Must see attractions in Central Greece

Serving as the heart of Ancient Delphi, the hillside Sanctuary of Apollo is where pilgrims would journey to hear prophecies from the god Apollo, voiced…

Delphi’s magnificent modern museum, 500m east of town, perfectly complements the ancient site alongside. Which you visit first doesn’t matter, but the…

Of all the Meteora monasteries, Moni Agias Triados, which featured in the 1981 James Bond film For Your Eyes Only, feels the most remote. A long down-then…

Dramatically perched atop a steep pinnacle and accessed via a high narrow wooden bridge, Rousanou convent has an intimate atmosphere. Its small community…

The monastery of Moni Osios Loukas, a World Heritage site, overlooks a remote valley 23km southeast of Arahova, between the villages of Distomo and…

Of all Greece's archaeological sites, Ancient Delphi has the most potent spirit of place. Centring on the mountainside Sanctuary of Apollo, home to the…

The 15th-century Moni Agiou Nikolaou is the first monastery you reach from Kastraki, 1km from the village square. Many visitors, keen to press on to the…

The Meteora’s largest monastery looks down on Kastraki from the highest rock in the valley (613m). Founded by St Athanasios in the 14th century, it grew…

One of the greatest military feats of antiquity, still legendary 2500 years on, took place at Thermopylae, signposted off the road to Athens 17km…

For ancient pilgrims, Delphi’s first stop was the Sanctuary of Athena Pronea, now set just below the road 800m east of the Sanctuary of Apollo. This…

This inconspicuous and faded mansion in little Anakasia preserves fanciful and colourful murals by Theofilos Hatzimihail (1866–1934). A wandering self…

Beside the road a few hundred metres short of Moni Megalou Meteorou, Moni Varlaam was first occupied by the hermit Varlaam around 1350. It’s now…

A tortuous mountain road climbs 7km west from Ipati to reach the lovely, still functioning Byzantine Agathon Monastery, into which visitors can freely…

This superb and much-expanded museum explores the rich history of Thiva, which as ancient Thebes played a major role in Greek civilisation from the Bronze…

This enjoyable museum focuses on a beautifully displayed collection of antiquarian books, from versions of Aesop’s Fables to a 1567 edition of Homer. The…

Filled with exquisite artefacts that range from stone arrowheads and Neolithic effigies to ancient Greek tombstones and 19th-century wall paintings,…

Towering northwards above Delphi and Arahova, Mt Parnassos was sacred to the gods Dionysos and Apollo. The modern Parnassos National Park holds three…

Just inside the Gate of Exodus, where Ottoman forces massacred escaping Greeks in 1826, this memorial garden contains a prominent statue of Lord Byron …

An attractive road through a high mountain valley leads for 34km south of Karpenisi to the village of Prousos. To reach the 12th-century Moni Panagias…

The remains of a walled Neolithic settlement, where perhaps 250 people lived 7000 years ago, stand atop a low mound just north of the village of Dimini,…