Map of Greece - 2023 Guide

Greece Map

Greece is located in the southeast of Europe. It is part of the Balkan peninsula, a rather rocky mountainous area. Greece shares borders with Albania, North Macedonia, and Bulgaria from the north. It borders Turkey’s European region to the east.

Greece is bordered by the Ionian Sea to the west and the Aegean Sea to the east. The Libyan Sea is to the south. Mount Olympus is the highest mountain in Greece.

Greece has a population of around 11,000,000 people but a total area of 132,000 square kilometers. The primary reason is that a big portion of the region consists of islands and mountains. As a result, most of Greece’s population lives in its major cities, the capital Athens with Piraeus accounting for one-third of the country’s total population, followed by Thessaloniki, Patras, Heraklion, and Larissa. 

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Mainland

Despite the fact that the islands attract all the glory, mainland Greece has a lot to offer. The scenery varies, depending on your preference, from hot beaches to ice-cold mountains. Traditional villages placed on the mountains, like Zagorohoria, Tzoumerka, and Pelio in northern Greece, will reward you with breathtaking views, nature, traditional delicacies and local wine. Warm people, generally speaking in local dialects, will show you what philoxenia means.

On the other side, you will find seaside locations like Mani and Monemvasia in the Peloponnese peninsula, Parga, Halkidiki in Central Macedonia, etc., that will reward you with the warm crystal clear water of the majestic Mediterranean. Keep in mind that in order to discover the hidden treasures found in all the regions of the Greek mainland, you may need to drive on quite narrow roads. 

Islands

The most advertised part of Greece is the Greek islands. The Cyclades and Dodecanese archipelagos reach from Central Greece to the coastlines of Asia Minor. The Greek islands play a significant role in the development of Greek culture and the construction of the Greek people. They are also part of the territorial continuity of Greece and constitute a single spiritual and cultural organism with the mainland. The most persuasive proof of this is found in archaeological discoveries. 

With the exception of Crete and Evia, Greece’s many islands are organized into eight major groupings. 

Sporades

The Sporades archipelago, which lies northeast of the island of Evia and off the coast of mainland Greece, is still a pristine paradise distinguished by turquoise water. They are distinct in the Aegean Sea’s northwest. These islands make up an archipelago that lies off Greece’s east coast, around 120 km north of Athens. The most significant of them are Alonissos, Skiathos, Skopelos, and Skyros.

Cyclades

The Aegean’s turquoise gives way to the Cyclades, which have stunning beaches and their trademark white and blue homes. A number of islands of varied sizes are dispersed across the intriguing Cyclades archipelago, which is located southeast of Attica in the clear seas of the Aegean Sea. They were given this name because, in accordance with a marvelous old myth that narrates the birth of Apollo, they created a circle (cyclos in Greek) around the island of Delos. Some of them are well-known worldwide, such as Santorini, Mykonos, Paros, Syros, Ios, and Naxos, while others are still less well-known and less popular with tourists, while being as stunning, including Milos, Folegandros, Amorgos, and more places waiting for you to discover their charms.

East Aegean Islands

The East Aegean islands are Samos, Samothraki, Ikaria, Chios, Lesbos, Limnos, Agios Efstratios, Psara, Fourni, and Oinouses. Demarcating the border between Greece and Turkey.

Dodecanese

The Dodecanese islands are located in the southeast Aegean. Among them, from North to South, are the islands of Agathonisi, Patmos, Lipsi, Leros, Kalymnos, Astypalaia, Kos, Nisyros, Symi, Rhodes, Kasos, Karpathos, and Kastelorizo. Rhodes is the larger of them and is famous for the medieval old city.

Crete

Its history goes more than 30 centuries back to Minoans, followed by Mycenaeans, Arabs, Byzantines, and Venetians, creating a colorful mosaic of culture and traditions that follow Crete. The scenery varies from beautiful beaches like Balos to wild nature like Samaria gorge. 

Ionian Islands

The Ionian Islands lie off the country’s west coast in the Ionian Sea. Zakynthos, Ithaca, Corfu, Kefalonia, Lefkada, Paxi (or Paxos), and Kythira are the seven largest and most popular islands of the group, while Antikythira, Antipaxi, Ereikousa, Mathraki, Othonoi, Meganisi, and Strofades are lesser-known smaller islands.

Athens: Capital city of Greece

It is both the capital of the Hellenic Republic and the largest city. Classical Athens was a powerful city-state of ancient Greece. It served as a hub for the humanities, education, and philosophy and was the location of Aristotle’s Lyceum and Plato’s Academy. It is frequently regarded as the birthplace of democracy and the cradle of Western culture.

Ancient Treasures

Both on the mainland and on the islands, you can find some of the most famous ancient treasures and artifacts of ancient Greece. In all regions, you can find remains of ancient Greece. Some of the archeological sites are the Parthenon, ancient Olympia, and Mycenes, and some of the artifacts are the golden star emblem of Alexander the Great and the Antikythera mechanism.