Byzantine Greece and Meteora itinerary

For a thousand years, from the founding of Constantinople to its fall in 1453, Greece was part of the Byzantine Empire, and its Orthodox faith, golden mosaics and monasteries remain an essential part of Greek identity today. This seven-day itinerary is a journey into spiritual Greece, far from the beaches: the golden mosaics of Daphni and Hosios Loukas, the monasteries perched on the rocks of Meteora, the churches of Thessaloniki, the empire's second city, and the peninsula of Mount Athos, the monks' republic, seen from the sea.

It is a journey of art, silence and grand landscapes, crossing mainland Greece from south to north. You don't need to be a believer: curiosity about a world that has kept its rites, chants and rules of life almost unchanged for centuries is enough. Remember that these are living places of worship, where respect and suitable clothing are expected.

A millennium of Byzantium

In 330 Emperor Constantine moved the capital of the Roman Empire to Byzantium, which became Constantinople. The Eastern Empire, Greek-speaking and Christian, lasted over a thousand years, until the Ottoman conquest of 1453. It was a world of emperors, monks and artists, which produced gold-ground mosaics, icons and domed cross-in-square churches, and which shaped the Orthodox Church. For the history see our pages on the Byzantine Empire and the Greek Orthodox Church.

Day 1: Byzantine Athens

Athens is not just the Acropolis. The centre hides small Byzantine churches of the 11th and 12th centuries, such as the Kapnikarea, in the middle of Ermou shopping street, and the Panagia Gorgoepikoos, the tiny "Little Metropolis" beside the cathedral, made of reused ancient marbles. The afternoon is for the Byzantine and Christian Museum, one of the world's most important for Byzantine art, with icons, mosaics, detached frescoes and manuscripts. See also the Byzantine churches of Athens.

Where to stay: in Athens. See where to stay in Athens.

Day 2: Daphni and Hosios Loukas

Pick up the car and about twenty minutes from the centre, along the ancient Sacred Way to Eleusis, you reach UNESCO-listed Daphni Monastery. In the dome of the church, from around the 12th century, Christ Pantocrator fixes visitors with a stern gaze: it is one of the most famous mosaics in Byzantine art.

Continue north-west (about two hours) to the Monastery of Hosios Loukas, isolated among olive trees and the mountains of Phocis, also a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It was founded in the 10th century around the tomb of a hermit, Luke, venerated as a healer, and its main church, from the early 11th century, is decorated with gold-ground mosaics among the finest and best preserved in the Byzantine world. The crypt has frescoes in surprisingly vivid colours. The monastery is still inhabited by monks.

Where to stay: in Delphi or Arachova, about half an hour away, for one night.

Day 3: to Meteora

Cross central Greece northwards (about three and a half hours), with a possible early-morning stop at Delphi, or along the way on the plain of Thessaly. In the afternoon you reach Kalambaka and the village of Kastraki, at the foot of Meteora: towers of grey rock up to four hundred metres high, rising suddenly from the plain. At sunset climb to the viewpoint above Kastraki to watch the rocks change colour.

Where to stay: in Kastraki or Kalambaka, for two nights.

Day 4: Meteora

From the 14th century hermits built monasteries on top of these rocks, reachable only by wooden ladders and nets hauled up by a winch, to cut themselves off from the world and protect themselves from raids. More than twenty were built; today six are still inhabited and open to visitors, and together they form one of the most extraordinary landscapes in Europe, a UNESCO World Heritage Site for both nature and culture.

The Great Meteoron, founded in the 14th century by the monk Athanasios, is the largest and highest, with a frescoed church, the old kitchen and a museum. Varlaam keeps the winch and net used to haul up people and supplies. Roussanou, now home to nuns, seems to hover on a slender pillar. Holy Trinity, reached by more than a hundred steps cut into the rock, appeared in the James Bond film For Your Eyes Only. St Stephen, the only one reached without stairs, has a magnificent view over Kalambaka. The monasteries take turns to close one day a week: check the times and visit three or four. Many paths link the monasteries on foot through rocks and woods.

Meteora at dawn, with mist rising from the plain, is one of the most beautiful moments of any trip to Greece. See also our page on Meteora.

Day 5: Thessaloniki

From Kalambaka to Thessaloniki is about three hours. Greece's second city was also the second city of the Byzantine Empire, and its Early Christian and Byzantine churches, fifteen monuments in all, are a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The Rotunda, built by Emperor Galerius in the early 4th century, perhaps as a mausoleum, became a church and then a mosque, and keeps 4th-century mosaics. The basilica of St Demetrios, dedicated to the city's patron saint, has a crypt built over the remains of the Roman baths where, according to tradition, the saint was martyred. Hagia Sophia has a great mosaic of the Ascension in its dome, and the little church of Hosios David holds a 5th-century mosaic of a young, beardless Christ.

The Museum of Byzantine Culture tells of the daily life, art and faith of the empire, and is considered one of Europe's best museums of its kind. In the evening dine in the lanes of Ladadika or in the upper town, Ano Poli, among the Byzantine walls, with views over the gulf.

Where to stay: in Thessaloniki.

Day 6: Mount Athos from the sea

Drive to Ouranoupoli (about two hours), the last village before the border of Mount Athos, the mountainous peninsula where a community of Orthodox monks has lived since the 10th century, in twenty great monasteries. It is a self-governing monastic republic, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and for almost a thousand years women have been barred from entering. Men can visit only with a special permit, the diamonitirion, issued in limited numbers and to be requested well in advance.

For everyone, men and women, there is the cruise along the west coast, which leaves from Ouranoupoli and passes the monasteries of Dochiariou, Xenophontos, Panteleimon, Simonopetra and Grigoriou, perched on the cliffs, keeping a few hundred metres from the shore. You see the fortified architecture, the wooden balconies hanging over the void and, on clear days, the summit of the mountain, at 2,033 metres. In Ouranoupoli visit the Byzantine tower by the sea. For more see our page on Mount Athos.

Where to stay: in Ouranoupoli or a village in Halkidiki.

Day 7: back to Thessaloniki

In the morning, a swim in the clear waters of Halkidiki, then drive back to Thessaloniki (about two hours) and fly home from Thessaloniki Airport.

How much it costs

To save money: the Meteora monasteries ask a contribution of a few euros each, and many Byzantine churches in Thessaloniki and Athens are free. Flying into Athens and home from Thessaloniki saves retracing the road.

Practical information

• Clothing: in monasteries and churches women must wear a long skirt (often lent at the entrance) and cover their shoulders, and men long trousers.
• Meteora opening times: each monastery closes one day a week, in rotation, and winter hours are shorter; none opens before 9 am.
• Mount Athos: for the men's permit, write to the Pilgrims' Bureau in Thessaloniki; Orthodox visitors get more places. The cruise is booked in Ouranoupoli.
• Photography: photography is often forbidden inside churches and monasteries; always ask.
• Documents: EU citizens only need a valid identity card. See getting to Greece.

Variations

• Byzantine Peloponnese: Mystras, the abandoned Byzantine city near Sparta, and Monemvasia, the citadel on a rock in the sea; see our page on the Peloponnese.
• The islands: Patmos, with the Monastery of St John and the Cave of the Apocalypse, and Chios, with the mosaics of Nea Moni.
• Easter: experience Orthodox Holy Week in a Greek village, with the Good Friday processions and the midnight Easter service; see Easter in Greece.

What to read before you go

For historical background, a good history of Byzantium, such as those by Georg Ostrogorsky or Judith Herrin; for the art, a book on Byzantine mosaics. For the atmosphere of Mount Athos, travel accounts by those who have been there are a fine way into a world that remains largely closed. See also our pages on Orthodox baptism and Greek festivals.

Final tips

• Pace: Meteora deserves two nights, to see it at dawn and at sunset.
• Combinations: from Delphi you can link up with the oracles itinerary, and from Thessaloniki with the Alexander the Great itinerary.
• A tip: at Meteora, stay for vespers in one of the inhabited monasteries if timing allows: the monks' chant among frescoed walls, suspended on the rock, is an experience you won't forget.

See also our other itineraries in Greece.

Kalambaka on the map

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