Planning your dream vacation to Greece? I know most of you might think that summer is the only time to visit. But think again. Ever thought of coming in the fall? Unlike most Greeks, I always go on vacation in the autumn. Like you, I adore the beach, but I also love visiting traditional Greek villages where all sense of time is lost and life flows with a soothing slowness.
That’s why traveling to Greece after July and August is for me the best decision you will make. Yes, I’ll be honest with you, especially my younger readers, if you’re looking for the loud experience, bars, music, clubs and packed beaches, than July and August are for you. But, if you prefer a more laid back, smooth sailing holiday, then come to Greece in the fall. You’ll thank me later.
So let’s get started, join me and let’s explore six Greek villages and towns that are better in the fall. I’ve handpicked the best preserved traditional settlements where you can still get a taste of authentic Greek life. Plus fall in Greece always means fewer crowds, cooler days, calmer seas, cheaper prices, and more time to connect with the locals.
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1. Papigo (Epirus) – Hiking, Rafting and Natural Beauty
The Papigo villages (Megalo and Mikro Papigo) are the most popular among the many beautiful Zagori villages, nestled at the foot of Mt. Tymphi, also known as Gamila, after its highest peak at 2,497 meters. The area is part of the Vikos–Aoos National Park, a protected zone under the EU’s Natura program and home to some of Greece’s most breathtaking natural wonders, including the Vikos Gorge and Drakolimni (Dragon Lake), a spectacular alpine lake that’s really worth the hike. I dared it way back with snow!
Many travelers use Papigo as their base to hike the Vikos Gorge (a six-hour trek) or to climb Mt Astraka and reach its mountain hut. Picture cobblestone footpaths, traditional stone houses, and crisp mountain air. Not to mention a deep sense of freedom.
While there, make sure to visit the Rogovo Ovires natural rock pools, located between the two Papigos. In summer, this is a wonderfully (and very welcome) cool spot and perfect for a refreshing dip.
Papigo is the ideal destination in Greece if you love nature. And it is so very different from what most of you think Greece is. Here you can try almost every outdoor activity imaginable: guided treks, birdwatching, rafting on the Voidomatis River, mushroom foraging, and exploring the area’s famous stone bridges.
From September to early November, it’s the perfect place to slow down and enjoy a meze in the fresh autumn air of Epirus. From December onwards, cozy indoor tavernas offer the same experience by a warm fire. If you’re lucky, you may get to taste the local sausage roasted in the fireplace, cabbage salad and red, red wine.
Do try local dishes: traditional pittes (savory pies with wild greens – here the pies are thin), sausages, goat stew, and local cheeses. And don’t leave without some mountain honey, and herbal teas made from mountain herbs.
You’ll find a place to stay in the Papigo villages mostly in traditional guesthouses or small boutique hotels.
Maria’s Tips for for your visit to Papigo
✓ You’ll need to rent a car to tour the region and discover its spectacular natural beauty and to see the other Zagori villages.
✓ Make sure to book a climb to Drakolimni. Worth the dare.
✓ Do visit the Voidomatis River, you should also book an exciting rafting experience.
✓ Each year the Zagori mountain run is held here.
2. Dimitsana (Arcadia) – History, Monasteries & Trails
Dimitsana, about an hour’s drive from my mother’s hometown of Tripoli, is built amphitheatrically on the slopes of Mt Mainalo. This charming mountain village was once a major center for gunpowder production during the the Greek Revolution of 1821. Today, you can learn about its industrious past at the Open-Air Water Power Museum, where restored watermills and tanneries tell the tales of a glorious past. While there, don’t miss the Dimitsana Public Library and historical archive, founded in 1764.
Adventure lovers will love Dimitsana in the fall because it can serve as the perfect base for hiking the Menalon Trail or exploring the dramatic paths of the Lousios Gorge, which lead to the cliff-hanging monasteries of Philosophou and Prodromos. For thrill-seekers, the Lousios River also offers an exciting rafting experience you won’t forget. I sure haven’t!
Dimitsana is also a winter favorite for us Greeks because it is near the Mainalo Ski Center for some skiing or hot chocolate or both.
Foodies take note: be sure to try trahana soup, oven-baked lamb, and galatopita (custard pie). Don’t leave without buying trachana and hilopites pasta, exceptional honey (“meli elatis” or the unique “vanillia”), mountain tea (“tsai tou vounou”) and of course, homemade spoon sweets.
Maria’s Tips for your visit to Dimitsana
✓ Rent a car and drive from Athens to Dimitsana. About 2.5 hours. You’ll need the car to explore the other beautiful villages like Stemnitsa, Levidi and Nymphasia.
✓ Have in mind that parking is limited near the village center so park on your way up.
✓ Since you’re in Dimitsana, drive to nearby Arcadia villages like Stemnitsa, known for their silversmithing tradition and school, and to Vytina, famous for its wood carving art and cheese.
✓ A short drive (about 55 minutes) from Dimitsana towards Tripoli make sure to visit Agia Fotini, the most unorthodox Orthodox church you’ll ever see or the tiny but impressive Kapsia Cave.
✓ Read my Ultimate Travel Guide to Arcadia Greece for more about what to do in the area.
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3. Kastanitsa (Arcadia) – Crisp Air, Chestnuts & Authenticity
Kastanitsa is for me one of the most beautiful and well preserved villages in the Peloponnese. This is a Tsakonian village, famous for its very old chestnut forest. Its name derives from the Greek word “kastano”, which means chestnut. This charming stone village is located on Mt Parnon at an altitude of 850 meters. The drive up from Tripoli (about an hour), or from the east starting from Astros (35 minutes), takes you through walnut, plane and black pine trees to giant evergreen trees, mosses, and lichens at higher elevations. Reaching a massive chestnut forest as the stone houses with slate roofs appear in the background. Every year, Kastanitsa hosts a popular chestnut festival with many chestnut-based foods and sweets, music and dancing.
Love food as much as I do? Try the chestnut stew (“skordalia apo kastano”), “pitarakia” (small cheese pies), and the hard-to-find chestnut spoon sweet. Buy chestnuts, of course, homemade jams, and liqueur. Roads up are winding, so drive carefully; snow is possible in the winter.
Maria’s Tips for your visit to Kastanitsa
✓ Hiking trails lead to nearby Sitaina Gorge and the hanging-in-air Monastery of Elona.
✓ Early September don’t miss the panegyri at Prastos.
✓ Combine both mountain and sea. Start with Kastanitsa out of Tripoli and then head down to Astros (half an hour’s drive) for a wonderful beach day.
✓ Rent a car and visit all the villages of the Tsakonia area.
✓ Learn more about this magical region: read my Discover Kastanitsa: One of Greece’s Best-Kept Secrets and Tsakonia: Still Speaking One of the World’s Oldest Languages posts.
4. Arna, Mt Taygetus (Sparta) – Fall Colors & Magic
Well-hidden and a closely guarded secret among younger crowds, Arna is a tiny mountain village perched at 780 meters on the southeastern slopes of magnificent Mt Taygetus, just outside Sparta.
Picture the shade of towering plane trees, the sound of running waters, and sweeping views down to mystical Mani and its beaches. Arna is about a 3.5-hour drive from Athens and just 40 minutes from Sparti. Like Kastanitsa, the road up takes you through wild apple orchards, walnut and chestnut trees, and hillsides fragrant with Greek herbs.
Grab a chair and sit under the massive plane tree on the square and order an ouzo-meze at one of the two operating kafeneia (traditional coffee shops that double as tavernas and all-purpose stores), where you’ll also find Greek dishes and meats. If it’s cold, sit inside and ask the locals about life in the village. They are true storytellers!
The legendary plane tree is believed to be more than 1,000 years old. At 27 meters tall with a trunk circumference of 13 meters, it is considered a national treasure and one of the oldest trees in Europe.
Make sure to take a stroll through the village. You’ll come across a marble fountain built in 1922 with money sent back by Arna villagers who had immigrated to New York. On the square, you’ll also find a small shop that doubles as a folklore museum, here you can pick up local products like homemade spoon sweets, Taygetus honey, and mountain herbs.
Why Visit Arna in the fall? To attend the really popular chestnut festival held on the last weekend of October. Unlike other traditional village festivals, Arna’s event combines local food and traditions with DJs and a food van, creating a vibrant summer-style happening in the heart of autumn that attracts young fans.
If you plan to attend, book early, there are very few rooms available, mostly Airbnbs, and they sell out fast. And yes, you’ll find many Greek Americans here in July and August.
Maria’s Tips for your visit to Arna
✓ Autumn is harvest time for chestnut growers.
✓ Stay in Arna for a few days if you want to relax.
✓ Visit Arna if you’re in Sparta (36 minutes) or in Mani (30 minutes from Gytheio). Rent a car from Sparta.
✓ For the adventure types, Arna is a good base to explore on foot the lesser-known Taygetus trails.
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5. Apeiranthos (Naxos) – Where Time Stands Still
Yes, a mountain village on a Greek island! Apeiranthos is not only one of the most beautiful villages in Naxos but also among the most striking in all of Greece. Perched at 650 meters on the slopes of Mt Fanari, its Venetian-influenced homes and towers are built from stone and marble, giving the village an austere but refined character.
Wander through its vaulted arches and cobblestone paths to discover five small museums, yes, five: archaeological, folklore, geological, visual arts, and natural history. Some of Greece’s finest poets, musicians, and revolutionaries were born here and little has changed over time.
Apeiranthos is a protected traditional settlement, where locals still speak their own dialect, believed to carry strong Cretan influences that echo through their music and verse. They also keep alive the art of the mantinada” or “kotsakia”, which are rhyming couplets about love and life, similar to the poetic traditions of Crete. Greece’s most famous love poem, Erotokritos, belongs to this tradition.
Delicacies you must try include wild goat stew, “patoudo” (lamb or goat stuffed with rice and greens), “patates pentarates” (fried Naxos potatoes with onions), “kolokythopastitsa” (a fried pie made with pumpkin and peppers), local meats, myzithra cheese pies, and honey.
Don’t leave without tasting locally produced cheeses such as graviera and arseniko. Stop by the Apeiranthos Women’s Traditional Art Cooperative, where you’ll find handmade goods and traditional recipes prepared just as they have been for generations. And don’t leave without woven textiles made on traditional looms, spoon sweets, local citrus liquor Kitro, and rakomelo (spiced honey raki). Apeiranthos is also home to the largest library in the Cyclades.
Maria’s Tips for your visit to Apeiranthos
✓ Park on the outskirts and walk up into the car-free village. Spring and autumn are best for walking and exploring.
✓ Book your ferry to Naxos here
✓ Visit the 17th-century Zevgoli Tower.
✓ I also suggest you visit the nearby beaches: Azalas, Ai Dimitris, Panermos, Volakas, and Moutsouna, where you can also see the remains of a former emery mine. For this, you will need to rent a car or scooter. Attention: the road down can be challenging for the faint-hearted.
✓ Stay in Naxos Town in the fall and explore the island from there.
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6. Gytheio – Sea, Sun and Stone
Gytheio is as picture perfect as they get. The main port town of Mani is a perfect place to settle down in the fall and from there discover the magical inner or Mesa Mani. The town’s colorful neoclassical mansions and stone houses cascade down toward the small harbor, where colorful fishing boats bob gently on the water.
Gytheio is a favorite among Greeks for its traditional seafood tavernas and its nearby beaches: the vast, sandy Mavrovouni (also a nesting site for sea turtles) and Valtaki Beach, home to the imposing Dimitrios shipwreck. On the end of town you’ll see the islet of Kranae linked by a stone causeway. Make sure to visit the lighthouse and the Historical Ethnological Museum of Mani.
Gytheio is also the ideal base to discover Mesa Mani on day trips: start by wandering the stone alleys of Areopoli, boating through the spectacular Diros Caves, or enjoying a sunset drink at Limeni.
Foodwise, indulge in fresh octopus and fish, kakavia (fisherman’s soup), lalaggia (soft or crunchy – both totally addictive), and of course, meats.
Don’t leave without Mani honey, extra virgin olive oil, the famous locally-made pasteli (sesame-honey bars), and my absolute favorites: lalaggia (fried dough strips).
Maria’s tips for your visit to Gytheio
✓ Get some lalaggia with cheese from the local bakery (for years, I buy the finest of everything from Emmanouelides at the entrance from Mavrovouni), some fruits, a bottle of retsina wine, and head to Skoutari beach for a picnic. You’ll thank me (again).
✓ Parking is easier at the marina end of the harbor.
✓ Before you go to the spectacular Diros Caves make sure to call for opening times and tickets.
✓ Secret: if you want a genuine meze experience go to “I Dina tou Synikismou” (on a side-street towards the old town of Gytheio). Unassuming but the food and service is top notch.
☞A map of Greece will definitely come in handy. I recommend you get this easy-to-read and detailed waterproof adventure map of Greece by experts NatGeo. A great tool!
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♫ I end today’s post with a personal favorite song about fall in Greece: “Fthinoporini Vrochi” (Autumn Rain) written by the great Takis Mousafiris and performed by one of most popular singers of love: Tolis Voskopoulos.
Enjoy!
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