The Olympics have come and gone in Greece. The 2004 Games created a sparkling new image of this country -- a Greece that could deliver on both aesthetics and logistics (albeit it without a day to spare!). The opening and closing ceremonies truly dazzled the world and undoubtedly will lead to ever more tourists. And in the bargain, Greece got an improved transportation infrastructure: A new airport, an extended Metro system, a surface trolley from central Athens to the coast, a circumferential highway to help drivers avoid central Athens, and a dramatic new bridge across the Gulf of Corinth.
The only downside was the publicity about preparedness and security concerns. (Nothing happened, and everything worked.) That summer of 2004, hotels in Athens experienced drastic losses in clientele and profits. This threw the pricing structure of hotels into turmoil -- the normal increases that accompany inflation cannot be counted on for several years, as the hotels try to regain their equilibrium. So, more than ever, you must be flexible about prices provided in our guidebooks. We can only say that for every hotel room that might be more expensive than what we report, there will be another hotel room that will be cheaper.
Booking Online
By now, most travelers are aware of the many online websites on which you can plan your trip and make reservations. Many websites offer discounts as well as reservations. Warning: Read the small print about cancellation policies -- they can be pretty unforgiving! In our experience, it is often better to search the discount websites for prices but then to deal directly with the hotels. This holds true for airlines, also. They often meet or even beat prices offered by the so-called discount outfits. In addition, a ticket purchased directly from the airline will get you better service if you encounter problems along the way.
Getting There
Those who follow the travel industry in the news may be aware that Olympic Airlines has been operating in bankruptcy for several years and has been put up for sale. As we go to press, the winning bidder has not been announced, but it appears that an existing European airline will take over Olympic while maintaining the same services. Meanwhile, Olympic Airlines continues service from North America on both its direct flights and almost all of its internal flights.
One of the bidders for the Olympic franchise, however, is Greece's Aegean Airlines. In the last few years, Aegean has become a major competitor of Olympic Airlines, especially for domestic service in Greece. It was awarded the European Regions Airline Association "Gold Award Airline of the Year" for 2004-05. The award recognizes Aegean Airlines' achievements not only in its operations -- finances, electronic ticketing, and so on -- but also its good customer service and on-time performance. ERAA has about 230 member airlines, so this award represents a significant achievement.
Travel Agencies
There is no shortage of travel agencies prepared to arrange your trip to and within Greece. But a brand-new one is aiming at the high-end market. A young Greek man, Christos Stergiou, whose family runs a hotel and restaurant on the island of Patmos, started TrueGreece (www.truegreece.com). Christos earned his undergraduate and graduate degrees (MBA from Stanford) in the U.S. and so brings a special combination of experience and awareness to the travel business. TrueGreece offers several package tours that include Athens and two islands, but the agency will also arrange individualized itineraries such as honeymoons.
In addition to the finer hotels and restaurants to which TrueGreece directs its clients, native-born but English-speaking escorts provide more intimate views of the locales visited. Also, group size is limited to 16.
Another agency, the well-established Windmills Travel, with offices in Athens, Tinos, and Mykonos, has updated and expanded its website (www.windmills.gr), which now covers most questions travelers might have about Greece. The website includes a photo album for almost all of Greece. For information on short- and long-term island rentals, contact Windmills's Tinos manager Sharon Turner (sharon@thn.forthnet.gr).
Ecotourism is increasingly being recognized as the new direction for tourism, and Greece -- with its many still relatively unspoiled natural locales -- has been steadily hosting more and more environment-friendly activities. One of the least well-known is Milia, a once-abandoned village in the mountains of western Crete. In the 1980s, two local families began restoring buildings and converting the village into an eco-hideaway. Today the village grows most of its own vegetables, raises animals, and generates its own solar electricity. Nature lovers considering a visit can check the website www.milia.gr.
Athens
Grande Bretagne, Syntagma Square (tel. 210/333-0000; www.grandebretagne.gr), and Hilton, 46 Leoforos Vas. Sofias (tel. 800/445-8667 or 210/728-1000; www.hilton.com), were extensively redecorated and renovated for the Athens 2004 Olympics. Grande Bretagne now boasts two pools, and the Hilton redid its outdoor pool. Both hotels have their own spas and exercise facilities. High-speed Internet connection is available in all guest rooms. A new boutique hotel, Eridanus (Iridanos) (tel. 210/520-5360), has opened next to the new location of Varoulko restaurant in the once down-at-heels Gazi district, former site of the gasworks. The district is now bursting with boutiques, galleries, restaurants, and chic little hotels. Fresh Hotel (tel. 210/524-8511), a less expensive newcomer a few blocks away from the Eridanus at 86 Sofokleus, is home to the popular Athenian bar, Orange.
Another sign of the Gazi district's "reclaiming" is the relocation here of Varoulko (Greece's best seafood restaurant) from the port city of Piraeus to the district at 80 Piraios (tel. 210/522-8400). The corresponding new menu offers sweetbreads, goat stew, and a spicy tripe soup, as well as its famous seafood dishes. If you haven't been to Athens for a few years, you'll be pleased to discover that Aegli (tel. 210/336-9363), the longtime favorite just off Syntagma Square in the National Garden, is back beside the Zappeion Building, serving gourmet meals and snacks.
Exploring Athens is easier than ever thanks to the new Metro system -- and pleasanter than ever thanks to the pedestrianized walks linking the major archaeological sites. You can get a map of the system at the main Metro station in Syntagma Square. The Greek National Tourism Organization (EOT) at 2 Amerikis sometimes has maps of the "Archaeological Park," which stretches from Hadrian's Gate past the Acropolis and Ancient Agora to Kerameikos. As you explore Athens on foot and by Metro, be sure to take in the two new museums at the Acropolis and Syntagma Metro stations, which display antiquities excavated from the Metro sites.
And save time to take in Athens's astonishing variety of small museums: If you have time for only one, go to Benaki Museum of Islamic Art, Agio Asomaton and Dipylou, Psirri (tel. 210/367-1000; www.benaki.gr.), Greece's first museum of Islamic art. Just a block away, The Museum of Traditional Pottery, 4-6 Melidoni, Kerameikos (tel. 210/331-8491), has a permanent collection as well as special exhibits of traditional and contemporary Greek pottery.
In nearby Plaka, Frissiras Museum, 3-7 Moni Asteriou (tel. 210/323-4678), is Athens's first museum to concentrate on 20th-century European art. The new Pierides Museum of Ancient Cypriot Art, 34-35 Kastorias, Votanikos (tel. 210/348-0000; www.athinais.com.gr), records the art and politics of Cyprus.
The Saronic Gulf Islands
At press time, both Minoan Flying Dolphins and Ceres Flying Dolphins had been absorbed by Hellas Flying Dolphins, which serves the Saronic Gulf Islands. There almost certainly will be changes in nomenclature and service by the time you arrive, so double-check all island boat information before you travel. Keep in mind that the recent expansion of high-speed Flying Dolphin service to these islands has made it important to have both transportation and hotel reservations in summer. Check these websites for current info: www.saronicnet.com and www.magicaljourneys.com.
The Peloponnese
The new Rio-Antirio bridge opened in 2004. The bridge replaces the ferry service across the Gulf of Corinth and cuts off as much as an hour from trip times between Central Greece and the Peloponnese. You can learn more about the bridge at www.gefyra.gr.
The 14-unit Primarolia Art Hotel, 33 Othonos and Amalias (tel. 2610/624-900) in Patras, the largest port in the Peloponnese, has made it onto Odyssey magazine's list of the best hotels in Greece for its elegant rooms and the art displayed throughout the hotel.
There's another very welcome new hotel in the Peloponnese: For years, Andritsena, the delightful village near the Temple of Bassae, has been served by only one desultory hotel. Now the five-unit Epikourias Apollon, the Plateia (tel. 26260/22-840), under efficient and caring family management, makes it a pleasure to spend the night in this perfect mountain village.
Nemeios Dias, a very welcome cafe/restaurant signposted SNAK BAR/SOUVENIR by the site of Ancient Nemea, is usually open from 10am to mid-afternoon and sells local wines and souvenirs.
There are four new museums to see in Olympia. The long-awaited museum at the site of Mycenae opened in 2004 and features exhibits telling the long history of Agamemnon's home town. In 2004, the Archaeological Museum reopened after extensive renovations and reinstallation of its superb collection. At the same time, the dazzling new Museum of the History of the Olympic Games in Antiquity opened, along with the charming little Museum of the History of the Excavations in Olympia. If you wonder why one of the Columns of Zeus stands upright while the others lie scattered on the ground, here's the reason: The column was reassembled and reerected in honor of the 2004 Olympic Games.
Crete
The company that operates the high-speed catamarans, Hellas Flying Dolphins, has now instituted service between Piraeus and Chania, Crete (www.hellenicseaways.gr). Rides are not cheap, but the company offers a wide range of options. The cheapest ride, at 41€ ($53) one-way, 70€ ($91) round-trip, cuts the trip down to 5 hours (compared to the regular ferry service of 12 hr.). The company promises daily service each way, but you'll arrive back in Piraeus at 1:15am.
Horseback riding is a relatively new activity on Crete. Most of the riding centers offer group rides or lessons -- they do not seem geared toward individual rentals (but you can ask). Generally, these outfits offer everything from half-day rides to weeklong packages (including hotel, meals, and the like). Look for Zoraida's at Georgiopolis, near Chania, on the Internet at www.zoraida.georgioupoli.net. Odysseia Stables is located at Avdou, in the mountains southeast of Iraklion (www.odysseia.nl).
A more ambitious outfit is the Therapeutic Holidays Camp (www.threapeutic-holidays.org) run by a British organization. Located at Karteros beach (5km/3 miles east of Iraklion), it offers horseback riding as therapy for individuals with mental or physical disabilities. This will cost you, but the organization is professional. In addition to riding, it offers work-based therapies such as bread-baking and gardening.
Also new on Crete as of 2005 is ThalassoKosmos. "Sea World" -- an elaborate aquarium with outdoor seawater tanks located at the old U.S. Air Force station at Gouves, about 16km (10 miles) along the coast east of Iraklion. It boasts 4,000 marine organisms and many opportunities to view them. Whether this will bring more visitors to Crete remains to be seen, but the worthy venture has the support of the Hellenic Center of Marine Research and the Institutes of Marine Biology and Fish Farming.
Greek hotels are constantly renovating and updating, but one of the more impressive makeovers within recent years is that of Lato Boutique Hotel in Iraklion (www.lato.gr). In recognition of this transformation, the Lato has now been accepted into the international chain known as Boutique Hotels. Hotels in this association are not luxury hotels in the sense of opulent decor or extravagant amenities, but they must maintain high standards in their service as well as provide pleasing environments.
The Dodecanese
The proprietor of the S. Nikolis Hotel in Rhodes, which we have long recommended, has opened a new hotel close to it, Hippodamou Hamam. It is located in an old Turkish mansion that has been completely restored in a style that melds Greek and Turkish traditions. The word hamam refers to a Turkish steam bath; the hotel provides its guests with an authentic one. Also in the hotel is a small Internet cafe with wi-fi. The 10 guest rooms, decorated in individual styles, some with antiques, range from 80€ to 150€ ($104-$195) including continental breakfast. For more information, go to www.s-nikolis.gr, from which you can contact the proprietor.
Central Greece
There's more than ever to see at the Delphi Museum, the town's archaeological museum in Delphi, which reopened in 2004 after extensive renovation and reinstallation of its collection. Kalambaka, the stepping-stone to the Monasteries of the Meteora, has a new museum: Center of Contemporary Art, 38 Patriarchou Dimitriou (tel. 24320/22-346), which houses the extensive private collection of Leonidas Belsios. The collection's contrast with the artwork of the monasteries could hardly be greater, and travelers may enjoy the museum for just that reason.
Northern Greece
When you get to Pella, birthplace of Philip of Macedon and Alexander the Great, check whether the gold armor and jewelry found in 2005 in 25 6th-century-B.C. tombs have been put on view in the site's museum.
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