Cape Sounion — Temple of Poseidon

Sounion is where Attica ends: a temple to the sea god on a cliff seventy metres above the water, with nothing beyond it but islands and light. The Doric columns catch the low sun side-on, and because the site faces west over open sea, the sunset actually lands — no mountains in the way, no haze trapped over the city.

The classic frames are from the path below the temple's south side, with the columns on the skyline and the couple on the rocks beneath, and from inside the site with the sun dropping between the columns. The archaeological site closes at sunset, so the golden hour happens inside opening hours — go in, don't settle for the car park view. Tripods and anything that reads as a 'professional shoot' can draw attention from site staff; a photographer working handheld with a couple passes as tourists.

It is an hour's drive down the Riviera from central Athens. Combine it: Vouliagmeni's coves on the way down in the afternoon, Sounion for the last ninety minutes of light.