House & Garden's guide to Greece

With 227 Greek islands to choose from, here are the ones that make for the best holiday

The dreamiest houses to be cast away at this summer...

The largest and most southern of all the islands, Crete is famed for its good weather, beautiful scenery and long summer season – and there are plenty of stylish places to stay

From Athens to the Peloponnese, Santorini to Crete, these are the best hotels in Greece for every type of traveller

In an off-season visit to Patmos, Rachel Howard enjoys the tranquillity of the Dodecanese island with a dual identity – as a high-summer holiday spot for the glitterati and a year-round place of pilgrimage for spiritual reflection

In the Menalon highlands of the Peloponnese, a long-abandoned sanatorium has been nursed back to health by a man captivated by the location since childhood. On a visit to the new hotel and wellness retreat, Rachel Howard experiences its transformative effects.

Athina Kontos revels in the quiet life on the Aegean island of Syros, with the stylish surrounds of Hotel Aristide as her base

As the reputed birthplace of the mythical daughters of Zeus known as the Three Graces, the enchanting Dodecanese island of Symi is rich with antiquities and atmosphere, says Aoife O'Riordain 

With its fascinating ancient ruins, evocative agricultural landscape, traditional mountain villages and long stretches of beautiful beaches, the Greek island of Naxos offers a wonderfully relaxing taste of an unhurried lifestyle.

On Tinos, Pamela Goodman discovers a rich religious heritage, a thriving food scene, spectacular scenery and none of the glitz of its neighbouring island Mykonos