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Category: Agrotourism & Food Tourism
the white stone foundation walls remaining for an ancient room, with a gorge and hills beyond it

My first encounter with the archaeological site of Ancient Rokka took place at night, accompanied by my two small children, a crowd, and an orchestra. It was the night of the August full moon, when Greece celebrates the summer with special events, including a live outdoor musical performance on a steep, rocky hillside above a village in northwestern Crete.

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Category: Agrotourism & Food Tourism
the ancient olive tree of Vouves, Crete (as much of the trunk and crown as the space for the photo allows)

Locals claim the ancient olive tree of Ano Vouves, Crete is the oldest olive tree in Greece. This may be an exaggeration, but at 3,000 to 5,000 years old, it is one of the oldest and most impressive. Although its huge trunk is now hollow, this tree still produces olives and entices tens of thousands of tourists to admire its sculptural beauty each year.

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Category: Agrotourism & Food Tourism
The 3 columns of the Tholos remnants at the archaeological site of Delphi

By driving around the Corinthian Gulf, we can sample the various types of tourism available in Greece: beaches from Xylokastro to Nafpaktos, archaeological sites from Corinth to Delphi, endless olive groves, spring wildflowers, rivers, mountains, outdoor activities, gastronomic experiences, castles and bridges—all within a few hours’ drive of Athens.

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Category: Agrotourism & Food Tourism
Chicken with orange, kafir lime, and lemon grass at the Botanical Park Restaurant in Crete

These types of tourism deserve the additional development expected in the future, but Greece already offers a rich array of choices to visitors interested in agrotourism (agritourism) and food tourism (culinary tourism). These alternative explorations allow tourists to experience the Greece that lies beyond the archaeological sites and beaches.

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Category: Agrotourism & Food Tourism
Mixed salad featuring local products, Botanical Park restaurant in Crete

What is agrotourism? How does it overlap with food tourism? What good is it? We can explore these questions with examples from Greece, one of the European countries trying to expand tourism beyond the beaches and the summer. With its wealth of olive oil, wine, and fresh produce, the Greek countryside reveals the secrets of traditional healthy Greek cuisine.

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Category: Agrotourism & Food Tourism
four people sitting at a table in an olive grove, tasting olive oil

Greece's rich culinary heritage arose from millennia of agricultural tradition. Today, visitors can explore Greek agrotourism and food tourism offerings from Corinth and Mount Pelion to the Cycladic islands. Tourists can choose from olive grove tours, olive oil tastings, farm adventures, cooking lessons, feasts with traditional local cuisine, and more. 

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Category: Agrotourism & Food Tourism
Two people sitting on a stone wall, looking at a wide expanse of olive groves below them

“Authentic and local experiences are now the major trends in the travel industry,” reports Greek tourism consultant Dimitris Palaiogiannis. In Greece, he adds, agrotourism and food tourism offerings in various parts of the country combine “the quality products of the land with a unique cultural heritage” to reward explorers with unforgettable experiences.

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Category: Agrotourism & Food Tourism
The wall of herbs above the produce section and olive bar of the Agora (marketplace) at Ergon House

Greece is an ideal culinary tourism destination. Since many visitors begin their exploration of Greece in Athens, Greek Liquid Gold checked out three popular food tourism spots in the capital where they can discover the secrets of the Greek culinary tradition: the Grocery Store of the Mediterranean Diet, Yoleni’s, and this year’s new addition, Ergon House.

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Category: Agrotourism & Food Tourism
guests sitting at tables for a catered lunch beneath olive trees at Biolea

From the southern island of Crete to northern Chalkidiki, Greek olive oil companies welcome international visitors to learn all about olive oil. In a variety of facilities and settings, tourists can explore the silvery green of olive groves, the health benefits of olives, and traditional and modern ways of getting the flavorful juice out of this fruit.

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Category: Agrotourism & Food Tourism
View of river, palm trees, beach, sea, and hills at Preveli, Crete

Come to south central Crete for a holiday among gorges and rivers, valleys and hillsides full of olive groves, and beaches bordered by cliffs, hills, or a palm forest, with striking views of islands and hills across bays in the Libyan Sea—plus restaurants featuring fresh, traditional Cretan food in the birthplace of the Mediterranean diet.

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Category: Agrotourism & Food Tourism
Cluster of purple grapes lit by evening light against a blue sky

Surrounded by olive groves in the foothills of the White Mountains, the Botanical Park and Gardens of Crete offers natural beauty, exercise, information, and healthy, tasty food. Overflowing with tropical and Mediterranean flowers, herbs, and fruits, the park surrounds an acclaimed restaurant featuring its own organically grown produce and olive oil.

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Category: Agrotourism & Food Tourism
olive groves above Plakias, with hills, sea, and sky

My family and I vacation in southern Crete every year. Initially, the gorgeous beaches south of the city of Rethymno attracted us. Now, as soon as we begin to approach the dramatic gorges, the olive tree covered landscapes also capture my gaze. Olive groves nestle in valleys, climb hillsides, approach stark cliffs, and slope down toward the clear blue sea.

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Category: Agrotourism & Food Tourism
Visitors listening to a presentation in Anoskeli's tasting room

Too little time during your vacation in Crete? Can’t decide whether to visit an olive mill or a winery? Come to the village of Anoskeli in the foothills of the White Mountains, where you can do both at once, as well as sampling Anoskeli’s award-winning olive oil and wine in a tasting room overlooking the village’s olive groves and vineyards.

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Category: Agrotourism & Food Tourism
An up-close view of the massive, sculptural trunk of the monumental olive tree of Kavousi

If you visit northeast Crete, venture beyond the resorts of Agios Nikolaos and the unique palm forest next to Vai Beach. Discover an ancient monumental olive tree, a Greek café with a spectacular panoramic view and olive oil history lessons, a shop full of traditional local products, and a historic fortified monastery producing acclaimed wine and olive oil.

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Category: Agrotourism & Food Tourism
two people moving harvested olives from a net into a crate

How are Greek olives harvested? How is Greek olive oil made? A small international group learned the answers to these questions while enjoying a behind the scenes glimpse of a farmer’s daily life. We participated in the Cretan Gastronomy Center’s olive harvest day, following the Kalligiannis family’s olives from their trees to the village olive mill.

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Category: Agrotourism & Food Tourism
Chloe and Eftychis next to Biolea's stone mill

Let’s talk about olive oil, Biolea’s Chloe Dimitriadis and Pamako’s Eftychis Androulakis say to their visitors. They share their experience with all aspects of organic olive cultivation and olive oil production, use, health benefits, and tasting, uniquely comparing traditional production at a stone mill and hydraulic press with the modern process in Crete.

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Category: Agrotourism & Food Tourism
Olive groves in PDO Kolymvari on a cloudy day

Trivago claims Chania, Crete is Greek tourists’ favorite domestic vacation spot this summer, while Trip Advisor ranks Crete as the 2nd most popular Greek island overall, with 1215 things to do here. Remember that this includes far more than the island’s scenic beaches and fascinating archaeological sites and museums. Don’t forget the olive groves!

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Category: Agrotourism & Food Tourism
snow on olive trees and green sorrel beneath them

In olive oil producing countries such as Greece, tourists can wander through olive groves all year, observing the summer growth of olives, their autumn harvest, the winter landscapes, the new spring branches, leaves, and blossoms, and the cycle’s annual repetition. We can see people and nature working together to make Greek liquid gold in its homeland.

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Category: Agrotourism & Food Tourism
A closeup of the face of Grigoris Kokolakis, peaking through branches full of olives

Last November, a Spaniard who has traveled the world to photograph olive groves visited Greece. Having seen Corfu and Paxos before, Eduardo Mencos Valdes decided to explore Crete, because he believes it “is the origin, in many ways, of our culture. You can trace the cultivation and the importance of olives and olive oil back to the Minoan culture” of Crete.

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Category: Agrotourism & Food Tourism
yellow wood sorrel flowers leading up to two olive trees against a brilliant blue sky

When I first came to Crete, the seasons surprised me. Rather than being adorned with red, orange, and yellow deciduous trees, fall turned the green of a Pennsylvania spring, and winter filled with more blossoms than a Rocky Mountain summer. Autumn rains revived leaves and grasses, and when skies cleared, the winter sun welcomed ever so many wildflowers.

  1. Sustainable Tourism, Agrotourism, and Food Tourism in Crete
  2. Best Olive Oil Chef at Best Restaurant of the Year for 2017
  3. Inspect an Ancient Olive Tree from All Angles via 3D Imagery
  4. Snow in Greece! (Photo Essay)

An incomplete, introductory sample of noteworthy sites to visit

Museums

Olive Mills

Other Attractions

Articles

  • Dispatches From Magna Grecia, a Modern Temple of Small-Batch Olive Oil

    A very good article about an agrotourism /culinary tourism venture near Ancient Olympia that features their own multi award winning extra virgin olive oil, The Olive Temple.

  • Cretans Know a Thing or Two About Good Living

    Introducing the new "Center of Excellence for Health and Wellness, established in Rethymno...to raise the awareness of the international and local community regarding the significant benefits of the Cretan diet for the improvement of health," this article also includes many intriguing references to products and sites in Rethymno, Crete that will interest gastronomic tourists.

  • Oleotourism Begins to Sprout in Greece

    This article about olive oil tourism in Greece provides three examples of businesses focused on this type of agrotourism and food tourism, which is becoming more popular and easier to find.

  • Chef Maria Loi's Guide To Dining In Athens

    Suggestions for restaurants culinary tourists--or anyone hungry--might enjoy in Athens.

  • World Olive Day: Expanding Olive Oil Tourism in Crete

    This article combines news about a World Olive Day event with information about olive oil tourism in Crete--tourism linked to archaeology, history, the diet, museums, factories, tastings, trees, and more. While the event was not designed for tourists, the report provides an overview of the wealth of olive oil tourism choices on the island.

  • Turning to Olive Oil: Two Women Head Back to Cretan Groves

    Two educated Greek women turned their back on professional careers to return to family olive groves and pursue the olive oil business and agrotourism in Crete. They welcome international visitors to learn from their experience.

  • An Expert’s Greek Food Experience

    "Celebrity chef and writer Diane Kochilas introduces us to a tradition that involves much more than recipes."

  • Greece Welcomes Visitors This Fall with Mild Weather and the Warm Spirit of Philotimo

    "Fall is an ideal time to visit Greece to enjoy all the country has to offer," since it's less crowded, the temperature is perfect, and visitors can watch or join the olive harvest, explore olive and wine routes, taste olive oil and wine, hike, explore, and visit archaeological sites and museums.

  • GNTO submits [beautiful!] video in UN competition to promote Greece

    The wonderful video linked in this article, with its poetic narration and beautifully varied cinematography, captures the elements of Greece that go beyond the incredible beaches and fascinating archaeological sites to the country's varied year-round offerings, such as the olive and grape harvests and the continuing tradition of eating and dancing together.

  • Greece Culinary Travel with Aglaia Kremezi

    This starts with a nice quick overview of “the roots of Greek cuisine” in seasonal produce used in home kitchens. Next to that are links to different regions in Greece for more detail about foods and wines traditionally common in each one, the way the area’s history affected its gastronomy, and “culinary highlights” for each area: a few restaurants, shops, bakeries, delis, olive mills, or other sites culinary tourists might want to visit. Some of the links may be old, and this is by no means exhaustive, but it’s a wonderful overview. (Note: Kremezi uses “DOC” instead of PDO for Protected Designation of Origin olive oil and cheese.)

  • Is culinary tourism the next big thing in Crete? (BBC Video)

    This is a very nice short BBC video focused on agrotourism and culinary tourism, featuring the traditional Dounias Taverna, which uses its own fresh produce, Biolea, which produces organic olive oil in a traditional stone mill in Astrikas, the ancient Vouves olive tree, and Zoe Nowak discussing her interest in setting up an alternative tourism center in her native Crete in 2013, during the Greek economic crisis.

  • Alternative Tourism Greece: Gastronomy Greece

    This overview from the Alternative Greece website is another good starting point for potential culinary tourists in Greece. Of course, its list of producers is too short, but it does include Anoskeli and Gaea, producers of excellent, award-winning extra virgin olive oil.

  • Local flavours of the Greek cuisine

    This provides a very brief overview of many local specialties that can be found in various parts of Greece; it can be used as an introduction, to help decide what to learn more about. Hyperlinks provide more information about different locations and products.

  • Take part in a traditional [olive] harvest activity!

    This is a general discussion of a popular agrotourism activity in Greece that can give you an idea of what it might involve.

  • Alternative Tourism Greece: Agrotourism - Rural tourism

    This is the best very brief general overview I've seen of the benefits of agrotourism for rural economies and people, for example helping to preserve traditional customs and ways of life. It’s part of a broader alternative tourism website focused on Greece.

  • Greece agrotourism holidays

    A brief overview of its title subject, with links to some agrotourism farms in various parts of Greece.

  • Nature Tourism Agritourism (Crete)

    This is the online, downloadable version of the beautifully illustrated Agrotourism Guide for Crete, which discusses forests, mountains, caves, waterfalls, wetlands, flora, fauna, canyons, hikes, ecological organizations and museums, monumental trees including ancient olive trees, and opportunities to participate in traditional cooking, harvesting, and agricultural production activities.

  • Agrotourism on the Rise in Greece: Me and the Farmer

    A good article about this Greek American’s personal experience as part of an agrotourism venture on a farm, with a brief overview of agrotourism in Greece and links to a few favorite agrotourism spots. (December 19, 2016)

  • Taste Escape: Where to eat and drink in Santorini, Greece

    Rather than focusing on Santorini's incredible beaches and views, this article offers suggestions for those interested in the fine food and drink of the island--not only where to eat and drink, but also what to try. For many more details about all aspects of Santorini, see also Exploring Greece. (August 4, 2017)

  • Biolea: Stone Mill Destination, Organic Olive Oil Creation

    Lovely scenery and an updated, hygienic version of a traditional stone mill and olive press make Biolea a popular agrotourism destination in Crete, Greece. (June 15, 2017)

  • The Ultimate Athens Foodie Guide

    "A guide on how to explore some eating spots that are representative of Greek food in Athens," especially central Athens, by "a Greek-American Registered Dietitian Nutritionist and Food Writer who loves to cook, was raised on the Mediterranean Diet and lives the Med lifestyle." (May 11, 2017)

  • The Wineries of Santorini

    An overview with brief descriptions and photos of 15 wineries and related museums on the island on Exploring Greece, an amazingly detailed website for tourists. (February 17, 2017)

  • Jefford on Monday: The call of Crete

    "Andrew Jefford visits the high-altitude vineyards of Crete and finds an ancient wine culture in renaissance." (March 14, 2016)

  • Olive-Picking: Not All Fun and Games

    A hands-on account of the most don’t-miss experience in the Greek countryside. (November 20, 2016)

  • Ancient Mill Discovered on Lesvos

    "The mill, discovered during the construction of a local road, was in use from the 2nd to the 6th centuries AD." (September 12, 2016)

  • Why Culinary Tourism Matters

    Culinary tourism can provide “ideas and inspiration for great taste and good health, along with a greater understanding of life in a place other than our home.” (June 21, 2016)

  • 29 traditional local foods you must eat in Greece

    Although the article doesn’t usually mention it, many of these are made with olive oil.  (June 18, 2016) 

  • The Olive Tree of Vouves

    Earth Science Picture of the Day: possibly the oldest olive tree in the world, in Vouves, Crete. (July 7, 2016)

  • For Children Visiting Crete, a Free Book on Olive Oil Culture

    The Association of Cretan Olive Municipalities and the International Olive Council are offering free copies of two educational books about olive oil to the children of tourists who visit Crete, Greece. (May 26, 2016)

  • Agro-Culinary Attractions in Crete Span Ages

    Visitors to scenic northwestern Crete can see a traditional stone mill, one of the world’s oldest olive trees, a modern olive oil factory, and a botanical park and restaurant. (August 11, 2015)

  • Restaurants Embrace Crete’s Celebrated Diet

    The personal, local, small-scale touch of hard-working Cretan families offers hope that visitors to Crete can gradually be persuaded to enjoy a traditional Cretan diet. (February 25, 2015)

  • Mediterranean Lifestyle Alive and Well on Crete

    Yes, there is junk food on Crete, but this is still one of the best places in the world to immerse oneself in the Mediterranean diet and lifestyle. (March 18, 2015)

  • Immortal Island (Crete)

    This article by Nancy Harmon Jenkins is the best culinary tourism article about Crete that I’ve ever read. (July 19, 2010)

  • Food History of Greece

    By Susanna Hoffman, this is the most interesting food history article I’ve seen. (July 19, 2010) 

  • Cretan Cuisine

    This brief overview (with many hyperlinks) surveys a small fraction of the distinctive dishes of Crete and mentions the most common Cretan food products and the medical significance of the Cretan diet.

  • [Greek] Gastronomy

    This short article from the Greek National Tourism Organization provides an overview of the common elements that go into Greek cuisine.

  • Ten Souvenirs to Buy in Crete

    This is interesting because it begins with olive oil, half of the recommendations are for traditional Cretan foods, and it includes an explanation of each choice.

  • Manousakis Winery – Q&A with Alexandra Manousakis

    The interesting story of a young Greek American who came to Crete to oversee her family's village winery, and never left. Instead, she succeeded, expanded, and welcomed visitors.