5 -Day Greece Itinerary

Plaka

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What to eat today

Moussaka

Greece's greatest layered dish: sliced aubergine and potato base, a layer of spiced minced lamb with cinnamon, allspice and tomato, then a thick blanket of béchamel baked until the top bronzes and the layers set into a sliceable terrine; every Greek family believes its version is the correct one; the cinnamon in the meat is non-negotiable.

Day 2

⭐ Top Attractions

4 places

Meteora Monasteries

Six Eastern Orthodox monasteries balanced precariously on 400-metre high conglomerate rock pillars formed 60 million years ago; the 14th-century Holy Monastery of Great Meteoron features post-Byzantine frescoes and a moss-slicked windlass tower; arrive at the Roussanou viewpoint at dusk when the mist settles into the Peneios Valley; the silhouettes of the stone structures appear to detach from the earth entirely.

Also nearby

Sanctuary of Apollo

Palace of Knossos

Monastery of Saint John the Theologian

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What to eat today

Souvlaki

Greece's perfect street food: marinated pork or chicken threaded on a skewer and grilled over charcoal, served in a grilled pita wrap with tzatziki, sliced tomato, red onion and a shower of paprika; the Athens souvlatzidiko (souvlaki shop) is the city's social hub; consumed at every hour from noon to 3 a.m.

Day 3

⭐ Top Attractions

4 places

historic

Archaeological Site of Olympia

The 776 BC birthplace of the Olympic Games; where the colossal Doric Temple of Zeus once housed one of the Seven Wonders; the original limestone stadium track remains accessible via a vaulted stone tunnel; run the 192-metre dromos at dawn when the dew is still heavy on the grass; the scent of wild pine and centuries of laurel wreaths seems to linger in the stagnant air.

Also nearby

Oia

Autonomous Monastic State

Lower Town

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What to eat today

Spanakopita

Greece's great pie: layers of hand-rolled phyllo dough brushed with olive oil, filled with spinach and crumbled feta, fresh dill and egg; baked until the phyllo crackles into dozens of translucent golden layers; sold in every bakery as a triangle; the phyllo must be homemade in the villages of Epirus where the tradition originates.

Day 4

🏛️ History & Heritage

1 place

historic

Medieval City of Rhodes

A perfectly preserved 14th-century Gothic stronghold built by the Knights Hospitaller; enclosed by four kilometres of sun-bleached sandstone walls and a massive dry moat; the Street of the Knights preserves the exact heraldic shields of the various tongues; walk the cobblestones after a midnight rain when the yellow lamps reflect off the wet basalt; the sound of heavy iron latches closing echoes through the vaulted alleyways.

Explore this place →

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What to eat today

Dakos

Crete's ancient peasant salad: a barley rusk (paximadi) soaked briefly in water to soften its iron-hard crust, topped with grated ripe tomato, crumbled mizithra or feta, capers, olives and a generous pour of Cretan extra-virgin olive oil; the oil must be from Crete's Koroneiki olives; eaten for breakfast or as a meze with raki.

Day 5

⭐ Top Attractions

1 place

Samaria Gorge

A 16-kilometre limestone fissure cutting through the White Mountains of Crete; narrowing to just three metres wide at the 'Iron Gates' where the walls rise 300 metres vertically; the path follows a seasonal riverbed of white marble boulders; begin the descent at Xyloskalo at 6 am to catch the pre-dawn chill; the scent of Cretan cypress and wild oregano is most pungent before the heat becomes trapped.

Explore this place →

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What to eat today

Dessert

Baklava

Greece's most celebrated sweet, dozens of paper-thin phyllo layers alternating with crushed walnuts and pistachios perfumed with cinnamon and clove, baked golden then flooded with a honey-lemon syrup that soaks into every layer; the Thessaloniki and Athens debate over which city makes the superior version is ongoing and unresolved.