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
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.
