Match Point

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Harakas Beach

IF YOU ARE LUCKY ENOUGH TO KNOW ABOUT IT, THEN YOU HAVE EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO VISIT IT.

It is a short straight coastline with green pure water and brown sand. The sharpness of entering the water is quite normal and that’s why this beach is suitable for everyone. Discovered by those who know where they can take a nice swim in Attica, it is the ideal solution if you are looking for an alternative and relatively nearby beach. It used to be a well-kept secret off Souniou Avenue also featuring a traditional settlement. In addition to a wide sandy beach, it also has shallow waters and considered particularly safe for playing and swimming. What is certain is that you will enjoy your bath in an idyllic environment that you did not imagine existed so close to Athens.

Mavro Lithari Beach

YOU MAY THINK THAT ITS NAME HAS A MYSTERIOUS STORY BEHIND IT, BUT THIS BEACH IS ALL ABOUT HAVING FUN AND ENJOYING THE SAND.

Named after a dark rock emerging from the sea, the beach of Mavro Lithari is situated in the area of Anavyssos, around 1 hour away from the center of Athens by car. The seashore is covered with sand and pebbles and the sea waters are usually calm making up for the distance. It is a fully organized beach with fine pebbles and mostly sand in and out of the water -an important element, that’s true-, although the waters are smooth but deep. The characteristic feature of the beach is the massive black rock in the middle and a chance to create an instagrammable moment. Not that the area lacks of it. Beach bars with music and straw umbrellas make up the beach scene.

ISTOCK/ GETTY IMAGES SHUTTERSTOCK

KAPE Beach

WE PRESENT YOU THE BEACH OF THE ATHENIAN RIVIERA THAT WILL INSTANTLY MAKE YOU FEEL, AS IF YOU WERE ON AN ISLAND.

Named after the acronym for the nearby Center for Renewable Energy Sources, the KAPE beach is one that can really give you that island feel only an hour’s drive from Athens; the minute you set foot on the beach, you’ll be taken aback by the view of the Aegean. With seafloor that is covered with small pebbles and crisp clean waters that get abruptly deep, you can have some truly magical swims here. It is also called Legrena. The important thing is its location, as even the drive to get there is wonderful, while with eleven more minutes you can reach Sounio. 

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Mykonos Beyond Time

THE STORY OF THIS ISLAND STARTS ALL THE WAY BACK IN THE ANCIENT ERA. MUCH HAS CHANGED IN THESE CENTURIES FOR THE ISLAND AS MYKONOS HAS BLOSSOMED INTO A BUCKET-LIST DESTINATION FOR TRAVELERS THE WORLD ROUND.

Text by DESPOINA SAMPSON

Mykonos is the famed island of the winds because of the northern winds called “meltemia” – which keep us cool in the heat of summer.

CHRISTOS DRAZOS T ravelers and wanderlusters fell in love with Mykonos in the ‘60s, when it became a favorite spot for lovers of art and of nature from, mainly, Europe. Soon, more and more people heard about it. The ‘60s was when the visionary founder of the Myconian Collection Hotels & Resorts, Mykonos native, George Daktylides started taking care of visitor to the island too, via bus service and later the first MC hotel. Just a stone’s throw from world-famous Mykonos, Delos was once the center of commerce in the Mediterranean and a multicultural, vibrant community. Completely uninhabited today in order to preserve its spectacular antiquities, it is protected by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site. According to Hesychios, Mykonos derives from the word Mykon, meaning heap and themonia; heap of stones on account of the impressive granite boulders that seem to have been heaped by some supernatural hand. Ancient Greeks had created the myth that under the island’s rocks were buried the giants killed by Hercules, who came to the aid of his father Zeus during the Gigantomachy. Archaeological finds on Mykonos indicate the existence of a significant civilisation on the island, dating back to to the Late Neolithic period (5th & 4th millennium BC). Later, Ionians settle on Mykonos, colonising it after expelling its previous inhabitants.>