Ancient Maroneia

Founded by settlers from Chios in the early 7th century BC over an older Thracian settlement, Maroneia was the largest and most important Greek colony in western Thrace. In antiquity it was renowned for wine so strong it was said to take twenty parts water to one part wine to drink safely — Homer mentions Maronean wine in the Odyssey.

Cyclopean walls over a kilometre long and megalithic gates recall the Mycenaean citadels of southern Greece. On the beach of Agios Charalambos, a monumental Hadrian-era gateway, a 4th-century BC harbour, a mosaic-floored private house, and a sanctuary to Dionysos — fittingly, the god of wine — are all still visible.

A quieter, less-visited alternative to the more famous sites further south, with the added appeal of a beach right beside the ruins.