Athens and the Acropolis are the focus of this leg of the trip, and latterly – since watching a fantastic BBC4 thingy – I’ve really wanted to take a trip to Delphi too.  I’ve had Rhodes recommended to me as well.  And I’m not too fussed about artifacts and architecture from Greek Orthodox history.

Reference to Wikipedia articles about various places, plus my usual starting points –

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_World_Heritage_Sites_in_Greece

http://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/TravelersChoice-Destinations-cTop-g189398

http://www.lonelyplanet.com/greece

http://www.interrail.eu/plan-your-trip/interrail-railway-map

Tells me two things.

1. Sailing from Italy would take a LONG time.  I’d have to get back across from Sicily to Brindisi, and then sail for a total of over 15 hours, to get to a port town I’m not interested in seeing, Patras, in order then to schlep to Athens. So I’m going to fly directly from Palermo.

2. Given time constraints I’m going to have to make some very hard choices, and miss out extraordinary ancient sites which are too far-flung.  The key decision is probably the North vs the Islands

So, let’s bash some stuff down and plot it on the map…

• Athens – natch
• Delphi – natch
• Olympia – site of ancient games
• Mt Athos – extraordinary monastery complex closed to women and children
• Mistras – not terribly fussed, 15th Century Byzantine ruins
• Mycanae – key city of 12th to 15th Century Mycenean Greece
• Epidavros (theatre) – extraordinary acoustics (see Aeschylus play 12th July?)
• Islands:
  • Santorini – beautiful picturesque architecture
  • Crete – incl Minoan history and architecture, and Knossos, Europe’s oldest city
  • Rhodes – esp Lindos as recommended by TF
  • Delos – birthplace of Apollo and Artemis
  • Cyprus – um, it’s big.

TBC. Going to the beach.