day we visited the Acropolis Museum then checked out the Temple of the Winds. Headed out to the airport around 20:00 for a 23:00 flight home.
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