Religious tourism is one of the oldest types of tourism. It occurred at the same time as health tourism in early communities when people due to performing religious ceremonies visited different places – sanctums and in so doing traveled great distances. Through history these places became centers of religious, but also merchant and cultural events. The monuments of the Greek Orthodox religion are an integral part of the national heritage and attract a considerable number of visitors. The Byzantine and Post-Byzantine churches with their important iconography, mosaics, murals and rare icons, the imposing cathedrals, the chapels and shrines of the countryside, the monasteries, metochia (monastic dependencies) and sketae, the unique monastic state of Mount Athos (Aghio Oros) and the Meteora monasteries (Thessaly) speak for the intense dedication to traditions and the close interconnection of art with religious worship through the centuries. In many regions of the country the visitor also has the opportunity to come across buildings and places of worship belonging to other doctrines and religions which co-exist in a continuous dialogue promoting the rare historic and cultural palimpsest of Greece.
Religious tourism is one of the oldest types of tourism. It occurred at the same time as health tourism in early communities when people due to performing religious ceremonies visited different places – sanctums and in so doing traveled great distances. Through history these places became centers of religious, but also merchant and cultural events. The monuments of the Greek Orthodox religion are an integral part of the national heritage and attract a considerable number of visitors. The Byzantine and Post-Byzantine churches with their important iconography, mosaics, murals and rare icons, the imposing cathedrals, the chapels and shrines of the countryside, the monasteries, metochia (monastic dependencies) and sketae, the unique monastic state of Mount Athos (Aghio Oros) and the Meteora monasteries (Thessaly) speak for the intense dedication to traditions and the close interconnection of art with religious worship through the centuries. In many regions of the country the visitor also has the opportunity to come across buildings and places of worship belonging to other doctrines and religions which co-exist in a continuous dialogue promoting the rare historic and cultural palimpsest of Greece. 
