FERNWAYER'S GUIDE TO GREECE

Greece is often imagined through a few iconic images — white houses by the sea, ancient ruins, plates shared in the sun. But these are just fragments. What holds the country together is less visible: everyday gestures, layered traditions, a deeply rooted culture of welcome, and a continuity that shapes both life and landscape.

Here, history doesn’t sit behind glass. It moves through family kitchens and village processions, through festivals that return each year with familiar rhythms and evolving forms, through streets where the present speaks in new ways. The same gestures echo in different places — a recipe, a word, a song — shifting across generations and spaces. In Greece, memory lives inside what is still unfolding — in how people create, celebrate, and move forward without breaking the thread.

Best Things To Do in Greece

From the peaks of Mount Olympus to the whitewashed villages scattered across the Aegean, Greece is a land of contrasts shaped by myth, migration, and millennia of change. Its ancient ruins may be world-famous, but the country’s true spirit reveals itself in everyday rituals, vibrant local scenes, and landscapes that invite you to slow down and stay longer.

Traveling through Greece means moving between coast and mountains, sacred traditions and spontaneous joy. You’ll sample regional dishes rooted in seasonality, dive into the crystal-clear waters of remote islands, and explore buzzing neighborhoods full of art and music. Here are some of the best things to do while traveling to Greece.

1. Walk With Gods

In Greece, history and myth shape the spaces people walk through. Nowhere is this more tangible than in Athens, where the Acropolis rises above the city like a timeless sentinel. Nearby, the Agora and Roman Forum hint at democratic beginnings and imperial rule. The past isn’t confined to the hilltops: Byzantine churches, Ottoman details, and neoclassical facades blend into the rhythm of city life, revealing a capital that keeps evolving while staying anchored to its foundations.

Beyond Athens, the entire country is a vast open-air museum where myth and history blur. At Delphi, the oracle once spoke in riddles to kings and warriors beneath Mount Parnassus; in Olympia, the spirit of the first Olympic Games lingers among crumbling columns. The ruins of Mycenae recall Homeric tales of glory and betrayal, while the theatre of Epidaurus still echoes with drama under the stars. On Crete, Knossos opens a window into Europe’s earliest civilization. In Santorini, the buried city of Akrotiri—preserved in volcanic ash—offers a haunting glimpse into a sophisticated Bronze Age world lost to a single eruption. Everywhere you go, the ancient world is still part of the present.

2. Listen to the Echoes of Byzantium

The Byzantine past is not confined to museums — it lingers in churches, monasteries, and everyday practices scattered across Greece. Gold mosaics glimmer in the half-light, incense hangs in the air, and silence often speaks louder than words.

In Athens, the Byzantine Museum houses one of the country’s most important collections of icons, manuscripts, and ecclesiastical objects, while small, centuries-old chapels are tucked between neoclassical facades and modern storefronts — reminders of a spiritual heritage hidden in plain sight.

This legacy becomes even more vivid in Thessaloniki, where UNESCO-listed churches like Agios Dimitrios, the Rotunda, and Agia Sophia condense centuries of history into stone and paint. Here, the cityscape blends early Christian architecture with Ottoman elements and contemporary life, forming a subtle sense of continuity.

In the Peloponnese, the fortified town of Monemvasia and the ruins of Mystras offer a glimpse into the empire’s final centuries — a world of refined architecture, courtly culture, and deep faith. Outside urban centers, Byzantine traces remain in frescoed mountain chapels, cliffside hermitages, and remote island monasteries where daily life still follows an ancient rhythm.

3. Taste Markets, Meals and Hospitality

Across Greece, food sparks connection. It’s served with warmth, shaped by local landscapes, and rooted in traditions that stretch back generations. Whether you're in a shaded taverna in Athens or at a long table in a mountain village, meals follow the pace of conversation. Dishes are made with just a few essential ingredients — olive oil, lemon, herbs, grains, cheeses, fresh vegetables, and slow-cooked meats — but what makes them special is how they’re prepared and shared. Markets offer a daily display of abundance: glistening olives, sun-ripened tomatoes, wild greens, and handmade filo ready to be turned into savory pies.

Cooking with locals lets you step into this world. It means learning how to fold a stuffed vine leaf or balance spices in a hearty stew. In every region, the recipes change but the spirit stays the same — generous, proud, and hospitable. Sweet offerings are part of that same story: a baklava or spoon sweets isn't just a treat, it’s a gesture of hospitality. Whether you’re tasting loukoumades in a bustling square or receiving kourabiedes in someone’s home, food in Greece always carries meaning — a way of showing care and bringing people closer.

4. Immerse Yourself in Festivals and Traditions

In Greece, culture unfolds through gatherings that mark the year and bring communities together. Festivals, music, and ritual moments shape the everyday, turning city streets and village squares into places of shared memory and joy.

Some moments are deeply spiritual, like Orthodox Easter — the most significant celebration of the year — marked by candlelit processions, midnight fireworks, and tables filled with roast lamb, red eggs, and sweet tsoureki. The mood shifts from reflection to joy over a few unforgettable days. At other times, celebration takes on a more playful rhythm. Carnival season fills towns with music, satire, and masks, especially in Patras, where one of Europe’s biggest parades transforms the city.

In summer, panigiria light up villages and islands with traditional feasts, live music, and folk dances. Ancient theatres like those in Epidaurus or Dodoni host open-air performances. Greece always celebrates with a strong sense of connection.

5. Discover Seascapes and Island Cultures

The sea has been central to Greece’s identity — a setting of countless myths, from Homer’s Odysseus navigating stormy waters to the legends tied to islands like Delos and Crete. The Aegean and Ionian seas are more than beautiful landscapes: they’re storytellers in their own right. Today, the sea still shapes everyday life.

With over 13,000 kilometers of coastline and thousands of islands, Greece offers a stunning variety of seascapes. In Santorini, volcanic cliffs fall sheer into the deep blue, while Mykonos pairs golden beaches with whitewashed charm. The Dodecanese islands, like Rhodes, mix medieval walls and clear-water bays, and in the Ionian, Corfu’s lush hills meet Venetian architecture and quiet coves.

Crete — a world of its own — offers windswept beaches, emerald lagoons, and caves that still echo with ancient stories. Whether you're walking along pebbled shores, boarding a small boat, or simply watching the sun sink into the sea, the Greek coastline holds a multitude of stories.

6. Indulge in Wines with a Long Memory

Wine-making is another long-standing craft in Greece, practiced in regions as diverse as Santorini, Nemea, Naoussa and the mountains of Crete. Indigenous grape varieties like Assyrtiko, Xinomavro, Agiorgitiko and Moschofilero are grown in landscapes shaped by altitude, soil, and tradition. Vines are tended with the same attention found in other forms of craftsmanship — precise, regional, and deeply tied to place.

7. Admire Contemporary Art and Urban Expressions

Greece’s creative energy pulses not only through galleries and studios, but through the very rhythm of urban life. In Athens, entire neighborhoods have become canvases: from large-scale murals in Exarchia and Psiri to discreet works tucked into alleys, street art tells stories of protest, humor, identity, and change.

At the same time, contemporary art institutions continue to expand their reach. The National Museum of Contemporary Art, the DESTE Foundation, the Benaki Museum’s Pireos Annexe, and the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Center offer a window into how artists engage with the present. From Thessaloniki to Patras, and across island residencies, independent voices are redefining the space between tradition and experimentation.

8. Walk the Land, Cross the Water

Greece’s landscape shifts constantly, from the towering cliffs of Meteora to the wild trails of Samaria Gorge in Crete. Mount Olympus offers high-altitude routes and forested ridges, while Mount Parnassus is known for its hiking paths and changing views across the valleys. The Pindus range hides deep gorges, arched stone bridges, and mountain villages where time moves differently. On the island of Evia, wooded hills and quiet tracks reveal another Greece.

Water often sets the rhythm of the landscape. Inland lakes, rivers, and hidden waterfalls offer space to pause, while the sea remains a constant presence. From kayaking in the Cyclades to sailing in the Ionian, coastal adventures bring a change of rhythm.

9. Dive into Soundscapes of Music and Memory

Music in Greece is a living archive of the country’s identity, from the slow rhythms of traditional folk songs to the pulse of Athenian electronic beats. Traditional music varies widely by region. In the north, you might hear the haunting sound of the Pontic lyra; in the islands, the violin and laouto guide dances.

At the heart of urban musical heritage lies rebetiko, often called the Greek blues. Born in the port cities in the early 20th century and shaped by exile and poverty, rebetiko carries deep emotional weight. Its lyrics tell stories of migration, longing, celebration, and resistance, while its sound is shaped by two key instruments: the bouzouki and the baglamas.

Today, Greece’s music scene is dynamic and diverse. In Athens, underground clubs and rooftops echo with electronic and experimental sounds, while tavernas host live sessions where folk traditions blend with contemporary styles.

10. Seek Rituals and Inner Worlds

In Greece, the boundary between the visible and the invisible is often blurred. Small gestures, symbolic objects, and ancient practices continue to shape everyday life. The mati, or evil eye, is everywhere — hanging above doors, worn on bracelets, or given as a gift of protection. The soft click of komboloi beads, passed through fingers in thought or habit, marks time. Homes may feature pomegranates for luck, a symbol of renewal, fertility, and abundance that runs from ancient myth to modern tradition.

Beyond the symbolic, nature becomes part of this inner rhythm. In olive groves, hillside paths, or private homes, some practices echo rites once tied to the earth and its cycles, recalling the mysteries of Demeter. In the quiet of kneading bread, walking barefoot, or sitting by a lake, there's space to listen — to the land, to the body, and to what endures.

February

Carnival season fills cities and towns with color, satire, and parades.

February

Carnival season fills cities and towns with color, satire, and parades.

March to April

See candlelit processions and midnight fireworks during Orthodox Easter.

March to April

See candlelit processions and midnight fireworks during Orthodox Easter.

June to August

Panigiria bring people together for nights of music and feasts.

June to August

Panigiria bring people together for nights of music and feasts.

September

The grape harvest begins, and the summer light softens.

September

The grape harvest begins, and the summer light softens.

October to November

A new season is celebrated with chestnut fairs, olive picking and markets.

October to November

A new season is celebrated with chestnut fairs, olive picking and markets.