#hermoupolis

[gemsofgreece]

Chilling in Syros 

fredericmurarotto / Instagram

[postcard-from-the-past]

Grand Hôtel de France in Hermoupolis on the island of Syros, Greece

Greek vintage postcard

[theshatterednotes]

Greek-American poet Olga Broumas

[travelbinge]

One perfect summer by Kostis Tatakis

Ermoupoli, Syros, Cyclades, Greece

[gemsofgreece]

Syros island, Greece by giorgos_petakos on Instagram.

[gemsofgreece]

Greece, Syros Island by sebastien.nagy on Instagram.

[postcard-from-the-past]

View of Hermoupolis on the island of Syros, Greece

Greek vintage postcard

[gemsofgreece]

which cities of greece are the most architecturaly impressive and grand ?

First of all, I wouldn't consider (contemporary) architectural grandeur one of Greece's strengths. Greece does have beautiful and sometimes grand architecture but it's usually solitary buildings or certain districts within other less majestic or glamorous areas. The major reason for the lack of grandeur is that half of Greece was not an independent country until the early 19th century and the other half until the early 20th, and until that time it was only a desolate peripheral part of the Ottoman Empire which means the sultanate (the Ottoman royalty) and the most powerful people (including several of the most powerful, rich or noble Greeks) lived beyond the country's modern borders, in fact there was almost zero bourgeoisie in the Greek territory. Rural feudal lords and rich captains - yes, plenty. Bourgeois in the cities - not really. Most cities had turned into small villages at the time, after all. After the independence, Greece became a kingdom with royalty that remained largely modest and it continued to not really have what you'd call "nobility" so you won't find a lot of grand historical private buildings that would inspire an architectural continuum in the cities, besides a new wave of moderately sized neoclassical buildings. Furthermore, Greece does have beautiful architecture but what one considers "grand" is subjective, some are impressed by modern and massive scales in architecture, while others prefer artistic and colourful architecture regardless of size. Greece would fall into the second category, it barely has buildings that are really big. Below I mention some cities / towns with beautiful architecture - remember; most have pretty buildings / districts amongst less shiny ones, the cities do not have this discipline in precision and homogeneity you might find in other places.

Athens:

The last one is from Piraeus (the port city attached to Athens). Skyscrapers are still an extremely rare sight in Greece, for historical and other reasons.

More cities and photos below the cut:

Hermoupolis, Syros island:

Corfu (Kerkyra):

Thessaloniki:

If you ever find yourself in Thessaloniki, don't forget to go to the rotating Skyline cafe-bar in the OTE tower!

Rhodes:

Patras:

To put things in perspective, this church is the largest in Greece and one of the largest in the Balkans and the bridge two photos above, which is just out of the city, is the largest of its kind in the world. The courthouse is also massive, I have seen it from up close. Some photos here don't make the places much justice but oh well... In any case the wild mix of beautiful and ugly architecture that is the trademark of urban mainland Greece is nowhere as potent as in Patras, to a point that it makes it charming.

Fira, Santorini (everything in Santorini is great but I am picking the largest town):

Kavala:

There are many more pretty towns, it's the characterisation "grand architecture" that feels limiting to me I guess...