Greece

The white peaks of the Lefka Ori mountain range create a dramatic backdrop for Crete’s former capital of Chania. This city’s rich cultural heritage showcases everything from Byzantine monasteries to medieval churches and Turkish baths. At the heart of its enchanting Old Town you’ll find the Venetian harbor, with its landmark lighthouse and colorful waterfront palazzos. Behind that you’ll discover a maze of alleyways lined with fascinating cafés, galleries, bars and restaurants.

Amorgos is a fashionable yet decidedly low-key island in the eastern Cyclades. Its pristine beaches are wonderfully secluded and many of them can only be reached by foot or by boat. The island boasts some world-class dive sites, as well as numerous picturesque trails along its rugged coastline. Make your way inland and you’ll find the quintessentially Cycladic town of Hora. Lose yourself in its narrow streets, charming squares and bougainvillea-draped whitewashed buildings.

Historic and romantic, the medieval town of Monemvasia is situated on the island nicknamed the “Gibraltar of the East,” an enormous hunk of rock rising from the sea and creating a natural fortress for its inhabitants. Only a single causeway links Monemvasia with the mainland, and visitors must leave cars behind to explore the walled town carved into the cliffside. Ancient stone houses with terracotta rooftops look out over the crystal blue waters and mountains beyond. There are six museums and many churches, including Agia Sophia, among the oldest Byzantine churches in Greece.

Athens is the cradle of the Western democratic tradition, home to a civilization as radiant as any before or since. Feel the pulse of history as you climb to the hilltop Acropolis, home to some of the city’s most renowned ancient sites. Gaze in amazement at the massive columns of the Parthenon, Pericles' greatest monument. Admire the little Temple of Nike and the fantastic carvings of the caryatids that support a porch of the Erechtheion. At the bottom of the hill, the Acropolis Museum includes original statues of the maidens and numerous other artifacts unearthed here.

The Venetians left their mark in Nafplio. Perched on a cliff jutting into the sea, their impregnable fortress is an elegant display of Venetian might. Walk through the Old Town with its handsome neoclassical buildings and balconies dripping with bougainvillea. One of the most beautiful towns in Greece, Nafplio is also one of the most historic; its cultural roots date back to both the Argonautic expedition and the Trojan War. From here you can drive across the Peloponnese where tales from Homer’s Iliad come alive.

Bronze bodies bask in the sun on golden beaches, blue-domed churches dot the island, and picturesque windmills paddle the horizon. This is Mykonos, one of the most charming and fashionable of the Greek isles. Chora, its capital, is a cubist jumble of whitewashed houses and a maze of alleyways built long ago to foil pirates. Get lost in these narrow, twisting lanes filled with exclusive boutiques, art galleries and world-class restaurants.

History oozes from every corner of Corfu, an island prize coveted by a succession of maritime powers since the Peloponnesian War in the 4th century BC. But who can blame them? This Ionian idyll is the greenest of all Greek islands, swathed in orange and olive groves and endless beaches bathed by a cerulean sea. A UNESCO World Heritage site, the Old Town of Corfu includes the magnificent Esplanade, where you can watch a game of cricket from a sidewalk café. There are also beautiful palaces, castles and archaeological sites to explore.

Make sure to be on deck to witness sailing into one of the Aegean’s most spectacular sights: the volcanic caldera that is Santorini’s bay. Rising from the sea, the earth transforms into a wall of stone that looms in striating hues of ochres, grays and pinks. Dotted with the island’s iconic blue-domed churches, the whitewashed village of Fira hovers in the cliffs, bustling with shops, tavernas and a fine museum while clinging to the caldera’s rim.