It has often been said, that you can’t dig a hole in Athens without finding something of archaeological value. This was certainly the case when they created the underground Metro system. Thousands of artefacts dating back millennia were uncovered, all adding to the overall knowledge of Athens in the past. Some of these finds were transferred to already existing museums. At Syntagma Station though, they went one step further. 

Syntagma Metro Station is the central station where all lines connect.   The Syntagma Metro Station Archaeological Collection can be found at the top floor of the station complex.

There are cases exhibiting artefacts such as weaving loomes and clay amphorae from all the periods of settlement in Athens.  You can find neolithic, classical Greek, Roman and Byzantine exhibits all within one metro station.

The Archeological Collection is free to look around.  Theoretically, if you  have passed the barriers for access to the metro, you should have a validated metro ticket (tickets cost €1.20).

To read more, please visit: Dave's Travel Pages

Corfu, a stunning Greek island, is featured in a new 6-part BBC drama series being aired in the UK. The show is called Durrells and is based on Gerald Durrell’s trilogy of Corfu memories.

 

Keeley Hawes, also seen in Spooks and Line of Duty, is the leading actress in this drama series. The best beaches like Palaiokastrisa, Agios Georgias, and Achilles, as well as Danilia, a traditional Corfu village, are all captured on screen.

The village of Danilia is owned by one of Greece’s most luxurious hotel groups and hopes Durrells will inspire people to go on holidays in Corfu. They are even offering hotel packages to celebrate the new drama, which will include a complimentary private tour of the village.

Corfu has also been the location for James Bonds’ For Your Eyes Only.

To view this article in full, please visit: Sunday Express

The European Parliament has voted to end visa-free travel for Americans within the EU.

It comes after the US failed to agree visa-free travel for citizens of five EU countries – Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Poland and Romania – as part of a reciprocity agreement. US citizens can normally travel to all countries in the bloc without a visa.

The Commission is legally obliged to act to suspend the visa waiver for Americans, but the European Parliament or the Council of the European Union have the chance to object to the “delegated act” it uses to do so.

It was reported that the EU was considering the adoption of a US-style electronic travel permit scheme – a move that could create a new administrative hurdle for British tourists after Brexit.

Currently foreign travellers must pay a fee of $14 (£11) when they complete ESTA, an automated online system that determines their eligibility to travel to the US.

To read this article in full, please visit: Yahoo

A journalist from Travel + Leisure recently traveled to Athens to experience first-hand the revival of the arts scene. He shares with us his time spent in Athens, giving us a new perspective and discovering for the first time raki in outdoor cafes, open air cinemas, and ancient art in one of the city’s many art galleries.

“I started where everyone does, in the mythic Athens, the tourist Athens. But when I reached the Acropolis, I kept walking: past the stands selling archaeological schlock, past the spectators on Segways, into the park that surrounds Philopappou Hill. I took a seat on a rock ledge overlooking olive trees, where a few smart Athenians had strung hammocks to watch the sunset. Someone was playing a bouzouki. Someone else was practicing the trumpet. Everywhere there were ruins. The yawning sun cast the whole park in a strange sepia glow.”

“Soon it was dark. I was pleasantly drunk, wandering again. Every restaurant was flung open, the interiors empty, the tables and chairs spilled onto the street. You could not tell, based on the confusion of small plates arriving and departing, whether people were just starting dinner or almost finished. No one, as far as I could tell, had any intention of leaving.”

To read this article in full, please visit: Travel + Leisure

Greetings to all of our followers and friends in the community!

We wanted to raise awareness about a recent issue we've had in our Classified listings. Unfortunately, some people have fallen victim to a scam disguised as 'Puppies For Sale.' This incident has since been reported and handled accordingly. We want to let everyone know that: 

1. Any kind of animal for sale will no longer be allowed on XpatAthens. Although not all of these posts are scams, we have decided as an organization to support animal adoption. If you're looking for a puppy, dog, cat, or other please visit our list of animal adoption organizations in Athens.

2. Users who post inappropriate content (scams or other) will be blocked from posting on XpatAthens in the future.

As always, if you come across any suspicious content in our Classified or Event postings, please contact us at info@xpatathens.com so we can solve the issue as soon as possible.

At XpatAthens, we always strive for the best for our community. Our priority is to provide our readers with positive and quality content. We will stand by our efforts in making XpatAthens a safe place to receive news and other useful information within the international community in Greece.

Sincerely,

The Team at XpatAthens

With a history that spans more than sixty years, the Athens & Epidaurus Festival combines an impressive line-up of music, theatre, and dance performances. This summer, the Athens & Epidaurus Festival will be hosting a wide array of renowned Greek and international performers.

Among the headline acts are Chinese pianist, Yuja Wang, the British rock band Jethro Tull, and Yo-Yo Ma the greatest solo cellist in the world. A production of Oedipus based on Sophocles’ Oedipus Rex, by acclaimed American theater director Robert Wilson, will be held at the Ancient Theatre of Epidaurus on 21 & 22 June. The Greek National Opera will present Vincenzo Bellini’s Norma in June and Giuseppe Verdi’s La Traviata in July.

 

 

The Athens & Epidaurus Festival is Greece’s leading cultural event and one of the oldest performing arts festivals in Europe (1955). Each year, the Athens & Epidaurus Festival presents performances from acclaimed artists in theatre, dance, and music and attracts large audiences from around the world.

 

The festival takes place annually in the months of June, July, and August. More specifically, the Athens Festival performances are held between June 1st and mid to late July while the Epidaurus performances are held every Friday and Saturday, from early July to mid-August.

 

In Athens the festival is held at the Odeon of Herodes Atticus, Peiraios 260, and Opening to the City. In Epidaurus it takes place at Ancient Theatre of Epidaurus and the Little Theatre of Ancient Epidaurus. Site-specific performances are presented in various neighbourhoods of Athens and Piraeus, including outdoor spaces and archaeological sites, thus expanding the Festival’s scope and audience and encouraging spectators’ active engagement.

 

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XpatAthens is proud to be a Media Sponsor of the Athens Festival

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ReBrain Greece, a new pilot program for the repatriation of at least 500 Greek professionals with significant qualifications and expertise, was presented on Monday by Giannis Vroutsis, the Greek Minister of Labor, Social Insurance, and Social Solidarity.

The program aims to tackle the Greek brain drain issue by facilitating the gradual repatriation of highly-qualified Greek nationals who left Greece during the economic crisis in search of better-paying jobs.

The ReBrain Greece initiative guarantees the repatriated Greeks a minimum wage of €3,000 monthly month for at least two years. The program commits to paying €2,000 per month, while the employer companies will cover the remaining amount. At the end of the two years, the companies will continue to employ the professionals for at least one more year, continuing to pay a minimum monthly salary of €3,000.

 

Greeks aged between 28 and 40 with recognized international scientific and professional experience and post-grad academic credentials who are willing to the Greek labor market needs in new technologies will be able to register in the ReBrain Greece platform.

Greece has already begun loosening its strict lockdown measures, and as of Friday May 14, 2021, the entire country will begin to move more freely!

This means that the SMS system for leaving home will end, night curfew will begin at 12.30 am (instead of 11 pm), while domestic travel restrictions will be lifted as part of Greece’s phased returned to normality after months of strict lockdown measures. 

Also, the click-and-collect and click-in-shop systems will cease as retail trade gets closer to normal with health protocols in place stipulating one customer per 25 square meters.

What’s more, as of Friday, May 14th, the Greek version of the “green certificate” regarding travel to the islands (with the exception of Lefkada and Evia) comes into force, either by boat or by air. 

Read all about a very special summer celebration that takes place in Greece, why it's important and how its celebrated by Greeks!

Remember to stay connected with us through our weekly newsletter, Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn.

Santorini’s tourism will boost again with Santorini Experience 2022, as amateur and professional swimmers and runners, are expected to visit once again one of the world’s top tourist destinations through sports tourism. Santorini Experience will be held on September 23-25 ​​for its 6th year and will include unique running and swimming routes with a backdrop of Santorini’s enchanting landscape. 

 

On Wednesday, July 27, this year’s event official presentation took place in the Acropolis Museum, in the presence of the Deputy Minister of Tourism, Ms. Sofia Zacharaki, the President of the Greek National Tourism Organization, Ms. Angela Gerekou, the Mayor of Thira, Mr. Antonis Sigalas, the Deputy Mayor of Thira and Head of Culture Ms. Sofia Kitsou and the Chief Executive Officer of ActiveMedia Group, Mr. Akis Tsolis, while the Deputy Minister of Culture & Sports, Mr. Lefteris Avgenakis sent his greeting through a video message. The press conference was held in the presence of the Technical Director of the event’s swimming race, Nikos Gemelos, the World Open Water Swimming Champion, Representative of the athletes of the Hellenic Swimming Federation and member of its Board of Directors, Kelly Araouzou, the President of the Hellenic Association of Sports Press, Mr. Yannis Theodorakopoulos as well as many journalists.

 

Thira Municipality is not limited to simply hosting a major tourism event on the island of Santorini, as it intends to also highlight the cultural wealth of a globally leading tourism destination, organizing Santorini Experience, after two years of pandemic.

In the context of the press conference, the Mayor of Thira, Mr. Antonis Sigalas, stated among other things: “Santorini holds an enviable position on the world stage, and is one of the leading and most popular holiday destinations. Our goal is to further upgrade our tourist product and enrich it with new alternative forms of tourism that offer unprecedented experiences. The symbolisms of the names of the two sports activities that we have announced for Santorini Experience is obvious. We want to connect the authentic experience with the history and the elements of our cultural reserve as well as to honor the founders of the “Loula & Evangelos Nomikos” Foundation.

Accordingly, the Deputy Minister of Tourism, Ms. Sofia Zacharaki, said: “The sporting event of Santorini Experience, on the one hand, enriches the tourism product beyond the two elements of sun and sea, while it has all the elements that will make this experience special so that the visitor will return to this wonderful island and our country. At the same time, it has the details of the repetition of the visit for anyone who participates in this event. In Santorini, you have no shortage of reasons to return to the island, but you have many reasons to visit for the first time. We will be there both with the auspices and with the physical presence, but mainly with the message that we will convey to the whole world, that this event is happening in Greece, adding to our overall effort, for quality, sustainability, balance”.

The Deputy Minister of Culture & Sports, Mr. Lefteris Avgenakis, addressed his greeting with a video saying, among other things: “Warm congratulations are deserved to the Municipality of Thira, to ActiveMedia Group as well as to all those who have worked for the implementation of this year’s event. What makes this event special is the perfect combination of culture, history, and the natural wealth of Santorini, with the sports tourism of the region as the main driving force”. 

The President of the Greek National Tourism Organization, Ms. Angela Gerekou highlighted among other things: “In recent years, Santorini has proven that it can combine the entire kaleidoscope of tourism that we work on and promote for our country. The exceptional event, Santorini Experience, that combines sports, tourism, culture will be able to give a very dynamic boost to the tourism of Santorini”.

In addition, the Deputy Mayor of Thira and Head of Culture, Ms. Sofia Kitsou stated in the context of the Press Conference: “The Daedalic Kore of Thira, is a unique archaeological finding of supernatural size made of marble, dating back to 640 BC, which was found preserved in excellent condition at the site of Sellada in Ancient Thira. This finding of 2.30 meters height and about 750 kilograms weight, is going to be exhibited to the world for the first time, in the outdoor area of ​​the Archaeological Museum of Thira. I am especially glad that ActiveMedia Group shared this vision with us, as we jointly decided to give the name of the Daedalic Kore to the Half Marathon. This year you will have one more reason to participate in Santorini Experience to see the Daedalic Kore up close”.  

Finally, the Chief Executive Officer of ActiveMedia Group, Mr. Akis Tsolis said, among other things: “In combination with all the new trends in tourism, the tourism plan based on the destinations together with the institutional framework formed by the Ministry of Tourism, aims at creating Greek branded tourist products in the field of sports tourism. The high-quality and diversified events that are created are sporting events with a unique Greek identity, are a national treasure on which our national income directly depends and overall, contribute to the well-being of our country. Moreover, we should keep in mind that we don't create our brand, but the audience that participates. We do not have a say οn this, but our participants are the only ones who do, because it concerns them. For this reason, we are optimistic about our new venture”.

“Travel” through the magnificent images of Santorini’s landscape and the tune composed by the renowned Greek artist Kid Moxie following an international career in Los Angeles, USA. The music was inspired by the santouri. An ancient musical instrument, which is an integral part of the Greek tradition and is widespread all over the world both to India, China and to the west, in the Middle East, the Balkans, etc.

Watch the teaser video here: https://youtu.be/NUaOiwE548E

Register now – Free registration for Thira Municipality Citizens

Participants can register and take part in the impressive “Daedalic Kore of Thira” Half Marathon and the 1.5 miles “L & E Nomikos” Open Water Swimming. The citizens of Thira Municipality can participate for free.

Register here: https://bit.ly/3oyKX27 

Run in the “Daedalic Kore of Thira” Half Marathon 

The “Daedalic Kore of Thira” Half Marathon will take place on Saturday, September 24, 2022, running across the enchanting areas of Oia, Imerovigli and Fira. More routes and surprises will be announced.

Take part in the 1.5 miles “L & E Nomikos” Open Water Swimming route from the Volcano to Fira 

Participating athletes will have the opportunity to swim in the unique 1.5 miles (2.4 km) “L & E Nomikos” open water swimming route, of Santorini Experience. The swimming event is going to be held on Sunday September 25, 2022, starting from the volcano with its finish line at the old port of Fira, under the imposing view of the island.

Vikos Natural Mineral Water is the event’s Official Water.

Englobia and Esperisma bar restaurant are Official Supporters.

 

Up to this point, this year’s event is enormously supported by the following hospitality sponsors / hotels: Kivotos Santorini, The Tsitouras Collection, Vedema, A Luxury Collection Restort Santorini, Santo Maris Oia Luxury Suites & Spa, Colombo's Beachfront Hotel, Sienna Eco Resort, 270 Oia's View – Lydia's House, West East Suites, Marvarit Suites, Loizos Stylish Residences, Athina Luxury Suites.

Santorini Experience takes place this year for the 6th year and is organized by the Municipality of Thira and the Sports Tourism department of ActiveMedia Group.

 

The event will be held under the auspices of the Ministry of Tourism and the Greek National Tourism Organization.

 

More information on new surprises of this year's event and special offers for access to Santorini, will be announced in the coming weeks at: www.santorini-experience.com 

Sports Production: ActiveMedia Group

#SantoriniExperience

Photo by Babis Giritziotis