Mainland Greece, from Athens to Meteora

From Athens to Meteora, by way of Delphi

The trip begins by the sea. South of Athens, the road follows the Saronic Gulf and Lake Vouliagmeni, a brackish lake at the foot of a rock face, where you can swim. It leads to Cape Sounion, where the Temple of Poseidon, built in the mid-5th century BC, stands nearly 60 metres above the sea. People come here for the sunset.

The road then crosses the plain of the former Lake Copais, drained for good in 1931, and climbs through the olive trees towards Parnassus. Arachova is built on a ridge, at 970 metres, ten kilometres from Delphi. Below Delphi, the olive groves of Amphissa run down to the Gulf of Corinth, near the port of Galaxidi.

Further north, the motorway crosses the plain of Thessaly. Meteora appears above Kalambaka: grey rocks, some of them topped by a monastery. On the way back, you stop at Thermopylae and Thebes.

For centuries, the village of Kastri covered the site. It had to be moved before the French School at Athens could begin the ‘great excavation’ in 1892. The site has been on the UNESCO World Heritage List since 1987.

You walk up the Sacred Way between the treasuries of the city-states, to the Temple of Apollo, the theatre and the stadium. In the museum, the Charioteer of Delphi, a bronze chariot driver, dates from around 470 BC. It is best to arrive at opening time, before the heat and the groups.

Meteora, monasteries on the rocks

The Meteora rocks are pillars of sandstone and conglomerate (pebbles bound together by sand), carved out by erosion. By the 11th century, hermits were living in their caves. The Great Meteoron was founded in the 14th century by Athanasios, a monk from Mount Athos. At one time there were as many as twenty-four monasteries. People climbed up by ladders, or were hauled up in nets on a rope. The steps date from the 1920s. The site has been on the World Heritage List since 1988.

Six monasteries can still be visited, including two convents of nuns, St Stephen’s and Roussanou. Shoulders and legs must be covered; skirts are lent at the entrance. In the evening, you watch the sun set over Kastraki.

What not to miss

1. 1The Acropolis and its museumThe Parthenon early in the morning, then the original sculptures in the museum, at the foot of the rock.
2. 2Cape SounionThe Temple of Poseidon above the sea; Lord Byron, so they say, carved his name on one of its columns.
3. 3Hosios LoukasA Byzantine monastery founded in the 10th century, on the UNESCO list, with some of the best-preserved mosaics of their time.
4. 4GalaxidiA former shipowners’ port with sea captains’ houses, whose fleet was the second largest in Greece after Syros around 1870.
5. 5ThermopylaeThe pass where Leonidas and his Spartans held off the Persians in 480 BC; the sea has moved back several kilometres since then.
6. 6The National Archaeological MuseumThe gold mask known as the Mask of Agamemnon, the great Artemision Bronze and the Antikythera mechanism.

Mainland Greece in pictures

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The Acropolis from Philopappos Hill, above the Odeon of Herodes Atticus.

The table of mainland Greece

In Arachova, try formaela, a hard cheese served grilled. Amphissa’s table olives, the konservolia, have their own designation of origin. On the harbour at Galaxidi, the tavernas serve grilled fish.

In Thessaly, order a tsipouro, a spirit made from grape pomace, served with a few meze dishes. In Athens, grab a souvlaki on the go and, in the morning, a koulouri, a sesame bread ring sold in the street.