Where can I find the most famous homes in Greece? We’ll share the homes of historical figures, celebrities, and famous people in Greece, and also some of the most impressive new constructions from the last decade in Greece.
The Peloponnese: Patrick Leigh Fermor’s House
This is the home of Patrick Leigh Fermor, a famous British author who found inspiration for his writing when he moved to Mani. In the south Peloponnese is a series of 3 rocky peninsulas that jut into the Mediterranean Sea. The middle one is the most remote, and it is called the Mani peninsula. In Mani, supposedly the people are descended from Spartans.
In the 1960s after his retirement, Fermor found his way to Mani Peninsula and built a remarkable house near the village of Kardamyli, which was 35 kilometers from the regional capital of Kalamata. Unlike the rest of the Mani peninsula, where some areas have grown with the influence of tourists, Kardamyli keeps some old-world charm. Fermor is quoted saying “We saw a peninsula ending in crescent-shaped beaches … We walked down into a gently sloping world of the utmost magical beauty.”
Fermor’s House Donated to the Benaki Museum
In 1996, Patrick and Joan Leigh Fermor donated their home to the Benaki Museum, because they wanted other intellectuals and scholars to work or study there in an inspiring location. Today, it operates as a venue for educational activities, seminars, fellowships, and cultural events in partnership with Universities in Greece and abroad. They installed a new heating system, cleaned and replaced the roof tiles, and replanted parts of the garden, making sure to preserve the wild rosemary, cypress and olive trees which always gave the home a characteristic aroma.
One of the quirks of the house is that there are books everywhere. There are almost 2000 in the home. The subjects of these books are history, art history, biography, literature, and poetry — but there are also dictionaries, lexicons, encyclopedias, and anthologies based on birds, beasts, fishes, and stars.
Corfu: The White House Villa
The White House is one of the most famous buildings on Corfu and part of the island’s rich cultural heritage. It is found in Kalami, Corfu.
It was the former residence of Lawrence Durrell, who lived in Corfu in the 1930s. Of the interior he wrote “the rooms look lovely and gracious with their white-washed walls, and the few bright paintings and books. The windows give directly on the sea.” Many visitors arrive here inspired by his words, because this is where the author spent some of his most creative years.
They love that little has changed about this special place.
Originally, the White House was a single-storey property owned by Anastasios Atheneos, the grandfather of the current owner, Tassos. The second floor was added for Lawrence Durrell and his wife. The ground floor is still the Atheneos family home, while the basement and traditional old fisherman’s hut are now the White House Restaurant. Rooms on the upper floor where the Durrells lived and wrote can be rented during the summer season. You can inquire about rooms here.
Corfu: Villa Posillipo
Villa Posillipo is one of the most remarkable villas in Greece because of its history and unique location. The house is on the east side of the island of Corfu and was built before 1760 next to the Venetian Harbor and Arsenal. The villa looks over the Bay of Corfu, where in the past it could watch Corfu’s Channel in case attackers were coming towards the port. In 1880, after the Ionian Islands united with Greece, a Greek nobleman bought the property and it has stayed in the family for 5 generations as a country house.
Villa Posillipo is found on a large plot with plenty of green space and seafront woodlands. it has undergone a conservation project that revived its genuine old-world character. The villa features antiques and contemporary furniture. Today the owners are proud to share Posillipo with all the guests, who enjoy the historical seafront location.
In the Area
In the area immediately surrounding Villa Posillipo, you can walk to several bars and shops in under 10 minutes. Also very near is the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Corfu Town, with its unique historic sights, churches, and nightlife. For beaches, locals like to visit Kontokali, Gouvia, Spiaggia Bianca, Dassia and Ipsos. If you drive up the coast, you can visit the small villages of Kalami and Aghios Stefanos, as well as the beaches of Avlaki and Kassiopi.
As The Durrells Filming Location
Villa Posillipo was used as the location of the filming of the BBC movie My Family and other Animals, which follows the life of the Durrells family and their adventures in Corfu. It was also the filming location of four years of the famous British TV series The Durrells, a comedy that made the Durrells’ story well-known worldwide. The Producer and Artistic Director visited the venue and chose the location for its authenticity and representation of the old landscape of Corfu.
The TV series is known for highlighting the individuality and eccentric nature of the family, who were always engaged in their own adventures, writing, and travel (not to mention their exotic animals.) The most iconic photos from the series are of the Durrells family sitting submerged in the sea, eating lunch just above water.
A warm thank you to the Durrells series producer, Christopher Hall, as well as the photographers for offering these behind-the-scenes photos for use in the article.
The Peloponnese: The King of the Netherlands’ Home
Back in 2012, King Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands bought a luxury villa in the southern region of Greece, the Peloponnese, which is famous for its picturesque beaches, UNESCO Heritage sites, and great traditional Greek food. King Willem-Alexander spent 4.5 million euros on the property, hoping to find a holiday home for his family with privacy and plenty of Greek sun.
What is Special About the King’s Mansion?
The King’s mansion comes complete with a swimming pool, a private marina, and a private beach. It has a view of the Mediterranean Sea, and access to the nearby town of Kranidi.
About Kranidi
The town where the King’s villa is found is called Kranidi, and it is a hidden gem which most visitors to Greece don’t know about. The region is called Argolida, which is known for its traditional architecture and is culturally a lot like the islands near Athens in the Saronic Gulf, like Hydra and Spetses.
With about 4000 residents, it sits on the hills of Agia Anna and Bardounia and has amazing views of Porto Heli and Ermionida beach. About 50 kilometers away is the famous town of Nafplio.
The roots of the town of Kranidi are in the Middle Ages, when 4 different settlements (Ai-Yiannis, Milindra, Villa & Bies) came together.
Aegean Islands: Leonard Cohen’s House
Cohen describes buying his house on the island of Hydra as the smartest decision he ever made. He bought it in 1960 for $1,500. It was an ancient whitewashed building, with five rooms and no electricity or plumbing. But for him, it was very important to have a private space to work. His music room was on the third floor. Over the years, Cohen gradually worked on the house and turned it into a mansion where he could host his fellow artists and writers.
Leonard Cohen’s Daily Routine on Hydra
Cohen writes about his daily routine on Hydra in a letter to his mother. In his words: “I get up at 7:30 every morning and work for 3 hours. Then I go down to the port for a breakfast of milk and bread and honey. This is famous honey; the ancient poets sang about it . . . I sun for a few hours, then lunch on artichokes, cheese and roe and then the whole island goes to sleep for a few hours, I work for another two hours after siesta and then I wander down to the port & talk and watch the fishermen repair their nets and learn Greek. All in all, life is orderly and sweet.”
Leonard Cohen’s Career in Hydra
On Hydra, Cohen met the love of his life, the Norwegian woman Marianne Ihlen. She was the woman he wrote about in one of his first masterpieces, “So Long, Marianne.” Cohen was also inspired to write the song “Bird on the Wire” by the birds that lined up on Hydra’s first telephone wires in the 1960s.
On Hydra, Cohen wrote his two first books: The Favourite Game (1963) and Beautiful Losers (1966). The island of Hydra is also where he wrote his first two musical albums. “Songs of Leonard Cohen” (1967) and “Songs from a Room” (1969) were popular and created a name for the young Canadian in the music industry.
Crete: Cave House
The Zeropixel Architects project is just outside the city of Heraklion, and is classified as a stone-built undercut residence with a swimming pool and underground spaces. Cave homes in Greece are known for their elegant design, privacy, and natural insulating features.
Approaching from the road, one can see an olive grove with a slight slope, an artificial lake, and a cliff. The building was placed hidden in the relief of the ground where these features meet. It consists of three wings of different orientations and different views.
The north wing faces the city of Heraklion and the sea, the central wing overlooks the valley. The south wing has a view of the Psilorites mountain.
The entrance to the residence is one path that passes through the artificial lake – waterfall, which leads to an internal courtyard.
The project focuses on bioclimatic design, using natural ventilation and lighting as well as the green roof to keep the home cool during the hot summer in Crete. The solar panels, built-in heat pumps, and insulation shell provide exceptional sustainability to the building.
In a Top 8 List of Best Unbuilt Architecture by the ArchDaily community, Cave House was listed along with a modern lake house weekend retreat in New York, a Mediterranean Villa in Portugal, and residential complex of five villas in Bali.
Corfu: Villa V
This vacation residence by Aristedes Dallas Architecture Studio is found in northwest Corfu. The building has three levels and an unobstructed sea view. The middle one hosts the common spaces. A pair of thick slabs in a 45-degree angle stand out from the landscape. Nature surrounds the Villa, with native olive trees on the roof of the upper level.
From the middle level of the entrance, one’s look will go through the living room and the kitchen, and reach the sea. The common spaces come together with a big terrace. Crossing the living room and the kitchen, the passage to the second pair of bedrooms is revealed. The home integrates in the landscape, being opposed to it at the same time.
Crete: Casa Katana
This home is designed by KRAK. Architects. In the words of its founder, “I strive to design buildings that are not only efficient but also timeless. Whether it’s through harnessing natural light and ventilation, using locally sourced materials, or integrating the building into its natural surroundings, sustainability, to me, is about creating long-term resilience and fostering a harmonious relationship with nature. It’s a truly holistic approach.
Each building has its own identity, and its own rhythm, and these other disciplines help me to create spaces that feel alive, where every surface and shadow can evoke a response.”
How do these diverse experiences influence your architectural practice and creative process?
From what I can recall, they have asked Godard, the French director, about what makes a great filmmaker? he said, in order to do good movies, you need to not study only cinema. The human expression has multiple means and forms, you need to have interest in other things as well. I see architecture as a broader intellectual pursuit rather than just a technical or isolated craft.
“At KRAK. We focus on creating spaces that are pure in form and rich in meaning. These diverse experiences have been integral to my evolution as an architect. Understanding how ancient and traditional structures were built without modern technology helped me to approach architecture with a sense of respect for the past while pushing the boundaries of what’s possible today. Traditional building techniques help you understand accumulated and proven knowledge from the past. Ideally, we should build with materials from beneath our feet, embracing what the earth naturally provides. I hope that advancements in material science will bring us closer to that ideal in the future.”
