Europe: Plan your Journey to Europe

Greece

Greece, Ancient, was the birthplace of Western civilization about 2,500 years ago. The magnificent achievements of the ancient Greeks in government, science, philosophy, and the arts continue to influence our lives today.

Greece, officially called the Hellenic Republic (Greek: Ελληνική Δημοκρατία), is a country in the southeast of Europe on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula. It has land boundaries with Bulgaria, the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, and Albania to the north; and with Turkey to the east. The waters of the Aegean Sea border Greece to the east, and those of the Ionian and Mediterranean Sea to the west and south. Regarded by many as the cradle of Western civilisation and the birthplace of Democracy, Greece has a long and rich history during which its culture has proven especially influential in Europe, Asia and Africa...More Information on Greece .

Full country name: Hellenic Republic
Area: 131,940 sq km
Population: 10.66 million
Capital City: Athens
People: The government does not recognise any ethnicity other than Greek. However, a foreign population does exist
Language: Greek
Religion: 98% Greek Orthodox, 1.3% Muslim, 0.7% other
Government: parliamentary republic
Head of State: President Karolos Papoulias
Head of Government: Prime Minister Kostas Karamanlis

History of Greece

The Greek War of Independence began in 1821 and concluded in 1830 when England, France, and Russia forced the Ottoman Empire to grant Greece its independence under a European monarch, Prince Otto of Bavaria...History of Greeks.

Also Read: Our special feature on Background on Greece

Overview of Greece Economy

GDP: US$203.3 billion
GDP per capita: US$19,100
Annual Growth: 4%
Major Industries: Tourism, shipping, food and tobacco processing, textiles, chemicals, metal products, mining and petroleum products
Major Trading Partners: Germany , Italy, France, UK, USA
Member of EU: Yes

Also Read: Our Special Feature on Economy of Greece

Political System of Greece

- Government And Political Condition
- Foreign Relationship of Greece
- Greece Military and Defense

Climate, Vegetation and Fauna

Greece has various vegetation. From sea level to an elevation of 460m ,oranges, olives, dates, pomegranates, figs, cotton, and tobacco are grown. From 120 to 460m are deciduous and evergreen forests containing oak, black pine, chestnut, beech, and sumac. Tulips, hyacinths, and laurels are also characteristic of this elevation. Firs and wild flowers such as anemone and cyclamen are found above 1,200 m ,and mosses and lichens predominate above 1,500 m...More on Climate and Fauna found in Greece.


Population:Eastern Orthodox Christianity is the dominant religion in Greece and receives state funding...Greek Population.

Environment In Greece:Greece is endowed with a spectacular richness of flora - over 6000 species, some of which occur nowhere else, including more than 100 varieties of orchid. In spring, the Peloponnese and the mountains...More.

Culture: There are few places that evoke such a heady sense of cultural romance as Greece. The cradle of Western thought, literature, art...More about Culture of Greece.

Language: The first language of the overwhelming majority of the population is Modern Greek . The Greek language demonstrates a remarkable degree...more on Languages of Greece

Education: In 2001 Greece had an adult literacy rate of 100 %. Education is free and compulsory for all children...more on education in Greece


Facts for the Traveler

Visas: Nationals of Australia, Canada, Cyprus, EU countries, the European principalities of Monaco and San Marino, Iceland, Israel, Japan, Malta, New Zealand, Norway, Switzerland, the USA and most South American countries are allowed to stay in Greece for up to three months without a visa; most others can enter Greece for up to two months without a visa; Greece will refuse entry to anyone whose passport indicates that, since November 1983, they have visited North Cyprus.
Health risks: sunburn, (A yellow fever vaccination certificate is required from travellers over 6 months of age coming from infected areas)
Time Zone: GMT/UTC +2 (Eastern European Time)
Dialling Code: 30
Electricity: 220V ,50 Hz
Weights & measures: Metric

Also Read:Money and Cost Required | Transportation System in Greece | Public Holidays in Greece

When to Go

Conditions are perfect between Easter and mid-June - beaches and ancient sites are relatively uncrowded; public transport operates on close to full schedules; and accommodation is cheaper and easier to find than in the mid-June to end of August high season. Conditions are once more ideal from the end of August until mid-October, as the season winds down. Winter is pretty much a dead loss outside the major cities as most of the tourist infrastructure goes into hibernation from the middle of October till the beginning of April. This is slowly changing, however; on the most touristy islands, a few restaurants, hotels and bars remain open year-round.

Also Read: Getting Around Greece | Greece: Getting There and Away

What to See in Greece

Major Tourist Attractions in Greece
- Athens: Redolent with mythology, smeared with grime, Athens is an affable city enlivened by...
- Crete: Steeped in Homeric history and culture, scented by wild fennel and basil, Crete welcomes and overwhelms visitors...
- Dodecanese Islands: Whitewashed walls, deep blue sky, olive groves, fig trees, azure Aegean waters…
- Ionian Islands: Give into temptation and succumb to the lure of the idyllic Ionian group of islands...

Other Tourist Attractions in Greece
Warning: fopen(/home/chro/domains/travel-chronicle.com/public_html/includes/xmlcache/greece) [function.fopen]: failed to open stream: Permission denied in /home/chro/domains/travel-chronicle.com/public_html/includes/xmlfeed.php on line 98

Warning: fwrite(): supplied argument is not a valid stream resource in /home/chro/domains/travel-chronicle.com/public_html/includes/xmlfeed.php on line 99

Warning: fclose(): supplied argument is not a valid stream resource in /home/chro/domains/travel-chronicle.com/public_html/includes/xmlfeed.php on line 100

more...

Events in Greece

The Greek year is a succession of festivals and events, some of which are religious, some cultural, others an excuse for a good knees-up. Gynaikratia on 8 January is a day of role reversal in villages in northern Greece. Women spend the day in kafeneia (cafes) and other social centres where men usually congregate, while the men stay at home to do housework. The Greek carnival season runs through February-March over the three weeks before the beginning of Lent, and features fancy dress, feasting, traditional dancing and general merrymaking. Easter is the most significant festival in Greece, with candle-lit processions, feasting and fireworks displays. Emphasis is placed on the Resurrection rather than on the Crucifixion, so it is a joyous occasion. There are numerous summer festivals across the country, the most famous being the Hellenic Festival (mid-June to late September), which hosts drama and music in ancient theatres.

What to do in Greece

To protect underwater antiquities from pilferers, scuba diving is forbidden unless under the auspices of a diving school (of which there are many). Water skiing is popular on quite a few islands. Despite the disparaging remarks among backpackers, yachting is the way to see the Greek Islands - nothing beats the serenity of sailing the open sea and the freedom of being able to visit remote and uninhabited islands.


Warning: fopen(/home/chro/domains/travel-chronicle.com/public_html/includes/xmlcache/europe) [function.fopen]: failed to open stream: Permission denied in /home/chro/domains/travel-chronicle.com/public_html/includes/xmlfeed.php on line 98

Warning: fwrite(): supplied argument is not a valid stream resource in /home/chro/domains/travel-chronicle.com/public_html/includes/xmlfeed.php on line 99

Warning: fclose(): supplied argument is not a valid stream resource in /home/chro/domains/travel-chronicle.com/public_html/includes/xmlfeed.php on line 100

Cluj-Napoca : Romania Cluj-Napoca (Hungarian: Kolozsvar; German: Klausenburg; Latin: Claudiopolis), the seat of Cluj county, is one of the most important academic, cultural and industrial centers in Romania. Regarded as the historic capital of Transylvania, the city is located in northwestern Romania, and is approximately 480 km (200 miles) northwest of Bucharest in the Somesul Mic [...]
Cultural Activity in Europe Europe has a long tradition of excellence in literature, painting, sculpture, architecture, music, and dance. In the late 20th century Paris, Rome, London, Madrid, and Moscow were particularly famous as cultural centers, but many other cities also supported important museums, musical and theatrical groups, and other cultural institutions. Most European countries had [...]
Religion of Europe In the early 2000s the great majority of Europeans were Christians. The largest single religious group, Roman Catholics, lived mainly in France, Spain, Portugal, Italy, Ireland, Belgium, southern Germany, and Poland. Another large group was composed of followers of Protestant faiths, concentrated in countries of northern and central Europe such as England, Scotland, [...]
Languages of Europe Europeans speak a wide variety of languages. The principal linguistic groups are the Slavic, which includes Russian, Ukrainian, Belarusian, Czech, Slovak, Bulgarian, Polish, Slovenian, Macedonian, and Serbo-Croatian; the Germanic, which includes English, German, Dutch, Danish, Norwegian, Swedish, and Icelandic; and the Romance, which includes Italian, French, Spanish, Portuguese, and Romanian. These languages have [...]
Demography of Europe The distribution of the European population has not been stable over long periods, but has shifted, both through differential birth and death rates and by migration. At the beginning of the Christian era, the most densely populated part of Europe bordered the Mediterranean Sea. At the beginning of the 21st century Europe had [...]
Ethnologyof Europe Europe includes a large number of ethnic groups—persons associated by a common culture, especially language. European nations are generally composed of one dominant group, such as the Germans of Germany and the French of France. Several countries, particularly in south central Europe, have large minorities, and most countries contain smaller groups, such as the [...]
People of Europe Indo-European languages (see The Indo-European Family of Languages, table) predominate in Europe; others spoken include Basque, Maltese, and the languages classified as Finno-Ugric, Samoyedic, Bulgaric, and Turkic. Roman Catholicism is the chief religion of S and W Europe and the southern part of central Europe; Protestantism is dominant in the United Kingdom, Scandinavia, [...]
Biodiversity of Europe Having lived side-by-side with agricultural and industrial civilisations for millennia, Europe’s animals and plants have been profoundly affected by the presence and activities of man. With the exception of Scandinavia and northern Russia, few areas of untouched wilderness are today to be found in Europe, except for different natural parks. The main natural vegetation [...]
Physical features of Europe In terms of shape, Europe is a collection of connected peninsulas. The two largest of these are “mainland” Europe and Scandinavia to the north, divided from each other by the Baltic Sea. Three smaller peninsulas—Iberia, Italy and the Balkans—emerge from the southern margin of the mainland into the Mediterranean Sea, which separates [...]
Regions of Europe Europe can be divided into five geographic regions: Scandinavia (Iceland, Norway, Sweden, Finland, and Denmark); the British Isles (United Kingdom and Ireland); W Europe (France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, and Monaco); S Europe (Portugal, Spain, Andorra, Italy, Malta, San Marino, and Vatican City); Central Europe (Germany, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Austria, Poland, the Czech Republic, [...]

Travel Chronicle: Europe Destination Guide

Rapla : Estonia
Rapla : Estonia Rapla Travel : Estonia Rapla is a city in Estonia, the centre of the Rapla County and the rural...

Landeck : Austria
Landeck : Austria Landeck is a city in Tyrol, Austria with approximately 7,500 inhabitants. It is located at an elevation of...

Porec : Croatia
Porec : Croatia PoreÄ? (Italian Parenzo, Latin Parentium), (lat. 45.2258 N, long. 13.5939 E, alt. 29 m), is a city and...

The Performing Arts
The Performing Arts The preceding lists in this chapter are related to art and architecture not only because I personally like...

Sleeping bag
Sleeping bag Obviously, a sleeping bag is mandatory if you are camping, and nice to have if sleeping indoors in rural...

Boats and Ferries
Boats and Ferries If you are planning on taking a boat to Europe, have your butler return this book for a...

Cinemas And Their Audience : Germany
Cinemas And Their Audience : Germany In 1995, attendance at Germany's approximately 3,500 cinemas topped 125 million. The number of cinema-goers...

Financial Equalization : Germany
Financial Equalization : Germany The financial situation of the individual states varies considerably because their natural resources and economic structures are...

Food : Germany
Food : Germany Maintenance of a food supply which meets consumers' needs at reasonable prices is the foremost aim of national...

Browse the Europe Destination Guide


Got Text?
You're reading these text links and so are millions of other every month. Place your Adverts Here. E-Mail Us for Details.
 
Plan your Honeymoon in Alaska, Tahiti, Caribbean , New Zealand, Hawaii, Cooks Island, Fiji
 
Learn wide variety of courses at all levels in English and other languages in Delhi at Inlingua New Delhi
 
Plan your Visit to Agra, Jaipur and Delhi through Travel and Hospitality India
 
 
Customized Search Engine Solutions, Search Engine Rankings, Search Engine Promote, Affordable SEO Services, SEO India
 
Cellos and Violas Manufacturer and Suppliers
 


 

Europe Travel Guide


First Time in Europe: Travel Planner


Facts About Germany