Sooner or later almost everyone in Athens, tourist or local, heads for the flea market, the city’s oldest bazaar, below Monastiraki Square. Although it’s busiest on Sundays, all week long you can rummage through the antiques – furniture, bric-a-brac, mirrors, paintings, vintage toys, statuettes, vases, silverware – spread out in colorful disorder in front of the small shops that line all four sides of Avissinia Square. There are still treasures to be found for those with patience, and it’s one corner of Athens that has kept its funky character more or less intact over the decades.

One treasure that requires neither a keen eye or a connoisseur’s expertise is Café Avissinia, the square’s only establishment where the antiques are not for sale. A restaurant/watering hole, where you can stop for a coffee or a full course meal, the Café is more than just a place to grab a bite. With its old-fashioned rush-seated chairs and marble-topped tables, pink floral wallpaper, tiled floors and stained glass or painted windows, it feels part ancestral home, part elegant 19th-century Viennese coffee house. Portraits and landscapes fill the walls, lining the stairs to the second dining room and roof terrace; period sconces and chandeliers shed a gentle light; and porcelain platters, pitchers and vases on high shelves give diners plenty to contemplate while awaiting their order.

That the café blends in perfectly with the square was no accident. Its owner-founder, Ketty Koufonikola, chose the location because it reflected her own interest in art and antiques. And because it seemed like a good place where she could combine them with her other passions, cooking and entertaining.

As her son and current manager, Nikolas, told us, when she opened the café in 1986, the upstairs still operated as an auction house, and the all-male proprietors of the antiques shops did not take kindly to this female interloper. But Ketty was no ordinary woman. A native of Thessaloniki who’d spent many years in London, “she had a balance between her aristocratic side and her free-spirited tomboy side,” said 40-something Nikolas. “If I had to describe my mother, I’d say she’s the Greek Martha Stewart, without being such a perfectionist. She’s a great hostess but she’s also down to earth, a warm personality, and she can handle any situation. In those days, she was like Bouboulina [the legendary sea captain in the Greek War of Independence], that rare creature, a woman who was the boss in a man’s world.

To read more, please visit: Culinary Backstreets
Article written by Diana Farr Louis

As summer approaches, holidays around the Greek Islands spring to mind.  Staying in small hotels, even family run apartments can get expensive, so how about camping?

Sadly campsites seem to be diminishing in number. Bye bye Kea Camping in Korissia, Ios Camping on Yialos or Parasporos Camping on Paros. However, the ones that are still around, are still around for a reason: they are good value for money in an idyllic setting.

The standard of campsites in the Cyclades is one of the highest in the Mediterranean. You should expect to pay €5-7 per person and about €2-4 per tent; find basic cabins without W/C for €10-15; and sometimes bungalows with own a/c and W/C for around €20-25 per day. Oh, and they also rent tents, so you need only bring a sleeping bag.

All campsites below are shaded, flat, have a multiplicity of electricity points, free wi-fi, a mini-market (as they call grocery stores nowadays in Greece), provide transfers to ferries and airplanes, have a beach bar-cum-restaurant nearby and, most of all, are next to the sea.

Out of the way, right on the beach, overgrown with olive trees and citrus trees. It feels like you are camping in someone’s overgrown garden.

The flatist camping you'll come across (important!) on the best beach near the Paros capital with a really cool beach bar next door. It has a bus that collects people from town and brings them in at 6pm to party Greek-style (including plate smashing) until 9.30pm when they bus them back.

The location, just back from the excellent Serifos beach is great and the management even better.  Superb communal pool, restaurant, bar and free wi-fi.

To read more, please visit: The Jolly Traveller

A 100-million-euro investment project on the Aegean island of Chios for the development of a 5-star 700-room resort complete with museum and educational facility by Kerameia SA has been included in the government’s list of strategic “Fast Track” projects following a Ministerial Committee for Strategic Investments (DESE) decision, Greek financial daily Naftemporiki reports.

The project, budgeted at 100 million euros, includes the construction of a 5-star luxury resort, an apartment complex, a thalassotherapy facility, a conference center, a museum and educational institute, a paleontological theme park, a yacht marina and other relevant infrastructure.

To read more, please visit: Greek Travel Pages

If you’re heading to Santorini this summer, this article is for you! Recently listed as the #1 island in Europe, Santorini is on the list for many. Blogger, Laura Burgess, writes about her perfect itinerary for visiting this Greek island, as well as great places to stay, how to get there, and what to pack with you!

Day 1

8:00 am: Walk to Firá and grab a fredo espresso (iced espresso) and a pastry at the bakery in the main square. The fredo espressos are some of the best in the region and it’s a perfect way to start a busy day.

9:00 am: Meet your tour guide in the center of Firá who will take you on a walk of a lifetime. Santorini Walking Tours offers four walking tours, but a must-see is the Firá to Oia Caldera hike. You won’t be disappointed, trust me.

1:00 pm: After you finish your walking tour, you will have landed in Oia, the colorful, boutique-y village that is one of the prettiest spots in Santorini. Definitely spend some time here eating, shopping, and exploring all the cobbled secret passageways. Have lunch on the terrace at Melitini and enjoy more caldera views while you sit back and enjoy a nice mezze, aka tapas, style lunch and of course, a glass of wine.

3:00 pm: Oia is the place to shop with plenty of boutiques offering women’s contemporary fashion, jewelry, and artwork. Check out the world famous Atlantis Books and AK Gallery, two don’t miss stops while you are there.

6:00 pm: Grab an ice cream and head down to Katharos beach in Oia just in time for a mini-siesta and to watch the applause worthy sunset. Katharos beach is my favorite place to watch because it’s peaceful and away from the “sunset crowd.” If you wish to be a part of the crowd, go towards the windmill and grab a seat anywhere. As the sun sets, you will hear lots of applause. It’s silly, but it makes me smile every time.

8:30 pm: Once the sun goes down, you will probably be tempted to head back to Firá, but I recommend staying in Oia just a bit longer and grabbing a drink at MaryKay’s bar, which is right across from Atlantis Books. They have excellent cocktails and always offer a little snack to hold you over until dinner. The buses back to Firá are chaotic and crowded just after sunset so it’s optimal to sip a tasty beverage while you wait for the crowds to disperse.

9:30 pm: Catch the bus back to Firá and head towards the main square. Do as the locals do and grab a souvlaki and Yellow Donkey beer while you sit on the benches and people watch. The square is always buzzing with activity and you just can’t beat Greek souvlaki!

To read the rest of Laura's Santorini itinerary, please visit: Daytripper 365

Starting in 2017, Greek supermarkets will start charging for the use of plastic bags. The charge will be 5 to 10 euro cents.

This change for Greece comes after many EU countries have already implemented the charge for decades. The charge will hopefully encourage patrons to bring their own reusable bags as to cut down on plastic waste.

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

As of May 2017, residents and visitors of Athens will find two more pedestrianized streets in the city center. Cars will no longer be able to turn left from Voreos Street to Karoris and Agathonos streets. It is reminded that vehicles are allowed to enter Athinas Street only from the streets of Mitropoleos, Karagiorgis and Sofokleous.

The streets Agathonos and Karoris (up to Voreou Street) have been pedestrianized as part of the municipality’s program to restore the ‘commercial triangle of Athens.’ The sides of the this triangle are the three main squares of the city: Omonia, Syntagma and Monastiraki.

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

Just a couple of weeks ago in mid-August 2017, Greece got to witness the annual Perseid meteor shower lighting of the starry skies. The video below from The Guardian shows the shower near the archaeological site of Mesimvria outside Alexandroupoli in northern Greece.

“As the meteors burn up, they can appear as green, white or orange streaks across the sky.”



To view more in pictures, please visit: The Guardian

Allow yourself to explore the best places in Kifissia, enjoy a drink at a new cocktail bar in Koukaki and indulge in two of Athens' coolest and most delicious restaurants!

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