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A 19th-century mansion with loads of character: painted ceilings, a stained-glass-windowed parlour and a garden courtyard. Rooms are small and clean, albeit with a few peeling paint patches here and there and banging pipes.

Greece’s only Alpine resort is set in a pine forest at the edge of Parnassos National Park. All 40 chalets have two to three bedrooms, kitchens, fireplaces and verandas. The central buildings offer a fully equipped health club, bar and restaurant.

Probably the nicest place to stay in Plaka, this stylish, modern hotel has a cleverly constructed mock Neo-Classical façade. The pool on the roof, with an Acropolis view, is a great place to cool off after a day of sight-seeing.

With three years’ of work for Gucci under her belt, Elena Votsi is now making international waves with her own distinctive pieces. Items from her latest collections are currently available in London, Paris and New York, but the full range can be viewed at her boutique in Athens. Working mainly with gold, lapis lazuli, coral, amethyst and aquamarine, Votsi’s trademarks are her thickset, rough-cut necklaces and knuckle-duster rings.

For 1,400 years, this was one of Greece’s most sacred places. Thousands of pilgrims took part in the Eleusian Mysteries, rites that celebrated Demeter, goddess of nature, and her daughter Persephone. Today Eleusis has become one of Greece’s ugliest places – a polluted industrial town. There are still some scattered ruins, though, and a museum to help make sense of them.

At this elegant lunchtime stop, the dining room showcases ancient finds, and offers three different, beautifully prepared dishes daily.

Specializing in paintings of ships, this shop sells a variety of handmade crafts including painted trays, wooden taverna signs, worry beads and silver and gold jewellery.

People come here après ski to warm up with coffee, drinks and snacks. Simple evening meals include pasta, casseroles and steaks.