Greece Travel Guide

No matter how you get to Greece the first thing you notice is that the sun is omnipresent. A country of sunshine ideal for any trip any time. We are all looking for it when we go on vacation (who would like to spend his vacation in a rainy place?). Well if you want to visit the UK you will have to accept this idea maybe that’s why a lot of people choose Greece as their holiday destination.

Another reason would be that it is not a very expensive country and you can find a lot of cheap deals.

The scenery is amazing: clear blue sky, white sand, nice beaches, olive trees, rocky landscape, lots of magnificent islands (more than 1400 islands of which 160 have boat connections) and of course beautiful churches and one of the most famous religious sites Athos.

Time to visit: the best time would be during spring and autumn as in summer the temperatures can reach 40 degrees Celsius and above, if you still choose summer as your travelling period you should definitely have air conditioning in your room. Be sure you check for this facility when you search for accommodation. Travelling between November and March is not so good if you want to see the islands as the transport facilities are scarce and the timetable is not fixed.

Visiting the country during Easter is a bless as you can take part in beautiful religious habits and customs. People go to church during at midnight and the streets are full of people, the celebration is very touching and whether you want it or not you are overwhelmed by the athmosphere.

Habits: if someone offers you basil it is a sign of hospitality.

It is a country of a rich culture and history with its residents having a strong identity and take great pride in being Greeks. Some hundreds of years ago Greece was considered to be the centre of cultural life and stories about Troy, Ulysses and Iason have travelled around the world making it known. And of course the Olympic games originate in Greece.

Food: the food is great and varied even if some would consider it a bit greasy, but the use of olive oil in cooking certainly makes it healthy. You can eat well and for a fare price in a lot of Taverns that serve delicious food in a humble atmosphere. If you see the sign Psistaria you have to know that this is the place where you can eat lamb, pork or chicken specialties, Psarotaverna is the place where you can have fish, and Ovelistirio is the place where you can have Yiros.

Because a lot of food is prepared in the morning you might find it hard to find fresh food in the evening or afternoon, but there are places where you can choose your fish from an aquarium and have it prepared in no time.

Be careful at the prices as some taverns do not have them at sight so it is a lot better if you ask for it and also ask them to mention it with taxes included.

Athens is the capital of the country with a population of 4 million that get to be a lot more in high season when the tourists flock the city. More than 2 million tourists land in Athens and it is their first contact with the country.

You can’t really say that it is beautiful besides the historical centre the architecture of the city is kind of ordinary and somehow chaotic, not even speaking about pollution that makes the air unbreatheable at peak times when there are a lot of traffic jams, still its visitors do not seem to complain and they live a nice experience being among the Athenians who are welcoming and make you feel at home. If you want to visit the centre you have to know that there is a restriction regarding the cars that are allowed to enter the center so the cars with pair numbers are allowed to enter some days and the ones with impair numbers in other days.

There are a lot of universities in the city and it gives it a vibrant cultural life.

Greece is a country with a lot to see and it really needs to be discovered as its diversity is so great that it would be difficult to comprise it in one essay.

When you are in a foreign country knowing where the nearest consulate is may prove to be very useful. So here is a list of the US consulates which can be found in the major cities of this country:

• Thessaloniki (address: Tsimiski 43, Thessaloniki 546 23, phone: 0030-2310-242-905)
• Athens (Embassy, link: http://www.usembassy.gr/)