Be entertained with these Greece attractions
With a 166 inhabited islands a landscape that ranges from the Mediterranean to Balkan, Greece has enough appeal to fill months of travel. Its historic sites span four millennia of civilization, ranging from the renowned - such as Mycenae, Olympia, Delphi and the Parthenon in Athens - to obscure, where a visit can still seems like a personal discovery.
The Acropolis
Looming majestically over the city, the Acropolis complex has been the heart of Athens since the 5th century BC. Although each Greek polis had an acropolis, the buildings atop Athens's central peak outshone their imitators and continue to awe visitors today.
The Parthenon
It is the most important and characteristic monument of the ancient Greek civilization and still remains its international symbol. It was built between 447 and 438 BC and its sculptural decoration was completed in 432 BC.
The Erechtheion
Was built in ca. 420 B.C. in the Ionic order. It has a prostasis on the east side, a monumental propylon on the north, and the famous porch of the Caryatids on the south.
The Temple of Athena Nike
Was constructed in ca. 420 B.C. by the architect Kallikrates. It is built in the Ionic order, and it is amphiprostyle with a row of four columns in front of each of its narrow sides.
The Propylaea
The monumental gateway of the Acropolis was designed by the architect Mnesikles and constructed in 437-432 B.C. It comprises a central building and two lateral wings.
Placed discreetly on a level below that of the main monuments, the Acropolis Museum contains nearly all the portable objects removed from the Acropolis since 1834.
Temple of Olympian Zeus and Hadrian's Arch
Right in the center of downtown Athens, you'll spot the traces of the largest temple ever built in Greece. The 15 Corinthian columns of the Temple of Olympian Zeus where it once stood. Started in the 6th century BC, it was completed 600 years later by Roman emperor Hadrian, who attached his name to the effort by adding an arch to mark the boundary between the ancient city of Theseus and Hadrian's own new city. A definite must see!
Olympic Stadium
The Panathenaic Olympic Stadium is wedged between the National Gardens and Pangrati, carved into a hill. The site of the first modern Olympic Games in 1896, the stadium seats 75,000 and served as both the finish line of the Marathon events and the venue for the sport of archery during the 2004 Summer Olympics.
Olympic Sports Complex
The Athens Olympic sports complex, located about 10km north of the center of Athens, is in the residential northern suburb of Marousi, also the headquarters of Greece's major marketing and advertising industries. Everything in the Olympic Sports Complex seems to have been constructed on an elephant's scale. The complex hosted nine of the Game's 28 sports.
Agios Andreas
Follow the water to the west end of the town, Patras, to reach Agios Andreas, the largest Orthodox cathedral in Greece, which houses magnificent frescoes and ST. Andrew's holy head.
Vergina
The tombs of Vergina, final home to ancient Macedonian royalty, lie only 30km from Thessaloniki. The principal sight is the Great Tumulus, a huge, man-made mount 12m tall and 110m wide. Check out the bones of Alexander IV, son of Alexander the Great, as well as the magnificent Tomb of Phillip II, Alexander's farther.
