The Prefecture's capital is a beautiful city built on the location of ancient Trikki (according to mythology, the nypmph Trikki was the daughter of Ponios).  Asklipios, the most imporant doctor of antiquity, originated from here.  The Lithaios River flows through the city which is distinguished by historical Monuments, excellent urban planning, spacious squares, parks and pedestrian streets.  It's located 331km NW of Athens and 215Kkm SW of Thessaloniki.

We are starting off with the heritage listed traditional neighbourhood of Varoussi, known for its beautiful narrow alleys and the multi-coloured houses of the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries. Most of the oldest churches of the city are here.

Go on with a romantic stroll along the banks of the Lithaios River (the river of Lithi = “forgetfulness” in mythology), which is a tributary of the Pinios. Ten bridges cross the river, the central one made of metal having been constructed by the French in 1886.

Walk up to the fortress towering above the hill north of the city. It is the well preserved Justinian fortress, today featuring a recreational area. On its east side there is the 17th century Clock, the emblem of the city, which has suffered destruction and restoration several times.

Alternatively, you can cycle around the beautiful city through the vast network of bicycle lanes the locals are so fond of and keen on using.

To read more, please visit: Visit Greece

Just a few hours away from Athens, Greece offers some of the best ski resorts for both adults and children. Ski runs range in all levels of difficulty while giving its guests the opportunity to enjoy mesmerizing views of Greece! Here are our top 3 ski resorts close to Athens.

Parnassos Ski Resort


@parnassos.gr

This resort is probably Greece’s most popular ski center because it is very easy to access, located only about two hours from Athens. It is also close to the popular ancient archaeological site of Delphi. There you will find 17 lifts, 13 main modern lifts and 4 baby lifts, 23 slopes, and 7 ski trails with a total length of 34 km.

The Kalavrita Ski Center is located in the Peloponnese, about a two-and-a-half-hour drive from Athens, and is the second-largest ski resort in Greece sporting 13 diverse ski tracks for you to enjoy, with a total length of 25 km. If you are a beginner, you should consider trying out the newly-added and longest run "Harmony", a very scenic ski route through the pine forest of Helmos.

This ski resort is one of the oldest in the country and is located on Mount Velouchi, 10 km from Karpenisi, the capital of Evritania, and around 4 hours away from Athens. It boasts a total of 6 ski lifts with 18 different slopes of varying difficulty to check out.

 

Whether you’re traveling through Greece or have recently moved, it’s important to know a few Greek phrases, especially when it comes to saying ‘Hello’ or ‘thank you!’ Why Athens has put a list together of useful phrases for tourists (or expats) to use while you’re in Greece, along with spelling and pronunciation!

 

The Greek language is not an easy one to learn or pronounce. We’ve put together a quick guide with audio clips to help you along. Learning to say a few words like ‘hello’, ‘please’ and ‘thank you’ is always a nice gesture when travelling anywhere in the world and the Greeks do appreciate the effort, however good or bad the attempt.

You would say ‘kalimera’ (good morning) up until 12:00pm, from here onwards ‘yia sas’ (hello) will be the standard greeting. You will hear ‘kalispera’ (good afternoon/evening) from late afternoon right through to the end of the day. If you are leaving a restaurant or passing by the hotel reception desk to walk back to your room, you would say ‘kalinihta’ (good night).

To read this article in full, and for spelling and pronunciation of popular Greek phrases, please visit: Why Athens

Greece has managed to attract up to nine million more tourists (not counting cruise ship arrivals) over the past five years, bringing the country to 14th place on the World Tourism Organization’s list for 2016.

In absolute terms, 15.5 million tourism arrivals were recorded in 2012, which by 2016 reached 24.8 million, the biggest percentage rise of any country in the specific time period.

Mexico followed in second place, with an increase of 49.5% in tourist arrivals between 2012 and 2016, and Thailand in third (45.5%).

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

Maddie is a terrier and goes on all sorts of adventures around the world. In this book, Maddie visits Athens and helps a girl find her teddy in the Acropolis. ‘Maddie Goes To Athens’ is a great book for early readers and young travellers learning fun facts about important cities around the world.

 

For more information on Maddie, visit www.maddiebooks.com or follow their Instagram @themaddiebookshop

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After the devastating wildfires that hit the Attica region recently, the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) is encouraging travelers to stick with their plans and visit the country. The UNWTO stated to tourists, "Tourism means much needed income and creates new opportunities. Go there!"

The Secretary General, Zurab Pololikashvili, expressed his condolences during this challenging time for Greece. He said, "In this difficult moment allow me to convey, on my personal behalf and that of UNWTO, our heartfelt condolences to the families and friends of the victims and reiterate our full support to the people and the Government of Greece."

He added, "The people of Greece have proven their resilience many times before and I truly believe this time will be no different."

Are you ready to become your most authentically confident, clear, emotionally and mentally strong you? Well then, you are just 12-weeks away from your best year, yet! 

XpatAthens contributor, Eleni Meraki of Guts & Tales, has been cooking up another inspiring platform called Be Your Own Muse that is a 12-week online coaching program designed for women.

Eleni tells us that BYOM is the biggest professional accomplishment of her life so far. She's never felt more proud, strong, committed and excited about anything else before. For Eleni personally, the last 3 years have been quite a ride, from her own career and life change, including her emigration to Greece, it’s been a journey of many changes, many fears, and innumerable obstacles to overcome – continuous falling and getting up again.

We’d like to invite you to join women from all around the planet, to take part in a 12-week program that will truly impact your life. The program will take you through 12 themes that step-by-step will get you to exactly where you need to take you, to being your own muse.

The themes you’ll explore are carefully curated to tackle the issues and questions that many women are faced with today, including:

• Being authentic.
• Managing your thoughts.
• Believing in yourself, no matter what.
• Navigating your feelings and emotions.
• Living a balanced life.
• Maintaining a positive mindset.
• Be present and patient.

The program is very clearly structured and easy-to-follow. You’ll receive one email a day with something to read, watch, listen or do. Each day of the entire program can be done while drinking your morning coffee or on your morning commute - it will take just 5 to 20 minutes of you time per day. The content is a perfect mix of practical tools, theory, inspiration and motivation with a touch of practical coaching, psychology, (neuro) science and philosophy.

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About the creator of the Be Your Own Muse program:

 

Eleni Meraki is a life coach, trainer, hypnotherapist, writer and founder of the storytelling platform Guts & Tales. Learn more about the BYOM team here.

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The study carried out by the Crowther Lab at Swiss university ETH Zurich has calculated that reforesting degraded forests all over the world could capture about 205 billion tons of carbon. It is worth mentioning that global carbon emissions are currently around 10 billion tons per year.

The Crowther Lab at ETH Zurich investigates nature-based solutions to reduce climate change and a tool on their website enables users to inspect an point on the globe to find out how many trees could grow there and how much carbon they can store.

According to Professor Thomas Crowther, founder of the Crowther Lab at ETH Zurich: "We all knew that restoring forests could play a part in tackling climate change, but we didn't really know how big the impact would be. Our study shows clearly that forest restoration is the best climate change solution available today. But we must act quickly, as new forests will take decades to mature and achieve their full potential as a source of natural carbon storage."


To read this article in full please visit: ETH Zurich