These Greek islands south of Athens make a great holiday on their own, or a relaxing extension to a city break. Andrew Bostock picks the best places to eat and stay, and things to do on and off the beach
• More Greek island guides: north-east Aegean | the Dodecanese | the Cyclades | Crete | the Ionian islands | the Sporades and Evia
The Argo-Saronic islands hug the coast between Piraeus, the port of Athens, and the Peloponnese, the stunning southern mainland of Greece. They could easily fill a holiday on their own but, combined with Athens and the mainland, would make for a trip that summed up the very best of Greece.
Having said that, and unless you’re keen to see the site where the Greeks defeated the Persian navy in 480 BC, Salamis is probably not worth the effort. Aegina (an hour by ferry from Athens) is a much better bet. The classical temple of Aphaea is everything you imagine a Greek temple to be and is far less visited than some.
Continue reading...