Adhesive labels in passports and all other kinds of paperwork relating to foreign nationals living in Greece are to be scrapped and replaced by a new, electronic residence permit that will also double up as an identity card.

There are currently 557,476 third-country nationals living in Greece legally and they will soon be able to apply for a meeting with authorities to go through the necessary process for obtaining their permits.

Within 30 days of receiving the application, Greek authorities will have to set a date for the meeting, during which their biometric data (user’s photo and fingerprints) will be recorded so it can be entered on the card’s electronic chip. The chip can also store electronic proof of identity and a qualified electronic signature.

To read this article in full, please visit: Ekathimerini

If Vogue is writing about it, then it must be cool, right?

From roaming the streets of Plaka to admiring the exhibitions at the Benaki Museum, Athens doesn’t dissapoint with brilliant things to do. Sometimes however, especially during the summer months, Athens becomes crowded with tourists. It may be hard to find a quiet space to enjoy the city if you don’t know what you’re looking for. In this article, Vogue explores Koukaki and Makriyianni and establishes these two neighborhoods as ‘inviting and lingering, remaining remarkably hushed.’

Click HERE to read Vogue’s suggestions for what to do, where to eat, where to shop, and even where to stay, all within Koukaki and Makriyianni!

ZARO’S natural mineral bottled water won the Golden Prize Award in the ‘Bottled Water’ category in the framework of the 27th Berkeley Springs International Water Tasting, a competition which brought together more than 600 bottled waters from around the world.

ZARO’S water, which is bottled from water sources located at the foot of the mountain Psiloritis in Crete, was evaluated by 12 judges — among them internationally famous water conoisseurs — who examined criteria such as smell, view, taste and texture.

It is the second successive distinction for ZARO’S water, after it won the ‘iTQi’ Superior Taste Award in 2016.

To read this article in full, please visit: Greek Reporter

While Athens has been bearing the brunt of the Greek crisis, it has also undergone an evident revival as a tourism destination. Downtown Syntagma has become a hub of exciting restaurants, sophisticated wine bars and award-winning mixologists, alternative art spaces and design studios, but also a few brand-new hotels, with the most talked-about arrival in 2016 being that of the Metropolis Electra. The inauguration of the National Museum of Contemporary Art, the honor of hosting the international art forum Documenta 14 and the anticipated unveiling of the new opera house at the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Center also point to a renaissance in the arts and constitute excellent reasons to extend your stay beyond a visit to the Acropolis and its museum.

Tinos spent decades in the shadow of the Cycladic island cluster’s most popular destination – Mykonos – and was known mainly as a pilgrimage site for the Church of the Panaghia, dedicated to the Virgin Mary. Its reputation has undergone a massive turnaround in the past few years, however, and today it’s becoming the place to be, thanks to its many beautiful traditional villages, its local winemakers producing fine organic like Volacus, and cultural events such as Tinos Food Paths and the Tinos World Music Festival.

Just a stone’s throw from the popular Cyclades holiday destination of Paros, this small island that was a punk-rocker haven in 1970s, has acquired a new sophistication after its discovery by Hollywood star Tom Hanks. Laidback campers now rub shoulders with jet-setters sailing into the island on luxury yachts, staying at rented villas and eating at fancy restaurants. The islet of Despotiko, an archaeological site, is a must-see. To reach Antiparos, fly or take a ferry to Paros and take a boat either from Parikia port or from Pounta.

All the beauty of the Peloponnese can be found encapsulated on this island off the peninsula’s southeastern tip. It has great beaches like Kaladi and Halkos, pretty cobbled alleys in the main town of Hora, traditional cafés and seafood restaurants where you can dine on fresh lobster, and, of course, located above the village of Milopotamos, the famous Neraida Waterfall, named after the fabled fairies some believe still frolic among the age-old plane trees.

And many more!

To read this article in full, please visit: Greece Is

Athens Mayor Giorgos Kaminis and Lesvos Mayor Spiros Galinos are among the 10 most outstanding mayors in the world, according to the results of the biennial World Mayor competition announced recently by the organizer of the City Mayors Foundation.

Mayors Kaminis and Galinos stood out for welcoming refugees and offering them safety, shelter and support in their cities.

According to the World Mayor website, Athens, Lesvos and Lampedusa (Italy) are the three Mediterranean communities in the World Mayor Honours List that must receive special recognition for the welcome they offered to tens of thousands of men, women and children who were fleeing the fighting in the Middle East or poverty in Africa.

To read this article in full, please visit: Greek Travel Pages

Athens International Airport, Eleftherios Venizelos, was recently certified by the independent carbon management program Airport Carbon Accreditation as being certified carbon neutral. This makes the airport the 25th certified carbon neutral airport in Europe.

Proud of Athens’ accomplishment is Dr Yiannis Paraschis, the CEO of Athens International Airport. He says, ‘By achieving carbon neutrality, Athens International Airport continues to tangibly demonstrate its commitment to the fight against climate change.’

To read this article in full, please visit: Greek Reporter

Read more about Kathara Deftera or ‘Clean Monday,’ learn how to make a Cretan-style fish for lent, sign up for the Cyclades Trail Cup, and celebrate 40 years of living in Greece with Greeker than the Greeks writer as she shares 40 things she learned!

 

Read more about the tradition of Tsiknopempti and why the National Museum of Contemporary Art is listed as one of the top museum openings for 2017. You can also meet a fellow expat and learn a few secrets of the Acropolis!

 

Find out why Athens is THE city to visit in 2017, why there’s always a church around the corner in Greece, and explore Nafpaktos with the top things to do!

 

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