Lindos & the east coast

Lindos is the postcard, and for once the postcard is honest. The village is a maze of whitewashed captains' houses with pebble-mosaic courtyards, the acropolis above it mixes a Doric temple with a Knights' castle, and St Paul's Bay below is a near-closed circle of turquoise water. Cars stop outside the village; everything inside is stairs and donkeys.

The price is crowds and heat. Lindos fills with coach parties from mid-morning and the lanes hold the sun like an oven. Go up to the acropolis early or late, swim at Vlicha or Pefki rather than the main beach, and eat on a roof terrace after the buses have gone.

South of Lindos the coast relaxes into Lardos, Kiotari and Glistra — long beaches, big hotels set back from the road, and tavernas that are still Greek in August. It is the obvious compromise if you want Lindos nearby but not underfoot.