Electric Current
The standard in Greece
is 220V AC (50Hz). Appliances from North America require
a transformer and British ones an adaptor.
We recommend that you pack one together with your electrical
appliance, so that you do not have to spend valuable
time looking for adaptors and transformers during your
stay.
Time
Greek time is two hours
ahead of Greenwich Mean Time, an hour ahead of Central
European Time and seven hours ahead of Eastern Standard
Time. Along with the rest of continental Europe, the
clock is advanced one hour during summer -from the end
of March to the end of September- almost a month earlier
than the UK, the US and Canada. Therefore keep in mind
that the time difference with these countries is one
hour greater for some weeks in April and October.
If you want to find out what is the exact time call
141 (recorded message in Greek).
Public Holidays
-
New Year's
Day: January 1st
-
Epiphany:
January 6th. The seas around Piraeus are blessed.
A Cross is thrown into the sea and young men dive
to retrieve it.
-
Ash Monday:
41 days before Easter. Lent begins. On Ash Monday,
Greeks fly kites, eat lenten food and celebrate the
koulouma.
-
Independence
Day and the Feast of the Annunciation: March
25th , Military parade.
-
Easter:
Good Friday-Easter Monday. Vesper evening is on Good
Friday and every church decorates an Epitaphios (bier).
The Epitaphios processions, followed by people holding
lit candles and chanting hymns, fill the streets of
every city, town and village in the country.
-
Anastasi
(Resurrection): celebrated with fire-works
and lit candles at midnight, on the eve of Easter
Day.
-
Pascha (Easter):
on that Day Greeks traditionally eat lamb, spit-roasted
on charcoal. The festivities include singing and dancing
through the day.
-
Labour Day:
May 1st . Many Flower Festivals take place all over
Greece.
-
White Monday:
50 days after Easter.
-
Dormition
(Assumption) of The Virgin: August 15th .
-
October
28th: rejection of the Italian ultimatum
in 1940. Military parade.
-
Christmas:
December 25th -26th.
Telephone
OTE (the Hellenic Telecommunications
Organization) offices are the cheapest way to make local
or international calls. To do so, just walk in and wait
for a booth to be free.
At the end of the call, the desk operator will present
you with a bill. OTE offices are open from 08:00 to
14:00.
Local and international calls can also be made from
public cardphone booths and kiosks (periptera) equipped
with meters.
Telecards can be purchased from kiosks and OTE offices.
Postal Service
Signs denoting post
offices are usually bright yellow, as are post-boxes.
If you need to send a letter there are stamp vending
machines and post-boxes outside all central post offices.
Parcels sent abroad must be inspected, so do not wrap
and seal them beforehand. Brown paper, soft padded envelopes
and cardboard boxes can be bought at the post offices
themselves.
What to Wear
You are expected to
dress in a respectable manner when visiting churches
and monasteries: long trousers for men, sleeved dresses
and no miniskirts for women.
Instructions for Safe Driving
While travelling on
the National Highway, if you spot a dead or wounded
animal please contact emergency telephone 171 (Panafon
network subscribers should dial 9-171). If you are in
regions out of Athens please call any of the following
numbers: (210) 3235 307, (210) 3235 455, (210) 3235
465, (210) 3235 496, (210) 3235 513,
(210) 3236 610, (210) 3236 608, (210) 3237 356.
Thank you for your sensitivity to keep the roads safe.
Have a pleasant trip.
