ATHENS... plus a boat trip

PART ONE If it is your first trip to the Greek capital, there is plenty of incomparable heritage to keep you busy: the semi-tumbled temples of the Acropolis, where the Parthenon holds court; the vast Temple of Olympian Zeus, which took 638 years to build and is still magnificent (even if only 15 of its original 104 columns remain). If it’s a repeat visit, you can explore the city’s neighbourhoods: the bars of Thissio and restaurant terraces of Psyri should call loudly.

ESSENTIAL SIGHT The Acropolis Museum (theacropolismuseum.gr), which tells the story of the city’s most famous site in detail – in spite of the absence of the Elgin Marbles.

PART TWO Athens is, of course, also a port, with ferries that pootle off to little islands in warm summer seas. One of

French affair: enjoy patisserie at pavement cafés in Paris – then catch a train to explore the Champagne region

From pillars to coast: couple a visit to the Acropolis with some island hopping… them is Spetses, a genteel outcrop of just 4,000 souls that sits at the south-east foot of the Peloponnese peninsula, a two-hour boat trip from the port of Piraeus. It distinguishes itself from most of its Aegean colleagues by being largely car-free: people get about by bike, moped, or in horse-drawn carriages.

DON’T MISS Vrelos Beach, a gorgeous secluded cove on Spetses’s north coast, where you can enjoy the view across to the equally diminutive town of Kosta, on the lower Peloponnese.

DO IT Original Travel (020 3958 6120; originaltravel.co.uk) offers a four-night Urban Athens and Bucolic Spetses break, which checks in to luxury accommodation in both places. From £1,800 per person, including flights and the boat journey out to the island.