By Terry Ward

updated 2:22 p.m. ET July 2, 2008

Cleopatra and Marc Antony. Helen of Troy and Paris. Jay-Z and Beyonce. Pamela Anderson and Kid Rock. These are just a few of the many romantic liaisons that have found footing, however fleetingly, on Mediterranean terrain.

As long as humans have had romance, the Med has reigned as one of the world's most reliable destinations for making lovers swoon. "The white-washed villages and blue, blue water are a very Mediterranean thing," says Judy Nussbaum, a luxury travel consultant with Unique Travel of Palm Beach in Delray, Fla. "And it's definitely romantic — it's just the nature of that part of the world."

Like love, however, the romance offers itself in various manifestations. For some lovers, the definitive beach tryst begs for only a few aesthetic ingredients — blinding white beaches and water clear enough to reflect the light in your besotted's eye, perhaps. For others, the cocktail is less cliché. Everyone has a different idea of how a particular travel destination should set the old heart aflutter. And when it comes to diverse cultural offerings that blend seamlessly with that universal seaside ethos — beach culture — few locales on the planet can seduce like the Mediterranean.

"How do you define 'romantic'? In Thassos, the water was clear and blue, there were goats on the rocks overlooking the beach. You could hear them sometimes," says Vincent Vogel, a lawyer from the Netherlands, about the Greek island where he honeymooned in 2005. "Thassos is quite green, there's nice sea. It was like one of those Louis de Funes movies from the 1960s showing the surroundings of St. Tropez, before it was so developed — to me that was romantic."

While well-developed and popular with holidaymakers from northern Greece and Eastern Europe (the island is only 12 kilometers from the mainland), Thassos manages to lull you into a starry-eyed state in myriad ways. Sure, the beaches are beautiful, and you can always find a secluded stretch — but the island's rugged interior is equally comely. Hire a moped, throw your arms around your lover's waist and cruise inland, stopping off at roadside stalls to sample locally produced foods such as olives, honey and the island's specialty tipple — a pear and cinnamon concoction called tsipouro.

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"The atmosphere is really different there, too," says Vogel. "The people are relaxed. Dutch people are in a hurry, and the Greeks are not."

Often, a truly romantic vacation is a quixotic one — it promises an experience that's out of the ordinary. Before you make any plans, however, make a commitment to learning Mediterranean culture's best life lesson — the luxury of time. Daytime hours are indulged lounging seaside or exploring medieval villages, with evenings devoted to long, languorous meals centered on a table for two overlooking the sea and a bottle of wine that's just as local as the fish on your plate.

Thierry Maffeis / iStockphoto.com Driving east from Marseilles, it doesn't take long to escape the sprawl of France's third-largest city and find yourself ensconced in vineyards and plunging sea views in the fishing port of Cassis.

"The whole lifestyle in Greece is very laid back," says Kelly Shea, vice president of Earle Travel, an Indianapolis firm specializing in Greek travel destinations, "Nobody's in a hurry to do anything; you get into the rhythm of life on a Greek island."

Of the islands, she says, "You walk around and explore … You sit in a café and have coffee, listen to music and talk to fishermen."

Romance does not get lost in the equation, even on the busy island of Santorini — the height of Greece's island perfection — where white-washed villages with turquoise domes painted Aegean blue perch atop sinister calderas and volcanic precipices. The serene way of life melds with the tranquil blues and dramatic scenery to produce a passionate response in even the most buttoned-up visitors.

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