July 13, 2004 -- As the time for the 2004 Olympics fast approaches (the opening ceremony is on August 13), the international press continues to report serious concerns over the state of Greece's readiness -- venue facilities, transportation facilities, and security arrangements. To those still wondering about their own plans for attending the Olympics, the best advice we can give is to follow developments in the national media. Meanwhile, the Greeks continue to insist that everything will be in place when it is needed. As for some terrorist incident, there can be no absolute guarantee anywhere in the world these days.
Information
As we recently informed you, the longtime office of the Greek National Tourist Organization (www.gnto.gr) on Amerikis Street has closed and the new office is at 7 Tsochas, on the northern fringe of central Athens. (about 6 blocks beyond the USA Embassy.) Regular hours have been announced as 8 AM to 3 PM on weekdays but these may change during the Olympics period. In any case, it is a long walk from the center of town so taking a bus or taxi is advised. Meantime, the Tourist Organization has opened a special "digital" office at 26 Amalias Avenue (opposite the National Gardens, and just off to the side of Syntagma/Constitution Square). The GNTO has also announced plans to open similar "digital" offices in Thessaloniki, Patras, Iraklion, and Volos. It remains to be seen how helpful such "digital" offices are for visitors with questions that do not fit into pre-programmed categories.
On June 28, the mayor of Athens announced the creation of the Athens Volunteer Corps. As many as 3,000 volunteers will be trained. They will operate 40 information kiosks in central Athens (in Syntagma, Omonia, Pedion to Areos, Gazi, and Amerikis Squares) and will patrol 58 routes in central Athens, keeping an eye out for foreigners who seem to need assistance. There are also plans for some 20 information kiosks with "touch screens" to be set up in central Athens; visitors can use these to obtain answers to the most frequently asked queries.
Tickets
The sale of tickets to Greeks and members of the European Union has been particularly disastrous -- sales are so slow that there is talk of giving out free tickets to some events. In any case, North Americans have been assigned their own quota of tickets and are still being advised to obtain them from the official agencies listed -- either www.cartan.com or www.cosport.com. These groups sell their tickets as part of (rather expensive!) larger purchase like packages and accommodations. Also, you are usually required to buy tickets for more than one event, and these often include events that are of less interest to most spectators. However, there is now another alternative: Ticket Company (www.tickco.com/athens2004/) a major USA ticket agency, claims to have tickets for sale to all events but at well above face value. On the plus side, higher ticket prices allow you to buy tickets to only those events that you want to see and to make your own travel arrangements, so in the end you might actually save money. The truly adventurous may decide just to take their chances when they get to Athens.
Accommodations
Until recently, it was thought virtually every last bed in every hotel in and close to Athens had been reserved but -- along with those lagging ticket sales -- there are now reports that rooms are still available. So it might be worthwhile contacting hotels recommended in Frommer's or known to individuals. Our special section on the Olympics lists the possibilities for finding alternatives to hotels. As mentioned above, the official ticket agencies do have hotel accommodations in and around Athens but these are available only in conjunction with "package deals" -- travel arrangements, tickets to specific events, and some meals inclusive. For many, though, this may still be the preferred way to attend the Games. Cruise ships will also be in port close to Athens -- including the new Queen Mary 2! Not cheap, but perhaps worth the once-in-a-lifetime experience.
Museums
If you are intending to visit Greece this year for destinations other than the Olympics, you are strongly advised to avoid the whole month of August if you possibly can. For one thing, some sites (including those of Brauron and Marathon) and museums may be closed due to delays in planned renovations; on the other hand, some museums will be extending their hours. In particular, the sites and museums where games took place in antiquity -- Olympia, Nemea, Isthmia, and Delphi-plan increased hours for August. Our advice is to inquire ahead (at the information kiosks or GNTO offices) before setting off to remote destinations.
In Athens itself, although not all of the rooms of the National Archaeological Museum -- home of the world's major collection of ancient Greek art -- will be open to the public, most of the best-known objects will be on display on the entry-level floor, including the Mycenaean gold, major classical sculptures, and frescoes from Thira (Santorini). The museum also has a special exhibit, "The Athletic Spirit in Ancient Greece," featuring examples of art (many lent by foreign museums) on the subject of the Olympic Games.
Whenever you will be visiting this summer and fall, you should know that major renovations of certain museums turned out to require more time than was realized. Thus, there has been no progress on building a new Acropolis Museum -- long planned for opposite the base of the Acropolis. In any case, a proposal by Greece that the British Museum at least lend the Elgin marbles to the Acropolis Museum has been rejected by the British. However, many of the major finds from the Acropolis -- including some sculptures from the Parthenon that Lord Elgin left behind! -- can still be seen in the present museum on the Acropolis itself. Meanwhile, many museums throughout Greece are mounting some kind of special exhibit for the Olympics.
At Olympia, the site of the original Olympics, the newly opened Museum of the History of the Olympic Games in Antiquity has 12 galleries on the history of games at other Greek sites as well as at Olympia. (Admission free. Summer Mon 12-7pm Tues-Sun 8 am-7pm; Winter Mon 12-5pm Tues-Sun 8am-5pm).
In Athens itself, some of the major special exhibits include:
- Museum of Cycladic Art (www.cycladic-m.gr): "Magna Graeca: Athletics and the Olympic Spirit on the Periphery of the Hellenic World: Southern Italy and Sicily" (ends October 2).
- National History Museum (Old Parliament Building, 13 Stadiou): "Athens 1896: The First International Olympic Games"
- Technopolis (100 Pireos Avenue): "Pierre de Coubertin and the Greek Miracle." (ends August 29).
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