Might I Suggest - Fall 2016

Might i suggest?

Hotel Grande Bretagne & King George Concierge Services

Read about: Culture & Family Activities A Day Trip to Corinth Canal & Nemea Guide to 13 Churches in Athens

CULTURE & MUSIC Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Center

The Stavros Niarchos Foundation (www.SNF.org) is one of the world’s leading private international philanthropic organizations, making grants in the areas of arts and culture, education, health and sports, and social welfare. The Foundation funds organizations and projects that are expected to achieve a broad, lasting and positive impact for society at large, focusing on vulnerable groups such as children and the elderly, and also exhibit strong leadership and sound management.

The Foundation also seeks actively to support projects that facilitate the formation of public-private partnerships as an effective means for serving public welfare.

The SNFCC Visitors Center offers the public the opportunity to see the worksite up close and learn about the technical details of the construction and the project, as well as the SNFCC’s mission. At the same time, the Visitors Center offers a snapshot of what is

to come at the SNFCC, through exhibitions and activities for both adults and children.

The Visitors Center hosts a permanent exhibition providing information on the three main pillars of the SNFCC: the National Library of Greece (NLG), the Greek National Opera (GNO), and the 210,000 sq.m Stavros Niarchos Park. Within the Visitors Center, and with the help of an architectural model of the complex, tours are conducted, providing information on

the progress of the construction of this project, whose caliber, complexity and quality are unique for Greece’s standards.

Monday – Sunday: 09:00-22:00 Free Admission.

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Athens International Film Festival Opening Nights

The Athens International Film Festival Opening Nights, was founded by the Athens Film Society (a Non-Profit Organization) with the intention of highlighting lesser-known aspects/genres of independent cinema,

introducing audiences to some of the best productions of the year and establishing itself as the ideal opening of the upcoming movie season. The Festival was launched in September 1995 and continues successfully until now.

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Piaf! The Show the amazing story of the life and career of Edith Piaf

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Piaf! The show consists of two 50 minute acts with one intermission.

The show will tell the amazing story of the life and career of Edith Piaf through classic French music.

The audience is taken on a journey through the streets of Montmartre during the time of “La Vie en Rose”. Never before seen photos and images of Edith Piaf will be shared through a unique audiovisual experience. During the show, Anne Carrere will be accompanied by 4 musicians: Piano, Percussion, Accordion, Double bass.

September 28th 2016 Odeon of Herodes Atticus – Athina, Greece

The Budapest Gypsy Symphony Orchestra 100 Gypsy Violins under the sacred rock of Acropolis for the 1st time

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in Greece!

On Thursday, September 8 Athens welcomes the explosive temperament and the energy source of the largest gypsy symphony orchestra in the world! 54 violins, 10 violas, 10 cellos, 10 bass, 10 clarinets, 6 cymbals and 100 incredible virtuosi will bring us the soul of gypsy people; of those people who play music with the same naturalness that they are breathing.

September 8th 2016 Odeon of Herodes Atticus, Athina, Greece

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Kadebostany

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at Votanikos Live Stage

September 23rd 2016 Iera Odos 72 - Athina, Greece

LP at Gazarte

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September 23rd 2016 Voutadon 34 – Athina, Greece

Dodona The oracle of sounds

The Acropolis Museum started in 2015 a series of temporary exhibitions displaying important ancient artifacts, deriving from significant archaeological sites

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of the Greek periphery.

The Museum’s goal is to present unusual subjects that will intrigue the current visitor and at the same time urge him to visit the places the exhibits originated from.

The second exhibition of the series concerns the Oracle of Dodona and it lasts until 10 January 2017. The exhibition aims at providing wider knowledge about the oldest Greek oracle, tracing the way it functioned, its role and importance in the ancient world, and at the same time showcasing the human need to predict the future.

Duration: 20 June 2016 - 10 January 2017 (Temporary Exhibition Gallery, ground floor) Opening hours: Monday: 8 a.m. - 4 p.m.

Tuesday to Thursday: 8 a.m. - 8 p.m.

Friday: 8 a.m. - 10 p.m.

Saturday and Sunday: 8 a.m. - 8 p.m.

Entrance to the temporary exhibition: 3 euros Tickets are available for sale either at the Museum’s Ticket Desk or via its e-ticketing service.

Acropolis Museum, 15 Dionysiou Areopagitou Street, Athens 11742

Visit the Exhibition >

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The exhibit’s narration begins with Dodona during the late Bronze Age. Clay and bronze artifacts illuminate the identity of the first inhabitants, the primitive cult of Mother Earth (Earth Goddess) and the establishment of Zeus’ cult. The main interest in the exhibition lies in Zeus and his predominant presence in the sanctuary.

The central theme is the prophetic oak tree that with the rustle of its leaves would answer the agonizing questions of people of what lies ahead. Prophecies were also given by priests who de-coded the sounds of bronze cauldrons and the cooing of pigeons. The excavations conducted in Dodona have brought to light some thousands of questions carved in metal sheets of lead, posed by visitors in the sanctuary. Some of these questions concern matters of trade, debts, assets, court decisions, health, fertility, upcoming marriage, dowries and widowhood and are presented in a separate unit of the exhibition.

Ai Weiwei at Cycladic

The Museum of Cycladic Art (MCA) in Athens unveils Ai Weiwei at Cycladic, the artist’s first major exhibition in Greece which includes a new artwork that responds to

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the museum’s collection.

This is the artist’s first exhibition in an archaeological museum and follows a close collaboration between Ai Weiwei and the MCA. Significant works by the Chinese artist are displayed among the museum’s renowned permanent collection.

The exhibition introduces Ai’s practice to the Greek audience through some of his most canonical works and highlights his most recent activities from the past months that he has spent in Greece documenting the refugee crisis. The exhibition looks at his recurring use of particular materials which draw parallels with Greek counterparts, such as wood and marble. Amongst the iconic pieces on display are Divina Proportione (2012), Mask (2011), Cao (2014) and Grapes (2011).

Muserum of Cycladic Art 4, Neophytou Douka str. – Athina, Greece

The MCA will be donating 10% of all exhibition proceeds to two NGOs; Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) and the Greek NGO METAdrasi, who are providing valuable aid to the refugee crisis in Greece.

Among the new works created for the show is Standing Figure (2016), a life-size sculpture made entirely out of marble which alludes to a style prevalent in the Early Cycladic era. In a personal interpretation of Cycladic art, Ai has augmented the scale, thus transforming the modest Cycladic figurine into a towering deity. In reference to his own infamous triptych of photographs Dropping a Han Dynasty Urn (1995), the sculpture has outstretched arms and a vessel hovering below, alluding to the destruction of Chinese antique objects that took place during the Chinese Cultural Revolution. These works displayed within the MCA highlight the way in which contemporary art can converse with artefacts from the past.

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Olympic Games 1896 A unique digital journey back

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to the first modern Olympic Games in Athens

On the occasion of this year’s Olympics and 120 years since the revival of the ancient Games, the Benaki Museum, Athens International Airport and Costa Navarino present an intriguing photographic exhibition through the eyes of artist Eva Nathena.

A unique digital journey takes visitors “live” back to the 1896 first modern Olympic Games in Athens, through rare photographs from the album of photographer Albert Meyer, held at the Benaki Museum Historical Archives.

Curator: Eva Nathena Video Artist: Angelos Papadopoulos Athens International Airport: 16/05 - 16/09/2016 Costa Navarino: 27/04 - 30/11/2016

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Temporary Exhibition at the National Archaeological Museum, Athens

“A dream among splendid ruins…”

Strolling through the Athens of travelers 17th-19th century

Our companions on this stroll are the European travelers who undertook the “Grand Tour” to the capital city of Hellenism and who, inspired by the movement of Classicism, recorded the “splendid ruins”

Duration: 8th September, 2015 – 24th July, 2016 Operating hours (until 31st October): Monday-Sunday 08:00-20:00 National Archaeological Museum, 44 Patission str., Athens 10682

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The new temporary exhibition “A dream among splendid ruins… Strolling through the Athens of travelers, 17th-19th century” was designed to provide an imaginary stroll through monumental Athens between the 17th and 19th centuries.

of its historical past. Twenty-two illustrated travel publications and twenty-four original works of art — oil paintings, watercolors, and engravings from the Library collections of the Hellenic Parliament — offer landscapes, images, monuments, and specific moments from the Athens of travelers, feeding our imagination and setting starting-points for our own, personal readings. Thirty-five marble sculptures from the National Archaeological Museum, many of them presented here for the first time, converse with the travelers’ works, complementing their charming narrative of the city’s monumental topography.

FAMILIES Toy Stories travel in history through TOYS

An exhibition of rare and valuable

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toys from around the world, entitled “Toy Stories” was first shown in Greece, at the Cultural Centre “Hellenic Cosmos”.

The exhibition includes, among others, more than 100 rare and unique games from the collection of the Association of Regulated Literature and Historical

Records, one of the largest collections in the world game. The exhibition is addressed to all ages, giving visitors the opportunity to travel in history through games that used to accompany young children and withstood time or games that were maintained over population movements, survived wars & disasters and became collectible.

Cultural Center Hellenic Cosmos 254 Pireos street - 177 78 Tavros

Athens Happy Train Athens Sightseeing with the Athens Happy Train

If you want to enjoy an amazing sightseeing tour in the historical most famous ancient sights and monuments, hop-on the Athens Happy Train.

The Athens Happy Train is a toy-like street train that starts its sightseeing tour from the Constitution Square (also known as “Syntagma”) and Monastiraki Square and follows an amazing route through the historical center of the city, the old neighborhoods and the hill of Acropolis.

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center of Athens and the capital’s

The tour has a 60-minute duration and takes in Athens’s most famous sights and monuments including Acropolis, Plaka, Temple of Zeus, Thission, Monastiraki Square, Ancient and Roman Market, Zappeion, Panathinaiko Stadium, Theatre of Herodes Atticus, Hadrian Arch, New Acropolis Museum etc. Enjoy fantastic views from the open-style train carriages, hopon hop-off as you please and see Athens in your own time and at your own pace, in safety and comfort.

LOCAL EXCURSION A Day Trip to Corinth Canal

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& Nemea - Peloponnese

Nemea, whose name stems from the Naiad Nymph of the springs of the town, is considered one of the most sacred places of the Greek land.

In Nemea the ancient Greeks were organizing games (the Nemea Games), as a part of the Panhellenic religious and athletic cycle of festivities held also in Delphi, Isthmian and Olympia (the world’s famous Olympic Games). Since ancient times, the wider area of Nemea has been also known for its wine. Today Nemea is the biggest vineyard zone of Greece and

the most important AOC region in southern Greece for the production of red wines.

At the archaeological site of Nemea you will experience an extraordinary guided tour by a tour guide who is working close with the Society for the Revival of the Nemea Games. You will also learn all about the ancient settlement and about Stephen Miller, the emeritus professor of Classical Archaeology of the University of Berkeley, the legend who excavated, studied, published, accented, restored and utilized the archaeological site of Nemea.

He was the man who gave to the people of

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Nemea the inspiration for the revival and the actualization of the New Nemea Games taking place every 4 years since 1996!

You may also be able to watch a short media presentation of the Society for the Revival of the Nemea Games. The society was established in 1994 by 23 visionary inhabitants of the area and today it counts thousands of members from all around the world. Travel and Do itself is a proud member and supporter of this noble society.

The next Nemea will take place on June 10-12, 2016 and everyone is free to visit and enjoy watching the games.

Combine traditional Greek wine with the history of Ancient Greece on a day trip from Athens, to a Greek vineyard at Nemea and visit Ancient Mycenae, Epidaurus Theatre and Nafplion.

Continue your tour with a visit to the Semeli Winery, one of the most impressive winerelated developments in Greece, as far as its breadth, design and architecture is concerned. You may have a guided visit to the vineyard and get to taste different varieties of wine, having the opportunity to enjoy a special meal, carefully chosen to accompany the taste and the nose of the wines.

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Nowadays, Greek wine production, abiding by tradition but invigorated by modem technology, offers a wide variety of fine wines. On this tour you will visit one of the most popular vineyards in Greece with state of the art winery facilities. Arriving at the Vineyard, you will learn everything there is to know about the production of Greek quality red wine before proceeding underground to the cellars containing more than 1,000 French oak barriques. The Greek owner of the winery will give you a warm welcome, and the English speaking and well trained staff will show you around the vineyards and wineries. You can enjoy walks around while you soak up the local flavor and culture of Greek wines.

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Church of the Holy Apostles, Athens

Guide to 13 Churches in Athens In the heart of this historical Greek town of Athens and its winding streets lie numerous churches of impressive architecture, dating back to 5th century. Most of the churches in Athens are well-preserved, decorated with rare frescoes and icons.

A stroll around the center reveals the jewels of religious

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art and tradition.

The Metropolis Cathedral of Athens is the spiritual center of Greek Orthodox and one of the most important holy sites in the city.

It is dedicated in the Annunciation of the Virgin and its construction works begun in 1842. It is regarded as a masterpiece that contains of three aisles, a dome and two towers. Right next to the glorious building lies the small 12th century church of Agios Eleftherios and it combines Romanesque and Byzantine styles.

One of the finest examples of Byzantine monuments is Kapnikarea church standing in the middle of Ermou, the most famous commercial street in Athens. The church was built in 1050 over the ruins of an ancient church dedicated to Athena or Dimitra. The current construction is dedicated to the Annunciation of the Virgin and belongs to the University of Athens. On the slopes of Mt Hymettus, in the seclusion of an idyllic setting full of pine trees lies the

Monastery of Kaisariani. Built in the 11th century, the monastery is dedicated to the Presentation of the Virgin. Of great interest are the frescoes painted in the 16th century by a monk from Mt. Athos.

On the way to the top you will meet other monasteries and churches including Agios Ioannis, Taxiarches, Agios Markos and Agios Georgios. One of the jewels of Athens is the tiny church of Panagia Hrysospiliotissa which lies hidden in the small cave behind the Theatre of Dionysus, in Acropolis. The chapel is quite inspiring and it is accessed through a rocky path. Other churches: the church of Agios Georgios and Agios Dionysios (Kolonaki), Agia Irini (downtown Athens), Agios Dimitrios (Filopapou Hill) and Agia Marina and the church of the Holy Apostles (Thyssio) are certainly worth seeing while you stroll around the centre of the historical city. The Catholic Cathedral of Athens is dedicated to Agios Dionysios Areopagitis and is located right in Syntagma. It was built in 1844.

Church Of Agia Irini, in Monastiraki

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The fresco inside the St Dionysius Church in Kolonaki, Athens. Photograph: Why Athens

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List with the most beautiful churches in athens

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Church of The Holy Apostles

Church of Panagia Kapnikarea

Location: Thissio

Location: Syntagma

This little jewel was built in the 10th century on the western entrance of Ancient Agora. It got restored to its original form in 1954-57, while its 19th century additions were removed. Fine Byzantine frescoes can be admired inside this wonderful little church.

The church of Kapnikarea was built beginning of the 11th century. It is located on the ruins of an ancient temple, supposedly dedicated to the goddess Athena or Demeter. It is located along Ermou st, on the way from Syntagma to Monastiraki.

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Catholic Cathedral

Church of Agios

Location: Panepistimiou Ave

Dimitrios Loumbardiaris Location: Thissio

At the corner of Panepistimiou Ave and Omirou st, there is the Catholic Cathedral of Saint Dionysius the Areopagite. Marble steps lead to the impressive interior of this church, whose construction was completed in 1865.

The Church of Agios Dimitrios Loumbardiaris is located on Philopappos Hill, on the way to Pnyka and the Monument of Philopappou. It is a tiny church whose name means Saint Demetrius the Bombardier.

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Saint Dionysius The Areopagite

Monastery of Daphni

Location: Kolonaki

Location: Haidari

This impressive church is located in the centre of Kolonaki Athens. Saint Dionysius the Areopagite, one of the three protectors of Athens, was a jodge of the Areopagus who was converted to Christianity and became the second Bishop of Athens.

The Monastery of Daphni was built in the 6th century BC. One of the oldest monasteries in Attica, it has been damaged and rebuilt many times along centuries. It distinguishes for the wonderful frescoes.

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Monastery of Kaisariani

Church of Agia Marina

Location: Kaisariani

Location: Thissio

This church was built in the 11th century in the Greek-cross plan and dedicated to the Presentation of the Virgin. It was originally a temple to the glory of Demeter, the goddess of agriculture and nature. A lovely green forest surrounds the monastery and many trekking paths cross it.

The impressive church of Agia Marina is located right next to the National Observatory and beneath Pnyka Hill.

It was founded in 1922 on the site of an earlier Christian temple and celebrates on July 17th.

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Church Of Agia Irini

Church of Agios Constantine

Location: Monastiraki

Location: Omonia

At the corner of Eolou and Athinas street in Monastiraki, there is the impressive church of Agia Irini. It was constructed in 1846 by the famous architect Lyssandros Kaftatzoglou.

This large and impressive church is found along Agiou Constantinou St, which connects Omonia and Metaxourgio, two central squares in Athens. It was built in 1869 by the Greek architect Lissandros Kaftantzoglou.

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Church of

Church of Panagia

Agios Panteleimon

Gorgoepikoos

Location: Victoria The impressive church of Agios Panteleimon was founded in 1910 by king George I. It was inaugurated in 1930 and has one of the largest domes in the Balkans. The church is located north of Victoria Square, along Acharnon street.

Location: Plaka This church stands on Mitropoleos square, in Plaka neighbourhood, on the side of the current Metropolis Cathedral. It is one of the finest Byzantine relics of the city and dates from the 12th century. This is another example of a church built on the ruins of an ancient temple.

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Metropolitan Cathedral of Athens

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Location: PLAKA

The Metropolitan Cathedral of the Annunciation popularly known as the “Mētrópolis”, is the cathedral church of the Archbishopric of Athens and all Greece.

Construction of the Cathedral began on Christmas Day, 1842 with the laying of the cornerstone by King Otto and Queen

Amalia. The Metropolitan Cathedral remains a major landmark in Athens and the site of important ceremonies with national political figures present, as well as weddings and funerals of the rich and famous.

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