Greece is one of the world's most popular tourist destinations, ranking in the world's top 20 countries.
It has an ancient culture that has had a significant influence on the arts, language, philosophy, politics, and sports of western society, including the genres of comedy and drama, western alphabets, Platonic ideals and the Socratic method, democracies and republics, and the Olympics. Furthermore it's a geographically appealing place to visit, with a mountainous mainland and idyllic island beaches.
Why travel to Greece?
I think the reason Greece is popular is because it is somehow familiar while at the same time exotic ,where there are 300 days of sunshine, most of it between May and November.
All you need to know about Greek eating and cooking
Greek food is the best in the world. Not just because they use fresh vegetables and local meat and fish and because they don't over-power with spices, but because it comes with the whole package of wine, ouzo and conversation that can go all afternoon or all night long. As anyone who has visited Greece will tell you, eating and drinking is a way of life whether you are having lunch on a beautiful beach or dinner at a taverna where people are singing along to the musicians and getting up to dance, or even at the little place around the corner that has been serving Athenians, mainlanders and islanders for decades.
What to expect in a Greek Restaurant ?
What usually happens when you walk into an estiatorio type restaurant is after finding a table (almost always outdoors between the months of May and October), you will be permitted or encouraged to go to the kitchen to see what they have to offer. There will be a large steam table full of pots with different dishes in them. Pick out what looks good and don't be afraid to ask your cook, waiter or host " Tea ee neh aff-toe ?". You have just asked "What is this?" Try to remember what it is called until you get back to the table or else you can tell the guy right there "Theh-low aff-toe ." It will magically appear on your table. Remember that most magerefta which are pre-cooked foods made in pots of in the oven, are usually made in the morning. So if this is not lunch, even a very late one, you may want to go for tis ores, the foods cooked right then on the grill or fried.
If you are drinking wine and just show them the empty carafe they will be right back with more. Greek waiters are very informal. They may even sit down at your table . They don't care if you spend hours at your table. In Greece you are expected to eat slowly and eat a long time and linger after a meal, eating fruit, smoking cigarettes and drinking more wine or a coffee.
1st time Travellers to Greece
You probably want to see Santorini because everybody who goes to Greece visits Santorini and Mykonos
You might also want to visit one or more of these Islands:Paros, Naxos, Rhodes, Crete. They are popular too and in the summer it is relatively easy to get between them though sometimes Rhodes can be tricky because it is so far away. My recommendation, assuming Santorini and Mykonos are on the top of your list is splitting 7 days between the two islands.
You will want 2 or 3 nights in Athens to see the Acropolis and because you will most likely have to spend your first and last nights in the city. If you want to visit Delphi or Nafplio-Mycenae-Epidavros you will need to add another night. If you want to see the monasteries of Meteora you will need another night for that as well. Of course for the sake of simplicity you can just tell yourself you will come back to see these places next year and just focus on the islands which is what most people do anyway.
Sailing In Greece
As anyone who has done it will tell you, the best way to visit the Greek Islands and the coast of mainland Greece is by sailboat. There are a large number of yacht companies, skipper-owners, flotillas, cabin cruises and even day sails cruising the Aegean and Ionian seas of Greece.
Graffiti in Athens
Did you know that Athens is a mecca for street art, making it a very attractive playground for artists from around the world?
Of course you did.
Did you also know that the word "graffiti" comes from a Greek word?
Yes, you knew that too.
What you may not have known about is the Athens Graffiti and Street Art Tour.
Feel Greece and Travel Greece once in a lifetime
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