Come holiday with Prince Charles

Usually once a year, Prince Charles, the future King of England, pays a visit to Mount Athos which is little over one hour's drive from Thessaloniki. Athos is the third of the peninsulas on Halkidiki and although strictly speaking part of Greece, it is under the imdependent governance of the orthodox church. It has over 20 different monasteries, Serb, Russian, Bulgarian and Greek. Entrance to Mount Athos is only allowed with a special permit from the Ministry of Macedonia and Thrace, located in Thessaloniki and a visitor can stay for a maximum of four days. Females are not permitted on Mount Athos. (Even Charles had to leave Camilla on the boat - no exceptions made!)
The first monasteries were built here in the 9th century, to give you an idea of the time scale and many riches and treasures of the Orthodox Church are kept here.
I found it interesting that in 1997 when Greece was cultural capital of Europe, an exhibition of the treasures was staged here in Thessaloniki in the Byzantine Museum. The exhibiton almost did not take place as there was great difficulty in finding a company to insure it. One of the small icons alone was insured for 30 billion Greek drachmas!
To visit the island the usual way that pilgrims arrive is using the small ferry boat which leaves from Ouranopoli to the little harbour of Daphne on Mount Athos. The area itself is full of rare plats and wildlife and is called also the garden of the Virin Mary. To understand more of the history and the sights on Mount Athos I would advise you to read this account of a visit.