Last Minute Holidays from Cork to Greece

Seven outings worth building into the week, each one tied to a specific base.

• Acropolis morning: The Parthenon, the Erechtheion and the Propylaea stand on the rock above central Athens, and the sculpture taken off the site for protection is displayed in the museum at its foot. Both are a walk from the Plaka district below.

• Bronze Age capital: Knossos is the largest of the Minoan palace sites and lies a short way inland from Heraklion, excavated from 1900 under Arthur Evans. Its partial concrete reconstructions are debated, and much of the material sits in the Heraklion Archaeological Museum.

• The long descent: Samaria is walked downhill from the Omalos plateau to the south coast at Agia Roumeli, roughly 16 kilometres and five to seven hours for most people. The Iron Gates narrow to a few metres, and the way back is by boat.

• Inside the walls: Rhodes Old Town is enclosed by the fortifications of the Knights of St John and is still inhabited, which is rare at this scale. The Street of the Knights climbs to the Palace of the Grand Master, and the moat can be followed almost the whole way round.

• Shipwreck cove: Navagio Beach can only be reached by boat, and the same trips usually take in the Blue Caves near Cape Skinari. Booking last minute holidays to Greece in September often lands you on a quieter sailing than August would.

• Rim route: A marked walk follows the caldera edge from Fira through Imerovigli to Oia, about ten kilometres with very little shade and three to four hours at a steady pace. Most people take the bus back, and the light is best early.

• Monastic coastline: Boats leave Ouranoupolis and run along the Athos peninsula, which is as close as most visitors get, since entry needs a permit and admits men only. Several monasteries are built directly above the water, and summer holidays to Greece often include one of these sailings.