After a slow start, 2005 became one of the best years on record for tourism in Greece. In August 2005, the Greek National Tourist Organization (GNTO) announced that it expected a total of 14 million visitors to Greece -- an increase from 15% to 25% over 2004 to most popular destinations. All signs show that Greece is on its way to becoming a non-stop holiday destination from May through October.
Wine-lovers will be pleased to learn that the 2005 vintage of Greek wines promises to be excellent. Hopes are especially high for the wines of Santorini, including the popular Assyrtiko and Athiri varieties. Greek wines are on sale locally at many vineyards, most supermarkets, and at the duty free shops at Athens Airport.
Athens
The Athens Metro now runs all the way from the Athens International Airport into central Athens. The airport stop is near the large airport Sofitel Hotel, a short walk from the airport itself. In Athens, the best stops for most arriving tourists are Syntagma (Constitution) Square and Acropolis, but your hotel can advise you on which stop is most convenient. The Metro is swift and efficient, but if you have to change lines and are burdened with luggage, you may decide to take a taxi. For up-to-date price and schedule information on the Athens Metro, check out www.ametro.gr.
In a convenient central location on a (usually) quiet street, the Athens Cypria has Acropolis views from room nos. 603 to 607. With bright white halls and rooms, cheerful floral bedspreads and curtains, and freshly tiled bathrooms with new fixtures, the Cypria is a welcome addition to the city's moderately priced hotels. The breakfast buffet offers hot and cold dishes from 7 to 10am. The hotel can be infuriatingly slow in responding to faxed reservation requests. Travelers thinking of staying at Athens Cypria will also want to know that the hotel is adding 44 new rooms in an adjacent building. Inevitably, there will be construction noise while this goes on. Work is scheduled to end by this summer. 5 Diomias, Athens; tel. 210/323-8034.
The National Archaeological Museum which was closed for renovations from 2002-2005, has reopened most of its first and second floor galleries. The superb collection of Greek vases on the second floor is again open to the public. In addition, several of the restored 3500 BC frescoes from the site of Akrotiri on the island of Santorini (Thira) are again on view on the second floor, while others are intended to be displayed on the island of Santorini itself.
The Saronic Gulf Islands
In 2005, Odyssey magazine chose the Orloff Resort in the Old Port area of Spetses in its annual selection of the "50 Best Hotels in Greece." Friends who visited the Resort last August wanted to cancel the rest of their trip in Greece and stay as long as possible! Double rooms from 90€ to 160€ ($117 to $208). tel. 22980-75-444; www.orloffresort.com.
The Peloponnese
For years, Frommer's has given high marks to Olympia's Hotel Pelops and its tirelessly energetic and hospitable owners, Theodore and Suzanna Spiliopoulos. Now, Suzanna has organized three courses for visitors to Olympia: cooking, creative writing, and art. Participants will stay at the completely redecorated Hotel Pelops during their three to five day courses. Suzanna, who catered several dinners for athletes and dignitaries in Olympia during the 2004 Olympics, will teach the cooking classes. Creative writing classes will be led by Gillian Bouras, an Australian freelance writer who lives in the Peloponnese. Greek artist Nikos Toumazatos, who studied in England, will lead the painting and drawing classes. For more information on the three courses and the excellent room rates at the hotel, which is open year-round, check out www.hotelpelops.gr.
For at least the next year, Momemvassia's narrow streets and lanes will be torn up as a modern sewer system is installed. In addition to the donkeys and mules -- usually the only form of transport on Monemvassia -- small bulldozers and earth-carrying vehicles will be in use. Work begins as early as 7am, and continues until late afternoon.
Crete
A most ambitious water park, Sea World, has appeared on the coast of Crete at Gouves, former site of the longtime US Air Force Station, some 12 miles east of Iraklion. Sponsored by official scientific institutions, it claims to be the largest such facility in the Mediterranean, with 32 tanks housing 4,000 sea creatures. There are also restaurants and cafes on the site.
The Cyclades
On September 22, 2005, the "state-of-the-art" protective steel roof over the site of Akrotiri on Santorini (Thera) collapsed. One visitor was killed, several more injured. The site has been closed "indefinitely" and the extent of the damage to this very important Minoan-period site is not yet known. Visitors to Santorini eager to see Akrotiri should check with www.culture.gr and sources on the island such as www.santorini.gr, to see if Akrotiri has reopened.
Visitors to the Cyclades this summer will have the opportunity to see operas performed at the Cyclades International Music Festival on Syros. Opera performances take place in Syros's handsome Apollo Theater, which is modeled on Milan's La Scala Theater. Other performances in the Festival will take place at different venues on Syros and, perhaps, on other Cycladic islands. The island of Naxos also has a summer festival, with music and exhibitions. As we get closer to summer, information on these and other island festivals should be available at www.cultureguide.gr.
Central Greece
The excellent Hotel Acropole, open year-round, in Delphi has a very helpful staff, and one of the quietest locations and best views in town over the olive groves that stretch beneath Delphi to the sea; be sure to ask for a room in the back, so that you do get the view. Mention that you heard about the Acropole from Frommer's and you should get an 8% discount on your bill. Double with buffet breakfast 75€ ($98). tel. 22650-82-675; www.delphi.com.gr.
If the Acropole is full, the Kourelis family, which owns and manages the Acropole, can usually find you a room at their other Delphi hotel, the Parnassos. The Parnassos does not have the great view, but is less expensive (65€/$85), with a 10% discount usually available to Frommer's readers.
We strongly recommend the Epikouros Restaurant, also on Delphi's main street, at 33 Pavlou and Frederikis. The Epikouros (owned and managed by the same helpful Kourelis family) has an astonishingly wide and varied menu -- including tasty vegetable fritters, delicious local formaella cheese, lamb with fresh tomato sauce and, in season, wild boar. The Epikouros also easily has the best view from a restaurant; Entrees from 9€ to 15€ ($12 to $19).
The Topiki Gefsi restaurant, once on the main street of Delphi, has closed.
The Archaeological Museum at Delphi has reopened with a new wing displaying much that was previously in storage. This museum is often seriously crowded, so try to get there when it opens, at 7:30 (summer) or 8am (winter). As the information posted on the displays in the museum is sparse, you may want to get the 2004 edition of Photios Petsas's Delphi, Monuments and Museum at the museum shop.
Western Greece
Ioannina's long popular Xenia Hotel has closed and is scheduled for demolition. Erected in 1958 by the Greek government, it has been sold to a private hotel company that intends to build a much larger hotel on the site. Both national and municipal officials protested this move as they regarded the Xenia and its surrounding park to be a valuable contributor to the city's atmosphere.
At the same time, as part of a nationwide program to update and enlarge Greece's museums, a new archaeological museum in Ioannina is due to open by spring this year.
Northern Greece
In September of 2005, two new high-speed trains were inaugurated on the Athens-Thessaloniki route. The new trains (Inter City Express 50 and 51) are scheduled to make the journey between the two cities in 4 hours and 15 minutes, cutting 2 hours off the best time of the old "express" trains. For information on schedules and fares, check out the website of the Greek Railway Organization (OSE) at www.ose.gr and click on EN to get the English version.
Northeastern Aegean Islands
Also within the nationwide museum update program, a new archaeological museum in Vathi (Samos Town) is due to open this spring.
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