- Nineteen archaeological sites in Greece are now open to culinary events under the Eaternity Experience program.
- Chefs can rent temples, fortresses, and courtyards for 1,000–1,500 € a day — not including chairs, nerves, or divine approval.
- The Culture Ministry insists events must respect history — no moussaka on the mosaics.
- The program aims to connect food and heritage, because in Greece they’ve always been married anyway.
Dinner With a Side of History
Only in Greece can you book a dinner table at a UNESCO site. Under the Eaternity Experience program, the Organization for the Management and Development of Cultural Resources (ODAP) is now letting chefs serve modern Greek cuisine in spaces where people once sacrificed goats to the gods.
For a modest fee — around 1,000 to 1,500 € per day, plus extra for setting up and removing your ambitions — restaurants and caterers can host tasting events among ruins, fortresses, or archaeological courtyards.
The only catch?
You must treat the site with respect, which is bureaucratic Greek for “no DJ booths inside the temple.”
Greece’s Tastiest Bureaucracy Yet
ODAP president Nikoleta Valakou says the program isn’t about the money — which, to be fair, is exactly what someone collecting fees usually says.
“The important thing is not the financial aspect, but the promotion of the sites and the enhancement of the visitor experience,” she noted diplomatically, while Greece collectively pictured Michelin-starred chefs dodging pigeons in Delphi.
The idea, launched in 2022, is actually brilliant: let the country’s best chefs cook where civilization began. Greece invented hospitality, after all — this is just the encore, with aprons.
Eat Like a God, Pay Like a Mortal
So far, the plan’s success has been impressive — and hilarious. Imagine sipping Assyrtiko at Ancient Nemea, dining at Frangokastello in Sfakia, or enjoying dessert next to the northern wall of Amphipolis. The wine tastes better when it echoes off marble.
Private social events are banned, so no weddings or influencer picnics — this is about cultural gastronomy, not content creation. As ODAP reminds us, “From prehistoric times, there was no ritual or religious celebration without food.”
In other words: we’ve always been this hungry.
The Divine Dinner List
If you’re ready to dine with history, here are the 19 places on Greece’s new edible itinerary:
- Nicopolis – between the old museum and Basilica A
- Delphi – courtyard of the Archaeological Museum
- Museum of Aigai – semi-open and outdoor spaces
- Roman Forum of Thessaloniki
- Mystras – Lower Town plateau
- Chrysafitissa Square, Monemvasia
- Palace of the Grand Master, Rhodes (bastion area)
- Western Moat of the Venetian Fortifications, Chania
- Ancient Nemea
- Zone, Thrace
- Andromonastiro, Messenia
- Castle of Pylos (Niokastro)
- Mourtzinoi Tower, Kardamyli
- Fortress of Rio
- Tsiatsiapas Mansion, Trikala
- Northern Wall of Amphipolis
- Heptapyrgion, Thessaloniki
- Fortress of Frangokastello, Sfakia
- Kazarma Fortress, Sitia
The idea has already caught international attention, including a headline-making dinner at the Castle of Pylos during the “Maestro” tourism exhibition. Because nothing says “cultural diplomacy” quite like eating sea bass under a cannon.
If this keeps up, Greece may soon need a new tourism slogan:
“Come for the ruins, stay for the risotto.”
