Greece Travel Overview

Greece Travel Overview

Important facts

Capital: Athens (See more on ITYPEJOB.COM)

Official language: Greek

Currency: Euro (exchange rates)

Continent: Southern Europe

Vacation in Greece

According to Countryaah, Greece is among the top bookings in Germany and Austria every year. Not without reason. Greece is a dream travel destination that is suitable for both a cultural holiday and a beach holiday.

Greece can look back on a history spanning around five millennia, no other European country can look back on such a long historical development. Many famous Greeks are known from ancient times, such as the philosophers Aristotle (384-322 BC) and Socrates (469-399 BC) or the writer Homer (485-425 BC).

City vacation in Greece

The capital of Greece is Athens. It is located on the mainland and offers many attractions, such as the Acropolis or the Olympeion, the temple of Olympian Zeus. The second largest city in Greece is Thessaloniki.

Beach vacation on Greek islands

Greece is also known for its numerous islands that invite you to a vacation by the sea. Booking Greece last minute usually brings a great bargain, as many offers are only posted on the booking platforms very late.

Crete

The largest island is Crete. It is about 160 km south of mainland Greece. While the north coast offers long sandy beaches, the southern part of Crete consists essentially of cliffs and has only a few sandy beaches.

Corfu

Another destination for a vacation in Greece is the island of Corfu. If you spend your vacation in Corfu, the Achilleion is particularly recommended. It is a palace that the Austrian Empress Elisabeth built in honor of the Greek war hero Achilles in the years 1890-1892.

Rhodes

The island of Rhodes is also ideal for a relaxing holiday by the sea. The main town and tourist center of the island is the city of Rhodes in the north of the island. The most important sight is the old town, which is surrounded by an almost completely preserved city wall. Within these city walls there are numerous souvenir shops, cafes and taverns. In ancient times, one of the seven ancient wonders of the world was located on this island – the Colossus of Rhodes. It was a more than 30 m high bronze statue of the god Helios.

Kos

After all, the island of Kos with a combination of mild climate, crystal clear sea and beautiful sandy beaches is an ideal holiday destination for a holiday by the sea.

In total there are the following archipelagos in Greece:

  • Ionian islands
  • Cyclades
  • Northern Sporades
  • North Aegean Islands
  • East Aegean Islands
  • Santorini

Important facts

Capital: Athens

Official language: Greek

Currency

Currency (sub-unit)

Euro (100 cents)

ISO 4217 code

EUR / 978

Geography

Continent: Europe

Region: south

Geo coordinates: N 39 ° 4 ‘27.1 “E 21 ° 49’ 27.5”

Highest mountain: Mount Olympus (2,917 m)

Total area: 131,940 km²

Mainland: 130,800 km²

National border: 1,228 km

Coastline: 13,676 km

Politics

Dependency: Ottoman Empire until 1829

UN member since: 1945

Other political affiliation: European Union since 1981

Form of government: Parliamentary republic

Houses of Parliament: unikameral

Party system: Multi-party system

State building: centralized

Political culture: Civic culture

Economy

Greece GDP - gross domestic product

Export goods: Tobacco, wine, fruit, fruits

BSP: $ 218,643,000,000

GDP: $ 221.824 billion

GDP purchasing power parity: $ 245.9 billion

Economic growth: 3.4%

GDP share of agriculture: 5.1%

GDP share of industry: 21%

GDP share of services: 73.9%

Inflation rate: 3.2%

Unemployment: 9.7%

State budget revenue: $ 4294967295

State budget expenditure: $ 4294967295

National debt: 104.4%

Export: $ 21,455,000,000

Import: $ 51,227,000,000

Foreign debt: $ 81,807,000,000

Gold and currency reserves: $ 2,627,000,000

Electricity consumption: 55,130 million KWh

Gas reserves: 991 million m³

Gas production: 25 million m³

Gas consumption: 2,500 million m³

Oil reserves: 5 million m³

Oil production: 5,800 million m³

Oil consumption: 440,300 million m³

Cultivation area: 28.82%

Pigs: 955,500 pieces

Sheep: 9,350,000 pieces

Fishing: 186,000 t

Demographic data

Residents: 10,688,100

Residents in cities: 6,424,000

Minorities: Pomaks, Roma, Turks

Average age: 40.8 years

0-14 years: 14.3%

15-64 years: 66.7%

> 65 years: 19%

Population growth: 0.18%

Birth rate: 9.68 / 1,000 residents

Death rate: 10.24 / 1,000 residents

Migration: 2.34 / 1,000 residents

Ratio men / women: 0.96

Fertility: 1.34 children / woman

Infant mortality: 5.43 ‰

Life expectancy men: 76.72 years

Life expectancy women: 81.91 years

Country codes and abbreviations

ISO 3166 Alpha 2: GR

ISO 3166 Alpha 3: GRC

ISO 3166 numeric: 300

Top Level Domain: gr

IOC country code: GRE

UN / LOCODE: GR

Source: Abbreviationfinder

Communication

Telephone connections: 5,440,000

Cell Phones: 9,278,000

Radios: 5,540,000

TV: 5,910,000

Computer: 1,150,000

Internet users: 2,330,000

Transportation

Railway lines: 2,571 km

Paved roads: 120,447 km

of which expressways: 1,037 km

Cars: 4,710,000

Merchant fleet (ships over 1,000 GRT): 817

Pipelines: 1,260

Health

Number of doctors: 46,900

Daily food intake: 3.790 kcal / resident

HIV- infected people: 9,900

Education

Illiteracy: 2%

History

Foundation: 2200 BC Chr.

Last sovereign since: -1829 BC Chr.

Religion

Main religious group: Christians

Distribution of religions: State Church: Greek Orthodox Denomination

Crime

Prison inmates: 8,900

Military

Armed forces (troop strength): 176,000

Main battle tank: 1,770

Battleships: 16

Submarines: 10

Warplanes: 420

Helicopter: 230

Defense Spending: $ 5,890,000,000

GETTING THERE

Arriving by plane

The Greek airline Aegean Airlines (A3) (Internet: de.aegeanair.com) flies to Greece from Germany, Austria and Switzerland.

Numerous other airlines, including Lufthansa (LH), Austrian Airlines (OS) and Swiss International (LX), offer regular connections to Greece. Eurowings (EW) flies to Greece from numerous German, Austrian and Swiss cities.

Austrian myHoliday (OS) connects Vienna, Graz, Linz and Innsbruck with Rhodes and Vienna, Innsbruck and Graz with Crete.

Tuifly (X3) flies to Greece from numerous German cities and Vienna.

Flight times

Frankfurt – Athens: 2 hours 50 minutes; Vienna – Athens: 2 hours 20 minutes; Zurich – Athens: 2 hours 40 minutes

Departure fee

€ 12.

Arrival by car

Car: Entry by land from the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia via Gevgeli / Evzoni (551 km from Athens) or via Bitola / Niki (609 km from Athens); from Bulgaria via Koula / Promachon (736 km from Athens); from Turkey via Edirne / Kastanea (996 km from Athens) or via Ipsala / Kipi (892 km from Athens).

Long-distance bus:
Several travel companies offer special trips to Greece. Eurolines buses (Internet: www.eurolines.com) travel from Germany to Greece.

There are car ferries from Italy to Greece, the ports of departure in Italy are Ancona, Bari, Brindisi, Trieste and Venice, the Greek ports of destination are Patras and Piraeus. I.a. serves Blue Star Ferriesthe Bari (Italy) – Igoumenitsa (Greece) – Patras (Greece) route. There are also ferry connections from Heraklion to Ancona and Brindisi, from Corfu to Bari, Brindisi and Trieste, and from Rhodes to Ancona.
Anek Lines (Internet: www.anek.gr),
Superfast Ferries (Internet: www.superfast.com),
Ventouris Ferries (Internet: www.ventouris.gr),
Endeavor Lines (Internet: www.ferries.gr/myway),
Agoudimos (Internet: www.agoudimos-lines.com) and
Minoan Lines (Internet: www.minoan.gr) also run between Italy and Greece. Connections from Ithaca and Kephalonia to Brindisi are also offered during the summer months. Other car ferries operate between Haifa (Israel) and Istanbul (Turkey) and Greece.

Arriving by train

The national railway company is the Hellenic State Railway (OSE) (Internet: www.osenet.gr). Reservation of seats is strongly recommended. There are direct connections between Thessaloniki and Sofia, between Thessaloniki and Istanbul, between Thessaloniki and Ljubljana, between Thessaloniki and Budapest and between Thessaloniki and Zagreb.
Information on timetables, special tariffs and car trains is available from all information desks of Deutsche Bahn AG (Internet: www.bahn.de), the Austrian Federal Railways (Internet: www.oebb.at) and the Swiss Federal Railways (Internet: www.sbb.ch).

Fares and discounts:
InterRailPassports are valid (see Germany for details). Couchette cars are subject to a surcharge. The prices for the ferries between the mainland and the Greek islands are also not included, but some ferry companies carry InterRail travelers at discounted prices. Details from the shipping companies.
The Balkan Flexipass allows unrestricted travel in Bulgaria, Greece, Macedonia, Romania, Serbia, Montenegro and Turkey for 5, 10 or 15 days within a month.
With the CityStar– The OSE offers up to 6 people between Thessaloniki and Ljubljana, Thessaloniki and Bratislava, Thessaloniki and Budapest, Thessaloniki and Sofia or a return trip between Athens and Sofia.

Arrival by ship

The largest Greek ports are Piraeus, Thessaloniki and Volos, Igoumenitsa, Heraklion, Corfu, Patras and Rhodes. Freight ships and ferries leave these ports for destinations such as Egypt, Israel, Italy, Croatia, Turkey, the Russian Federation and Cyprus (car ferries, see bus / car).

The shipping companies that offer ferry connections to Greek ports include:
Epirotiki (Internet: www.epirotikigroup.com),
Anek Lines (Internet: www.anek.gr/german),
Agoudimos Lines (Internet: www.agoudimos-lines. com),
Avontale Navigation,
Blue Star Ferries,
Medlink Lines,
Minoan Lines (Internet: www.minoan.gr),
Endeavor Lines and
Ventouris Ferries (Internet: www.ventouris.gr).

Greece is part of the program with the following cruise lines:
Celebrity Cruises (Internet: www.celebrity.com),
Crystal Cruises (Internet: www.crystalcruises.com),
Princess Cruises (Internet: www.princess.com),
Silversea (Internet: www.silversea.com),
Holland America Line (Internet:www.hollandamerica.com) and
Costa Cruises (Internet: www.costacruises.com).
The tourist office (see addresses) can provide further information.