Kavala

Topping the slopes of Mount Symvolo by the cobalt-blue of the Aegean Sea, Kavala is a halo of whitewashed homes and red-tiled roofs lofted neatly above the water. It melds the Greek and the Turkic with flurries of Ottoman architecture and fish-sizzling tavernas. This is one seriously immersive district, where historical landmarks and cardamom-scented coffee houses lie interspersed with stunning beaches.

The heart of the city – known as Panagia – is the place to begin. It’s maze of cobbled alleys where Macedonian style cottages lean over the sidewalks is best explored with a Kavala tour guide. Here one can find the great Turkish castle of 1425 and the plaza of Mohamed Ali, where ruined Byzantine monasteries lay under the rises of the ochre-painted Halil Bey Mosque. The imposing arches of the Kamares aqueduct still epitomise the town though, standing tall in the newer areas that were built on the affluence of the tobacco boom.

When it's time to get some hard-earned R&R Greece style, be sure to check out the beaches that lie just to the west of the center. Around 20 kilometres out is Nea Peramos and lively Amolofos, with the usual Aegean mix of aquamarine waters and yellow-tinted sand.