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Greece has long had a reputation as one of the more affordable places in Europe to buy a holiday or second home. Prices have risen over the past few years, so the picture is more nuanced than it once was, but the value case is still real. Here is an honest look at how Greece compares with other popular European markets, and what makes it worth considering.

Aristides Dallas Architecture Studio is based in Athens and Tinos and was founded by Aristides Dallas. They focus on residential and hospitality projects all over Greece - mainly in the Aegean and Ionian islands and near Athens.

In the early 1950s, everybody was talking about the new “Xenia” hotels - a nationwide group of ultra luxury hotels that were expected to grow the tourism industry in Greece. The Greek state was mostly bankrupt after the world war and its own civil war, so the Greek government decided to start the ambitious Xenia project - a group of hotels that they hoped would boost the economy. In the height of the “Xenia” days, there were 59 working Xenia Hotels. But where are those hotels now? What happened to them?

Greece regularly features among the most appealing places to retire in Europe, and it is easy to see why. A mild climate, a relaxed pace of life, a comparatively low cost of living, and a favourable tax regime for foreign pensioners all add up to a strong case for spending your later years here. This guide walks through the practical side: what it costs, how the tax and residency routes work, and what daily life is actually like.