As we walk around the cities of Greece, we have noticed the unique doors that stand out. Throughout our many walks, we observed unique, beautiful, and colorful doors in Greece, so we wanted to showcase them in photos. The entries range from old to new, and some refurbished. Our eyes are drawn to these unique, beautiful, and colorful doors every time we walk down a street in Greece, most prominent in the “Old Town” sections of the cities.
Once we decided to write about unique, beautiful, and colorful doors in Greece, we needed to research why the Greeks decided mainly on white houses & blue doors. Greece is full of rich history dating back to Ancient Greek Gods. So when did Greece start using the whitewash and typically blue doors? We were amazed to find out that in 1938 there was a Cholera outbreak in Greece. Greece’s ruler ordered all houses to be whitewashed with limestone, believed to be a disinfectant, to prevent the spread of Cholera. After the fishermen came home from painting their boats, they would use the leftover paint on the doors and shutters.
The Greeks later discovered the whitewash kept their houses colder in the scorching summer months. Meanwhile, in the 1960 – the 1970s, Mykonos became a trending hot spot for the rich and famous because of the white houses with blue doors and pleasant weather. Mykonos and Santorini are the most visited islands in Greece during the tourist season (beginning of April – end of September). So white and blue houses became Greece’s trademark.
Athens
We visited lots of ruins in Athens, many of the ruins had no doors, and our fascination with doors was just in the beginning stages. We did manage to take a few pictures of doors and what we find fascinating is no two doors are alike. The doors also show insight into the character of the house.
Heraklion
Some of the doors in Heraklion were elegant, and others were very weathered. The modern electric green door looked relatively new and grand, with iron designs amongst the windows. Brown and green entryways were popular colors.
Chania
Chania is where our idea to make a post dedicated just to the beautiful and colorful doors in the land of Greece came about. It seemed that every narrow and windy street had at least one old, bright or beautiful door that was begging us to take a picture of it. The vibrant green door is part of the building we stayed at while in Chania.
Rethymno
Our favorite door in Rethymno is an old weathered one in very much need of some tender loving care, but it has strong pillar columns and header to help it weather many more storms. The half-circle ironwork above the door states its grandeur of long ago. Also, the subtle greenery around it makes it pop! The picture makes you wonder what it looked like at the beginning of its time? Rethymno had many unique doors or door knockers like the featured one here.
Mykonos
In Old Town Mykonos, all the buildings are painted white. The doors are a variety of colors, and I had a difficult time choosing from all my photos. The majority of the entries were freshly painted, not weathered, and well cared for in Old Town. The beautiful and colorful doors, along with the fresh flowers against the white buildings, are so aesthetically pleasing to the eye. It’s no wonder why people flock here during the tourist season and summer months. I could only imagine the sun beating down and the heat brightening up the whole city as it was primarily raining or windy in December.
“Where’s the Door”
We have showcased photos of unique, beautiful, and colorful doors in Greece from each city we visited. When you take a trip to Greece, you can try to spot the same doors we did! We call this “Where’s the Door,” similar to “Where’s Waldo.” If you have a favorite door, let us know. Also, if you have a picture of a door you would like to share, add it in the comments; we would love to see it!
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Recommended Travel Essential
Cindy and I call ourselves nomadic, so with this lifestyle, we use certain essentials to make this way of life easier and more comfortable. With this in mind, we have composed a list of what we feel are essentials and some tips you might use to plan or take your next travel adventure.
- Travel Packing Essentials to help organize and make this task less stressful
- Travel Safety Essentials to make your life on the road a little safer, giving you peace of mind
- Living essentials to make life a little more comfortable, be this resting, working, or playing.
Accommodation Options While Traveling The World
- Booking.com is one of our go to’s when we are looking for a place to stay for a couple of days or longer
- Agoda.com we find is best to use when in Southeast Asia, but hey you never know what you might find
- Airbnb.com used to be our go-to but some of their cancelation policies are reasonable, give them a try as well
Travel Insurance
We always travel with travel Insurance, just medical or complete trip coverage. We use Heymondo as we find their costs reasonable. Remember, don’t travel, and without coverage, the savings are not worth the possible costs.
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