Greece Mainland Summary

Just finished a 10-day 2000-km. driving tour of the Greek mainland and have moved on to the island of Santorini.

The Itinerary:  Athens-Mycenae/Nafplio/Epidaurus-Monemvasia-Sparti/Mystras-Ancient Messene-Ancient Olympia-Patras Bridge-Corfu-Parga-Ioanina-Metsovo-Meteora-Delphi-Athens (a few of these are listed as UNESCO World Heritage sites)

The tourist attractions of modern-day Greece start with rugged mountain scenery dotted with ancient sites from the days when the city-states ruled this corner of the world, circa 400 B.C.  Unfortunately most of these are in bad condition due to earthquakes and wars.  The Romans were here until around 250 A.D. building impressive and more lasting structures such as theaters and stadia.  The next phase of Greek history is difficult for Americans to appreciate.  The center of the Greek world from 324-1453 A.D. was Constantinople, present-day Istanbul, not Athens.  The present-day Greek mainland was a provincial backwater during this time though some impressive monasteries were built, notably those on the rocks in Meteora, as featured in the James Bond movie For Your Eyes Only.  After the Turks overran Constantinople the present-day Greek mainland was occupied for most of the following centuries by the Turks, who did a lot of damage to the future Greek tourist industry by destroying all of the Christian artwork that they could find, notably frescoes inside churches.  The Venetians managed to hold onto some islands and coastal towns long enough to build interesting buildings and fortifications.  The British came briefly to build roads and hospitals in places such as Corfu but their main impact on tourism was carting off some of the best stuff such as Lord Elgin’s removal of the Parthenon friezes.  The 2004 Olympics were a godsend to the infrastructure, especially in Athens which was once one of Europe’s most polluted and traffic-clogged cities.  Now there is a subway system that runs right to the airport, a 600 million Euro bridge spans the Gulf of Corinth at Patras, and a lot of new and/or improved highways winding through the mountains.

Greece is incredibly popular with British and German tour groups but not very popular with Americans despite the fact that it is much easier to get around Greece using the English language than it is in France or Italy.  Almost any sign on the road or in a museum that you might want to read is translated into English.  Cigarettes are a staple of life for Greeks and the European tourists that they host but the smoke isn’t oppressive as it is in Northern Europe because nearly every meal is eaten outdoors. If you make the usual adjustment for the Mediterranean male’s habitual overestimation of his driving skills it is easy to get around by car and parking is never a problem.

Travel planning tips:  Try to include Meteora and Delphi in any trip to Greece.  You could do both in 3-4 days with a rental car.  If you’re short on time, skip Corfu.  The island is overrun with German and English package tourists and the coastline is overdeveloped.  Corfu Town has some nice Venetian architecture but nothing like Venice itself.  May and June are probably the best months to visit Greece.  September can be extremely windy in the Aegean and ruin a trip to the most popular islands.  July and August are hot and overrun with European tourists.  Even with the Euro over $1.20 the cost of traveling in Greece is about the same as traveling within the U.S.  Hotels and restaurants are much cheaper than in other European countries.  You can find a somewhat crummy double room almost anywhere outside of Athens for less than 40 Euros per night.  A typical high-quality meal at a family-run taverna will be 12 Euros per-person with wine, including tax and service.