these Athenian Riviera towns are ideal for a beach escape. In the 1960s, the stretch of coastline just south of Athens—beginning at the port of Piraeus and sprawling some 40 miles along the western ...

A large wildfire swept through the coastal towns of Palaia Fokaia and Thymari 40 km (25 miles) southeast of Athens, destroying homes and forcing evacuations as it neared the beach.