Why the Art World Is Flocking to Greece This Summer
Where ancient history meets a booming contemporary scene, a new wave of visionary exhibitions and serene retreats is turning the Greek islands into the ultimate cultural escape
What is it that fascinates travelers about Greece? The answer is seemingly palpable: crystal clear seas, effortlessly exquisite food, and remnants of history scattered far beyond the walls of its soaring museums. Beyond these familiar pleasures, however, the Hellenic landscape has long lured visitors with its rich tapestry of myth and lore.
As the islands—with their quaint coves and whitewashed, organic architecture—welcome growing waves of summer travelers, it is art and hospitality that have taken center stage across the Aegean. Athens, meanwhile, endures as the heart of a true Greek escape. It serves not only as the primary gateway to the islands, but as a vibrant, cosmopolitan capital where creative, architectural, and culinary wonders await on the top of every steep incline or hidden behind an unassuming residential block.
While the city boasts museums essential to any itinerary, travelers can expand their creative palate this summer with a visit to the George Economou Collection. Located a half-hour drive from downtown, the foundation houses the extensive contemporary art holdings of its eponymous businessman and philanthropist. Following solo exhibitions dedicated to marquee collection names, such as Rashid Johnson, David Hammons, and Jenny Saville, the organization presents its first group show drawn exclusively from its holdings of over a thousand works of art.
Titled “The Way We Live Now,” the show is a three-floor exploration of contemporary life through the lens of historical and mythic legacies. Paintings by Lorna Simpson, David Hockney, and Lucas Arruda join sculptural works by Charles Ray, Katharina Fritsch, and Louise Bourgeois in an outing inspired by Anthony Trollope’s 1875 novel.
Another pleasure of Athens is discovering quiet cultural encounters along humble neighborhood streets. Take, for instance, Alkinois, a gallery located on the ground floor of a residential building in the Ano Petralona neighborhood. Tucked between lantern-lit tavernas, the art space hosts a solo exhibition of sculptures and paintings by Zoë Paul, best known for her suspended wall-hangings made out of rolled clay. Created over the last four years, the ceramic figures and corporal canvases inhabit the layered space with a spectral aura—one amplified by a potential late evening visit when the local artist’s dramatically-rendered faces and bodies appear like actors of a nocturnal theatrical staging.
While Piraeus is widely known as the port where island hoppers depart from the capital, this historically-rich district is, in fact, its own distinct city. This year, the founder of Castor Place encourages visitors to adjust their ferry schedules to allow for a stop at the recently renovated the 19th century warehouse. Unexpectedly minimalist, even Brutalist, the building has entered its second life as a multipurpose venue with a hand from New York-based Greek architect Andreas Kostopoulos. The space claims its spot on the city’s creative network with the exhibition, Casting Water, featuring the dramatic sculptures of Stefania Strouza.
Greece reveals its most evocative pleasures across its islands, where surrounding archipelagos offer an array of singular escapes. Among the islands closets to Athens, Hydra is perhaps the most storied. From Leonard Cohen’s formative years in his hillside house to Deste Foundation’s buzzy summer exhibition openings in the last decade or so, the vastly untouched destination is dotted with rocky swimming corners where bathers descend through the stones and plunge into the blue waters. The island’s only five star hotel, Mandraki Beach Resort, occupies the namesake bay, which allows the property to offer the island’s only sand beach. The sumptuous 17-room lodging remains a best-kept secret for travelers seeking refined intimacy.
Different craft traditions span across the islands, where pottery, textile, or woodworking are passed through generations and pushed to contemporary territories. The group exhibition “Un Été à Hydra” embarks on an international exploration of design and art through a romantic lens. Housed in a waterfront stone building overlooking the port, the exhibition presents a rich palette of materials from a global roster of creatives, such as Jeanne Chardin’s ceramic backgammon, gracefully set atop a wrought- iron table by Nikos Zantidis.
Mykonos has long held a reputation for its over-the-top indulgence. Exclusive beach clubs, parties that spill to the sunrise, and colorful streets brimming with tourists are perhaps synonymous with this Cycladic island more than any of her sisters. Yet a new wave of sanctuaries is launching unexpectedly serene escapes for discerning guests on an otherwise unlikely patch of land. Among these new retreats is Semeli Coast Resort. Tucked into Merchia Bay, where the island’s notorious northern winds blend with sounds of crickets and the waves, the 45-room hotel challenges what a Mykonian vacation can be about. Designed by Greek architect Pavlos Ninios, the resort alchemizes early textures with refined elegance, featuring private pools for each suite and a dramatic beachfront that feels pulled from the pages of the Odyssey.
While Semeli is a local brand with another downtown location near the landmark windmills, the global brand Fouquet’s also lands the island with a sprawling property on the southern Paraga Beach. The devoted seekers of French ornateness here find their expectations blended with the island’s easygoing energy and justified indulgence.
Certain islands are particularly exposed to tourism, but others remain as local favorites and enjoy calmer, effortless charms. Chios is among those getaways, with its genuine energy and no-fuss rhythm. The fifth largest Greek island is a part of an eastern group which sits closer to Turkey and hosts an annual group exhibition organized by the local art non-profit DEO Projects. In response to the island’s positioning, the organization’s founder Akis Kokkinos crafts every year a roster of international artists largely from neighboring countries besides his own.
Blockbuster names like Danh Võ and Cindy Sherman go on show next to Arda Asena from Türkiye, Cypriot artists Lito Kattou and Eleni Odysseos, Shezad Dawood from the U.K., and Greece’s Evi Kalogiropoulou and Vasilis Papageorgiou. “Thanks to DEO’s nomadic and site-specific approach, I learn just as much as the participating artists do,” says Kokkinos and adds that bringing the show to northwest which heavily suffered from last year’s wildfires will hopefully provide an “act of solidarity, care, and repair through art.”
