Hotel Grande Bretagne in Athens

16 February 2013 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, Hotels Reading Time:  4 minutes

© grandebretagne.gr

© grandebretagne.gr

The Hotel Grande Bretagne is a luxury city hotel in Greece, one of the most luxurious in southeastern Europe. It is located in central Athens immediately adjacent to Syntagma Square, on the corner of Vasileos Georgiou A’ and Panepistimiou Streets, and is now part of the Marriott company.   read more…

Mykonos in the South Aegean

24 November 2012 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General Reading Time:  6 minutes

Elias Beach © Squirmy2000

Elias Beach © Squirmy2000

Mykonos is a Greek island, part of the Cyclades, lying between Tinos, Syros, Paros and Naxos. The island spans an area of 85.5 km2 (33 sq mi) and rises to an elevation of 341 m (1,119 ft) at its highest point. There are 9,320 inhabitants. most of whom live in the largest town, Mykonos, which lies on the west coast. The town is also known as Chora. Tourism is a major industry. Archaeological finds indicate that the Ionians settled on Mykonos in the early part of the 11th century BCE. In ancient times, Mykonos, due to its proximity to the then highly populated island of Delos (situated about 2 kilometres (1.2 mi) away), became very important as a supply island and possibly as a getaway location for Delian citizens.   read more…

Mount Athos in Greece

6 November 2012 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, UNESCO World Heritage Reading Time:  7 minutes

Mount Athos © flickr.com - Gabriel

Mount Athos © flickr.com – Gabriel

Mount Athos is a mountain and peninsula in the Macedonia region, Greece. A World Heritage Site and self-governed state in the Hellenic Republic, Athos is home to 20 stavropegial Eastern Orthodox monasteries under the direct jurisdiction of the patriarch of Constantinople. Today Greeks commonly refer to Mount Athos as the “Holy Mountain” (Greek: Άγιον Όρος, Agion Oros). In Classical times, while the mountain was called Athos, the peninsula was called Akté (Ἀκτὴ) (sometimes Acte or Akte).   read more…

The port city of Nafplio on the Argolic Gulf

12 September 2012 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General Reading Time:  6 minutes

View from Palamidi Castle © Luu

View from Palamidi Castle © Luu

Nafplio (or Nafplion) is a seaport town in the Peloponnese in Greece that has expanded up the hillsides near the north end of the Argolic Gulf. The town was the first capital of modern Greece, from the start of the Greek Revolution in 1821 until 1834. Nafplio is now the capital of the regional unit of Argolis.   read more…

Die university city of Patras

21 May 2012 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, European Union, European Capital of Culture Reading Time:  6 minutes

Patras Port © Conudrum

Patras Port © Conudrum

Patras is Greece’s third largest urban area and the regional capital of West Greece, located in northern Peloponnese, 215 kilometers west of Athens. The city is built at the foothills of Mount Panachaikon, overlooking the Gulf of Patras.   read more…

The Propylaea and Acropolis of Athens

11 April 2012 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, Museums, Exhibitions, UNESCO World Heritage Reading Time:  7 minutes

Propylaea and Acropolis © Fantasy

Propylaea and Acropolis © Fantasy

A Propylaea, Propylea or Propylaia is any monumental gateway based on the original Propylaea that serves as the entrance to the Acropolis in Athens. The word propylaea (propylaeum is the Latin version) is the union of the prefix pro (before or in front of) plus the plural of the Greek pylon or pylaion (gate), meaning literally that which is before the gates, but the word has come to mean simply gate building. The Brandenburg Gate of Berlin and the Propylaea in Munich are specifically copied from the central portion of the Propylaea.   read more…

The Meteora monasteries in Greece

9 January 2012 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, UNESCO World Heritage Reading Time:  7 minutes

Meteora Panorama © Exwhysee

Meteora Panorama © Exwhysee

The Metéora (“suspended rocks”, “suspended in the air” or “in the heavens above” – etymologically similar to “Meteorite”) is one of the largest and most important complexes of Eastern Orthodox monasteries in Greece, second only to Mount Athos. The six monasteries are built on natural sandstone rock pillars, at the northwestern edge of the Plain of Thessaly near the Pineios river and Pindus Mountains, in central Greece. The nearest town is Kalambaka. The Metéora is included on the UNESCO World Heritage List. Only six of the originally 24 monasteries remain today. Of these six, four were inhabited by men, and two by women. Each monastery has fewer than 10 inhabitants. The monasteries are now tourist attractions.   read more…

Santorini in the southern Aegean Sea

19 December 2011 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General Reading Time:  7 minutes

Fira © Hans Peter Schaefer - www.reserv-a-rt.de

Fira © Hans Peter Schaefer – www.reserv-a-rt.de

Santorini is an island located in the southern Aegean Sea, about 200 km (120 mi) southeast from Greece’s mainland. It is the largest island of a small, circular archipelago which bears the same name and is the remnant of a volcanic caldera. It forms the southernmost member of the Cyclades group of islands, with an area of approximately 73 km2 (28 sq mi) and a 2001 census population of 13,670. The municipality of Santorini comprises the inhabited islands of Santorini and Therasia and the uninhabited islands of Nea Kameni, Palaia Kameni, Aspronisi, and Christiana. The total land area is 90.623 km2 (34.990 sq mi). Santorini is part of the Santorini peripheral unit.   read more…

Country overview

9 November 2011 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General Reading Time:  5 minutes

In addition to the regular search function, a country overview is available here. Click on the country name to see all currently available blog entries.   read more…

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