I have a passion for Greece and have been going there for more than 40 years. Most of my writing is inspired by it, I have a house there, many friends, and now speak the language. My adoration was ignited on my first visit as a teenager and has never diminished.
In the decades since, I have travelled all around the mainland and to dozens of islands and I never run out of new places. This is a country with something for everyone, whether you want culture or hedonism, peace or a party, mountains or sea.
There is only thing to avoid, and that is the all-inclusive hotel. To stay in one is to miss out on almost everything that this beautiful and culturally rich country has to offer. Fake tavernas and a night of 'traditional Greek dancing' inside the confines of a resort hotel are to be avoided at all costs. The real, authentic Greece can only be found by strolling into a village or small town and eating where the locals eat or finding a bar where they go… Only that way can you experience this country’s sweet taste and fragrance and feel you are discovering it for yourself.
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A guidebook to Greece is simply that – a guide. Not an instruction manual. I can’t point to a favourite place on the map and say 'go there'. Telling someone which island to go to is like opening a box of chocolates and saying 'eat this one'. The variety is huge, though they all have certain things in common: poetic names (Cephalonia, Spetse, Hydra, Skyros, Paros spring to mind), clear sea, pretty harbours and friendly people. None of these ever disappoint.
Greece is about spontaneity, rather than fixing in advance every moment of a stay. It’s about making discoveries of your own, perhaps coming across an out-of-the-way beach where a local has managed to build a hut and serves a limited menu of souvlaki, salad and cold beer under a straw umbrella. In Greece you can rediscover simplicity and the joy of the pared down. Each summer, for 30 years or more, I have come across somewhere new, often by taking a wrong turning. If you drive inland, you realise that villages in Greece don’t fundamentally change from one century to another – so if you want to step back in time and perhaps even have the best food, it’s worth driving away from the coast.
In Greece, more than anywhere else on earth, I have learned that the best things in life are free. Many times, I have driven up the mountains in Greece to watch the sun come up. It is spectacular and it is gratis. Almost as extraordinary is the light show that is waiting for you on a warm night if you lay back on a sun lounger to watch the constellations. In the summer, you only have to wait a few minutes to see a shooting star. Similarly, to observe the phases of the moon is an experience that is never obscured by cloud. All of these natural wonders have taken place since the dawn of time and will continue to do so, whatever the currency in your pocket.
It’s impossible to list all my favourite places, but a few of them are these: Athens and Thessaloniki (two vibrant cities full of life and cultural treasures) and Crete (which is the largest of the Greek islands, almost a small country in itself). I always eat a vegetarian diet in Greece (wonderful dishes with pulses and plenty of salads) and whenever I can, I drink Assyrtiko wine from Santorini. A chilled glass of this, under the moonlight, is the closest thing to perfection.
The Sunrise by Victoria Hislop is out now. Join us on Monday 23 February on Twitter for a live Q&A with Victoria #GHAuthorTakeover
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