Lindos

With its timeless Acropolis atop a cypress-silvered hill, and sugar-cube houses tumbling towards an aquamarine bay, your first glimpse of the ancient village of Lindos is guaranteed to steal your breath away.

Close up, things can feel very different. Lindos has become a major tourist destination, its approaches plagued by circling traffic and its narrow lanes jammed solid with sightseers. Come out of season, though, or stay the night and venture out before the daytrippers arrive, and you can still experience the old Lindos, a warren of alleyways where the mansions of long-vanished sea captains hold tavernas, bars and cool cafes. Coax your calves up to the Acropolis, and you’ll encounter one of the finest views in Greece.

Lindos has been enjoying its wonderful setting for 3000 years, since the Dorians first settled beside this excellent harbour. Since then it has been successively overlaid with Byzantine, Frankish and Turkish structures.