Best Places to Visit in Greece: Corfu, Crete & Rhodes

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Best Places to Visit in Greece: Corfu, Crete & Rhodes

October 3, 2016

After visiting Venice and Santorini our cruise stopped at three other Greek Islands: Corfu, Crete and Rhodes. When we booked our holiday I had a different itinerary in mind, I wanted to visit the historic Acropolis of Athens and the blue and white picturesque villages of Mykonos so when I found out those we weren't going to stop there I felt a bit disappointed. However, I ended up falling in love with the places we visited. Today, I want to tell you a bit about each of them and share with you some of my favorite pics. If you are a fellow history lover, I'm sure you are going to enjoy this post.

Best Places to Visit in Greece: CORFU

Corfu means ‘twin peaks’, the town is bookended by two hills, on which two massive fortresses were built to repel the aggression of five successive Ottoman sieges. Corfu Town was the place we liked the least because it's less spectacular than the others. Nevertheless, we were able to attend a religious procession which we enjoyed a lot. On August 11th a silver case containing the body of St. Spyridon is exposed for public worship for 3 days and nights. Thousands pay homage to kiss his slippered feet.  It was a great way to mingle with the locals and learn about their traditions. The streets were crowded with a mixture of tourists, people dressed in traditional costumes and Orthodox priests.

 Best Places to Visit in Greece: CRETE

In Crete we visited Heraklion. It's top attraction is Knossos Palace, a must if you visit this island. I remember seeing picture of this archeological gem in my Ancient Greek text book back in my high school years. You breath history in every corner. It's fun to imagine what the place looked like 3,500 years ago when it was at its peak and the people living there.

Best Places to Visit in Greece: RHODES

Many believe that the name originates from the Greek word rhodon, translated to rose in English. The medieval city of Rhodes is another historic site. Here you can embark on a journey through past civilizations. Christian churches, synagogues and mosques coexist. The Old Town of Rhodes is a maze of cobble streets that makes you feel as if you were back in the days of the Byzantine empire. The knights templar stayed in Rhodes for more than 200 years, transforming the city into a mighty fortress with 12-meter thick walls. The Palace of the Grand Master of the Knights of Rhodes and the Street of Knights are beautiful landmarks of this city.

The city is also famous for one of the seven wonders of the Ancient World, the Colossus of Rhodes. It was a massive statue of the Greek titan-god of the sun Helios (nearly as tall as the Statue of Liberty), erected in 280 BC. It was destroyed by an earthquake in 226 BC. Some mystery remains as to where it was really located and what happened after it was destroyed.

Have you ever visited Greece? Which was your favorite island?
xo Cristina

Best Places to Visit in Greece: Santorini

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Best Places to Visit in Greece: Santorini

September 5, 2016

Last month I visited the charming Greek island of Santorini. This place had been on my bucket list for a few years now. I've seen many photos of beautiful sunsets and white buildings with blue domes that made me dream of magical summer nights. The place was just what I imagined, endless white houses on top of this massive cliff  that look like snow from far away and crystal clear water. As I mentioned last week the visit was part of a cruise so we didn't spend as much time on the island as we'd have liked. In fact we weren't able to enjoy the famous sunset views because we had to be back on the ship before 8pm. 

Access to the island is quite complicated unless you arrive by plane (check out the airport's website here). Big ships can't reach the port so we had to get there by boat. The port is at the bottom of this volcanic island so to get to the top you must use a cable car. The other option is to ride a donkey, however, I think that this is animal abuse and should be punished by the law. Do me a favor, if you go to Santorini, DON'T ride the donkeys. The poor animals are forced to carry tourist to the top (there are 600 steps) at high temperatures from morning to sunset. Locals make it look like a tourist attraction as if this was cute and harmless by selling donkey soft toys to kids. I'm surprised there isn't a movement to end this atrocity. I wish more bloggers showed what's going on instead of just taking pictures of donkeys and saying how cute they are and how "perfect" is a vacation in Santorini. I hope I'm not putting you off if you want to visit the island, I just want to show is that all that glitters is not gold. Now that I've got that off my chest let's continue...

There are two main villages to visit: Oia and Thira (also called Fira), both packed with tourists. Oia is a spectacular but tiny place. Most pictures you see of Santorini around the internet are of Oia. There's only one street and it consists of great shops (most of them are not the usual cheap souvenir ones) and a few Greek churches, the other paths lead to private villas with pools and hotels which make up most of Oia's buildings.

Thira is another picturesque village. It is the main town of Santorini island, located on the top of a cliff as well. Its central location makes it a good base to use as there are buses from many other parts of the island. It's a great place to walk around and do some shopping while admiring the colorful houses and spectacular views of the sea.

We had a great time in the island despite the donkey issue. If we were to come back, we'd probably stay at one of Oia's villas, it's a wonderful option if you are looking for a peaceful and relaxing holiday by the sea.
Have you ever been to Greece? Would you like to visit Santorini?

xo Cristina