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Widely promoted as the cradle of civilisation and the birthplace of democracy, Greece is certainly a history buff's paradise. With ruins galore and museums aplenty, you can explore thousands of years of Greek history, and get a great sense of the times in which the great philosophers and mathematicians worked. In Athens, the Acropolis is unforgettable and magical, and the sight of the Parthenon towering overhead is truly breathtaking. The ancient agora also helps create a vivid image of what life in the ancient city was like in the past one or two thousand years. The National Archaeological Museum is one of the world's great museums and you should allow at least a day for this, or even a couple of shorter visits if possible. The Benaki museum houses a wonderful and diverse collection and is also worth a trip. More light-hearted fun comes from watching the changing of the guard outside the Parliament House on Syntagma square, every hour, on the hour.

Outside Athens, there are plenty of other attractions. Be sure to fit in a visit to Delphi (you can even do a day trip from Athens). Unfortunately, the oracle is no longer in residence to advise on the best season for going to war or whether or not the crops might fail. However, the location of Delphi high up Mt Parnassos, overlooking the Gulf of Corinth, is reason enough to take a photo or 20. The site is beautifully conserved, and stories of how the oracle worked are fascinating. Olympia is also lovely to visit. The onsite museum provides excellent insight into how the original Olympic Games worked and what they were like.

Greek Islands
Of course, many people visit Greece just for the islands! If so, it pays to know what you're doing, and make sure you find the island to suit your dream holiday. While Mykonos is famous as a clubbing, partying island, Santorini, Paros and Crete all have pretty wild scenes of their own. In the Cyclades, Naxos is a bit more chilled out, and you can shop around and negotiate a deal for accommodation with the touts who meet the ferries. You might end up in a charming studio adjoining someone's home, and even wangle an invitation to dinner!

Santorini is the quintessential cruises ship stopover location, for very good reasons. An enormous and ancient volcano lies beneath the blue Mediterranean. One side of the lip of the crater pokes up out of the water, forming the island of Santorini. Consequently, much of Santorini is very high above the water, is crescent shaped and looks around to unbelievable views. The submerged caldera, almost encircled by cliffs, is a geology lesson you won't quickly forget. The sunsets from the village of Oia (pronounced ee-yah) far outshine the shameless commercialism of the main tourist town of Fira. Santorini is the perfect place to rent a car, and cruise around outside the tourist traps to sample local wines, eat where the locals eat (for local prices) and check out the caldera from different angles.

Crete is Greece's largest and most southern island, and sees a quarter of all visitors to Greece. Cheap package tours from Western Europe make Crete affordable, but busy and heavily developed. There is a pleasant mountain chain running through the island, providing opportunities for exploration in your Greece car rental. Knossos is Crete's major tourist attraction. It is 5km from Crete's major city, Iraklio, and is the site of a spectacular Minoan ruin. It can take a whole day to explore the site, and you need a good guide book or else a guide to assist you o make sense of it all. To avoid the worst of the crowds and the heat, arrive early!

Rhodes and the Dodecanese group of islands are quite a bit further from Piraeus (the port of departure for most ferries from Athens), and their proximity to the Turkish coast means they are less developed than some other groups. However, they are lush, green, charming and sometimes a little cheaper than other island groups. It is possible to take day trips to Turkey from some islands, including Samos and Rhodes.

Climate
Greece has a typically Mediterranean climate with very hot, dry summers. While there is an appeal to bare hills with only papery olive trees, white-washed buildings and the blue, blue sea, the heat of July and August only really appeal to the most dedicated of sun worshippers. For those whose tan needn't be so deep, or prefer to avoid the leathery look, late September and early October are lovely. The weather is still sunny during the day, the evenings are mild and the sea has warmed up. May is also pleasant for city visitors. Winters can be very wet, and on the islands, many businesses close in late October and don't open until April or even May. Easter is the most important festival for Greek Orthodox Christians, and there are strong Easter traditions practised by even the non-religious.

Food
Greek food varies by region. In the islands, naturally seafood dominates. In the rural north, lamb and goat are the meats of choice. The world is already familiar with some great Greek snacks. Of course, though they're convenient, the gyros or souvlaki aren't really fast food. The meat turns on those skewers for hours, gradually being trimmed from the outside to serve wrapped in pita for gyros, and souvlaki can either mean the wrapped sandwich made, or an individual kebab, grilled and wrapped. Either way, servings are accompanied by tomato salad and loads of garlicky yoghurt sauce now widely known outside Greece by its authentic name of tzatziki. Spanokoppita (spinach and cheese pastry) and tyropitta (cheese pie) also make for quick snacks along a hungry sight seeing route.

For sit down meals in a taverna, the emphasis will be on mezedes, or meze for short. These are very small plates of appetisers, often small salads or dips eaten with bread, but could also include pickled octopus, rice wrapped in vine leaves (dolmades), giant beans in olive oil, fried whitebait or fried ground meat rolled in a dense batter. There are many great meat-free mezedes, and these could make up a leisurely meal for vegetarians, accompanied by plenty of ouzo or retsina or another local wine.

Main courses are often taken later in the evening, and can include such classics as moussaka (somewhere between a casserole and a lasagne, of eggplant, mince meat and potatoes, with bechamel sauce.) You'll also usually find keftedes (meatballs), stifado (meat stew), and yemista (bell peppers stuffed with meat and rice.) Swordfish and red mullet are common fish, but often more expensive than meat dishes using mince or stewing cuts. Calamari is an exception, which can be very affordable. Salads are vitally important at all Greek meals. The salad of tomato, cucumber, olives and feta which is generally known to English speakers as 'Greek salad' is called horiatiki salata in Greece.

Driving in Greece
Renting a car on just about any Greek island will be rewarding. It allows you to escape the package tourists and the tri-lingual, overpriced tourist 'menus,' to get out and see the island as the locals do. You can duck into a tiny village church barely larger than a closet, and slow to a crawl as an old man on a donkey trudges up a breathless incline on an impossibly narrow road. You'll need nerves of steel for some mountain roads, where the drop off from the sides is unthinkable. However, the pace is slow and people are relaxed, so it can really enrich a visit to the famous Greek isles. On the mainland, highways between major cities are well made, though driving can be hair-raising and high speed. Roads in the north can be treacherous with ice and snow in winter, but the freedom which comes from your own Greek vehicle rental will make it all worthwhile.

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