Book holidays to Greece for an odyssey of adventures in ancient cities, mythical mountains and 6000 islands scattered across the Mediterranean Sea.

Greece is a country of lyrical landscapes. In the Greek Islands, life moves at a donkey's pace and cicadas serenade day into night, from the olive-strewn Ionian Islands in the west to the classic blue-and-white villages of the Cyclades in the south. On the rugged mainland, mountains roll from Meteora's monastery-topped rock pillars to the godly heights of 2917m Mount Olympus. Archaeology buffs head to the ruins of Athens and, further south, ancient Olympia on the lushly forested Peloponnese peninsula.

Best of Greece holidays for...

• Kids & teens: Kids have fun on the gently sloping beaches of Zante's south coast. Take them on a swashbuckling day trip to treasure-island Shipwreck Beach, or snorkel off Marathonisi (Turtle Island) where loggerhead turtles lay their eggs.
• Grown-up families: As the city of the Gods and birthplace of great philosophers, Athens brings out the archaeologist in everyone. Be transported back 2500 years roaming the marble temples of the Acropolis and its crowning glory Parthenon.
• Romance: In the mood for love? No island says romantic Greece holidays like smouldering Santorini. Dine by candlelight along the caldera edge in Fira, with dramatic views out to sea. Or fall for the sugar-white village of Oia and its legendary sunsets.

• Relaxing: Tiptoe off the tourist trail to the beautiful beach of Myrtos Bay in Kefalonia. Remember the bay in Captain Corelli's Mandolin? This shimmering arc of white pebbles flanked by cliffs and sapphire sea is it.
• Active types: Packed your boots? Hike Crete's 18km-long Samaria Gorge, Europe's longest ravine, reaching from the White Mountains to the Libyan Sea. Look for nimble-footed Cretan wild goats as you follow the well-marked trail past towering cliffs and through pine forest.
• Shopping: Shops selling silver jewellery, olive wood carvings and mandolato (nougat) dot Corfu Town's Venetian lanes. Browse boutiques for the latest Greek club- and beachwear. Pause for a frappé and watch the world go by on the arcaded Liston promenade.
• Nightlife: Join the revellers partying 'til sunrise on neon-lit Bar Street and Club Street in Faliraki, Rhodes. Foam parties not your scene? Sip cocktails on a roof terrace in Lindos with views of the illuminated hilltop Acropolis.