Tag: Delphi

Where to go in Greece: A video guide to 25 beautiful places

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25 most beautiful towns to visit in Greece is a 27-minute film from Lifestyle Hal

 

So many pretty places:  A new video from a popular travel blogger might prove inspiring and helpful to people who are hoping to visit Greece for the first time, but don’t yet have a clue where they would like to go.

25 most beautiful towns to visit in Greece was released January 22 by U.K.-based photographer/videographer Hal, whose Lifestyle Hal travel channel on YouTube has nearly 32,000 subscribers.

We think the film is worth checking out by would-be Greece travel newbies since it provides a good introduction to some of the country’s leading island and mainland tourist destinations.

The video clocks in at just over 27 minutes, profiling each place in its own distinct and succinct segment of approximately one minute apiece. Beautiful aerial and ground-level video footage is accompanied by a voice-over narration in which Hal describes key features and attractions which distinguish each destination.

We feel the video’s title is a bit of a misnomer, though, since the film focusses primarily on islands, rather than towns, with a pair of major archaeological sites — Delphi and Delos — included in the list, along with the magnificent monastery-topped rock formations at Meteora, and Sarakiniko beach on Milos island.  

The film doesn’t reveal any off-the-beaten-path hidden gems or secret hideaways — all of the places that Hal highlights are long-established, well-known tourist draws reachable on regular ferry or flight schedules or, in the case of a handful of spots on mainland Greece, along major roadway routes.  But all are beautiful and well worth visiting as we can personally attest, having been to 16 of the spots on Hal’s top 25 so far.

And even though we’re familiar with all of the destinations, we still enjoyed watching Hal’s video of gorgeous sights and scenery, and hearing his personal perspective on each place’s attractions and attributes.

 

Views of Viotia

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This film by Sheep Productions includes aerial views of some of the scenic towns, lakes and mountain areas in Central Greece’s Viotia region

 

Introductory visit: If all goes according to plan, we will be spending several days in the Central Greece region of Viotia during the final leg of our upcoming trip to Greece. 

Truth be told, I had never heard of Viotia (also often spelled Boeotia) by its name until very recently, though I have long been aware of some of the top attractions in the area — including the UNESCO World Heritage site of Delphi, Mount Parnassus, and the town of Arachova.

But then the Viotia from Above video was brought to my attention, and after studying a map I realized we could arrange to spend two or three days in the area en route from Central Greece to Athens.

Viotia from Above runs just over two minutes and shows scenic drone views of two towns (Livadeia and Arachova), Kria Springs and Yliki Lake, the countryside at Lafysti, plus Mount Parnassus and Helikon Mountain. 

 

Viotia region of Greece

The Viotia region is highlighted in pink on this Google map

 

After watching that clip, I found My Unique Arachova (below), a video posted by the Aegli hotel in Arachova. It runs for two and a half minutes and shows scenes from the town and surrounding area; mountain biking and skiing at Mount Parnassus; mountain and landscape scenery; and an aerial view of the Temple of Apollo at Delphi.

Together, the two films enticed me into adjusting our travel plans so we can pass through Viotia after a road trip in the western Peloponnese and a visit to Kefalonia island.

 

 

While won’t be doing any skiing at Parnassus, it seems clear there will be plenty of other things to keep us happily occupied in and around Arachova and Delphi — and anywhere else we might get to in Viotia. I’m sure we will wind up wishing we had considerably more time to explore the region more thoroughly, but our short stay will give us a taste of what’s there (and I’ve already been told by several people that the local food is divine) and what we will be able to see during a return visit on another holiday.

In case the videos pique your own interest in visiting Viotia,  you can find some helpful general information on the Viotia page of Greece.com.  Also worth a look is the article Arachova: A Cosmopolitan Greek Mountain Experience from the travel, culture and gastronomy website Greece Is.

 

You’ll see scenes from the town of Arachova, Mount Parnassus, Delphi and other places in Viotia in this video by YouTube contributor aegli-arachova.gr