On Saturday 26 and Sunday 27 September, admission to all archaeological sites, museums and monuments owned by the State and managed by the Ministry of Culture will be free of charge. This is to mark the European Heritage Days, in which Greece is taking part this year for the 30th consecutive year, with the theme ‘Heritage at Risk – Revival, Resilience, Reflection’. For anyone staying at Artemida, the nearest options are just a few kilometres south, in Vravrona.
On Sunday 27 September, the Ephorate of Antiquities of Eastern Attica is organising a guided tour of the archaeological site of the Sanctuary of Artemis at Vravrona at 12:00 and at the Vravrona Archaeological Museum at 13:00. The guided tour focuses on the challenges faced by the monuments within a well-preserved landscape. No registration or booking is required. For further information, please call 210 3213122 (ext. 112 and 149) or 22990 27020 (ext. 19), or email efaanat@culture.gr.
The day before, on Saturday 26 September at 18:30, the Municipality of Markopoulo-Mesogaia is organising a walk and photography session on the hill of the Medieval Tower of Vravrona. The walk combines scenery, history and photographic exploration and is open to the public. The council’s announcement does not mention any cost or registration requirement. The event takes place shortly before sunset, which is just after 7.00 pm at this time of year, so comfortable shoes and a fully charged mobile phone are recommended.
On the same Sunday, the Ephorate is also organising a second guided tour, focusing on monuments threatened by natural deterioration and climate change: at 11:00 at the Drymou–Souріза archaeological site in Lavreotiki and at 12:30 at the entrance to Sounion. No booking is required here either (210 3213122, ext. 124 and 131). As Vravrona starts at 12:00, you’ll effectively have to choose one or the other.
On Sunday evening, the Municipality of Markopoulo, in collaboration with the Region of Attica, is organising a guided tour of the Cultural Centre at the Sara Open-Air Theatre at 19:00, followed by a concert by Gerasimos Andreatos and Sofia Manou with the ‘KANON’ orchestra at 21:00. Admission is free. A great plan for a Sunday outing from Artemida: the sanctuary and museum at midday, Sara in the evening.
Vravrona has yet another reason to be of interest to Artemis. In the town itself, near the beach, the foundations of the temple of Artemis the Bull-Slayer remain, in the ancient municipality of Alon Arafinides. At the end of Euripides’ Iphigenia in Tauris, Athena decrees that a temple to the Bull-Slaying Artemis be built in Alon Arafinides and that Iphigenia become a priestess in Vravrona. The two sites have, in other words, been linked since antiquity. The temple of Artemis is not included in the guided tours announced by the Ephorate for the weekend, but a stop there before or after Vravrona brings the circuit full circle.
And for next weekend: on Friday 2 October, it’s the White Night on Artemida Avenue, and on Saturday 3 October at 5.30 pm, the Municipality of Markopoulo is holding a grape must and grape-stomping festival at the old Markopoulo Railway Station. The grape-stomping event is being organised by members of the KAPI (the municipal day centres for older people), and entry is free.
Source: Ministry of Culture, European Cultural Heritage Days 2026 programme (Archaeological Service of Eastern Attica); Markopoulo-Mesogaia Municipality, announcements of 18, 21 and 22 September 2026.
