Athens

Athens is in the province of Attica, which counts 3‘754‘000 inhabitants. This is a third of Greece’s population. Attica is located between central Greece and the gulf of Saroniki. It is divided into two parts: Athens and Piraeus; the mountains of Hymettus, Parnithal and Pentelli paint the picturesque basin of Attica. For more information on the capital consult our Destination information on Athens.

Getting There
There are many many flights to Athens from all around Europe; this is because the Athens Airport is a transition airport for many locations in and around Greece. Especially charter flights are very popular. Of course, there are also normal regular flights to Athens also offering business class and 1st class flights.
Olympic Airlines and Aegean Airlines operate the majority of flights in Athens; they are the only two airlines operating domestic flights in Greece. In summer they carry out extra flights to compensate for the many tourists going in and out of Greece. For more information on the airline check their webpage (www.olympicair.com)
You can also get to Athens by the sea. There are many services offering this service. Especially the ports at Piraeus (port of Athens), Rafina, Lavrio and Oropos are the main ports for traveling to Athens by boat or ship.

Climate
The climate in Attica is typically Mediterranean; extremely warm and dry summers and rare rainfall.

Attica is probably the warmest region in all of Europe with an average summer temperature of 28,6°C in Elefsina. Also the highest recorded European temperature of 48°C was in Eleusina and Tatoi in 1977. During the heat waves of summer Attica is known to have temperatures of 46-47°C. Not only does this make Attica the hottest region in Greece, but also the hottest region of Europe.
Attica enjoys a full 2800 hours of sun a year, this weather with mostly blue skies was honored by the ancient Greeks. The weather in winter is generally mild in the lower regions. However, it can get quite harsh in the mountains. Forest fires and floods are not a rarity in Greece.

Time Zone
The time zone is GMT +2h.

Currency
The official currency is the Euro.

Language
Modern Greek (also known as Demotiki), which is the Greek spoken today, is a language derived from vulgar Greek and was made official in 1976. It is very different, both in pronunciation and vocabulary, from ancient Greek. In the main tourist resorts, hotels, restaurants and shops, people also speak English, French, German and Italian. You'll also find menus, directions and tourist brochures written in Italian, English, French and German.

Electrical outlets / phone coverage
Electrical current is 220 volts. In the case of different socket, you can buy an adapter locally or at the airport.

When you enter, your telephone will automatically connect to a Greek telephone operator.
For calls to Greece, the country code is +30, following with the local area code.

Attica is the cradle of city states; this is illustrated by the ancient Greek city states Athens, Eleusis and Megara. These city states (including Thebes, Corinth and Sparta) colonized the Mediterranean area and the whole of the Black Sea from 500-400 BC. During this time many of today’s cities (fortification posts) were founded, such as Nice, Marseilles, Naples, Syrakus, etc. It was also the cradle of the Byzantine Empire and of course it’s powerful capital now known as Istanbul.

The area of Attica is divided into four zones (territorial division): the Nome of Athens, East Attica (including the towns of Pallini, Achan, Marathon, Kapranditi, Oropos), West Attica (Eleusis, Megara, Etc.), and the territory of Piraeus (Aegina, Hydra, Kythria, Poros, Slamina, Spetses, Troezen, Agistri, Antikythera, Etc.).

Over 90% of the population is Greek Orthodox. Religious ceremonies are a very impressive performance, as the Orthodox liturgy is based on a number of rituals. In the country there are also minorities of Jews, Protestants, Catholics and Moslems.

The Attica region covers 3808 km². It includes the peninsula of Lagonisi (more than 50% mountains), the Saronic Islands (Spetses, Hydra, Aegina, Poros, Agistri, Dokos and Salamis), Kythera and a part of Poros dependent to Peloponnese.

The coastal towns of Megara and Elefsis and other destinations are less than an hour away from the center of Athens. You can visit Marathon in East Attica, the historic site where the Athenians defeated the Persians during the Median wars in 490 BC. The ruins of the famous temple of Poseidon are located 45km southeast of Athens at Cape Sounion. Along the eastern seaboard, you can visit the historic site of Vravrona, Lavrion, Rafina, Nea Makri, Agios, Andreas and Skinias. Vouliagmeni, Varkiza Lagonisi and Anavysos Saronis are also worth seeing. On the west coast; Megara, Eleusis, Megalo Pefko (Nea Peramos) and Kineta overlook the island of Salamis and the coast of Peloponnese.
Also visit the Amphiareion Oropos; a sanctuary dedicated to the Greek hero Amphiaraos.

To discover all the riches of the Greek capital, please check the destination information on Athens city.