Holidays in Greece, Europe In Greece, you are standing at a crossroads of cultures, colours and civilisations, you feel the strength of history and the warmth of being in the southernmost part of Europe, you discover an evolutionary process of thought, influence and experience. Greece is a country of beautiful contradictions, a constant journey in time, from the present to the past and back again. In Greece the fusion of images becomes more than imagery and turns into reality.   Visa and Foreign Office Information Health Information

Cyclades The Cycladic islands epitomise the postcard image of the Greek islands: dazzling white buildings are offset by bright-blue church domes, while golden beaches meet an aquamarine sea. Some of the Cyclades, such as Mykonos, Santorini, Paros and Ios, have vigorously embraced the tourist industry; others, such as Andros, Kea, Serifos and Sikinos, are visited infrequently by foreigners but are favourites with holiday-makers from Athens.  Athens Athens ranks with Rome and Jerusalem for its glorious past, yet few fall in love with the modern city. Most visitors never see beyond the nefos (smog) and the high-rise apartment blocks built hurriedly to house the refugees who poured in from Asia Minor during the 1923 population exchange with Turkey. But beyond the off-putting veneer of concrete there is a kind of dilapidated charm. Almost every house and apartment has a balcony bulging with geraniums, and many of the citys streets and squares are fringed with orange trees. Athens is a curious blend of east and west; its raucous street vendors and colourful markets are reminiscent of Turkish bazaars, while crumbling neoclassical mansions hark back to the citys brief heyday as the Paris of the Mediterranean.  Meteora The World Heritage monasteries of Meteora, in the province of Thessaly, are one of the most extraordinary sights in mainland Greece. Built into and on top of huge pinnacles of smooth rock with cheese-like holes in it, the monasteries provided monks with peaceful havens from increasing bloodshed as the Byzantine Empire waned at the end of the 14th century. The earliest monasteries were reached by climbing articulated removable ladders. Later, windlasses were used so monks could be hauled up in nets, a method used until the 1920s. Apprehensive visitors enquiring how often the ropes were replaced were told When the Lord lets them break. These days access to the monasteries is by steps hewn into the rocks and the windlasses are used only for hauling up provisions.  Peloponnes The Peloponnese, Greece's southern peninsula, is rich in history and scenically diverse. Packed into its northeastern corner are the ancient sites of Epidaurus, Corinth and Mycenae, all easily reached from Nafplio. The ghostly, capacious Byzantine city of Mystras clambers up the slopes of Mt Taygetos, its winding paths and stairways leading to deserted palaces and fresco-adorned churches.