Greece

Quick Facts

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Capital

Athens

Population

10,666,000

Government

Parliamentary Republic

Religions

Christianity (Greek Orthodox)

Languages

Greek, English, French

Calling Code

+30

Nationality

Greek

Local name

Hellas (Ελλάδα)

Introduction

Thalassography

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Greece hit its stride well before Christ was born, making it one of the oldest and most influential world civilizations. Art, politics and philosophy all took significant cues from Ancient Greece. Very few countries can rival the richness of Greece's history. Philosophers like Plato, Socrates and Aristotle formulated some of history's most important ideas here. Today, ancient sites like the Parthenon and Delphi survive to be awe-inspiring spectacles for the throngs of tourists who flock to them. Many of Greece's cities date back milleniums, and despite modernity rearing its head, the character of these places still retains their ancient tradition.

Greece is a destination with more than enough attractions to lure you there and plenty of surprises to keep you dazzled. After you have seen all the touristy hot spots, head for one of Greece's many fine Mediterranean beaches, stretch out, close your eyes and let the sounds of a land of dreams wash over you.

Brief History

Geography

Regions

At the broadest administrative level, Greece is divided into thirteen peripheries.

• Attica
• Central Greece
• Central Macedonia
• Crete
• East Macedonia and Thrace
• Epirus
• Ionian Islands
• North Aegean
• Peloponnese
• South Aegean
• Thessaly
• West Greece
• West Macedonia
• Mount Athos

Cities

• Athens
• Thessaloniki
• Heraklion
• Patrai
• Larissa
• Fira, Santorini
• Oia
• Naxos Town

Sights and Activities

Events and Festivals

Weather

Getting There

By Plane

Olympic Airlines is the national airline of Greece and is based at Athens International Airport (ATH) near the capital. Destinations with this airline include Alexandria, Amsterdam, Berlin, Cairo, Dubai, Frankfurt, Geneva, Johannesburg, London, Montreal, Moscow, New York, Paris, Toronto and Vienna. Aegean Airlines has several flights within Europe as well, including Rome, Milan and Düsseldorf. Many European airlines have direct flights to Athens and charterflights mainly in the summermonts but increasingly outside the season serve dozens of islands of Greece.
Easyjet is a lowcost airline serving Athens from London, Berlin, Paris and Milan.
From and to Thessaloniki International Airport (SKG) are flights as well with several dozens of European airlines flying here.

By Train

By Car

By Bus

By Boat

Getting Around

By Plane

Olympic Airlines has domestic flights to many destinations including Alexandroupolis, Chania, Chios, Corfu, Heraklion, Ioannina, Kalymnos, Karpathos, Kavala, Kefalonia, Kithira, Kos, Limnos, Milos, Mykonos, Mytilene, Naxos, Paros, Rhodes, Samos, Santorini, Sitia, Thessaloniki and Zakynthos. Aegean Airlines has a share of domestic flights as well.

By Train

By Car

By Bus

By Boat

Red Tape

If you are a European Union (EU) citizen, you may enter without any restriction as per your EU citizenship rights. If you are not an EU citizen, you will need to obtain a Schengen Visa. This visa is valid for any country in the Schengen zone.

Money

See also: Money Matters

Greece has adopted the Euro (ISO code: EUR, symbol: €) as its official currency. One Euro is divided into 100 cents, which is sometimes referred to as eurocents, especially when distinguishing them with the US cents.

Euro banknotes come in denominations of €5, €10, €20, €50, €100, €200, €500. The highest three denominations are rarely used in everyday transactions. All Euro banknotes have a common design for each denomination on both sides throughout the Eurozone.

The Euro coins are 1 cent, 2 cents, 5 cents, 10 cents, 20 cents, 50 cents, €1 and €2. Some countries in the Eurozone have law which requires cash transactions to be rounded to the nearest 5 cents. All Euro coins have a common design on the denomination (value) side, while the opposite side may have a different image from one country to another. Although the image side may be different, all Euro coins remain legal tender throughout the Eurozone.

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