The unpolished mid-Riviera — small marinas, fish tavernas at sea level, and a rocky shore that gets quieter the further south you drive.
Lagonisi and Anavyssos are the two small fishing settlements on the coast between Varkiza and Sounion — twenty kilometres south of the Vouliagmeni cluster, twenty north of the temple. The Riviera at its quietest, least-styled and most local.
Lagonisi is the smaller of the two — a private peninsula (where the Grand Resort Lagonissi sits, on a 72-hectare wooded headland) plus a working village inland. Anavyssos is bigger, a 1960s-built coastal town with five thousand year-round residents, a wide salt-flat lagoon (the Alyki) on the north side, and a working fishing harbour on the south. Three of the best fish tavernas on the Athens Riviera are here. Akrogiali (sea-level, blue-and-white, the simplest version), Vergos (slightly more polished, big terrace), and Mouries (in the lagoon, the local secret) are the trio. The lagoon itself is a Natura 2000 site — flamingos in winter, herons year-round, the salt-pans still working. The drive south from Athens is unspectacular until you arrive; do not stop earlier; the food is the point.
An Anavyssos-led day.
Fifty minutes via the coastal road; park at Akrogiali or the lagoon car park.
Forty-minute loop around the salt-pans; flamingos in winter, herons all year; binoculars help.
Pre-booked sea-level table; three-hour fish lunch; €40 per head; the cold retsina, the charcoal octopus.
Twenty minutes' drive; arrive at the temple with two hours of light.
Last warm light on the Pentelic marble; a slow walk around the cliff; the closing image.
Hour and ten minutes north; the Riviera at night through the window.
Within twenty minutes by car.
Twenty minutes' drive south — the Temple of Poseidon. Detail on the Sounion page.
Fifteen minutes' drive south — another working fishing harbour. Detail on the Palaia Fokaia page.
Fifteen minutes' drive north — the long sandy beach. Detail on the Varkiza page.
Twenty minutes' drive north — the geothermal lake. Detail on the Vouliagmeni page.
Three minutes' drive — the Natura 2000 wetland.
Tell us a little about the trip you want — pace, who's coming, how you'd like to spend your mornings. We'll build the days.
