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Welcome to Greece

General Information

Capital: Athens

Time:
GMT + 2 (GMT + 3 from last Sunday in March to last Sunday in October).

Tel. Code: 00 30 .

Official Language:
Greek (Ellenika). Most people connected with tourism and those of a younger generation will speak some English, French, German or Italian.

Currency:
The Euro is now the official currency of 12 EU member states (including Greece). The first Euro coins and notes were introduced in January 2002; the Greek Drachma was in circulation until 28 February 2002, when it was completely replaced by the Euro. Euro (�) = 100 cents. Notes are in denominations of �500, 200, 100, 50, 20, 10 and 5. Coins are in denominations of �2, 1 and 50, 20, 10, 5, 2 and 1 cents

Electricity:
220 volts AC, 50Hz. Round two-pin plugs are used.

Religion:
97 per cent Greek Orthodox, with Muslim, Roman Catholic and Jewish minorities.

Climate

Climate:
Greece has a warm Mediterranean climate. In summer, dry hot days are often relieved by stiff breezes, especially in the north and coastal areas. Athens can be stiflingly hot, so visitors should allow time to acclimatise. The evenings are cool. Winters are mild in the south but much colder in the north. November to March is the rainy season.

Required clothing:
Lightweight clothes during summer months, including protection from the midday sun. Light sweaters are needed for evenings. Rainproofs are advised for autumn. Winter months can be quite cold, especially in the northern mainland, so normal winter wear will be required.

Airports

Athens (ATH) (Elfetherios Veniselos) has been newly constructed, replacing all air traffic from the old airport. Its 27Km northeast of the city.
Heraklion (HER) (Crete) is 5km (3 miles) from the city.
Thessaloniki (SKG) (Macedonia) is 16km (10 miles) from the city.
Corfu (CFU) (Kerkira) is 3km (2 miles) from the city.
Rhodes (RHO) (Paradisi) is 16km (10 miles) from the city.

There are also international airports at Chania (CHQ), Kalamata (KLX), Karpathos (AOK), Kavala (KVA), Kefalonia (EFL), Kos (KGS), Lesbos (Mytilini) (MJT), Mykonos (JMK), Preveza (Lefkos) (PVK), Samos (SMI), Skiathos (JSI), Thessaloniki (SKG), Thira (Santorini) (JTR) and Zakynthos (ZTH), most of which serve predominantly summer traffic

Departure tax: �12,15.

Internal Travel

Air, Sea, Rail and Road are the modes of transportation used within Greece.

Travel Times

The following chart gives approximate travel times (in hours and minutes) from Athens to other major cities in Greece.

City	Air	Sea	Road
Corfu	0.50	-	11.00*
Crete	0.50	6-12.00	-
Mykonos	0.45	3.45-5.00	-
Rhodes	0.55	14.00	-
Thessaloniki	0.50	14.00	8.00
Thira	0.40	4.30-8.00	-

*Note:The travel time by road to Corfu includes a sea crossing from Patras.

Public Holidays 2005

Public Holidays 2005:
Jan 1 New Year�s Day.
Jan 6 Epiphany.
Mar 14 Orthodox Shrove Monday.
Mar 25 Independence Day.
Apr 29 Orthodox Good Friday.
May 1 Labour Day.
May 2 Orthodox Easter Monday.
Jun 20 Day of the Holy Spirit.
Aug 15 Assumption.
Oct 28 Ochi Day.
Dec 25 Christmas Day.
Dec 26 Boxing Day.

Passport/Visa

Passport

Passport valid for at least three months after period of intended stay required by all except:

(a) 1. EU/EEA nationals with a valid national ID card and with sufficient funds for their length of stay;

(b) nationals of EU states, Monaco and Switzerland with valid national ID cards;

(c) nationals of EU countries and Switzerland with passports valid for period of intended stay.

Visas :

Required by all except the following:

(a) nationals of the countries referred to in the chart above for a period of up to 90 days;

(b) nationals of Andorra, Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Brunei, Bulgaria, Chile, Costa Rica, Croatia, El Salvador, Honduras, Hong Kong (SAR) (blue and red passport holders), Iceland, Israel, Korea (Rep), Liechtenstein, Macau (SAR), Malaysia, Mexico, Monaco, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Romania, San Marino, Singapore, Switzerland, Uruguay, Vatican City and Venezuela for up to 90 days;

(c) those continuing their journey to a third country within 48 hours provided holding tickets with reserved seats and other documents for their onward journey except: nationals of Afghanistan, Angola, Bangladesh, Congo (Dem Rep), Eritrea, Ethiopia, Ghana, India, Iran, Iraq, Nigeria, Pakistan, Somalia, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Syrian Arab Republic and Turkey who always need a visa, even if transiting by the same aircraft.

Note: The following nationals always require an Airport Transit visa to transit through a Greek airport: Afghanistan, Angola, Bangladesh, Congo (Dem Rep), Eritrea, Ethiopia, Ghana, India, Iran, Iraq, Nigeria, Pakistan, Somalia, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Syrian Arab Republic and Turkey.