Greece

Greece begins in Athens, where the Parthenon turns gold in the late afternoon above the olive trees of Philopappos Hill and the lanes of Plaka stay lively well into the evening. A little further on, at Delphi, the sanctuary of Apollo spreads across the slopes of Mount Parnassus, while at Meteora monasteries stand on sheer sandstone pillars.

In the Peloponnese you can walk through the Lion Gate at Mycenae, sit in the ancient theatre of Epidaurus and stop for coffee in Nafplio. Among the islands, the Cyclades offer whitewashed villages with blue domes above the Santorini caldera and lanes draped in bougainvillea on Naxos and Paros, while Crete adds Knossos, the Venetian harbour of Chania and the Samaria Gorge.

You travel without international flights: by coach, ferry or plane, always with a Greek coordinator who knows the places and their stories. And at the table, grilled fish, fresh feta, olives and local wine.