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• Do not miss the Hellenic Festival (website: www.hellenicfestival.gr; Jun-Sep), with world class music, dance and theatre performances in the second-century AD Odeon of Herodes Atticus, in Athens, as well as classical Greek dramas in the fourth-century BC amphitheatre in Epidaurus.
• Find a beach for every mood. The best include Lalaria, a pristine white pebble beach on Skiathos, and Plaka, a long stretch of unspoilt sand on Naxos. On Mykonos, Paradiso and Super Paradiso offer daytime bathing and hedonistic nightclubs. Alternatively, escape the crowds on unspoilt Koufonissi.
• Sail Greece's myriad islands. Depending on experience, visitors can go bareboat (chartering just the boat), flotilla (as part of a group of yachts lead by an expert) or skippered. Several UK-based agencies offer all-inclusive sailing holidays in Greece.
• Go windsurfing. The best places for it are Vassiliki on Lefkada, Kefalos on Kos, Kokkari on Samos, Ialisos on Rhodes, Chrisi Akti (Golden Beach) on Paros, and Agios Georgios and Mikri Vigla on Naxos. Hire and instruction are available.
• Climb Greece's highest mountain, Mount Olympos (2,917m/ 9,570ft), believed by the ancients to be home of Zeus, or scale Mount Pasnassos (2,457m/8,061ft) near Delphi.
• Hike the length of the Samaria Gorge (18km/11.2 miles) on Crete, or the Vikos Gorge (14km/8 miles) in Epirus.
• Escape the sun, sand and surf. Surprisingly, Greece is also home to several decent ski resorts. The best equipped is the Parnassos Ski Centre on Mount Parnassos (website: www.parnassos-ski.gr). Alternatively try Helmos on the Peleponnese, or Vermion in Macedonia.
• Get wet. The shallow, fast-flowing rivers of mainland Greece offer excellent facilities for water-based adventure sports such as rafting, kayaking and canoeing. Sea kayaking is also becoming increasingly popular on the islands.
• Go deep. To guard against the pilfering of underwater antiquities, scuba-diving is restricted to certain stretches of the Attica coast, Corfu, Kalamata, Kalymnos, Mykonos, Preveza, Rhodes, Skiathos and Zakynthos, all of which are home to dive centres offering instruction and rental equipment.
• Go underground. Greece is home to some 6,000 karst caves, the majority in Crete. Over 20 show caves are open for guided tours, the largest and most impressive being Perama, filled with stalagmites and stalactites, near Ioannina.
• Get tipsy. Several of the top vineyards open their cellars to the public for wine tasting sessions, and also offer wine for direct purchase. Most of these require visitors to call one day in advance to book your visit.
• Luxuriate. Greece is gifted with numerous springs giving forth thermal and/or mineral waters. Various spas and hydrotherapy centres have developed throughout the country, some of which offer sophisticated wellness centres for pampering.
• Get twitching. There are 11 wetlands of international importance in Greece, and over 190 ‘important bird areas'. The most impressive include the Nestos Delta in Thrace and the Prespa Lakes in Macedonia. Expect to see herons, storks, pelicans and eagles.
See Contact Addresses for further tourist information.
• Find a beach for every mood. The best include Lalaria, a pristine white pebble beach on Skiathos, and Plaka, a long stretch of unspoilt sand on Naxos. On Mykonos, Paradiso and Super Paradiso offer daytime bathing and hedonistic nightclubs. Alternatively, escape the crowds on unspoilt Koufonissi.
• Sail Greece's myriad islands. Depending on experience, visitors can go bareboat (chartering just the boat), flotilla (as part of a group of yachts lead by an expert) or skippered. Several UK-based agencies offer all-inclusive sailing holidays in Greece.
• Go windsurfing. The best places for it are Vassiliki on Lefkada, Kefalos on Kos, Kokkari on Samos, Ialisos on Rhodes, Chrisi Akti (Golden Beach) on Paros, and Agios Georgios and Mikri Vigla on Naxos. Hire and instruction are available.
• Climb Greece's highest mountain, Mount Olympos (2,917m/ 9,570ft), believed by the ancients to be home of Zeus, or scale Mount Pasnassos (2,457m/8,061ft) near Delphi.
• Hike the length of the Samaria Gorge (18km/11.2 miles) on Crete, or the Vikos Gorge (14km/8 miles) in Epirus.
• Escape the sun, sand and surf. Surprisingly, Greece is also home to several decent ski resorts. The best equipped is the Parnassos Ski Centre on Mount Parnassos (website: www.parnassos-ski.gr). Alternatively try Helmos on the Peleponnese, or Vermion in Macedonia.
• Get wet. The shallow, fast-flowing rivers of mainland Greece offer excellent facilities for water-based adventure sports such as rafting, kayaking and canoeing. Sea kayaking is also becoming increasingly popular on the islands.
• Go deep. To guard against the pilfering of underwater antiquities, scuba-diving is restricted to certain stretches of the Attica coast, Corfu, Kalamata, Kalymnos, Mykonos, Preveza, Rhodes, Skiathos and Zakynthos, all of which are home to dive centres offering instruction and rental equipment.
• Go underground. Greece is home to some 6,000 karst caves, the majority in Crete. Over 20 show caves are open for guided tours, the largest and most impressive being Perama, filled with stalagmites and stalactites, near Ioannina.
• Get tipsy. Several of the top vineyards open their cellars to the public for wine tasting sessions, and also offer wine for direct purchase. Most of these require visitors to call one day in advance to book your visit.
• Luxuriate. Greece is gifted with numerous springs giving forth thermal and/or mineral waters. Various spas and hydrotherapy centres have developed throughout the country, some of which offer sophisticated wellness centres for pampering.
• Get twitching. There are 11 wetlands of international importance in Greece, and over 190 ‘important bird areas'. The most impressive include the Nestos Delta in Thrace and the Prespa Lakes in Macedonia. Expect to see herons, storks, pelicans and eagles.
See Contact Addresses for further tourist information.