Destination Greece

Art Athina. Art Athina was established by the Hellenic Art Galleries Association to promote and develop contemporary art in Greece and beyond. At Faliro Pavilion. For more details contact info@olympicproperties.gr or +30 210 9250010.
Athens In Bloom. Every year, Greece surrenders to the arms of spring. Floral displays are set up in the heart of Athens and a series of celebrations take place in Syndagma Square, the National Garden and many Athenian neighborhoods.
May 1-15: Chalkidiki Sokratia Festival — Folk festival. Larisa — Achillia — Literature, theater, folklore, music, dancing fest.

May 2: Katy Perry — The California Dreams Tour. After touring around Europe and the UK, American singer Katy Perry brings her sugary pop sounds to Adelaide Entertainment Centre. Expect all the hits from her latest album Teenage Dream, including California Girls, Firework and the popular title track. At Adelaide Entertainment Center. Cost $99 and starts at 7.30pm. For more information call +61 (0) 8 8208 2222.

Going Greek

Most of the European airlines serving South Africa offer connecting flights to Athens, as do the airlines from the Middle East (Emirates, Etihad and Qatar).

You will get the best fares when the airlines are offering specials on the SA-Europe leg of the journey. Your best bet is to find a good travel agent who will check all the carriers for special fares. You can also check the British Airways, Air France, Lufthansa, Emirates, Etihad and Qatar Airways sites for Internet-only specials. The budget carrier easyJet offers low-cost fares from London and Paris to Athens, so you could combine an easyJet ticket with a discounted fare from South Africa to London or Paris.

Greek travel and safety tips

Although the clear blue water and whitewashed buildings give one a sense of tranquility, there are dangers to be avoided in certain locations and certain times of year. Greece is a very safe country for tourists, but it's best to be aware of the hotspots that exist for both travelers and locals.

Places that might prove to be unsafe for American travelers include football (soccer) games where the rivalry between fans of the two teams is at a peak. Greeks take their football very seriously. It's not uncommon for the fans of the losing team to pull up stadium seats, throw them onto the playing field, set fires, and in general, behave worse than a 3 year old who has been denied a toy in the supermarket. Innocent spectators have been killed and injured in this sort of riotous behavior at games and in the vicinity of the stadium.

The Island of Santorini, Greece

Greece without Santorini is like a Greek salad without Kalamata olives – it just doesn’t taste the same. Santorini’s breathtaking Caldera, a sea-filled crater, and its vineyards and unbeatable nightlife make it a popular vacation destination. Hit the beaches or just explore. An island rich in ancient treasures, Santorini’s ruins from the Minoan period at Akrotiri and the wall paintings of Thera reveal one of the most fascinating prehistoric settlements of the Aegean. I toured the wineries and art galleries and bought an official hand-painted “Exact Copy” of a 7th-century B.C. pot with octopus design.

Our top 10 guide to Greece's best unspoilt islands and undeveloped villages

The makers of Mamma Mia! chose to film the movie on Skopelos because the island looks much as it did a generation ago. Skopelos Town is the prettiest port in the Sporades, with a harbour where you can watch the boats land their catch. The island is almost completely wooded with trails through pine, olive and plum groves that run down to the shore. The only downside is the shortage of sandy beaches, although Velanio is attractive and wider than more popular Stafylos near Skopelos Town.

Opening of new museum in Acropolis, Cvetkovic in Athens

Big celebration is being held in Athens regarding the opening of a new museum in Acropolis, where many European officials have been invited, including Serbian Prime Minister Mirko Cvetkovic. He will travel to Greece after the invitation of its Prime minister Kostas Karamanlis, and the delegation will also feature ministers of foreign affairs and culture, i.e. Vuk Jeremic and Nebojsa Bradic, respectively. During the visit, the Serbian Prime Minister will have talks with his host Karamanlis, as well as Cypriot President Demetris Christophias and Turkish Prime minister Tayip Erdogan.

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Greece: the inside track

Robin Gauldie, author of Thomas Cook guides to Mainland Greece and Greek Islands; Charles Arnold, author of Mediterranean Islands; Chris Deliso, co-author of Lonely Planet's Greece guidebook; Andy Bostock, author of the Bradt Guide to the Greek Peloponnese (out early 2010); Jane Foster, freelance writer based in Athens; Katerina

The Island Where People Live Longer

Making it to 90 years old is awe-inspiring in much of the world. But on a tiny Greek island in the North Aegean Sea, nonagenarians barely merit a second glance.

The island of Icaria could be the newest of the world's so-called blue zones — places where residents have unusually long life spans.

Dan Buettner has crossed the globe many times over the years in search of blue zones, and he recently teamed up with AARP and National Geographic to study Icaria.

Escape to a Greek island villa for just half the price

The start of the holiday season in the Greek islands is always the time for the best deals and this year is no exception, with Ionian Aegean Holidays offering up to 50 per cent off villas on Cephalonia and 40 per cent on Skopelos, where much of Mamma Mia! was filmed.

This means that a week from Saturday at the three-bedroom Villa Spiros, with a private pool, on Cephalonia, costs from £301 a person when four share and £430 if only two stay.

A week from May 9 at Villa Chloe, also with three bedrooms and a pool, is £349 based on six sharing. Prices include flights from Gatwick (or Manchester with a £25 supplement), car hire and a welcome hamper.

Fourni: the Greek islands you didn't know

Like your geography lessons simple? Okay. Between Turkey and the Greek island of Ikaria (Icarus, sun, problem with wings, fatal crash) is a little archipelago of 12 islands known as Fourni. The archipelago’s main island is called Fourni, and this island’s capital is known as, er, Fourni.

The name might make you think of fornication — the island does have more than 30 stunning beaches; some of them deserted and suitable for that sort of caper — but, according to a 16th-century Venetian geographer called Bordone, it derives from fornelli, meaning small ovens.

Small ovens, not because the place gets bloody hot in summer (which it does), but because the port (that’s the port of Fourni) is concave and reminded someone of a small oven.

So what kind of people live in a small oven, where everything is called Fourni? Strange people, you might not be surprised to hear.

2009 Tribecca Film Festival Goes Greek

The Tribeca Film Festival today announced that My Life in Ruins, directed by Donald Petrie and written by Mike Reiss, will have a special presentation screening as the closing night film of the 2009 Tribeca Film Festival, presented by founding sponsor American Express. My Life in Ruins, a Fox Searchlight Pictures release, stars Nia Vardalos, Richard Dreyfuss, María Ádanez, Sheila Bernette, María Botto, Rachel Dratch, Alexis Georgoulis, Ralph Nossek, Bernice Stegers, and Harland Williams, and will open nationwide on June 5, 2009.

Several of the cast members will attend the special screening to be held on Saturday, May 2, 2009, at BMCC TPAC in lower Manhattan. The Festival runs from April 22 to May 3, 2009.

“This year’s Festival has a number of fun and light-hearted films for our audience to enjoy. We are delighted to bring them another crowd-pleasing film, My Life in Ruins, to celebrate our closing night,” said Jane Rosenthal, co-founder of the Tribeca Film Festival.

Skopelos island, Greece

Grace Hotels introduces two new Greek island properties for the 2009 summer season

Grace Hotels Group has added two more hotels to its luxury boutique collection following the signing of a management agreement with the privately owned Tsimaras Hotels Group. Both hotels are in the Ionian Islands off the west coast of Greece. The 63 room Emelisse Hotel lies on the northern coast of Kefalonia in the famous fishing village of Fiskardo and is now known as the Kefalonia Grace - Emelisse. The 19 room Perantzada Hotel is a newly opened hotel in the picturesque port of Vathy on the island of Ithaki. It is now known as the Ithaki Grace - Perantzada. The new members of the Grace family already enjoy excellent reputations in their own right and will join the acclaimed Mykonos Grace and Santorini Grace located in the Cyclades island cluster.

Commenting on the agreement, Philippe Requin Chief Executive Officer of Grace Hotels Group stated: “Both hotels are beautifully conceived and located, thus fulfilling the Grace criteria of providing understated contemporary elegance and supreme comfort at some of the world’s most stylish destinations and resorts. We are delighted to welcome them into the Grace fold and believe each will add a new dimension to the Grace collection. Meanwhile Grace branding will provide a fitting tribute to the reputation already held by these fine properties.”

Film boosts Greek holiday bookings

The massive popularity of the film Mamma Mia! has given an unexpected boost to the number of UK holidaymakers visiting Greece.

Mamma Mia!, which features film stars Meryl Streep and Pierce Brosnan, has become the UK’s highest-grossing film ever. It is set on the island of Skopelos in Greece.

Airlines and travel operators have reported a shift from euro-zone holidays over the past several months, due largely to the pound’s weakness against the euro, but Greece has actually increased in popularity as a destination.

EasyJet has said that traffic on its flights to Athens has increased by 13 per cent since last July when the film was released. The budget carrier attributes much of the rise in passenger numbers to the film’s appealing depiction of life on the Greek island.

Cyprus: Implausibly sunny island

As the legendary birthplace of Aphrodite, Cyprus has equally impeccable classical credentials. According to Homer's Odyssey, the goddess of love emerged from the waves in a surge of white foam on the island's south coast, next to a craggy limestone rock formation known as Petra Tou Romiou. It was always likely to be my sort of place.

In the end, though, it was the need to travel early in the year that finally took me to Cyprus. It's the third-largest island in the Mediterranean, and also the easternmost and the sunniest. A reputed 300 days of sunshine a year make it a very appealing prospect for visiting outside of the regular summer season.

In early spring, when Greece has yet to warm up, Cyprus is usually blue-skied, balmy and ablaze with fields of flowers. (The wild orchids appear in the lowlands from February. By this time of year, you can expect vivid swathes of scarlet gladioli, alongside silky drifts of almond blossom.)

Visit the annual church rocket fight in Greece

While in Greece enjoying fresh oregano, ancient ruins, pleasant islands with no cars, and the origin of Olympic spirit, check out this annual event where two churches fire rockets at each other all night long.

On the island Chios in Greece, in the town of Vrontados, from April 18th at 8pm to midday April 19th, two churches in Greece will celebrate Easter with their annual rocket fight called rouketopolemos ("the Easter church war"). Each church’s members will light small rockets and shoot them at the other church; the goal is to hit the opposing side’s bell tower.

The tagline for this video on fazer.com says it all: “Dangerous? Probably. Awesome? Definitely.” If you go, please try to observe the event from a safe vantage point.

Other things to do on Chios island include beaches, clubs, villages, the eleventh-century monastery “Nea Moni” (new monastery), and eating fresh seafood.

Yanni's favorite destination: Greece

Mykonos is the party island and is a fun place to visit. But don't attempt to go there in August, when everyone is there. The best months to go are September or October because the tourists have left by then and you have a little more privacy. However, my ultimate place for a romantic getaway is Santorini, which is a volcanic island. I like it so much that I wrote a song about it. There are little villages hanging off at the edge of the cliffs, and the water is deep blue. It's absolutely stunning at sunset—kind of like a Fellini movie.

GREEK CUISINE: The food is so good and hearty. It's really easy to get carried away. I have to run about six times a day when I'm there just to break even with everything that I eat! (Laughs.)

ON BEING RECOGNIZED: People are very polite to me. I'm a little bit of a celebrity in Santorini but everyone is so nice. Greeks aren't very aggressive. They may stare at you, but they won't invade your space.

Old exile island to be green energy model

The island of Ai Stratis in the northeastern Aegean, best known as a place of exile in the past for thousands of Greece’s political dissidents, is set to become the country’s first island powered exclusively by green energy, Development Minister Costis Hatzidakis said yesterday.

The island, which has some 250 permanent residents, was chosen for the project because of its “manageable” energy requirements of 1,500 megawatt-hours per year, Hatzidakis said. The 10-million-euro project, which will depend on solar, wind energy and biomass fuel production, and is due to begin next year follows similar initiatives in Australia, Denmark and Norway.

Mayors on the islands of Nisyros and Tilos have reportedly also expressed an interest in implementing similar projects to power their communities.

Five ?Secret? Greek Islands

A Greek Island escape makes the perfect holiday, but with around 1,400 islands in the Greek archipelago, choosing a destination that is not overrun with holidaymakers can be a challenge. While Corfu and Crete are deservedly popular, especially with first-time Greece travelers, here are five ?secret? Greek islands that should be on your itinerary.

Kea Part of the Cyclades, and close to the mainland, laid-back Kea is no secret with the locals who flock here to their weekend retreats. Ferries to Kea leave from Lavrio, a 90-minute bus trip from Athens. Kea has a laid-back atmosphere, good walking trails, and 50 miles of coastline with tiny bays and unspoiled sandy beaches. Ioulidha, has some charming tavernas, while the delightful hill capital of Ioulis, the marina at Vourkari and Otzias Bay are other highlights.

Evia Dominated by Mt Ochi, this Greek island ?secret?, is really the second-largest Greek island after Crete. With remote villages nestled in the mountain slopes, connected by stone paths and tracks, it?s a walker?s delight. But add a captivating coastline, plenty of Roman ruins, old buildings, secluded beaches, and a wide choice of lively tavernas, and you have the perfect holiday ingredients.

Enjoy a springtime getaway in Mykonos, Santorini and more

Celebrate spring in the Cyclades with these affordable vacation packages to the legendary islands of Santorini and Mykonos. Not only will you beat the summer crowds with these pre-season vacations, you’ll also enjoy mild temperatures in the 60s and 70s ideal for exploring white-roofed cliffside villages, glittering black-and-red-sand beaches, and some of the world’s most picturesque ports and fishing marinas.

4-night vacations on Santorini from $987
Perched cliffside overlooking the Aegean, Astra Apartments features 28 traditional island-style suites and rooms with balconies or terraces, offering stunning views of Santorini’s 3,600-year-old caldera. Let the front desk arrange guided sailing excursions, or rent a bike to explore the narrow cobbled streets of the nearby village of Imerovigil. At the resort, you find a day spa, Jacuzzi and a romantic open-air restaurant serving classic Greek and Mediterranean cuisine.