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| Location | |
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| Flag | |
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| Short | |
| Capital | Athens |
| Government | parliamentary republic |
| Coin | euros (EUR) |
| Surface | 131,940 km² |
| Population | 10.767.827 (2012) |
| Language | Greek 99% (official), some more Italian on Rhodes |
| Religion | Greek Orthodox 98%, Muslim 1.3%, other 0.7% |
| Electricity | 220V/50Hz (European plug) |
| Call code | 30 |
| Internet TLD | .gr |
| Time zone | UTC 2 |
Greece (in Greek: Ελλάς, Hellas) [1] is a country in southeastern Europe, largely located on the Balkan Peninsula, with extensive coastlines and countless islands in the Aegean, Ionian and Mediterranean Seas. Furthermore, the country has borders with Albania, Bulgaria, North Macedonia and Turkey. It is a tourist attraction both because of the beautiful beaches in the sunny climate and because of the cultural attractions from Greek antiquity.
Info
History
Fifty centuries of history, that is what the Greeks look back on proudly. The country is called the cradle of European civilization. Long before our era, about 5000 years ago, the first inhabitants arrived, who built the Cycladic civilization on the Cyclades. The next wave of newcomers settled on Crete and the Peloponnese as Minoan and Mycenaean civilizations, respectively. These peoples had a form of writing that has been found on clay tablets, but has not yet been deciphered. More immigrants entered the area in the following centuries, eventually the area blossomed into the culture we know as classical Greek antiquity. The arrival of the Romans and the incorporation into the Roman Empire heralded the end of Greek independence.
The history of modern Greece begins in 1821 with the war against the Turkish rulers, who had ruled the country until then. Six years later, after a fierce struggle, the Greek Republic was proclaimed, consisting for the time being only of the Peleponese. In 1833 the Turkish garrison leaves Athens, which at that time was little more than a village. Northern Greece does not join until 1912 and some islands follow much later.
climate
Greece has, as expected due to its location on the Mediterranean Sea, a Mediterranean climate. with warm dry summers and cooler wet winters. It is said that the sun shines here 300 days a year.
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Population
Art & culture
Holidays
- National holiday on March 25
Regions
The following breakdown corresponds to the country approach that will be taken by most travelers when deciding where to go.
| Attica (inclusive Athens) |
| The Peloponnese |
| Greek Isles |
| Crete |
| Central and Northern Greece |
Towns
Some major cities:
- Athens - the capital
- Heraklion — Crete's largest city
- Corinth
- Larissa
- Patras — Third largest city in Greece. Port with ferries to Italy and Ionian Islands
- piraeus — The port of Athens with ships to the various islands.
- Rhodes
- Thessaloniki — the second city in the country
- Volos
Other destinations
- Delphi - the famous oracle and temple of Apollo
- Meteora - in this region monasteries are located on very steep rocks.
- Athos - Autonomous Monks Republic, monasteries on the peninsula Athos. Limited access for religious and art historical studies, but not accessible to women.
- Olympus National Park
- Olympia - sanctuary dedicated to Zeus, site of the ancient Olympic Games
- Parnassos National Park
- Parnitha National Park
- Mount Pelion
Arrive
Passport and visa
Greece belongs to the Schengen zone.
There are no border controls between countries that have signed and implemented the Schengen Agreements. These are the member states of the European Union (except Bulgaria, Cyprus, Ireland, Romania and the United Kingdom), Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland. In addition, a visa issued for a member state of the Schengen zone is valid for all member states that have signed the treaties and have implemented. But beware: not all EU Member States have signed the Schengen Agreements, and there are also Member States of the Schengen Area that are not members of the European Union. This means that there may be customs checks but no immigration checks (if you are traveling within Schengen but from/to a non-EU country) or there may be immigration checks but no customs checks (if you are traveling within the EU but from/to a non-EU country). -Schengen country).
Airports in Europe are divided between "Schengen" and "no Schengen" sections, which correspond to the "domestic" and "foreign" sections in other countries. If you fly from outside Europe to a Schengen country and then travel on to another Schengen country, you can complete the customs and immigration checks in the first country and then proceed directly to the second country without any further checks. Traveling between a Schengen country and a non-Schengen country will result in the usual border controls. Please note that whether or not you travel within the Schengen zone, many airlines require you to always present a passport or identity card. Nationals of Member States of the European Union or of the EFTA (Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, Switzerland) only need to carry a valid passport or identity card to enter the Schengen zone — they never need a visa, no matter how long the visit takes. Nationals of other countries must carry a valid passport and, depending on nationality, need a visa.
Only nationals of the following non-EU/EFTA countries have no Visa required to enter the Schengen zone: Albania*, Andorra, Antigua and Barbuda, Argentina, Australia, Bahamas, Barbados, Bosnia and Herzegovina*, Brazil, Brunei, Canada, Chili, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Israel, Japan, Croatia, North Macedonia*, Malaysia, Mauritius, Mexico, Monaco, Montenegro*, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Saint Kitts and Nevis, San Marino, Serbia*/**, Seychelles, Singapore, Taiwan*** (Republic of China), United States, Uruguay, Vatican CITY, Venezuela, South Korea, as well as persons with a British National (Overseas) passport, a Hong-Kong-SAR passport or a Macau-SAR passport.
Visitors to these visa-free countries are not allowed to stay longer than 90 days in any 180-day period in the Schengen zone as a whole, and in principle are not allowed to work during the stay (although there are some Schengen countries that allow nationals of certain nationalities to work — see below). The counter starts when you enter a member state of the Schengen zone and does not expire when you leave a certain Schengen country for another Schengen country or vice-versa. However, New Zealand nationals may stay longer than 90 days if they are only visiting certain Schengen countries - see [2] for an explanation from the New Zealand Government (in English).
If you are a non-EU/EFTA national (even from a visa-free country, with the exception of Andorra, Monaco or San Marino), make sure that your passport is stamped when entering and leaving the Schengen zone. Without a stamp upon entry, you can be treated as having exceeded the length of stay on departure; without a stamp on departure, you can be denied entry to the Schengen zone the next time because of exceeding the length of stay in a previous trip. If you can't get a stamp, keep documents such as boarding passes, transport tickets and receipts from ATMs, as they can help convince border police that you have stayed legally in the Schengen zone.
Be aware that:
(*) Nationals of Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, North Macedonia, Montenegro and Serbia require a biometric passport to benefit from visa-free travel;
(**) nationals of Serbia with passports issued by the Serbian Coordination Directorate (residents of Kosovo with Serbian passports) must apply for a visa;
(***) Taiwanese nationals must have their ID number registered in their passport in order to enjoy visa-free travel.
By plane
Greece has 21 airports with international flights.
From April to October you can fly directly to Greece with several airlines.
- KLM [3] only has flights to Athens.
- transavia [4] has flights to Athens, Chania, Chios, Heraklion Kos, Lesvos, Mykonos, Preveza (Lefkas), Rhodes, Santorini, Thessaloniki and Zakynthos.
- TUIFly [5] has flights from Amsterdam (AMS) to Corfu, Karpathos, Kefalonia, Kos, Crete (Heraklion), Lesvos, Mykonos, Preveza, Rhodes, Samos, Santorini, Skiathos and Zakynthos.
By train
By train is temporarily not possible. Greece has canceled all international trains since February 2011 due to the economic crisis. [6]
By bus
By car
Greece can be reached by car via the Balkan Peninsula. This route is cheaper than the Italy boat route, and definitely recommended if you want to see special countries. The route goes as follows: Germany, Austria (possibly Italy (Trieste)) to Croatia, via Zagreb to Belgrade (Serbia) towards North Macedonia (leave Kosovo on the right) and then to Greece, where you can reach your destination. Most of the trip across the Balkan Peninsula is on highways that are very boring, but still passable. Check your green card to see if your car is insured in all the countries you pass.
By boat
There is a considerable network of (car) ferries across the Mediterranean and the Aegean Sea. A total overview of all travel options, such as departure and arrival times and rates would provide an even larger table per connection, as rates differ per destination, season, type of vehicle (motorcycle, car, car caravan, camper, etc.). There is a web page [7] (English) where things can be found.
International Car Ferries
| Port in Greece | Port abroad | Shipping company(s) |
|---|---|---|
| corfu | baric | Minoan, SNAV, Ventouris Ferries |
| Brindisi | Minoan, SNAV | |
| Venice | Minoan, SNAV | |
| Igoumenitsa | Ancona | Anek, Minoan, Superfast |
| baric | Superfast, Ventouris Ferries | |
| Venice | Anek, Minoan | |
| Kos | Bodrum | Bodrum Express Lines |
| Patras | Ancona | Anek, Minoan, Superfast |
| baric | ||
| Venice | Anek, Minoan | |
| paxic | Brindisi | |
| Rhodes | Haifa | |
| Limassol | ||
| Port Said |
Travel around
By plane
Greece has a good network of domestic flights. The rates are reasonable.
By train
Greece has a modest railway network, mainly because of the mountainous landscape and the many islands. Trains only run on the mainland.
By car
Traveling around Greece by (rental) car is easy. The signage is generally in pictograms and in many areas there are multilingual place name signs. However, that is not the case everywhere, so navigation is advisable. On the mainland, highways are limited and the B-roads mainly follow the landscape. As a result, a 40 km ride can easily take more than an hour. Greece is currently in the process of increasing the motorway network in the Peloponnese.
The costs for a liter of petrol are the same as in the Netherlands or even slightly more expensive. Gas stations are generally widespread and easy to find. There are gas stations of international brands, such as Shell, Esso and BP, but also of the Greek companies Aegean and Revoil.
By bus
By boat
The boat is an important means of transport within Greece, with its many islands. Although more and more airports are being built, there are still islands where no other access than by ship is possible. As a rule, goods are also delivered and removed by ship. Travelers also like to use and speak of it island hopping, if the traveler stays on one island for a few days, then moves on to another island for a few days and continues this pattern in this way. Most ferry services start from Piraeus and sail from island to island in the Aegean Sea. The captains visit the islands one by one, like stringing pearls on a chain.
Language
The national language is Greek. In the tourist industry, staff also speak English, German and a few other languages.
To look at
Athens
Crete
Rhodes
.jpg/120px-Fira_at_Santorini_(from_north).jpg)
Santorini
.jpg/120px-Fira_at_Santorini_(from_north).jpg)
To do
To buy
In Greece, too, payment is made in euros.
Cost
Food
Traditional Greek restaurants had no menu, the guests were invited into the kitchen and led past the various pans and dishes with food. This way the guest could make his or her choice. There is a good chance that this habit will no longer occur. Different regions and islands have their own dishes.
Greek cuisine has a history of 3000 years. Due to the location of Greece, it consists of a combination of western and eastern dishes. Like other Mediterranean peoples, the Greeks eat very late, usually at 9 pm or later.
The Greek menu includes:
| kitchen term | category | description |
|---|---|---|
| taramasalata | appetizer | dip of fish roe and potato or bread, served with bread |
| tzatziki | appetizer | dip of grated cucumber and garlic and thick Greek yogurt, served with bread |
| moussaka | main dish | casserole of minced meat, tomato and eggplant, possibly zucchini or potato, covered with bechamel sauce |
| souvlaki | main dish | meat grilled on a skewer |
| feta | cheese | white, crumbly goat's cheese baked into pieces in salad or in slices |
| choriatiksalata | lunch starter or side dish, vegetarian | farmers or Greek salad. This salad is also very well known, made from lettuce, tomatoes, cucumber, fetapeppers, onions, black olives and sometimes white cabbage. |
| meze | serving method | Similar to tapas in Spain, so small portions of different dishes are served. |
| baklava | pastry | made of filo dough with a nut filling, drenched with sugar syrup. |
| philosophy | dough | kind of puff pastry, |
| retsina | wine | white with resin. the taste of the resin is reminiscent of the time when pitchers of wine were sealed with resin |
| greek coffee | coffee | coffee is traditionally brewed in a small saucepan in which water is brought to the boil together with ground coffee beans. Served unfiltered in small cups with a glass of water next to it. Let it settle before drinking! Coffee from instant powder and the various Italian coffee preparations are often also available as an alternative |
| frappe | coffee | frothy iced coffee |
Going out
Hersonissos on Crete is seen as one of the most popular youth holiday destinations. There are also many entertainment venues here.
stay overnight
You can stay overnight in Greece in different ways. There are hotels all over the country. The islands mainly contain apartment complexes, luxury resorts and beautiful holiday homes.
The prices for an overnight stay can still vary depending on the type of accommodation and of course the region.
To learn
To work
Safety
Greece is one of the safest countries in the world and the chance that you will have to deal with crime is small. However, you should always be careful because the number of thefts has also increased in Greece in recent years.
Health
respect
Contact
