In late May and early June the weather in Greece is usually close to perfect: The sky is cloudless, the air is warm, and the Mediterranean has lost its winter chill. This is also a time when the new season’s tomatoes and peaches begin to appear. Few places in the world have fruit that is quite so super-saturated with flavor. Travel in Greece offers an irresistible combination of simple and immediate pleasures with a universal sense of a unique and ancient civilization. This itinerary introduces travelers to cultural highlights — in Athens, Epidaurus and Mycenae — as well as to the ravishing beauty of the Aegean Islands.

The best months for travel in Greece are May, June and September. Although July and August are the high season, they bring crowds, excessive heat and the meltemi winds that often blow incessantly through the Eastern Mediterranean.