Great weather, beautiful waters and awash with antiquity, it’s no wonder Greece is the destination of choice for a multitude of holidaymakers every year. And with so much to see it’s hard to know where to begin – which is exactly why we thought we’d lend an overly-charitable helping hand with our sparkling list of the Top 10 tourist attractions in Greece.

1. Great Weather
Great weather, beautiful waters and awash with antiquity, it’s no wonder Greece is the destination of choice for a
multitude of holidaymakers every year. And with so much to see it’s hard to know where to begin – which is exactly
why we thought we’d lend an overly-charitable helping hand with our sparkling list of the Top 10 tourist attractions in
Greece.
Kalamata
If the name ‘Kalamata’ sounds familiar to you, you’re not alone — it’s a city in southern Greece from which Greek
olives get their name. It is both the capitol of the region of Messinia and the second-largest city in the Peloponnese.
With its preserved Old Town and a number of museums and galleries, the city maintains its rich cultural history. The
ancient Greek author Homer described a city called Pharai, which is believed to have been where the Kalamata
Castle stands today.
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The name Kalamata is derived from an icon of the Virgin Mary known as the ‘good eye’ (kalo mata.) The icon was
believed to be miracle-working, and today can be found in the inside the city’s cathedral, the Church of Ypapantis.
Throughout the ages, Kalamata has suffered wars at the hands of the Ottoman Empire and earthquakes in as recent
as 1986, though today it flourishes as an important port city.
Academy of Athens
The lovely Neoclassical Academy of Athens was built in the mid 19th century during the post-independence re-
flowering of Greek culture and is home to the national institutes for sciences, philosophy, fine arts and humanities,
following in a tradition first established by Plato in around 387 BC. It is part of a triumvirate of neighboring buildings
known as the ‘Neoclassical Trilogy’ designed by Danish architects Theophil and Christian Hansen and encompassing
the National Library and the University of Athens. With a marble façade, the main entrance is through an ornamental
colonnaded portico topped with sculptures on the carved pediment representing the birth of Athena and flanked by
statues of Athena and Apollo standing on slender columns – all are the work of sculptor Leonidas Drossis in the
1870s and are guarded by two philosophical-looking sculptures of Plato and Socrates.
Church of Panagia Paraportiani
Surrounded by the boutiques and bars that have made Mykonos the Aegean’s most stylish and sophisticated Greek
island, the flower-bedecked Church of Panagia Paraportiani is a highlight of a wander through the town’s picture-
perfect Little Venice. The island’s most famous and most photographed church is made up of four whitewashed
chapels, topped by a further bright white chapel on the upper storey, reached by an external staircase. Built between
the 14th and 17th centuries, the church once guarded the entrance to the town’s castle, long since destroyed.
The multi-layered nature of the church gives it a unique shape, rising from the squared-off white chapels on the
ground level to the domed church of the Virgin Mary on the top. Don’t miss the chance snap a photo of the church,
standing out in brilliant white against the deep blue sky of the Aegean.