Religious tourism provides visits in Byzantine monuments, in monuments of excellent church architecture, in churches and in monasteries. It combines spiritual, cultural and historic activities. Apart from trips to Christian Orthodox monasteries, such as Mount Athos and Meteora, visitors come to Greece to admire and study unique Byzantine and post-Byzantine masterpieces such as religious icons and portraits, mosaics, murals and shrines.
Religious tourism concerns pilgrims whose religious motive is strong, but also tourists who want to combine a religious trip with other activities.
There are various religious destinations throughout Greece, located on mountains or by the sea, with numerous religious monuments, historic churches, monasteries, shrines, museums, UNESCO Byzantine monuments and archaeological sites. All travelers – pilgrims can visit the destination of their choice and participate in religious festivals and events that take place all around Greece during their stay.
Some of the most important religious monuments of Greece are:
- The Autonomous Monastic State of the Holy Mountain
- Meteora monasteries
- Patmos island,where Saint John wrote the Book of Revelation
- Rodopi, the Byzantine Monastic center of Mount Papikio
- Areas where Saint Paul traveled
- Tinos island and its holy places and churches dedicated to the Virgin Mary