Greece… Islands you say? Party? Cruises? Ancient civilizations?
Sure, you are completely right, and in this article I’ll try to avoid that. There’s a lot more in Greece apart from the coast, even if I have to admit that the cruise options are some of the favorites around the world.
First of all, I would like to make clear that Greece has some myths that are untrue. The first of all them is that Athens is a precious city. Look, I understand that the name sounds very good, at least we Europeans even have the Greek Yogurt (which I still don’t know why it is called like this) and the idea of the ancient civilizations living there sincerely attracts all of us.
That’s OK, but really it does not get to that point of excitement. After you have seen some of the main monuments in the old center of the city, your visit is nearly done. Athens itself has become a very polluted city, full of cars, not specially clean and in some places even dangerous. Nothing against the Greeks, really, I sincerely love this cultures because they are like mine, Mediterranean. But if we guys in the south have something in common is that respect for nature and other non living objects is not our strongest point. I’ve tried my best to say it in a polite way!
Leaving this apart, it is good to stay in Athens at least one day or two in order to visit this really ancient runes that will make you go many centuries back. After you are done, instead of taking the typical cruise to one of the Cyclades Islands, let me suggest you to do the opposite. Yes, as a traveler, I always love to do things in the opposite way, and this is not going to be the exception.
As said, lets take a train (which in Greece are pretty cheap) and travel to more or less the center of the peninsula. There it is a wonderful place called Meteora. Yes, like the Linkin Park CD. Now you know where they got the name, huh? Good, this place is simply amazing! High and sharp rock formations climb to the sky, and on the top of it, the Greeks placed some monasteries.
The impressive thing, leaving apart the impact of this vision, is how those ancient people managed to build the monasteries up there. Really, it is enough difficult to climb, that it really makes no sense imagining somebody placing those buildings on the top of the rocks.
If you want to see some pics, there’s actually a guy called Matt Barrett, who is an absolute lover of Greece, and he has some cool free guides where you can take a look.
Also, for the ones with a wider budget, let me tell you about the possibility of traveling to Meteora with George, the famous Greek Taxi Driver. This guy is a real expert of the region, and he will pick you on his dark air-conditioned Mercedes from Athens to anywhere you tell him to go. One of his special packages is the visit to the Monasteries. The round trip from Athens will cost you more than 500 Euros, but if you can allow it to your pockets, it is probably the best way to visit the region.
Finally, and regarding accommodation in Athens, there is a good way you can use to find out 80% discounted hotels through the purchasing of your flights! Ready to pack?
Looking to travel to Europe or the South Pacific?
Travel to Europe
For the discounted 80% hotels, take a look at:
Free Hotels
For general information on traveling around the world:
Travel Addicts
Dani Alonso
Related Posts
Blog Links
| 
Designed By : 
Get this skin at : 