The news and lifestyle source, The Guardian, shared their top picks for the new museum openings in 2017 and the National Museum of Contemporary Art (EMST) in Athens is recognized on their list!

‘The reconstruction of EMST has been quite a tale, with over a decade financial and bureaucratic setbacks. Still, in October 2016 it was finally ready for a soft launch, inaugurating the temporary exhibition space with the show Urgent Conversations: Athens–Antwerp in its newly reconstructed home in the old Fix brewery. The permanent collection is pegged to be unveiled in autumn 2017, when the museum is expected to finally open in its entirety.’

Other top new museum openings include the Institue of Contemporary Art in Los Angeles, Design Society in China, and the Museum Barberini in Germany.

To read this article in full, please visit: The Guardian

Emirates is expected to successfully fill a gap and undertake an important role in the Greek market. On Monday, the airline announced that it will launch a new daily service from Dubai to Newark Liberty International Airport, via Athens, starting on March 12, 2017.

Emirates’ new Dubai-Athens-Newark flight will provide a year-round non-stop daily service between the United States and Greece.

Emirates flight EK209 will depart Dubai at 10:50 local time, arriving in Athens at 14:25 before departing again at 16:40 and arriving into Newark at 22:00 on the same day. The return flight EK210 will depart Newark at 23:45 local time, arriving in Athens the next day at 15:05. EK210 will depart once again from Athens at 17:10 bound for Dubai where it will arrive at 23:50.

According to Athens International Airport studies and surveys, the substantial indirect traffic flows between Athens and US exceed 570,000 passengers annually, while only last summer (2016) the direct passenger volumes to NYC (seasonal services) grew by 52 percent, reaching 156,000 passengers. Thus, the ATH-NYC market size represents a unique opportunity within Europe for year round services development to US.

The United States is also home to the largest overseas Greek community in the world, numbering approximately 1.3 million, and the New York City metropolitan area has the largest community of Greek Americans in the country.

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

Athens made the list of candidates ~ Vote HERE from the 20th of January until the 10th of February!

 

For the eighth consecutive year you will be the ones to determine the ranking of the most trendy European destinations to visit in 2017. Your votes, coming from everywhere in the world, will be decisive during these three weeks of competition.

 

Which destination will be awarded the title of Best European destination of the year? We have pre-selected 20 incredible destinations that all deserve to win the prestigious title. Discover them and vote for your favourite!

Athens is one of the world's oldest cities, often called the cradle of Western civilization. Visitors will find monuments to ancient history on nearly every path they take. But with interesting neighborhoods, trendy shops and a variety of cafes and tavernas serving that famous Greek cuisine, Athens' attractions are not all rooted in the past.

As a seaside metropolis with a lively outdoor vibe and dozens of picturesque islands beckoning nearby, Athens is more often considered a summer tourist destination than a winter escape. But if you've got more than beaches on your mind, there's plenty of upside to a brief cool visit that avoids the crowds and heat of summer.

The city is easy to get around by bus or metro and most major attractions are within walking distance. Temperatures in January average 50 F (10 C). A few must-see attractions include the Acropolis, Plaka, and Sounion!

To read this article in full, please visit: Yahoo

Athens International Airport ended 2016 on a high note with a record 20.2 million passengers. Passenger numbers rose by a total of 10.7 percent (1.9 million) from the last year.

In December 2016 alone, the airport’s passengers reached 1.35 million, noting a 14.3 percent increase compared to prior-year levels. Domestic travellers rose by 8.3 percent, while international passengers grew strong at 18 percent. Moreover, Greek travellers increased by 19 percent and foreign visitors also presented growth at a 7 percent level.

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

The musician CrazyCello performs the Greek song Milo Mou Kokkino! This beautiful video was filmed at Meteora and Trizonia, showcasing ‘Greece at its best.’

 

CrazyCello, also known as Alexandros Botinis, is a cellist who creates ‘interesting, crazy, and funny music videos in Greek landscapes. His main goal…to make you smile!

For more information, please visit CrazyCello's website and Facebook page.

Author and blogger, Marissa Tejada, from Travel Greece Travel Europe, travels to Nafpaktos and shares her favourite things to do!

The Venetian Castle of Nafpaktos is one very large and incredibly preserved structure that you simply can’t miss. It can be seen from the harbor and from many points in town. The castle is what gives this place – set on a sparkling aqua blue corner of the Corinthian Gulf – its defining charm.

The Botsari Museum is part of the Venetian Tower of Botsaris. It is a historic landmark that is run by the charitable Botsaris Foundation. It is worth a stop to view a collection replica paintings and engravings that give insight into the great Battle of Lepanto of 1571.

Every coastal town, big or small, in Greece has beautiful beaches and Nafpaktos is no exception. The names of the two city beaches are known as Psani and Gribovo and have been accredited with Blue Flag status.

To read this article in full, please visit: Travel Greece Travel Europe

For the 12th consecutive year, the esteemed NY Times put together its annual ‘Places To Go’ article by receiving feedback from regular contributors, many of whom live overseas, as well as having ‘marathon-length’ meetings to narrow down their suggestions. This year, Athens was recognized for its art scene and put on the ’52 Places To Go In 2017’ list!

 

Coming in at number 28, Athens is described as ‘a post-crisis art boom in an ancient capital.’

‘Prices have dropped, but the Greek debt crisis has not dampened Athens’s thriving arts scene. Recent years have seen a surge of galleries, collectives and nonprofit art organizations built for leaner times, like Radio Athènes, which hosts pop-up lectures and performances, and the immigration-focused Nomadic Architecture Network.’

A few notable and up-and-coming destinations also made the list including Tijuana, Mexico, Detroit, Michigan, and Greenville, South Carolina. And of course, classic cities like Madrid in Spain, Osaka in Japan, and Napa Valley in California were also listed among the top places to go in 2017.

To view the NY Times list of ’52 Places To Go In 2017’ in full, please visit: NY Times

In Greece, evidence of Orthodoxy Christianity, whose roots are intertwined with those of the nation, is everywhere: Countless churches, chapels and shrines, in squares, on mountain tops, in caves, carved into the rock, as if crafted by invisible, all-powerful hands, by the sea or in private spaces. Official figures point to a total of 9,792 parish and monastery churches, but this figure does not include the hundreds of privately owned places of worship and chapels in cemeteries. Many have been declared World Heritage sites.

Most churches are dedicated to the Virgin Mary (Theotokos, Panaghia etc), Saint Demetrios (Aghios Dimitrios), Saint Nicholas (Aghios Nikolaos), Saints Constantine and Helen (Aghioi Konstantinos kai Eleni) and the Holy Trinity (Aghia Triada). Most island churches are dedicated to Aghios Nikolaos, patron saint of sailors and fishermen, due to the fact that traditionally, most island families relied to a greater or lesser degree on the sea – which could of course be deadly – for a living.

In Greece, numerous Byzantine era (330-1453) churches have been preserved. Many were built on ancient temples and shrines in an effort to purge the region of its pagan past.

In total, 350 Christian places of worship are considered cultural monuments and, as such, are protected. Unfortunately, a significant number of the Byzantine churches and monasteries of Athens were destroyed and looted over the centuries.

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

Aggeliki Pappa, founder of i love dyslexia, was nominated for the 2nd time as a finalist for the 2017 Global Teacher Prize!

The Varkey Foundation, which is in charge of the Global Teacher Prize for 2017, recently announced the list of the 50 distinguished teachers who were selected out of 20,000 candidates from 179 countries.

Pappa was listed for her accomplishments as the founder of ILD as well, as her experience as a researcher of special education.

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