This week’s travel dream: Greece as the Greeks know it

“The real Greece is the mainland,” said Bob Carden in The Washington Post. Sure, many pleasures can be found on the mystical island of Crete and beautiful Santorini. But my Greece boasts the Acropolis and the Parthenon (“true wonders of the world”), Olympus (home of the Greek gods), and Delphi (site of the Oracle). Also on the mainland, about 40 miles from Delphi, lies Lidoriki, a village that I wanted my wife and two children to see. My grandfather had called it home more than a century ago.

Lidoriki is considered a summer retreat for Athenians, but foreigners are rare there, “Americans rarer still.” Understandably, all eyes were on us as we walked through the town. Soon two men introduced themselves to us, one of whom turned out to be a distant cousin of mine. We bonded over lamb and rounds of ouzo in the village square that night, and the next morning we picked up where we’d left off when my cousin led us to a smaller village that he believed my grandfather had grown up in. But my kids were ready to see some beaches, so we soon said our good-byes and headed south toward Lefkada, an island favored by mainlanders. Reachable by bridge, Lefkada has many superb seaside restaurants. Still, we found Porto Katsiki (Port of the Goat) to be the main selling point. “Surrounded by dramatic limestone cliffs, this sandy beach is one of the most beautiful places in Greece, if not the world.”

My wife was still itchy for a bit more luxury, so we headed next to cosmopolitan Nafplio. Weekending Athenians are wild about the place, and no wonder: “It’s one of the prettiest towns in Greece,” filled with “boutiques, upscale cafés, and beautiful people.” When we arrived, we followed narrow cobblestoned streets past Venetian houses until we reached the main square and a waiter lured us to a table by showing us the catch of the day. Skateboarding kids performed tricks nearby while we enjoyed plates of feta and olives and downed “the sweet, strong Greek coffee.” Soon enough, we weren’t even missing the beach.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

Doubles at Lefkada’s Porto Galini Seaside Resort & Spa (portogalini.gr) start at $130.