Some top ancient sites to visit in the Greek Islands

The Aegean sea is home to many hundreds of islands, some tiny, but many inhabited. To the north and west is the Greek mainland, with Turkey to the east and the island of Crete to the south. Here we are looking at some of the best archaeological sites to visit on the Greek Islands, specifically on Naxos, Santorini, and the tiny island of Kos to the east.


The Portara gate (the Great Door - pictured top left) is on a tongue of land just beyond the harbour in Naxos town (Chora). There has been a settlement here since the 3rd millennium BC. The gate is the entrance to an unfinished Temple of Apollo and points directly across the sea to the sacred island of Delos, where the Greek gods Apollo and Artemis are said to have been born.