Flights to Greece

Greece: facts, climate and geography

Greece borders on Albania, Macedonia, Bulgaria, and Turkey. It also has large expanses of coastline on the Aegean, the Ionian, and the Mediterranean sea. Greece is comprised of the Greek mainland, the Peloponnese peninsula and the numerous islands which are to be found in the Aegean, the Ionian, and the Libyan sea. Due to its wealth of islands, the total length of the coastline of Greece is 15,012 km (9,328 miles), only 4,000 km of which is to be found on the mainland. The island of Gavdos is the most southerly part of the country and is also geographically the most southerly point of Europe. For many years Greece has been a popular holiday destination, in particular the islands such as Crete, Corfu and Rhodes are visited every year by thousands of tourists on package deals.

Greece has a Mediterranean climate with dry summers and humid cool winters. In Athens it is dryer and warmer as Athens is surrounded by hills in the west, north and east. In Athens about 2700 annual hours of sunshine may be counted and precipitation remains under 400 mm.

Despite its maritime character, about 78 % of Greece is covered in mountains. Important mountains on the mainland are the Pindos mountains, the Olymp-Ossa-Pilion mountain range, and the Rhodope mountains other mountains are to be found on the islands. On the Peloponnese there are the Taygetos mountains and on Crete there are the Ida and the Psiloritis mountain ranges.

Greece: airports and travel tips

Important airports are to be found in Athens and Thessaloniki but there are also airports in Áraxos, Kalamáta, Kaválla, Préveza and Vólos, and the airports on the main tourist islands such as Chania, and Rhodes.

The largest harbours are in Iráklion (Heraklion, on Crete), Patras (on the Peloponnese), Piraeus, Thessalonica and Volos.

Delphi is in southern central Greece, and this, along with Epidaurus, Mykene, Olympia, old Corinth on the Peloponnese, are the ancient cities for which Greece is famous. The ruins of the ancient Byzantine city of Mystra (Mistras) are also on the Peloponnese. Greece is a very attractive holiday destination with its mountainous inland and idyllic beaches and islands.

Greece: travel to Athens

Athens (new Greek Αθήνα) is the capital city of Greece and at the same time it is also the most densely populated and the city with the largest area in the country. Athens is one of the most frequently visited cities in Europe and is the most important economic, cultural, and educational centre of Greece. Athens has a rich cultural heritage such as the Acropolis and the Daphne monastery which are listed by the Unesco as Cultural World Heritage Sites. Other places of interest include the Dionysus theatre, Hadrian’s library, the Kallimarmaro-Stadium, the Acropolis Museum, the Byzantine Museum, the War Museum and the Zoological Museum of the University of Athens.

The Greek islands

Greece is famous for its islands. There are more than 6000, also counting rocks. Only 227 of these islands are inhabited. Most are located in the Aegean Sea and are divided up into 7 groups, from north to south:

• the North Aegean Islands: Samos, Ikaria, Chios, Lesbos, Lemnos, Agios etc.
• the Sporades: Skiathos, Skopelos, Alonnisos und Skyros
• Euböa, the second largest island after Crete
• the Saronic Islands: including Salamis, Aegina, Agistri, and Poros.
• the Cyclades
• the Dodecanese
• Crete