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is its glass-floored lower level through which
visitors can peer down into the depths of the
subterranean excavation site, where once-lost
Byzantine residences and public buildings are
slowly and painstakingly being uncovered.
While many of ancient Greece’s treasures
have been lost or despoiled, its classic cuisine
has survived the centuries in vibrant form, and
nowhere is this more evident than in Plaka, one
of Athen’s most venerable districts, which is
now one of the city’s most beguiling shopping,
dining and wining enclaves. With its narrow
cobblestone streets alive with tiny shops
offering everything from jewellery to olives
and ceramics, and its pavements bristling with
al fresco cafes and family-run taverns, it’s
both charming and labyrinthine.
Of course, no trip to Athens is truly
complete without travelling to Delphi, some
185km away. Located at the very heart of
Greece on the slopes of Mount Parnassus, it’s aText: Suchetana Mukhopadhyaysite that was supposedly designated the epicentre of the earth
by Zeus, the all-father in the Greek pantheon of gods. It was
later dedicated to the worship of Apollo, the son of Zeus and
the god of prophecy, with thousands of Greek nobles of classic
times undertaking the oft-perilous journey to learn their fates
from his anointed Oracle.
Nowadays, of course, the journey is far less perilous and
far more air-conditioned, with regular coaches and private
cars allowing you to take in the lush countryside en route. A
popular stopping-off point, just 34km short of the Oracle’s lair,
is the charming village of Agoriani. Awash with fir, cherry and
walnut trees, it’s the very quintessence of ‘quaint’, a spot where“While many of ancient Greece’s
treasures have been lost, its classic
cuisine has survived the centuries”