THE CITY MAGAZINE OF
April 2011 Year 9. Issue 93 â‚Ź4.50 ISSN 1790-3114
ATHENS
Cosmopolitan Greece! The Daskalopoulos collection travels abroad / Polyglossia at the Onassis / Melbourne the Greek city / Tiki Culture / French cinema / Plus: Special Dutch Supplement: Interviews with the Dutch Ambassador and CEOs of Dutch multinationals PLUS: ARTS, ENTERTAINMENT, FOOD & WINE, NIGHTLIFE, SHOPPING, NOVELTIES, MAPS MORE insider athensAND | April 2011 1
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Sudha Nair-Iliades
Speaking to a bunch of eleven-year olds at the French Lycée last week, I was asked whether the magazine exclusively covered events and stories related to Greece. At Insider, most of the stories we cover abroad have a Greek ring to it and the articles we cover in Greece have an international resonance. From French cinema to Dutch businesses and second-generation Greeks celebrating in Melbourne, this issue couldn’t be more international. What makes Athens such a fascinating city is the very cosmopolitan nature of its cultural and commercial life. For a non-French speaking country, Greece is a member of francophone countries and is one of the largest consumers of French cinema, as evidenced by the immense popularity of the French Film Festival now underway in Athens.
publisher’s note
In our special ‘Dutch supplement’ to coincide with the Dutch National Day later this month, Ambassador Kees van Rij speaks eloquently of the centuries-old ties in trade and linguistics that the Dutch have shared with the Greeks. Dutch businesses such as Friesland have been in Greece for over eighty years and KLM has been flying to Greece for close to ninety! Amstel is Greece’s number one beer and consumer giants such as Philips and Unilever are an integral part of Greek life. Dutch nationals who have adopted Greece as a second home, including our very own Marq Riley reflect on their natural attraction for a more chaotic, human environment. Mike Sweet meanwhile reports from Down Under on the very vibrant Greek community in Melbourne and the hugely successful annual Antipodes festival. Dimitris Polymenopoulos investigates tiki culture (imported from the US) and Ashton Weis, an American student studying Greek classics on a ‘study abroad’ programme tracks down Dutch-born Greek Dimitris on the Peruvian border for an update on his mission promoting Greek worldwide. No matter how cosmopolitan Greece might be, what will always remain quintessentially Greek are the Easter traditions. Before you head to the islands for the festivities, check out our new website www.insider-magazine.gr and give us your feedback. Kalo Pascha!
Sudha Nair-Iliades
Publisher - Editor Sudha Nair-Iliades Art Director Michel Devanakis
Contributors in this Issue Stephanie Bailey, Anelia Fikiina, Dimitris Polymenopoulos, Marq Riley, Manos Stefanidis Mike Sweet, Ashton Weis
Sales Patricia Graire
Web Coordinator Ranti Bambgala
Client Relations Anelia Fikiina
Interns Cicily Collazo, Ashton Weiss
Art Editor Stephanie Bailey
Founder Steve Pantazopoulos
Photos Silvena Ivanova, Marq Riley
Legal Counsel Christos Christopoulos
Web Design www.studiozip.com
Prepress, Montage and Printing Dias
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Mike Sweet
A documentary producer for the BBC Television in the 1990s, Mike worked in broadcasting before establishing his own TV production business. A correspondent for the English language edition of Australia’s largest circulation Greek newspaper Neos Kosmos and contributing editor of OPA!, a recently launched Greek-Australian magazine, Mike combines his writing with producing independent documentary films. Having lived in Athens since 2007, Mike returned to Australia in December 2010 but continues writing for Insider
Stephanie is a freelance writer, artist and teacher. Born in Hong Kong, she studied Classical Civilization and English Literature before completing a foundation diploma in Art & Design in London. She has contributed to Adbusters, ArtPapers, Athens News and Odyssey, and is a music correspondent for Spinearth.tv.
Marq Riley
Marq was born in The Netherlands, where he graduated as a theatre director from the Utrecht School of Arts. He moved to Greece in 1999, working as a music events organiser. He is now a freelance writer, and as a concert photographer covers a wide selection of festivals and shows.
Dimitris was born in Greece and raised in the United States. He has a M.Sc. in Marine Engineering and feels passionate about making photography and creative writing an integral part of his life.
Silvena Ivanova
Manos Stefanidis
Award-winning graphic designer, fluent in English French and Greek, Michel moved to Athens in 1997 to create Studio ZIP, after a long and interesting career in France and Canada. His background in Marketing (Paris 1983), is a major asset in his creative approach. He provides his services both in Greece and abroad. Art Director of Insider and Bonjour Athènes for a year, Michel has also designed the new website for Insider Publications. Passionate about art, and painter in his ‘rare’ spare time, you can find out more about him on his website: www.studiozip.com
Anelia was born and raised in Sofia and has lived and studied in Lyon, Budapest, Madrid and Glasgow before she moved to Athens in September 2010. Fluent in six languages, Anelia is passionate about international affairs and about discovering new cultures. In her spare time, she is an avid hiker.
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Dimitris Polymenopoulos
Silvena was born and raised in Sofia and has lived and worked across Europe in Paris, Milan, Madrid, Glasgow and now, Athens. With a Masters degree in Marketing and Communications, Silvena’s true passion is photography. She enjoys travelling and exploring different cultures that she captures expertly through her lens.
Born in Piraeus in 1954, Manos Stefanidis has studied Archaeology at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki but also at the Kunstmuseum in Düsseldorf and the Smithsonian Institution in Washington. He was curator at the National Gallery for 25 years. Professor of History of Art at the University of Athens and AKTO for more than 25 years, he is also an art critic for newspapers such as Kathimerini and Eleftherotypia. He has written numerous books, including one on Vlassis Caniaris, to whom he pays tribute in this issue.
Michael Devanakis
Stephanie Bailey
Anelia Fikiina
contents 18 20 25
Features Vlassis Caniaris: A defiant artist 10 Manos Stefanidis pays tribute to an unconventional artist Creating continuity 16 Stephanie Bailey on the international tour of Dimitris Daskalopoulos’ contemporary art collection Speaking in tongues 18 Polyglossia - Onassis Cultural Centre’s first visual arts event Technicolour dreams 20 Glamour, drama, passion and comedy rule at the 12th edition of the French Film Festival The Dutch perspective 26 Ambassador Kees van Rij speaks eloquently on the unique trade and linguistic ties that have bound Greece and The Netherlands Going Dutch 28 Dutch businesses in Greece are market leaders in consumer goods, electronics, beers, dairy products and civil aviation. A profile of five Dutch multinationals
Departments We love Griekenland 36 Four Dutch personalities, a travelwriter, a celebrity chef, a musician and an artist muse on their adopted homeland…
Arts and Events
4
Fast Lane
22
Agora
50
Linking through languages 40 March Angeli on teaching her native Dutch to children in Greece
Restaurant reviews 54
Modern-day Odyssey 41 Insider tracks down Dimitris Parousis in Peru as he criss-crosses the globe on a mission
Area-wise listings 60
Restaurant lndex 58
Kaleidoscope
80
Perfect Paxoi 42 Mike Sweet uncovers the secrets of the magical island Paxos and its counterpart, Antipaxos The lucky city 46 The big fat Greek fest, the Antipodes festival in Melbourne High time for Mai Tai Discover the Tiki spirit
52
Restaurant review 2Mazi on Nikis Street for an understated gastronomic experience
54
40 42 50 52 54 Cover illustration by: Michel Devanakis
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Arts & events
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Astrolavos Dexameni Gallery Elli Griva: 11 +-./... a love story in the intermediate time 1 Ellie Griva, known in the visual arts circle of Greece for her expressionist paintings and her special love for installations and performances, presents her new solo report. Using mixed media and materials (drawing, painting, sculptures and installations), she explores different interpretations of the number 11.
www.astrolavos.gr
03 april
Gagosian Gallery 12 Alberto di Fabio Di Fabio’s work merges the worlds of art and science with themes of biology, ecology and nature. The images are microscopic in their focus, implying biological diagrams, cellular structures, flora, eco systems, and pharmacological research. Di Fabio observes how the human mind’s capacity for information is amplified due to the increasing means of communication that saturate our daily lives. He invites us to reconsider the body in its most essential functions - posing questions about science and aesthetics, life and art.
www.gagosian.gr
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07 april
B & M Theocharakis Foundation for the Fine Arts & Music
B&M Theocharakis Foundation for the Fine Arts and Music
Obsessions and intimacy: The body in contemporary Austrian drawings - From Alfred Kubin to Birgit JĂźrgenssen Presenting 13 contemporary Austrian avant-garde artists and the extraordinary wealth of their journey in the empire of obsessions, destructions, intimacy and intercourses. The narration includes psychoanalytic approaches, evidence of a spiritual post-symbolism, linguistic deconstruction strategies, aesthetic utopias and a kind of neo-romanticism. Resonances emerge with important Austrian intellectuals, among them Sigmund Freud, relating to the cultural field of contemporary society.
Stefanos Korkolis: Musical Relationship 2 Stefanos Korkolis, a classically trained pianist, as well as composer and performer of modern music leads us in his own unique way on a musical journey that explores the relationships between composers from different eras and styles, including: Theodorakis, Piazzolla, Brel, Rota, Hadjidakis, Morricone, and Korkolis himself.
www.thf.gr
www.thf.gr
On the town For location details see listings p76
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Bernier-Eliades Gallery Stephane Calais 4 The gallery presents the first solo exhibition of artist Stephane Calais who uses mixed media – sculptures, drawings and paintings – characterised by instantaneous, ephemeral and unorganised forms that embody the energy and flow of the universe. He creates a dynamic and rhythmic universe where fantasy and reality overlap. In Calais’ work there are passages of everyday life, presented as absurd fantasies, an atmosphere of dancing, and a world in which transience and corruptibility dominate.
www.bernier-eliades.com
april april
Zoumboulakis Galleries, Kolonaki Miltos Golemas: Under the sky 3 Zoumboulakis Galleries presents Miltos Golemas’ second solo exhibition. This new project takes the viewer back in time through large and small works on canvas and mixed media. Images of the earth, intimately tied to the experiences and impressions captured on canvas and with a palette that brings to mind classic paintings, Golem invites the viewer to wander in his painted landscapes. www.zoumboulakis.gr
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A-M-P
Cacoyiannis Foundations
Aaron King: 5965 Starling A-M-P shows Aaron King’s first solo exhibition of sculptures presenting a model of thinking that is analogous to how we wander through the world trying to figure out if we are looking at an eternal sunrise or sunset. Much like ideas that come to us in all different shapes and sizes, at all times of the day, his work bounces from material to material, from content to content. The undertones of metamorphosis are fulfilled in these works by taking a material like concrete and giving it a new identity.
The Green Lemon - Satiric Play by Meti Karatza 4 This project is directed by Sofia Filippidou with the participation of the company ‘5 for the moment’. The Green Lemon is a truly Greek play that brings out something of the smells of the post-war decade as well as the bitterness and loneliness of the following 30 years. Through satirical and often comical situations, the Greek’s quest for truth in relationships and in politics is mirrored as are his aspirations and disappointments with contemporary society. The performance is held at the MCF’s bar-restaurant.
www.a-m-p.gr
www.mcf.gr
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Arts & events
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The Art Foundation [taf] Waltz No. 6 5 The Art Foundation presents Waltz No. 6 based on the eponymous work of Nelson Rodriguez. It is the story of Sonia, a young girl murdered at 15. They say that Frederic Chopin composed the piece while he was watching his friend George Sand’s dog chasing his tail again and again. In Waltz No. 6, Sonia chases her own tail wrestling with guilt, sexuality and the stifling atmosphere created by a closed pious society. The simplicity of Nelson Rodrigues presents Sonia as a transparent, fragile, fragmented heroine in desperate search of her identity.
www.taf.gr
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30 april
State Museum of Contemporary Art
The Municipal Gallery of Athens
DaDa Da Academy: das Manihesto The DaDa Da Academy is a traveling Academy with a strong dose of artistic freedom, consisting mainly of artists from the avant-garde scene in Vienna. The exhibition, which brings together artists Albert Mayr, Panos Papadopoulos, Elisabeth Penker, Peter Touloudis and Marina Faust, consists of mixed media installations, sound performances and videos that are in dialogue with each other to undermine any convention in the arts, to criticise artificial culture and bring us into conflict with concepts and ideals, such as those of aesthetics, deconstruction, identity and power.
The George Economou Collection Following its move to Metaxourgeio, the Municipal Gallery of Athens is ready to welcome visitors with the premiere of the George Economou Collection. Its strength is characterised by the sheer range, broadness and diversity of modern paintings, drawings and sculptures from the collection. The main purpose of the exhibition is to illustrate the artists’ tendencies, differentiations and groundbreaking achievements from the precursors of modernity, i.e. Impressionism and the Vienna Secession, to the late manifestations of the 1960s to the 1980s. However, invaluable works from the 15th century to Rococo are also presented in the collection.
www.greekstatemuseum.com
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Ekfrasi Gallery Giuliano Kagilis 6 Efkrasi Gallery shows the new works of Giuliano Kaglis featuring footage of the past, stories that were imagined, and ones embedded in memory. Combining the expressionistic gesture with a contemporary observer’s distance and focus to process in the act of painting, Kagilis creates images for the chaotic experience of life, seemingly nostalgic, but disrupting in a subtle way. www.
ekfrasi-art.gr
On the town
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Benaki Museum
Benaki Museum
Yannis Moralis: Architectural Compositions Yannis Moralis, one of the most distinguished twentiethcentury Greek artists, best known for his geometric, minimalist paintings was also an experimenter in set design, micro sculpture, and architecture. The exhibition at Benaki Museum of Moralis’s architectural structures constitutes an archive that provides testimony to the exceptional importance of the artist’s work. It can be considered to be the first complete presentation of the artist’s architectural creations.
Kostas Balafas : The resistance movement in Epirus, 1941-1944 7 Kostas Balafas is one of the leading Greek exponents of humanist photography in the post-war period. The exhibition presents a photographic series depicting the struggle of the people of Epirus against the occupation. Much of this material had remained hidden for 31 years under the wooden floor of a house in Ioannina. In 1991, the photographer himself edited and paid for the publication of the book Kostas Balafas. Antartiko – Guerrilla Warfare in Epirus, Black-and-white photographs 1940-1944.
www.benaki.gr
www.benaki.gr
Ileana Tounta Contemporary Art Center
EMST National Museum of Contemporary Art
Dimitris Andreadis: Banners of postponed revolution 8 The gallery presents Dimitris Andreadis’ second solo exhibition. He is not here to tell a story with bright lettering but that of a woman tossed by the side of the road at daybreak. With 77 ghostimages Andreadis carves stars on Melancoly’s eyes. By tearing off Poetry’s skin from faces and bodies and concepts, the artist achieves an apotheosis of personal uncertainty, thus granting it a new existential perspective.
Politics of Art 9 The political uses of public space, the states and experiences of oppression, the violent socio-political conflicts, the violation of human rights and discrimination, financial globalization, the reconstruction of collective memory and the reestablishment of a collective social space are some of the issues critically investigated by the works in this exhibition, opening a dialogue with society and everyday life, seeking alternative policies for collective action and artistic activism and a new interactive relationship between the artist and the community, both local and global.
www.art-tounta.gr
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Arts & events
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National Gallery
The Breeder
Museum of Cycladic Art
K-art Gallery
Yannis Metzikof: Theatre Costumes and Masks, From the Stage to the Museum 10 More than 100 sumptuous costumes and 130 impressive masks testify to the artist’s huge contribution to the theatre productions of plays by Aeschylus, Sophocles, Euripides to Shakespeare, Chekov and Terzakis. The exhibition is accompanied by a large-format catalogue, featuring essays by Marina Lambraki-Plaka and Takis Mavrotas which discuss the distinguished artist’s contribution to theatre.
Uwe Henneken: Hope springs a kernel 11 Once again the artist Uwe Henneken presents us an oppressive imagery that touches on the fears and longings of our soul: read backwards as transience, negation and disappearance and written forward as love, faith and hope, Henneken’s imagery moves us so deeply, because it refuses a distant consideration. The image we gaze upon, gazes deeply back at us.
The Art of Book at the Athens School of Fine Arts In cooperation with the Department of Graphic Arts - Printmaking & Book Art Department of the Athens School of Fine Arts, the Museum of Cycladic Art presents books of emerging artists together with those created by established ones such as Chronis Botsoglou,Yiannis Bouteas,Vasso Katraki and Nella Golanta. The exhibition showcases ‘livres d’artistes’ of young artists and older ones – created during their youth. The exhibition is curated by students and graduates of the Department of the Athens School of Fine Arts.
Dimitris Tataros: Loplop 12 K-art presents Dimitrios Tataris’ second solo exhibition entitled Loplop, the bird-character created by the imagination of Max Ernst. In his new series of works Tataris envisions himself in moments of captivity and confinement. The plans, presented in the form of installation, create a fenced area that thwarts our initial impression and view of who ultimately is in the cage: the image of the artist or a mirroring of the beholder? The shadow of the bird is literally subordinate to the need of communication and the concept of iteration, i.e. time frames ideals of human misery.
www.nationalgallery.gr
www.thebreedersystem.com
www.cycladic.gr
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www.k-art.gr
On the town
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Eleni Koroneou Gallery
Medusa Art Gallery
The Eynardou Mansion
Herakleidon Museum
Helmut Middendorf: Blots and Stains Koroneou Gallery presents German artist Helmut Middendorf ’s first solo exhibition in the gallery’s new space after his great presentation at the Benaki Museum in Athens in 2009. In the current exhibition, entitled «Blots and Stains», Middendorf presents a new series of abstract paintings and a series of collages. The artist shows great flexibility in creating, putting the focus on the exploration of abstract art. The paintings resemble giant prints accumulated stamps, revealing filters, cycles, spirals, lattices, dots and stains.
Maria Grigoriadi: Togetherness 13 The title is a question, about a joy undermined by lack of space, i.e. lack of time or inclination. Large acrylics and oils with images from thousands of mundane lives. Countless parallel snapshots, as if told by an ancient storyteller, are crowded like hints on the canvas. Stories nesting one into the other. An attempt at a collective cry, with bright and joyful colours as the medium. There is no protagonist, no core theme. Everything is equal, spread out, dissolved; relative.
Maps of the Aegean Sea – Cartography and History 15th-17th century In a charming building that now houses the National Bank’s Cultural Foundation, part of a larger collection of maps will be on display from the Greek Cartography Archives. The rare collection comprises approximately 200 printed maps dating from the early sixteenth to the eighteenth century, old atlases, such as those created by M. Boschini (1651) and V.M. Coronelli (1708), geographical handbooks, among which Meletios’ Geography (1728) and the Introduction to Geographics and Sphericals by Chrysanthos Notaras (1716), as well as an original copy of the Carta of Rigas Pherraios in pristine condition.
Carol Wax «Dance of shadows» 14 This exhibition includes 100 tabletop creations of contemporary New Yorker artist Carol Wax. The source of inspiration for these works are old sewing machines, typewriters, electric fans, toys, instruments, cameras, projectors, textile products and other pieces collected by the artist. The coexistence of these items at home and studio and their continued study from different angles, leads to new, creative ways of reading old issues. Usual items seem unusual and common objects reveal magical and symbolic associations, reflecting and affecting the soul.
www. koroneougallery.com
www.medusaartgallery.com
www.herakleidon-art.gr
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Curator and art critic Manos Stefanidis pays tribute to Vlassis Caniaris whose avant-garde expressions expertly captured Greece’s turbulent history
C
aniaris was a modern artist, political but never militant, active for sixty years, covering the periods of late modernism to the limits of postmodernism with access to exclusive material in the form of history and more precisely, modern Greek history, ranging from the Civil War of 1944-49 to the dictatorship from 1967 to 1974 and the restoration of democracy thereafter until today. His work, like the mythical Argus illuminated the socio - political scene and even took position on occasion. That is to say that (his works) acted as great Art always does: they were comforting but also revealing, touching interpretations. The specificity of his aesthetic proposition lay in the details, in surpassing the metamorphosis of an object into something of morphological value, which transfused its usual affectation and whispered a personal history, a laugh or sob until the ears of eternity. From his first ‘informal’ compositions in 1956-57 on newspapers or dripping on canvas, Caniaris did not describe, he presented. At the age of 30 in 1958, he presented his first solo exhibition in Athens at Gallery Zygos, which was historically the first-ever individual exhibition of abstract paintings in Greece. All works were dedicated to the victims of a terrible accident that took place at the time in the Marcinelle mines in Belgium. The irony is that the pure Marxist critic would knock this show as overly subjective and very formal, while the ‘bourgeois’ art critics greeted it with high praise.
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In 1959, in Naples and Bologna, then in 1960 at a solo exhibition at the gallery La Tartaruga in Rome, Caniaris gradually changed from the frame of the canvas to the space and image of the object. That is to say, in compositions such as ‘The Wall’ devoted to the resistance and civil war in Athens or in his untitled works, the materials themselves reflected the nature and content of the work. Michael Fehr notes: ‘In the sixties, Caniaris used a very personal way of dissolving the classical notion of a painting and developed his own language as a creator of art-objects.’ Personally, I would add that he is a lyrical user of these objects. In an oeuvre of ‘61, which he calls a ‘space in space’, Caniaris traces blue and white vertical lines on an area of plaster in relief that recalls the Greek flag, and then affixes a black square on it as if he sought to erase it. The «flags», the Jasper Johns equivalent, were already popular with art critics since 1955. Except that in the case of Caniaris, the element of ideological conflict and the emotions were more intense. Caniaris further politicized Seferis’ famous phrase ‘Wherever I go, Greece wounds me.’ And all this was in the context of the extensive research conducted by European avant-gardists of London, Paris, Rome and Berlin to try and impose their own views against the advance of American modernism: New Realism, The Other Art, Arte Povera, Art and Language against Pop and Conceptual Art from the other side of the Atlantic. 1964 was a banner year: at the Venice Biennale, Robert Rauschenberg, who represented the US, was supported by a host of art critics. The
Art
logical consequence was that he won the first prize. As an act of diversion, the art critic and exhibition organizer Pierre Restany presented an anti-exhibition at the La Fenice Theatre in Venice in July of that year, called «Proposals for a new Greek sculpture» with participants such as Danail, Caniaris and Kessanlis. Cartons, sheets, ladders, or even clothes in iron frames constituted the ‘sculptures’, but their unsettling effect, as humorous as they were theatrical, also had an intense gravity. Gradually, the artist created a human form, anticipating G. Heimona when he says in Enemy of the poet that ‘the human form does not exist in nature, but was invented by painting’. Another important date is 1969 at the exhibition at the New Gallery in Athens and its transfer to the Musée d’Art Moderne in Paris in 1970, during the dictatorship in Greece. In fact, his works of 1964, seemed eerily prophetic, mixing plaster with military belts, iron meshes with red carnations and footprints with lead soldiers. Caniaris made a spectacular political statement. He was already a member of the resistance «Democratic Defence», while he continued to create the most avant-garde artistic works in the Greek art landscape. His generation, the generation of the ‘60s, distinguished itself from that of the 30’s by its international exposure and had brilliant representatives such as Chryssa,Takis, Kounellis, Xenakis, Pavlos, Lucas Samaras, Antonakos, Xagoraris. Among them, unique and remarkable, stood Caniaris. An artist who had Tsarouchis and Moralis as teachers, but also Duchamp, Pollock and Brotheraers and as fellow travellers,Tapies, Beuys, Spoerri, Rotella, Merz,Vostell, Arman,
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Art
Richter and Hacker amongst others... Here, we focus on the specificity of a true artist who settled in artistic centres like Rome, Paris or Berlin, though originally from the artistic periphery of Europe. An artist who used indigenous elements and household waste as materials. Around that period, just after the Second World War, there were many examples of concerted avant-garde expressions bordering on the sensational or the superficial, having nothing to do either with the activism of a Boccioni, or the poetic delinquency of a Breton. In our country but also elsewhere, there was a tendency to hail a form of sophistication as a revolution, even though it was only a formalism. We also know how the market is always on the lookout for a ÂŤnew productÂť and how this actually creates a sort of history of production that acts in parallel to the official. The true vanguard however always appears in direct correspondence with the society it incubates. And it is in this area of action that one sees Caniaris, an artist who appropriates the real codes of originality and extends them expressively. He uses, and in that lies his incontestable offer, his own international exposure to describe his intense experiences. Thus, his work is the interactive combination of national and international, before that of any current of ethnicity. And it is this element that gives his work a dramatic character, but also leads to an inevitable catharsis. Caniaris, armed with modern history, worked critically and intrusively against average taste, mocking complacency. In other words, we have the case of a creator in the avant-garde expression, who felt the need to excel, creating a physical proposition, the person-object, which was not only a political or social subject but an ontological, existential figure.The figure of loneliness or marginality expressed through aesthetic means. i
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The international tour of the D. Daskalopoulos Collection of contemporary art continues as Keeping it Real at the Whitechapel Gallery, London, enters its fourth instalment just when The Luminous Interval opens at The Guggenheim Museum, Bilbao. Stephanie Bailey reports
D
imitris Daskalopoulos has a lot of art. In fact, his collection comprises of some four hundred works in total, many currently on loan to museums around the world. But a year ago, one could have been forgiven for not knowing that. Until Keeping it Real: An Exhibition in Four Acts opened at the Whitechapel Gallery, London, in June 2010, the collector had never exhibited a body of work from his collection internationally.Then, with some fifty-three works by a who’s who in contemporary art from the latter half of the 20th century and beyond, including Lynda Benglis, Robert Gober, Mona Hatoum, and Sherrie Levine, the D. Daskalopoulos Collection made its grand entrance. Keeping it Real stretched out over four instalments to accommodate the intimate, one-room exhibition space dedicated to the show, culminating in Part 4: Material Intelligence (18 March-22 May), marking the end of an invigorating exhibition curated by Whitechapel’s Chief Curator Achim Bordchardt-Hume. And yet it doesn’t stop there. Opening this month,The Luminous Interval (12 April-11 September, 2011) marks a continuation.The exhibition is named after a book Daskalopoulos cites as one of the key influences behind his collection, The Saviours of God, written by 20th Century Greek writer Nikos Kazantzakis, author of Zorba the Greek and widely-regarded as one of Greece’s most significant writers and philosophers. Conceived in the early 1920’s and first published in 1927 in a magazine entitled Annayenisi – Renaissance, the magazine title is fitting. Writer Nanos Valaoritis once noted that Greece experienced its own renaissance in the 1930’s; during this period Greek culture flourished after the so-called ‘dark years’ of Ottoman rule and civil war.Tellingly, the book opens with the line; “We come from a dark abyss, we end in a dark abyss, and we call the luminous interval life,” expressing a generation grappling with a murky heritage hurtling towards an uncertain future while striving to make the most of their fleeting, mortal existence.
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Art
As Simon Grant notes in Apollo Magazine; “These words…are not what one would naturally expect to guide the decisions of an art collector.” Indeed, where contemporary art is often illuminated by market value, the D. Daskalopoulos collection appears too concerned with humanity to put a price on human creativity. This is evident in the transition from London to Bilbao. As Keeping it Real introduced a collection that eschews boom-time bling and big-production for a more tactile, humanist approach to material, form and concept with a focus on the everyday world and the individual’s place within it, The Luminous Interval continues these themes on a much larger scale. From the exquisitely-crafted small works shown in London come sixty works made up of full blown installations and groupings of smaller pieces that place the individual within society at large, by international heavyweights such as Marina Abramovic, Kutluğ Ataman, Matthew Barney, John Bock, Kiki Smith, Sarah Lucas and Rachel Whiteread. As such, not only has Kazantzakis influenced the building of the Daskalopoulos collection, it has influenced its presentation. “As soon as we are born the return begins, at once setting forth and then coming back; we die in every moment. Because of this many have cried out: ‘The goal of life is death!’ But as soon as we are born we begin the struggle to create, to compose, to turn matter into life; we are born in every moment,” Kazantzakis writes. Curated by Deputy Director and Chief Curator of the Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation Nancy Spector and Assistant Curator at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum Katherine Brinson, the Bilbao show is the first time a collection known for its large-scale installations will be given the opportunity to breathe within a space large enough to accommodate it.Taking over two floors of Frank Gehry’s legendary museum design known for its natural light, The Luminous Interval is a direct contrast to the intimate albeit confined and windowless setting at the Whitechapel. As they say, out of darkness comes light.
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Art
In terms of choice, the two shows reveal one thing that feeds the D. Daskalopoulos Collection in that it judges the value of art based on intention and engagement. When Daskalopoulos presented Unplugged (Simply Botiful) (2007) by Christoph Büchel in Stage A of the Pireos 260 warehouse complex as part of the Athens and Epidaurus Festival in 2010, the collector noted that he often bought pieces of work that no one else would buy. Looking at Büchel’s installation one can understand why. Taking over an entire warehouse, the artist recreated a part of Iraqi reality post-Shock and Awe with an army camp, market centre, squatting site and technological dumping ground-in-one turned into a complex maze where the audience was forced to enter uncomfortably staged situations based on the realities of war that exist right now. A problematic installation to maintain, the work was clearly selected on its desire to communicate to a wider audience on issues that, though directly related to them, have acquired a certain distance. This might explain why Daskalopoulos attributes his purchase of Marcel Duchamp’s infamous urinal, Fountain (1917), as the moment his collection ‘became serious.’ As Robert Rauschenberg said, “a painting is not like the real world unless it is made of the real world”, and Duchamp set the precedent for using the immediacy of reality in his work. Famously rejected when submitted to the Independent Society of American Artists in 1917 for lack of artistic integrity, Duchamp’s urinal was a seminal moment in contemporary art. Presenting an industrially-made object as an artwork during a time in which World War One, the world’s first fully industrialised war was raging, Duchamp not only questioned the nature of art, but also art’s responsibility to society and man’s role in an increasingly mass-produced world. It seems Daskalopoulos is concerned with similar issues. Voted the most influential artwork of the 20th century in 2004 by five hundred art professionals, Fountain is held up as both an end and a beginning. Duchamp’s urinal only existed as a photograph by Alfred Stieglitz until 1964 when the artist commissioned five ceramic copies, effectively turning an artistic act into an artistic form which has since continued to dominate artistic discourse in reference, reverence or downright dismissal. In this light, though creation is a fleeting act, what lingers is the idea itself and its importance is measured on what we do with it. As Sherrie Levine’s bronze cast version of the urinal, Fountain (Buddha) 5, (1996) exemplifies, a creative act can turn a common urinal into a piece of sculpture that compares, as the artist notes, to the form of Buddha, or to the modernist sculptures of Constantin Brancusi or Jean Arp. In keeping with the interest in mortality, the urinal expresses an organic process of evolution that extends beyond the lifetime of the creator.The viewer is as implicit as the artist in the production and development of ideas, a mutual relationship is something we all too easily forget. Nevertheless, as we face the failed idealism of the 20th century, there has never been a more urgent time to reconnect with humanity and its potential to create in a technological world ensnared by an impersonal market system. Amidst large-scale installations including French artist Annette Messager’s Dependence/Independence (1995) made up of fabric, photographs, wool, ropes, fishnets, stuffed animals, nettings, plastic and lamps hanging from the ceiling, to Kenyan artist Wangechi Mutu’s Exhuming Gluttony (2006/11), comprising animal pelts, wood, bottles, wine, packing tape and blankets, The Luminous Interval includes a small, revealing work; American Robert Gober’s Untitled (1991). A sloping human torso made of beeswax, human hair and pigment, it acts as a reminder.Yes, the body is meek, but it is capable of creating ideas that shape the world it inhabits. It is this freedom to change what surrounds us that makes life so luminous. As fleeting as our time on earth may be, it’s worth remembering that. Keeping It Real: An Exhibition in For Acts: The D. Daskalopoulos Collection: Part 4: Material Intelligence will be showing at the Whitechapel Gallery, UK, until 22 May, 2011. see www. whitechapelgallery.org for more information. The Luminous Interval: The D. Daskalopoulos Collection will be showing at The Guggenheim Bilbao from 12 April to 11 September, 2011. See www.guggenheim-bilbao.es for more information. i
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Kalliopi Lemou
Stephanie Bailey talks about Polyglossia, a group exhibition that marks the first visual arts event at the Onassis Cultural Center
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olyglossia is defined both as the existence, use, or knowledge of multiple languages, as well as the state of having simultaneous views on the same subject. As a starting point, it is an ideal title for a group exhibition that features the work of artists of Greek descent who were born or live and work outside of Greece in the United States or in Europe, covering different generations and a variety of different media, from American-Greek Lynda Benglis, to Greece’s modern day Odysseus Jannis Kounellis, to London-based Kalliopi Lemou, to Berlin-based Christina Dimitriadis. The exhibition creates a dialogue with art and culture on a more globalised scale, shying away from the tendency to box artists into limiting, group definitions. In many ways, the show, which features a group of artists who have built formidable reputations both locally and abroad, presents an image of the individual living in a state of flux. From Lucas Samaras’s Photo Transformation series (1973-1976) to Kalliopi Lemou’s Blade Boats (2008), to Jenny Marketou’s Levels of Disturbance (version #3) (2009-2011), the works on show evidence an interest in the lack of identity - or in those identities that are built on incredibly loose foundations. For
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Lucas Samaras
Takis
Art
the Greek Diaspora, or for those who have left the country to live abroad, this idea connects to the construction of a national identity that has been formed largely outside of Greece, revealing a fluid relationship between culture and reality. Despite its heavy, classical past, Greece is a nation with an identity built both from within the country and from outside of it, something Polyglossia touches upon. Talking about her work The Cylcadic Books (1953-1957), American-based participating artist Chryssa, who American pioneer of neon light sculpture Keith Sonnier once cited as an influence in his own career, noted; “The major art critics in America have seen elements of Ancient Greek art in my work. They say there is a classic quality in it, yet one that is only discernable to the connoisseur of Art... The Cycladic Books have their beginnings in a cardboard box, which is simply an ordinary functional, commercial item.These boxes became the moulds to cast plaster reliefs. The final product, however, with the divisions marked in it by the folds in the cardboard evokes certain similarities with ancient Cycladic figurines.”
Chryssa
In many ways, though influences from nationality are always inherently present in the work of an artist, there is an importance to understand that this is but one angle in which to read art work. Chryssa, like the other artists on show, has been influenced by a myriad number of sources, drawn for their conceptual, practical, technical, or, at times, cultural connotations. As such, Polyglossia sheds light on the current state of being in a globalised world dictated by shifting cultural identities within a more cosmopolitan, less-national context. Instead of discovering a unifying ‘Greek’ identity, the exhibition suggests that there really is no single definition to a concept that is wholly dependent on situation, circumstance and ultimately, the individual. Polyglossia features Nassos Daphnis, John Christoforou, Philolaos, Takis, Stephen Antonakos, Pavlos, Constantin Xenakis, Chryssa, Cris Gianakos, Jannis Kounellis, Lucas Samaras, Athena Tacha, Steve Gianakos, Lynda Benglis, Maria Klonaris/Katerina Thomadaki, Kalliopi Lemou, Jenny Marketou, Zoe Keramea, Maria Ikonomopoulou, Effie Paleologou, Evanthia Tsantila, Miltos Manetas, Katerina Christidi, Christina Dimitriadis,Vassiliea Stylianidou, Dimitris Tzamouranis, George Drivas, Maria Antelman, Giorgos Gripeos, Maria Zervou. It is on show at the Onassis Cultural Center until 30 June, 2011. For more information see www.sgt.gr i
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Now established as an important date in the cultural agenda of the city, the French Film Festival, as every April, brings the best of French cinema to Greece. Athens Insider brings you the highlights and the behind-the-scenes news of the 12th edition of the festival.
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omance, action, drama, comedy, suspense and even bone-chilling horror – the 12th edition of the French Film Festival in Athens promises all this and more. Adding the glam quotient to the event will be the presence of the ‘grande dame’ of French cinema, Catherine Deneuve, young, promising actress Diane Kruger and Pierre Bergé who will be presenting the emotion-filled movie on his passionate relationship with Yves Saint Laurent (YSL).The festival also pays tribute to two legendary icons of European cinema – Claudia Cardinale who will be present to receive the honour and Claude Chabrol, the director of such hits as La Fille coupée en deux and Bellamy, who passed away a few months ago.
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ollowing in the footsteps of Jean-Paul Gaultier, Anna Mouglalis, an actress of incredible depth and talent, who has portrayed some of the most emblematic Frenchwomen on the big screen, will be the ‘godmother’ of the festival. Of French and Greek origin, Mouglalis has been the muse of Chanel for over a decade and portrayed the iconoclastic designer in the film Coco Chanel and Igor Stravinsky. Her unique heritage also makes her an ideal candidate to be the cultural ambassador between the two countries, especially in their mutual love for cinema. A little known fact is that Greece has an extremely important and loyal following for French films and constitutes 6% of the global market for French cinema. The French film festival has been instrumental in bringing the best French cinema has to offer to Greek audiences and in rekindling the passion for watching films on the big screen. Catherine Suard, the dynamic Director of the French Institute, was justifiably proud of the effort and recognition received by the industry in mounting such a mammoth production, year after year. Grateful for the immense popularity of the festival, she acknowledged, “If it weren’t for Greek cinephiles and for resilient distributors who have braved the market economics of distributing French cinema, this festival would lose its
Cinema
significance. Our job is to support and sustain these efforts and to bring some cheer in these difficult times through the magic of cinema.” The festival, which runs from 31 March to 8 April, opens with French comedy Potiche directed by François Ozon and starring the versatile Gérard Depardieu and Catherine Deneuve. Potiche is French for arm candy/trophy wife or husband and while the film is not a noir, why pass up a chance to see a legend like Deneuve on the big screen? Other movies include Elle s’appellait Sarah, a gripping story starring Kristin Scott Thomas. Diane Kruger, another actress like Scott-Thomas who splits time between Hollywood and French productions, plays the lead in Pieds nus sur les limaces. Another must-watch is Le Fil, the compelling story of a Tunisian mother and her tempestuous relationship with her gay son starring the indomitable Claudia Cardinale. For Cardinale, who grew up in Tunisia to Italian parents and who is a vocal supporter of gay rights, this role seems to have been written with her in mind. The tribute to Claude Chabrol is exclusively at the National Film Archives in Kerameikos and shows a retrospective of 15 of Chabrol’s best-known oeuvres including his first production, Les Cousins to his most recent Bellamy. Chabrol’s muse, actress Isabelle Huppert features in most of the
films.The festival fittingly closes with the worldwide premiere of GrecoFrench production, Nicostratos, the story of a young boy Yiannis and his unique relationship with a pelican, shot last summer on Sifnos and to be released early April. Another film worth mentioning is Donoma, which from its extraordinarily low budget of 150 euros has gone on to become a runaway success. The ‘guerilla’ director of the film will be holding a Masterclass at the French Institute to train young Greek talent (Greek documentary filmmakers have been making their mark consistently at documentary film festivals worldwide). The jury for the festival is a virtual who’s who of Greek cinema and includes such legendary filmmakers such as Costas Gavras and Theo Angelopoulos. The award from this year on will be referred to as the ‘chouette d’Athènes’ after the new and now permanent logo for the festival, a wise old owl with film spools for eyes. i The 12th French Film Festival runs from March 31 to April 8 at the Attikon and Apollon theatres on Stadiou, the French Institute at Sina 31 in Kolonaki and the National Film Archives in Kerameikos. For detailed programme schedules check www.ifa.gr
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This summer fly more Responding to growing market demand, from May 2 Air France will operate two additional flights on the route from Athens to Paris, thus offering up to seven flights a day in high season. Lufthansa also expands its services and offers four new destinations for leisure travellers to Antalya, Ibiza, Palermo and Trondheim. From March 27 Aegean flies 4 times a day to London Heathrow, 3 times to Paris and Rome and from end April 4 times a week to Moscow and Bologna. This May, Air China starts direct flights between Shanghai and Athens and TAP starts direct flights between Lisbon and Athens.
A rising star
Fashion for a cause Pierre Cardin, the iconic designer, considered one of the five most recognisable French personalities, comes to Athens on May 23 to present a musical comedy, Casanova. The performance will take place at the Greek National Opera (Lyriki Skini) at 8:00 p.m. This glamorous event has a humanitarian purpose: to raise funds and awareness about AIDS orphans in Africa and is being organised under the aegis of the Consulate of the Ivory Coast in Greece. Mero Kecesisioglou, the dynamic Consul-General, puts her energy behind this mammoth fundraising event. Tickets cost 50, 80 and 30 euros for students, and are available at the Ivory Coast Consulate. All proceeds go to charity.
Having studied classical music composition, piano and drama at the Conservatory of Volos and then at the Geneva Conservatory, Louisa Konte sings in eight languages (English, French, Greek, Spanish, Italian, Hebrew, Arabic and Russian) and has been recognized by music industry professionals and the media as `one of the most beautiful soprano voices of Europe’. An international performer, acclaimed by critics, Louisa Konte will be releasing her first album Amor on April 25, 2011 under her new producer and manager Philippe Raymond Rocher. Three singles will also be on sale in three different markets on the same day: a single in France ‘Far From You’ and the video clip ‘Tonight’; another single in Spain entitled ‘Dos Por la Vida’ accompanied by its video clip ‘Amor te quiero’ and the third in Greece, ‘Kardia mou’ accompanied by the video clip ‘Gia mia zoi’. Louisa begins an international tour starting May 1 at Le Palace theatre in Paris, followed by a concert in Greece in late May and will go on to perform in Spain, Switzerland, Israel, Morocco and the US.
Get inspired at the Booze Market The Crafts Factory organises the Booze Market from April 14-20, just before the Easter euphoria. An open market for crafts and design, where you can find unique decoration and design articles, jewellery, accessories, clothes, vintage items and clothing, candles and sculptures and an opportunity to meet their creators. Moreover, the Booze Market is determined to be a place for people, who create mood and inspiration, a meeting point for professionals who have already exhibited in galleries, new artists looking for an audience, visitors in search of a unique souvenir... A place of free exchange of ideas and opinions, where new partnerships, new trends and new friendships are created!
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The Last Grand Tour In its latest contemporary art exhibition the Museum of Cycladic Art presents for the first time the works of internationally renowned artists who have lived and worked in Greece during the 20th century. Looking at Greece as a source of inspiration over the last seventy years, the works included reflect the different ways in which the country’s long cultural history and geography continue to be a source of artistic innovation. The exhibition highlights the striking discrepancy in contemporary culture that has apparently witnessed the end of the traditional «Grand Tour» so closely associated with Byron and his fellow Romantic artists.The exhibition asks questions such as ‘where do artists seek inspiration now’ and ‘what parallel can be drawn with the current globalised age of hyper-mobility’ and the travel and cultural explorations of previous generations of artists. The curator of the exhibition is Jessica Morgan of the Tate Modern.
Macarons with Greek flavours Masticha, thyme and cinnamon – three flavours unique to Greek cuisine find their way into Kayak’s aptly named Scents of Greek Spring combining the playful nature of Greek cuisine in a trilogy of fun with ice cream, cream and ice cream macarons. Exquisite and rare in nature and produced exclusively in the south of Chios, masticha is the first of three flavours of the new collection, lending a strong aftertaste to the ice-cream. Thyme has a rebellious flavour, slightly spicy and rich and blends beautifully with the sweet gum. Finally rakomello amorgiano completes this unique trio, enriching the sweet taste and intense aroma of cinnamon, to match perfectly with the other two components. A delightful way to savour Greece.
The Forbidden City of Jiang Guofang The B. & M.Theocharakis Foundation presents 26 large scale paintings of the distinguished painter and professor at the Academy of Fine Arts in Beijing Jiang Guofang. The artist has focused on creating a series of works on the famous Forbidden City in Beijing, the largest and best preserved cluster of ancient buildings in China, a place which was forbidden for ordinary citizens for over 600 years.The Forbidden City was the imperial palace of 24 emperors from the early days of the dynasty of Ming, 15th century, until the fall of the Oing dynasty in 1911. Since 1993 when the full Forbidden City series were presented at the National Art Museum of China Guofang’s name has been identified with this project.The paintings will be exhibited in all the exhibition halls of the B. & M. Theocharakis Foundation.
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Celebrate Indonesian Culture The Ministry of Culture and Tourism of Indonesia and the Embassy of Indonesia in Athens promote the country’s traditions at a Batik Fashion Show and guests will have the possibility to savour Indonesian specialties. The event will be held on April 7 at the Olympia Hall of Divani Caravel Hotel.
ARRRGH!!! Monsters in fashion Benaki Museum offers a great opportunity to get up close and personal with Lady Gaga’s haute coiffeur. Charlie Le Mindu, the personal hairstylist of the controversial singer and the inspiration behind many a hair-raising creation will be participating in an exhibition exploring the growing influence of Contemporary Character Design within the field of Fashion. Whether human or supernatural, real or mythical, divine or monstrous, zoomorphic or even abstract, the designer’s outstanding creations with their augmented forms, vibrant colours and amorphous features, provide renewed views on fashion and redefine our perceptions of visual culture.The exhibition features wigs, clothes and accessories - inspired by nature, fantasy worlds and myth at once familiar and strange, charming and frightening, beautiful and monstrous and is held under the aegis of the French Institute and Atopos.
Zaz at the Badminton Theatre Even if her name does not ring a bell, the catchy tune of her song “Je veux”, played on high rotation on Greek radio stations, sure does! Zaz, a French singer who mixes jazzy styles, French soul and acoustics will be performing at the Badminton Theatre on May 16. She started her career with the blues band «Fifty Fingers» and has also been part of different hard rock, jazz and Latin rock formations, singing in several cafes, cabarets and piano bars. In May 2010, Zaz released her first album which topped the charts and within months turned double platinum. Recipient of several awards, Zaz has also won the European Border Breaker Awards and was named the most played French artist abroad in 2010.
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Enrich your spirit and experience the traditional Greek Easter at Arion, a Luxury Collection Resort & Spa and The Westin Athens, offering you endless possibilities of exploration, rejuvenation, pure relaxation and peace of mind, not only within the resort but also in the nearby city center of Athens. Explore our Easter offers and packages, especially designed for our trusted guests.
Easter Festive Program 2011! Greek Easter accommodation offer Minimum 2 nights stay required, between April 18 and April 25, 2011 • The Westin Athens from €195 per night • Arion Resort & Spa from €225 per night (Double occupancy – taxes not included)
2 and 3 night Greek Easter package Valid for 2 and 3 night’s stay between April 22 and April 25, 2011 • The Westin Athens from €470 (2 night package) and from €645 (3 night package) • Arion Resort & Spa from €530 (2night package) and from €735 (3 night package) (Double occupancy – taxes not included)
Good Friday Epitaph ceremony will be conducted within the premises of Astir Palace Resort A la Carte menu including seafood and Lenten food, at the Grill Room restaurant, from 8pm Holy Saturday Resurrection service in a specially designed chapel within the premises of Astir Palace Resort Enjoy a festive Easter dinner with traditional magiritsa, fine dining and live music Price: €78 per person – including a bottle of red or white wine for two Easter Sunday Traditional Easter feast celebrations! Easter flavours in a rich buffet, live Greek music and dance in a festive atmosphere Price: €95 per person - not including drinks
Westin Kids Club Easter activities! Packages include: • Accommodation in a Grand Deluxe room • American Buffet Breakfast daily in hotel’s restaurant • Easter delights in your room upon arrival • Holy Saturday Dinner (April 23, 2011) • 15% discount on Easter Sunday Lunch (reservations must be made separately) • Children up to 7 years eat free, for children between 8 and 17 years, 50% discount on Easter Sunday Lunch • Late check-out at 4pm (based on availability)
From Saturday, April 16 until Sunday, May 1, 2011 the Kids Club will operate from 10am until 6pm (except on Friday, April 22 it will operate from 11am until 7pm)
Join us in discovering Easter traditional customs Choose one of the following accommodation offers and make your reservations online at www.astir-palace.com or call our Reservations Department (+30) 210 8902 000. Astir Palace Resort Vouliagmeni, Athens Arion, A Luxury Collection Resort & Spa The Westin Athens
In this special supplement to coincide with the Dutch National Day on April 30, read an interview with Dutch Ambassador Kees van Rij about the unique ties that bind The Netherlands and Greece, get an insight into Dutch businesses in aviation, consumer goods, electronics, beverages and dairy products that have been an integral part of Greek life for a good part of the past century. Four Dutch personalities – a travel writer, a celebrity chef, a musician and an artist muse on their adopted homeland while a Dutch teacher takes pride in teaching her native tongue in Greece. Meanwhile, a Dutch-born Greek travels the world spreading his linguistic roots.
The Netherlands Institute in Athens The NIA represents six Dutch universities in Greece and informs the Greek public on Dutch academic research and on opportunities to study in The Netherlands. www.nia.gr
The Royal Dutch Embassy Vas. Konstantinou 5-7, Athens www.dutchembassy.gr
The Hellenic-Dutch Association of Commerce and Industry is an independent organisation run by its members and their elected representatives. Its main aim is to promote and support two-way HellenicDutch economic, commercial and cultural relations. www.heda.gr
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How are Greece and The Netherlands linguistically connected, and what keeps a Dutch diplomat busy in Athens? Marq Riley finds out in a conversation with Ambassador Kees van Rij. 30 insider athens | April 2011
Diplomacy
the famous Pensionados, but now this trend is picking up here, people who for a reasonable price can have a reasonable house.” There are a couple of reasons why the Dutch feel so at home in Greece. van Rij asserts that it starts from a young age, where many children know a great deal about Greece from history lessons and stories, be it in mythology, theatre or movies. “Of course we are both seafaring nations, both oriented to the outside world, both looking for the next horizon. A strong comparison to make is that we are both merchant people. Wherever you go in the world there are Greeks, the same can be said about the Dutch”
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eated in the residence’s lounge room having tea with slices of homemade ontbijtkoek (gingerbread cake), Ambassador Kees van Rij mused upon the long history of Greco-Dutch relations, his encyclopedic knowledge being enjoyably enlightening and revelatory. “Our oldest diplomatic mission in the world, the first one founded by the Dutch in the early 1600s, was in Constantinople,” explains van Rij,“and this relationship developed further within Greece following its independence.” A little-known fact about humanist scholar Adamantios Korais is that he started as a translator at the Dutch consulate in Smyrna, and “later lived for many years in Amsterdam before moving to Paris.” Having mastered and studied the Dutch language, Korais incorporated some of its grammar into the modern Hellenic language structure. “You see his name appear many times in Dutch archives, because lots of documents from those former consulates were moved to the Rijksarchief in The Hague, it’s still a wealth of information about that period of Greece’s history.” Van Rij points out that there was even a core of Dutch philhellenes, poets and politicians, who came to support the independence movement in the 1820s.Two of these Dutch Byrons are buried at the Catholic church of Nafplio, which was the first capital of modern Greece at the time. “On an economic level, many Greek merchants have for ages been active in Amsterdam and we had lots of activities here.” Today the Dutch commercial contingent is omnipresent within Greece, from Athenian Brewery’s Dutch brand beers and FrieslandCampina’s Nou Nou dairy products to consumer giants Unilever and Philips. A new batch of investment from producers of green energy technologies is expected to take off during the coming years. “Then of course every year we have between 650-800,000 Dutch tourists coming to this beautiful country.” According to recent statistics by the Hellenic Tourist Board, The Netherlands is the 5th largest purveyor of tourists. Roughly the size of Amsterdam’s population comes to Greece annually, mainly concentrated by direct charter flights to Crete, Corfu, Rhodes and Kos. In addition, the ambassador describes the thousands of Dutch living in Greece, constituting “many marriages between mostly Greek men and Dutch women, expatriates on a temporary basis, and interestingly we also see a new phenomenon of pensioners wanting to live in a pleasant climate. We saw that of course in Spain, France and Italy,
But perhaps the largest factor uniting the two are their differences. Greece’s sense of freedom and individuality borders on the chaotic, while The Netherlands tends to cultivate its collective structure, but according to van Rij this is part of the charm. “This is why many Dutch feel attracted to the culture and the way of living here and I know many Greeks like the Netherlands because it’s well-organised and the trains run on time. Because we are so different we’re also mutually attracted to each other.” Visitors of a less fortunate disposition also flock to Greece, and the Netherlands, as a member of the EU, hopes to alleviate the acute problems related to migration. “We can support and assist our Greek partners in taking some of the measures to deal with this. We are quite experienced in verifying the background stories of asylum seekers. But there’s also a need for improving the asylum reception service. Together with other member states we have created the European Asylum Support Office, EASO, we work very closely together with the Ministry of Citizen‘s Protection to make this system function better. Also we have helped Greek border guards and services, particularly on the Evros border, by deploying 20 Dutch experts in the last 4 months along with 200 from other member states in operation Frontex, which is supported by the EU. Our position here is that the Greek external border of the EU is also a Dutch border. These are complex issues, the sudden flux of migrants coming in to Greece and the EU, which you can’t deal with overnight but by cooperating on them we’re getting better and better at it.” The Dutch Embassy in Athens has been a consistent supporter of cultural exchanges, something the ambassador takes personal pleasure in. Its activities range from hosting ballet and classical orchestra ensembles in Athens and supporting the Guitar Festival of Naxos to bringing over jazz groups and Dutch painters who study and work in The Netherlands. Laureates of the annual Princes Christina Concours for young musicians are frequently invited to Athens, even performing at the ambassador’s residence. It is however the exchange of life insights with the Greek people that Ambassador van Rij will cherish as a fond memory when he moves on in two years time. “The generosity and hospitality of Greeks when you meet them for the first time is incredible. Greeks really reach out, you feel welcome.” And then there’s the one weakness anyone from the sealevel nation has, which is a yearning for mountains and vistas.“The most impressive view that I have seen is on a spring morning from Mistra to the plains of Sparta, it is unbelievable, I will never forget that view. The Greeks can be proud to live in such a beautiful country.” i
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Jasper Westerink, CEO of Philips in Greece shares his thoughts with Insider What are the challenges and opportunities for Philips in the Greek market? The current economic uncertainty and resulting low consumer sentiment is the main challenge we face in the Greek market. Having said this, our strong brand, resulting from continuously delivering innovative and high quality products for over 80 years in this market, and broad portfolio offer great opportunities especially in times of crisis.This can be from consumers who move to our energy efficient lighting solutions to save cost at home or in the office, to hospitals looking to reduce the in-hospital time of patients by using our health care equipments designed for this. How have Philips strong corporate values (especially its accent on research and innovation) helped to establish its position as market leader? We hold over 55,000 patent rights, 33,000 registered trademarks and 49,000 design rights.These numbers are impressive but what I believe really makes the difference is our commitment and ability to ‘translate’ this know-how into solutions that are advanced, easy to use, and designed around the needs of our users. It is about making technology work for our consumers.We are not the market leader in areas such as male shaving merely because we offer the most innovative technology, but because we do so while offering the best overall (shaving) experience! Your personal experience of living in Greece - is it very different from other countries you have lived in? I started working for Philips in the Netherlands and together with my wife Adrianne we have had the opportunity to live in Thailand, the UK, South Africa and now Greece. Each and every country has been a great experience and Greece is no exception. The rich cultural heritage, the beaches and beautiful scenery all combined with the friendly people and good food make Greece a great place to live!
Royal Philips Electronics of the Netherlands is a diversified health and well-being company, focused on improving people’s lives through timely innovations. As a world leader in the sectors of healthcare, lifestyle and lighting, Philips integrates technologies and design into people-centric solutions, based on fundamental customer insights and the brand promise of “sense and simplicity”. Headquartered in the Netherlands, Philips employs 119,000 employees in more than 100 countries worldwide. With sales of 25.4 billion euros in 2010, the company is a market leader in cardiac care, acute care and home healthcare, energy efficient lighting solutions and new lighting applications, as well as lifestyle products for personal well-being and pleasure with strong leadership positions in flat TV, male shaving and grooming, portable entertainment and oral healthcare. Healthcare The future of healthcare is one of the most pressing global issues of our time. The Healthcare sector’s vision is to improve the quality of clinicians’ and patients’ lives by simplifying the delivery of healthcare, improving diagnosis, clinical outcomes and reducing healthcare system costs. Lighting Human life revolves around light. Light affects our mood, improves our wellbeing, and enables us to experience and achieve more, be productive and feel safer.The Lighting sector focuses on innovative ways of using light to simply enhance people’s lives where they live and work – in the home, at school, at work, in athletic sites, in shops and public places, as well as on the road. Consumer Lifestyle Consumers are looking for solutions and products that are easy to use and help them to live a better and healthier life. These products are aiming to escape life’s complexities, enable everyone to share moments with family and friends and meet lifestyle ambitions.This is achieved by advanced & easy to use technology and products designed around consumers’ specific needs.
Philips in Greece Philips has been operating in Greece for 80 years and has a long local history and proven success in providing meaningful innovations and services. In lighting, we see a rapid change, following a worldwide trend in Led lighting, in which Philips is a leader, that offer great opportunities for savings and preservation of the environment. Philips’ presence in the wholesale and retail market all over Greece is strong. It is a leader in the Greek market providing total lighting solutions, with a strong list of reference projects such as the Acropolis, the Rion Antirion Bridge, Attiki Odos, Egnatia Odos, In healthcare, Philips enjoys a leading position in diagnostic imaging equipment – Magnetic Resonance Imaging, Computed Tomography, X-Rays, Ultrasound- and services, based on technologically advanced products and the strong partnership relations it has built over the years with prominent local institutions, professionals and opinion leaders. Most of the big private and public hospitals and clinics appreciate Philips as a trustworthy provider for their increased professional needs in building a healthy future. In Consumer Lifestyle Philips offers a large range of products - covering home entertainment, personal care, household appliances, kitchen and beverage appliances. New areas of health and wellness like baby care and oral care are growing fast. These needs are covered in the Greek market by the introduction of Philips Avent and Sonicare products. Philips also has a leading position in garment care, shaving and grooming products.
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As such, driven by the promise for “sense and simplicity” all of the 3 sectors will continue to deliver easy-to-experience solutions that create value for Greek society.
Gregory Sklikas, Managing Director of FrieslandCampina Hellas on growth through innovation in the baby food sector and the dairy industry. How have FrieslandCampina’s strong corporate values served to establish it as a key player in the dairy and baby food industry? FrieslandCampina Hellas during the last ten years grew dynamically, doubling its turnover in Greece to 350 million euros, expanded its product portfolio in all major dairy segments, established a local production site in Patras while setting the basis for sustainable growth for the future. The corporate values of dedication, vitality and reliability were, no doubt, strong driving factors that contributed to the establishment of the company as a key market player in the dairy and baby food industry. Dedication to supply top quality nutrition dairy, vitality in creating new products, and reliability in maintaining high health and safety standards. We truly believe that our continuous refueling of these values over the years and their presence as strategic driving forces in our business plans, have contributed to the company’s current solid performance and towards its longer term vision.
have built long-lasting relations of mutual respect with all stakeholders – consumers, trade partners, shareholders, personnel, local communities. What are the challenges and opportunities for FrieslandCampina in the Greek market in 2011? Times are difficult. During the last couple of years a lot has occurred globally and locally.The business world has seen a number of consolidations, buyouts and mergers. The global merger between Friesland and Campina became a reality in 2009.Two great Dutch companies that had developed along similar lines, each having its own competitive edge and distinct competencies, united and the best of both worlds formed the largest dairy cooperation in the world. In Greece, the implementation of this merger was realized at the end of 2010. Today, FrieslandCampina Hellas holds a strong leading market position in the Greek dairy and baby food market. It holds the number 1 position in almost all segments, with a wide product portfolio of well known recognizable brands - Noynoy, Milner, Friso, Fina - brands that have gained the hearts of Greek consumers over the years.We have the human resources, the know-how systems, the infrastructure and the leverage to ensure further growth in the upcoming challenging years ahead. We will continue refueling these values, as fundamental assets behind the company, our investments, the people, organization, and corporate culture including our corporate social responsibility program to give us the leverage to pursue our goals of sustainable development, and our corporate aspiration to be the world’s most professional, successful and attractive dairy company across the globe. i
Our performance is based on solid foundations. We have been inventive, creative and consistent with our policies and market practices. We have made significant investments in Greece, creating modern production facilities in the area of Patras, supported research programs on the Mediterranean diet (such as the NOYNOY Nutritional System) as well as developed innovative new products (NOYNOY Calciplus) and we FrieslandCampina Hellas is a 100% subsidiary of Royal FrieslandCampina of the Netherlands, a multinational dairy company wholly owned by the largest global dairy cooperative Zuivelcooperatie FrieslandCampina having:
• 15.300 member dairy farmers in the Netherlands, Germany and Belgium, • products present in more than 100 countries, • 20.000 employees in 24 countries • an annual turnover of 9 billion euros and • a long history of over 140 years. In Greece, the presence of FrieslandCampina also has a long history of over 80 years which started with Noynoy sweetened condensed milk. Over the years, the portfolio of the company has expanded to cover the nutritional requirements and needs of all age groups of the Greek family and covers a wide range of categories and sub-categories of milk, infant foods, yoghurt, milk creams and branded cheese. It holds a leading position in all segments with the brands Noynoy, Milner, Friso, Fina, Frisian Cow, Frico as well as other company brands for the Horeca market.
FrieslandCampina Hellas is dedicated in ensuring the supply of top quality and high nutritional value products. The company Hellas has established safety standards (Corporate Food Safety Standards) that fully incorporate international and national legislation specifications covering the entire cycle of the milk production process, including the care and living conditions of the livestock. It contributes to the adoption of health and diet standards of its consumers by providing responsible information concerning the ingredients and the caloric value of its products. The company finances research programs in Greek and foreign universities,that study, develop and continuously evolve product recipes based on the Mediterranean/ Greek diet specifications. FrieslandCampina Hellas being a socially responsible company, supports numerous social institutions, with emphasis in addressing the needs of the family and the child. It systematically supports the Greek Osteoporosis Institute, the Greek Institute for the Support of Patients with Osteoporosis and, as of 2007, the Greek Multi-Member Family Community (families with 4 or more children). The support to the Greek family is a key strategic priority. The company also participates in scientific and medical research.
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Jac van Herpen, Managing Director of Athenian Brewery that brews and bottles some of the most popular beer brands in the Greek market - Heineken, Amstel, Fischer and Alfa beers speaks to Insider on its role as a leader in the beer industry Could you trace the history of Athenian Brewery in Greece? Athenian Brewery was established in Greece in 1965, by a group of 3 local enterpreneurs, with the production and selling of Amstel beer, which was not yet part of the Heineken Group. Until that time, Fix was the only company that had the licence to brew and sell beer in Greece. Amstel entered the market, as the team of local enterpreneurs saw business opportunities in this, offering freedom of choice for the consumer and set up its production facility right here in Egaleo. Heineken joined in 1981. Since, we have added more brands along the way to have a choice for everybody . There is a resurgence of local brands such as Fix and Vergina. Is this is a trend that will sustain itself? Our direct goal is not to increase our market share, but to make beer more attractive for the consumer.This trend will benefit everybody who is active in the beer business. Our objective is to create more consumption moments, and to make the consumer happier when drinking beer. Does weather and tourism impact beer consumption? In the beer industry we say 25 degrees is beer weather.Which means that for at least six months during the year, Greece offers ideal conditions. People like sitting out on terraces and socialise. It is a trend that encourages beer consumption and it is something we’re noticing increasingly in urban centres in Greece. Two of the CSR activities that you are particularly proud of? We buy barley directly from local farmers in Greece thereby supporting a critical sector in the Greek economy. Almost 50% of barley used for our brands Amstel and and ALFA from Greece. We are creating events at the local level to provide information and as a celebration.The other Athenian Brewery S.A. is the largest producer and distributor of beer in Greece. The company was founded in 1963 by a group of Greek entrepreneurs and its three plants in Greece produces well-known beer brands like Heineken, Amstel, Fischer, Alfa and Lamia’s plant bottles the natural mineral water Ioli. Apart from beers produced in Greece, today Athenian Brewery SA also handles a wide range of imported brands, such as Erdinger, Murphy’s Irish Stout & Red, Duvel, Chimay, Kirin, McFarland, Carib, Tiger, Moretti, Foster’s & Krusovice Kralovsky, while it also exports its products to more than 29 countries throughout Europe, Africa and America. The company employs approximately 1200 employees. Its beer production was 3.583.982 hls in 2008 and 3.381.422 hls in 2009. 1,492 million Euros is the total added value of its business activities to Greek society, an index that includes the income of all those participating in the company’s value chain, the corresponding money saved by households, the taxes paid to the state, as well as the company’s earnings. (Source: according to Triple Value Study which carried out from December 2007 until February 2008, based on 2006 data). Athenian Brewery is amongst the biggest tax payers in Greece and accounts for almost 1% of Greece’s total tax revenues. Likewise, the total number of jobs sustained by
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activity that has been popular is Amstel Eco’s beach clean-ups. Amstel accounts for half of the beer market in Greece and to make a big impact you need to be a big brand. We also encourage recycling and re-using. Greece has a very large recollection system, while almost all of our beer bottles are returnable. How is the beer industry coping with the crisis? In the past we used to say that when times are bad, people drink more beer, when times are good they drink more beer too.That doesn’t apply anymore. 2010 has been marked by difficult economic conditions and challenges for all of us. The decrease in consumers’ available income, in conjunction with the insecurity prevailing in public opinion about the future, has directly affected the sum that consumers spend on their entertainment, leading them to seeking cheaper solutions or even to a clear cutback in expenses. These developments directly affect beer consumption, resulting in serious consequences both in the hot and cold market. In this rather grey picture, what makes an impression is the fact that the players in the beer category, not only continue to invest, but even increase their investments in some instances. Thus, since the beginning of 2011, we see an increase in allocations intended for communication, sponsorship actions for brands in our category, but also in the sector of human resources. If it were to raise a mug of beer, to what would it be to? To a change of mood! Tell us about Heineken’s new bottle. It is more elegant with a longer neck. We’ve had the ‘old’ bottle for almost twenty years.We wanted to introduce a change but a subtle one. If you go to the Heineken museum in the Netherlands, the changes in bottles seem significant over a 50 year period but the change from one bottle to the other is very subtle. i Athenian Brewery’s presence is almost 55,000 or 1.2% of the total national workforce. In the framework of its social responsibility, Athenian Brewery S. A. has shown a constantly evolving, effective, dynamic social and environmental activity during the last years, developing programmes and activities designed to promote sensitization on issues related to social contribution.The protection of the environment is a commitment of Athenian Brewery and its employees. The use of natural gas in its premises, recycling, beach cleanings under the umbrella of the Amstel Eco’s program in cooperation with the NGO Med SOS and the purification of waste water are examples of this commitment. Athenian Brewery’s sensibility also focuses on responsible consumption of alcohol by a set of actions which are constantly enriched and reinforced by the support of NGO «NIFALIOI Stin igia mas» with the aim of disseminating information on the dangers of excessive consumption of alcohol. In 2011 Athenian Brewery received two very important awards, one for its working environment and one for its CSR activities. More specifically, Athenian Brewery ranked as the Best Workplace in Greece, achieving the first place in the respective 2010 awards, while it received the Gold award in the Corporate Responsibitlity Index 2010 (CRI). www.athenianbrewery.gr
Hester Bruijninckx, General Manager for Air France-KLM in Greece, Turkey & Cyprus on the world’s oldest airline and its flight path for the future at a very affordable price compared to business class. Customers benefit, amongst other things, of 40% more space compared to economy class. For KLM, we have introduced a similar product called Economy Comfort on all Intercontinental flights; offering extra legroom and more seatrecline in a quite zone located in the front of the economy cabin. On our European KLM flights we introduce a new Europe Business Class product starting from 27th March 2011. The new Europe Business Class provides business travellers to European destinations with more seat comfort and space (the middle seat is now always left empty), an improved catering service, and priority service on departure and arrival In a competitive airline industry that saw the closure of several national airlines in Europe, KLM has retained its customer loyalty – to what do you attribute its success? The airline industry becomes more & more competitive. Only the well-prepared and professional ones will have a place in the future global airline business. As far as Air France-KLM is concerned we have strengthened our position in many ways. We have improved our services significantly to meet new demands of today’s travelers. What has been the most challenging and the most rewarding aspect of conducting business in Greece and how has KLM’s strong corporate values help you cope with the crisis? Within the frame of the current crisis and in order to meet changing demands of our customers, we have introduced NEO (New European Offer) on our Air France flights. Air France offers now a new service on all European flights, aimed at offering simplicity, clarity and affordable fares. Furthermore, regarding our intercontinental destinations, our product has been adjusted introducing a Premium Voyageur Cabin.This new cabin is located in between economy and business, offering more comfort than economy class
Air France KLM, as founding members of SkyTeam, has strengthened its alliance adding new partners. The SkyTeam alliance counts today 13 members and in the next months, 7 new members (China Eastern, Shanghai Airlines, China Airlines, Garuda Indonesia, Aerolineas Argentinas, Saudi Arabian Airlines & Middle East Airlines Air Liban) will be incorporated into the alliance that will have then up to 20 members offering 13.000 daily flights to 898 destinations. Moreover, in 2009, Air France KLM & Delta Air Lines signed a joint venture agreement.This brand new partnership represents approximately 25 percent of total trans-Atlantic capacity operating more than 200 daily flights across the Atlantic. And certainly we have reduced our costs in order to pull through this exceptionally difficult situation. The pro-active planning and clear vision for the future has made it possible to make the difference today. Greece has been a historical market for KLM because of the strong Dutch-Greek ties between the two countries, closely working together in a solid import-export relationship. Serving the Greek market has always been an important aim for KLM for more than 90 years and we look forward continuing doing so in the future. i
KLM is the oldest airline in the world still operating under its original name.The company was founded in October 7th, 1919 and operated its first flight from London to Schiphol on May 20, 1920. The London-Amsterdam air link is the oldest route in the world. On that historic flight, KLM’s first pilot, Jerry Shaw, travelled with two journalists and a bundle of newspapers. Passengers were seated in an open (!) cabin and were therefore provided with leather jackets, helmets, gloves and a hot water bottle to protect them selves from the cold. A far cry from the first class services offered by the airline today! The 1st KLM flight to Greece took place in 1930 to Crete. Together with Cairo these destinations were included in the Amsterdam-Jakarta service. As Turkey did not allow KLM to cross the Turkish territory KLM decided to operate this flight via Crete and Egypt. After WWII, in 1948 the service Amsterdam-Cairo was re-opened via Rome and Athens, giving KLM its permanent base in Greece. Following the merger between Air France & KLM in 2004, the Greek teams moved in the same offices during summer 2006. Since July 2010, Air France-KLM has been appointed as the General Sales Representative of Delta Air Lines in Greece and the three airlines are now united in one office at Argyroupoly. In total the company employ 65 persons including cargo, technical maintenance and all passenger services. During 2010 more than 282.000 passengers flew on the Athens-Amsterdam route amongst which 200.000 with KLM.The loyalty from KLM’s Greek passengers is evident. 44% travelled for leisure purposes, 28% for business purposes & 23% to visit friends & relatives. Overall 42% of our passengers to Amsterdam are Greeks. Starting March 27 till October 29 this year, KLM will be flying twice daily from Athens to Amsterdam connecting passengers to the Netherlands, Europe and the World with its extensive network offered via Schiphol airport. In combination with Air France, KLM flies to 250 destinations worldwide. KLM is constantly strengthening its presence worldwide by offering new destinations to its customers. Recently it announced new flights to Aalborg in Denmark, Xiamen in China, Kigali in Rwanda, Miami in the U.S.A, Havana in Cuba and Buenos Aires in Argentina.
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Spyros Dessyllas, Chairman of Elais-Unilever on doubling growth while reducing the environmental impact quisitions of the Evga ice cream brands and distribution network, the Sara Lee personal care brands, the inauguration of the new margarine production unit, and the transformation of the Schimatary Plant into a modern distribution centre prove our strong presence in this country’s business community.
How integral is Elais-Unilever to Greek everyday life? Our products have been around for over 90 years and the majority of them hold a leading position in Greek households having been recognized many times as Greek consumers’ favorite products.This makes us an integral part of Greek nutrition, hygiene and personal care. Our efforts are focused on providing our fellow citizens with solutions which can make them «feel good, look good and get the most out of life”, as we state in our vision. Solutions that facilitate their everyday life and cover real needs as well as personal tastes. The fact that we employ over 800 people and operate 3 factories and one distribution centre in this country, makes Unilever in Greece a vital part of the country’s economic development and prosperity not only for providing occupation to its employees but to the hundreds of our suppliers in the country. What are your strategies for the future to cope with the challenges of the Greek economy? Contrary to the current financial circumstances, Elais-Unilever Hellas has a steady commitment for continuous growth and a wide investment program in the Greek market. The recent ac-
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How does Elais-Unilever give back to society? We believe that a company can prosper only in a society that prospers.Since its foundation in 1920, our company operated based on a “strong” Social Responsibility philosophy – from the way employees were reimbursed and taken care of to the extensive educational and environmental programs that have been carried out over the years.
Unilever is one of the leading FMCG companies world-wide, with a turnover of 40 billion euros (2009) with products on sale in over 170 countries. It produces over 400 branded products in the areas of Foods, Ice creams, Home & Personal Care. In 2009, Unilever’s social investment was 89 million euros, while Unilever is the Food Industry sector leader in the Dow Jones Sustainability world Index for the 11th consecutive time.The company employs 163,000 people all over the world. In 2009 Unilever launched a new vision to ‘double the size of the company while reducing itsr environmental impact.’ In 2010, Unilever in line with its vision and the world’s global challenges launched the Sustainable Living Plan (USLP) stating 3 big global targets: 1) Halve the environmental footprint of its products 2) Source 100% of agricultural raw materials sustainably 3) Help 1 billion people improve their health & wellbeing
Nevertheless, our CSR culture and actions go on even in the hard times that we are all experiencing. Our new vision states that “We will develop new ways of doing business that will allow us to double the size of our company while reducing our environmental impact”.
In Greece, Unilever operates under the name ElaisUnilever Hellas S.A., marketing numerous products in the areas of foods, ice-creams, home and personal care. It is the 3rd largest company in Greece in consumer goods (excluding petroleum-related products) with a total turnover for 2009 of 598 million euros, while it is the number one supplier to the retail market.
We have recently announced our Greek programme of the global Unilever Sustainability Living plan that reaffirms our CSR commitment with specific targets on improving the Health and Hygiene of our fellow citizens, as well as the environmental impact of our operations. This is what is meant by Unilever’s new motto, “Small actions, Big Difference”. We will inspire people to take small everyday actions that can add up to a big difference for the world.
Elais-Unilever Hellas holds a leading position in many categories. Some of its most known products in the food sector are, Altis olive oil,Vitam Soft and Becel Pro-Activ margarines, Lipton teas, Knorr cubes and soups, Hellmann’s mayonnaise, Algida Ice creams Magic, Corneto, Carte D’Or, Ben & Jerry’s and EVGA ice creams Scandal and Variete. In the Home and Personal Care divisions, the best known brands include disinfectant-bleach Klinex and Cif, detergents and softeners Skip, OMO and Cajoline, personal care products such as Dove and Lux, Aim oral care products, hair care products such as Ultrex and Sunsilk and Axe and Rexona deodorants.
Among the initiatives that stand out in my personal opinion are the Sustainable Tomato Cultivation Programme in Gastouni, South Peloponnese, the AIM Mobile Dental Unit, our support to the work of several Greek health organizations, our Becel pro.activ free Heart health checks in major Greek cities, as well as our collaboration with the Greek Recycling Company. i
16.3% of Elais-Unilever Hellas’ turnover (2009) goes back to the Greek society in the form of specific CSR activities that focus on sustainable development by investing in the sectors of nutrition, health, hygiene and the environment. Unilever’s Head offices in Athens are in Maroussi. The company also operates 4 production sites in the areas of Rentis, Piraeus - Neo Faliron, Schimatari Viotias and Gastouni – South Peloponnese and has approximately 800 employees in Greece.
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Esther SarphatieAndreadis Master Chef, Athens.
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Marcel Eringa
Musician, Athens. www.myspace.com/waterpipes
Jacoline Vinke
Hans Giesen
Author, Athens. www.smallhotelsingreece.com
Painter, Paros. www.hansgiesen.nl
Why did you come to Greece and what made you stay? I first moved to Greece, because I had fallen in love with a Greek man. What made me stay were the people, the lifestyle and the beauty of this country. I have been in Athens for four years and after having written a cookbook I proceeded to do a cookery show on Greek television. At the moment I am preparing another project for television.
My studies first brought me to Greece back in 2000 as an Erasmus student. I had a good feeling since day one; I liked the certain freedoms Greece has, the climate and I’m a big, big fan of sea water. It immediately felt like a second home to me. I didn’t stay initially though. I left, travelled a bit, and came back in the beginning of 2004. My plan was to travel the world and make money teaching English as a foreign language. I came back to Athens to get some teaching experience and to spend some more time in this beautiful country. I had a few different jobs, played a lot of music, travelled a lot and somehow I just never left.
My answer is not very original: love! I met my Greek husband in London at university. After I graduated we moved to Paris where we lived and worked for ten years. We spent almost all our vacations in Greece and for years we played with the idea of moving to Athens. When the opportunity came (in the form of a very interesting job offer for my husband) we decided to go for it. I had just given birth to our second child and the moment was right for me to take a professional break. After a short adjustment period (the first few weeks were tough – a newborn in my arms, no place of our own to live yet, and one of these unforgiving heat waves), I started feeling happy and at home. I still do.
I came to Greece because, after finishing my studies in the arts, I wanted to leave Holland for a while to see the world. A friend of mine had been to Crete and recommended it to me as a silent, none touristic place, so in December 1966 I went with my wife and 18 month old daughter to Crete, Kato Zakros, the eastern most part of the island.
The country – BEAUTIFUL. Athens? Hot and noisy. My first impressions of course were holiday impressions, so not quite the full picture. I loved coming to Greece and travelling around, discovering new places – we did a lot of that before moving here. Every time I was amazed how beautiful Greece is and how much variety there is – landscape, architecture, the islands, nature. Holidays usually started with a few days in Athens to see friends and family, and I always had a good time. I knew that living in Athens wasn’t going to be the same as spending holidays, but I actually enjoyed the process of settling in and starting a new life here. I never felt unwelcome.
It was a total change in my life, from living in the centre of Amsterdam I came to a place with only an old couple living there and no one else. After three months I moved to Zakros and because I could work and paint very well there I stayed for nearly one year. The people accepted us and there was a feeling of home. When the military coup happened on the 21st of April, I collected money for the resistance with a group of artists in Holland and met Melina Mercouri in Amsterdam. I was added to the junta’s black list, so for a long time I couldn’t come back to Greece, but after the junta fell in 1974, I went back to Crete many times. In 1986, I rented a long term studio in Aliki, Paros.
What were your first impressions? My first impressions of Greece were that it was a beautiful place with a light I had never experienced before. I thought Athens was a very lively city and until today my favourite spot is the Acropolis, because of its historic value and energy.
Even though Greece and Athens generally give me a great feeling, I thought Athens was a grey, dirty city and I was shocked when I slowly found out how things work over here. I must say after all these years it still surprises me on a daily basis. But the moment I get out of Athens I still think Greece is paradise. My impressions haven’t changed much over the years. Obviously, I now understand Greece, its culture and people much better, and I’m also more aware of the difficulties that come with living in Athens. So I do have a stronger need to get out of the city a lot, throw my tent in the car and set it up on a beach somewhere. But I basically still believe Greece is amazingly beautiful.
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How would you compare your life here to life in the Netherlands? Here we have the sun, there we have the rain, therefore the people live more of an outdoor life in Greece and I love that.
I don’t. There’s just no comparison. Life in the Netherlands is very organized, which I guess sometimes is good as well. Personally, I like a bit of chaos though. And I guess because of the colder climate there, you spend more of life inside. Greece just has that Mediterranean lifestyle, that sunny climate, long summers, eating late, and spending time outside. I like that.
I left the Netherlands when I was a student, and now I live in Greece with a family to look after, so the two are hard to compare. Generally speaking though, life in the Netherlands is more organised. There are many more rules and people stick to them, or at least, that is the impression I have. This sense that maybe I am doing something I am not supposed to be doing always makes me a bit nervous when I go back to the Netherlands; like leaving the car in a parking spot for ten minutes more than what I’d paid for, and getting, ouch, an 80 Euro fine, or answering my mobile in a restaurant and having a 30-second conversation with reproachful looks directed my way. Even though I can get upset in Athens when parked cars are completely blocking the sideways, or when I have dinner with someone who takes calls throughout the meal, the somewhat more chaotic Greek lifestyle suits me just fine. And even though in many ways life may be more comfortable in the Netherlands, I prefer the joie de vivre I feel here.
I work very well in Greece and feel very at home. But in the beginning all the paintings I made had to be taken to Holland, for my gallerist to sell there. In Greece it was impossible. So I lived and worked half in Holland and half in Greece. As an artist I’m lucky that I can work in different places. Since I started exhibiting in Greece I have built a name for myself. I’ve had five shows in Athens, seven in Paros, and two in Crete, all with the support of the Dutch embassy. My next exhibition will be on Paros, celebrating 25 years of living and working on the island. The Dutch ambassador will open this show on Friday, 23 September, 2011.
What has Greece taught you? Life here has taught me that we have to do everything ourselves to accomplish something.
It has taught me to be more patient. If you don’t have a bit of patience, it’s impossible to live here and stay sane.
To go with the flow, to relax!
what are your favourite sights, sounds and smells? My favourite sounds are the birds in my garden, the smell of jasmine flowers in the spring and the sound of the waves hitting the coast of Sounio during the winter.
My favourite sights would be Greece’s nature in general, the sea, mountains and sunsets. Smells would be the sea, barbecues and olive trees. My favourite sound is the sound of waves breaking against the shore. Marcel Eringa, member of folk/rock band,Waterpipes, along with Dennis Paraschis. Waterpipes just released their second album Downright Melodies with Legend records.
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The sight from my terrace on Serifos the hour the sun goes down; the sea is like a mirror, with multi-coloured fishing boats going out and sailing boats coming in. The evening smell of blossoming orange and jasmine trees, the salt in my nose when I swim in the sea, and let’s be honest, the smells coming from that taverna on the beach when I come out of the sea. The sound of a night without wind, hearing the waves washing up on the beach below, cicadas singing, and Monika.
My studio on Paros is a tiny place in the mountains overlooking nine islands to the south with only two neighbours. There is oregano, thyme and all other country smells around me and I have planted more than one hundred trees. I hear goat bells, donkeys and birds singing, sometimes in the sun, and sometimes in a fog, when it is impossible to see further than one hundred yards.
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March Angeli talks to Stephanie Bailey about Taalbrug, a Dutch Education Centre in Maroussi, Athens.
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hen it comes to building something right from the beginning, March Angeli knows what she’s talking about. Arriving in Greece some thirty years ago, she immediately approached the Dutch embassy offering her services as a teacher of the Dutch language for Dutch expats as well as mixed Dutch-Greek families and Flemish-Greek families living in Athens. “When I came to Greece there was nothing so I started a school in Nea Smyrni because there were Dutch living in the area who wanted their children to learn the language,” she recalls. The school, now in Ilioupouli, is no longer under the charge of Angeli herself – she left in order to give birth to her first daughter.Yet in 1989, Angeli decided to open De Taalbrug, which provides after-school Dutch language and culture classes to children for three hours a week on Mondays or Tuesdays.With seventy-three students and seven teachers operating from within the 4th Elementary School in Maroussi, the school is affiliated to the Dutch Education Abroad foundation and supervised by the Dutch Inspectorate of Education and provides cultural education to children through language and culture lessons from history and geography. “Our aim is to develop the Dutch language in accordance to the system in Holland,” Angeli explains. “This is important for children of expats so that they can return to Holland and continue their education but also for mixed children who wish to study in Holland. We offer the necessary exams for older students because with these certificates they can enter into Dutch universities.” In this light, Angeli encourages early enrolment. “We try to get children into school from the age of three. Especially for the mixed children,” she explains. The school is divided into three groups, with children who come from strictly Dutch speaking families, to children from mixed Dutch and Greek speaking families, to children who must learn Dutch at the school from scratch.With such a mix, the school environment is a vibrant one, in which children are able to explore dual heritages and dual cultures, thus allowing them to discover the best of both worlds. “We can do everything,” Angeli notes. “And it’s nice when you have a lot of children at every level as they all help each other.” From an educational aspect she says; “on the one side you can teach students individually but when you want to do larger group activities we can bring the groups together.” As such, the school thrives on the sense of community, with annual celebrations including the traditional Sinterklaas celebrations on the 5th of December.“It’s not only the educational aspect but it’s the social aspect, too,” Angeli points out. “Most children go to international schools, so it’s nice to spend three hours a week with Dutch children and Dutch teachers, to have a contact with their culture. For the parents – it’s a social meeting point. It’s nice for parents and children to know each other.” For more information, see www.taalbrug.gr i
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Ashton Weis tracks down Dutch-born Dimitris Parousis of godimitris.com on the Peruvian border with Bolivia as he continues to travel across the world on a mission
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hile its natural that ‘Greekness’ is omnipresent in Athens, with the Acropolis dominating the cityscape, ancient ruins rubbing shoulders with apartment buildings and the sound of Greek on the streets and on the airwaves, few realize the extent to which Greek culture has permeated every other civilization in the world. Greek culture is especially prominent in other tongues. For example, one in every four words of English has Greek roots, if not using the exact word; Asian and African languages also utilize Greek words in their everyday conversation with words such as bombs, chaos, ideas! With this idea in hand, Dimitris Parousis started a trek around the world. His goal: to visit every last inch of this world and to remind its citizens that they already speak Greek and that they all have something in common. Starting in April of 2006, Parousis departed from Greece to pursue his dream. Before picking up his rucksack, Dimitris had taught in state schools, worked with several newspapers, magazines and internet sites, and even published a book on the publication of newspapers. So far he has made three trips. On the first, he visited Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay, Chile and Brazil where he remained for six months.The second trip lasted eighteen months and he explored Cuba, Mexico, Belize, Guatemala, Honduras, Salvador, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama, and Colombia. After these two expeditions, his return to Greece was an extended one and he was unsure if he would be able to continue, due to an insufficient amount of monetary funds. Currently in the third leg of his journey, which he began in February 2009, he is in Peru.With this segment of his journey he hopes to conclude his excursions through Latin America. You can follow Dimitris Parousis’ journey everyday at his website: www.godimitris.gr. His last post comes from a small village in southern Peru. His website is posted in five languages: Greek, English, Spanish, French and German. The godimitris homepage is updated first in Greek, with the other languages following a few days later. He has intermittently returned to Greece throughout his total of 1,819 days abroad (and counting) to raise money for his journey and to visit his friends and family. Although Greek by blood, Parousis actually grew up in the Netherlands, where he was born. Living in an immigrant community sparked Parousis’ interest in connecting Greek families around the globe. He has helped many families rekindle international relationships. Parousis also has a dedicated team of supporters; who he calls his “goteam.” Each member plays an important role in the success of his excursions. He speculates that it will take ten more years to complete his voyage; he aims to really experience a place and not as a tourist or a passerby. He has already started planning the fourth leg of his excursions. You can grab your knapsack and join Dimitris on any portion of his expedition. Send him an email and you too can be a part of his journey, already more than twenty of his readers have joined him. i
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Mike Sweet reflects on the hidden charms of Paxos and Antipaxoi for those who want to follow a path less travelled.
S
urrounded by translucent waters, with elegant harbours and tranquil bays along its east coast and a succession of sheer limestone cliffs and dramatic caves on the west, Paxos has been rated as one of the world’s ‘Top Twenty Great Escapes’. But then it’s always been a place for a good escape. Legend has it that Poseidon created Paxos by bashing Corfu with his trident to create a peaceful getaway for himself and his partner Amphitrite. Perhaps in those ancient times he had a premonition of the port of Corfu in the 21st Century, disgorging thousands of camera-clad Japanese tourists, or equal numbers of pale holidaymakers from northern Europe, descending in their droves in the charter jets that arrive continually from dawn until midnight at Corfu airport. It’s enough to make anyone fling his trident. And it’s a good thing he did. Paxos and its tiny sister island Antipaxoi are sparkling gems set in this part of the Ionian, and if you know where to go, there is much that is serene and magical about this place. The pioneers of tourism in Paxos were two Brits, Eliot Watrous and Patrick May, who first visited the island as servicemen in WWII. After the war Watrous went on to create Greek Island Club, one of the first travel companies that began to open Greece to the British and European tourist market in the 1970s. More than forty years later it remains one of the leading operators in Greece. By the 1980s tourism had replaced olive oil production as the mainstay of Paxos’ economy. Today the permanent resident population of Paxos is around two thousand five hundred. In summer the population ap-
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proaches ten thousand. The sleepy port of Gaios, the charming ‘capital’ of the Paxoi demos, is transformed as tourists arrive in droves on day trips from Corfu and the mainland. On the waterfront is the office of Yannis Avranitakis, born in Paxos in 1953. Avranitakis has established Gaios Travel as one of the island’s most successful small businesses, offering the discerning traveller quality accommodation, car and boat hire with a sensitive personal touch. Yannis’ insights into tourism on Paxos are enlightening. “We don’t need more tourists” says Yannis “We need
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Travel a different kind of tourist.” And what he means by that, is tourists who want more than the packages offered by the big tour operators, - tourists who want to explore aspects of Paxos’ rich culture and environment, so often ignored by too many of today’s visitors. I soon got a glimpse of what Yannis meant. A stroll along the port brings you to the Paxos Municipal Museum and Gallery, an elegant neoclassical building that houses an extraordinary collection. The exhibits include the traditional Paxiot dowry gift of ‘leg-stirrups’ for the bride, to attach to the marital bedposts for that extra something to help the baby-making process. Now you can’t find those at Ikea! Some of the most interesting items in the small museum are the remarkable paintings by the Paxiot artist and priest Christodoulos Aronis (1884 -1973). A 1908 graduate of the Athens School of Fine Arts, Aronis specialised in portraiture and landscapes as well as religious paintings. Many of his commissions adorn churches in Corfu and Paxos, and hang in some of the major Orthodox cathedrals in the UK where he spent the latter part of his life. The paintings at the Paxos museum are the single largest collection of his work in one location, and show his most personal figurative and landscape work.
tend his vines on this idyllic isle. And who can blame him. Perched on a hill with sweeping views to the south. Way off in the distance is the outline of Lefkada; to the east are the mountains of Epirus. To the west, a vast expanse of the Ionian sea, and hidden beyond, is Italy. If ‘sublime’ was a word invented to describe one experience, one place, one time; then it would be sitting in good company on that simple terrace that late summer evening, and as the light began to fade, sharing the sweet fruit of the vines which surrounded us. Though rooms and villas are available to rent on Antipaxoi, they are in short supply, so best to book early. Contact Gaios Travel or Lychnaria Paxos Accommodation for details. Mike Sweet is grateful for the assistance of the Municipality of Paxos, Spyros Bogdanos,Yannis Avrantakis of Gaios Travel and Faye Lychnou of Lychnaria in the research for this article. i
Less than six kilometres to the south of Gaios is the tiny island of Antipaxoi. In the summer the tourist hordes flock to this tiny pristine isle (with an area of just 5 sq kms) on day trips from Corfu and Parga, their feet hardly touching the ground in Gaios, before heading out on packed sightseeing boats to swim in the crystal clear waters for which the island has become famous. My advice is to steer clear of its most famous beaches like Vrika and Voutoumi, where everyday in the high-season you’re likely to find yourself too close for comfort with hundreds of others wanting to experience the Ionian sea’s most perfect beaches. Go for a walk; you’ve got every chance of getting a beach to yourself. I was lucky enough to stay the night and savour Antipaxoi’s delights without the daytime invaders. With very few properties and a resident population of not many more than thirty owners and their families, this is the ultimate getaway location.Yannis invited me to stay at the stone and timber house he recently finished building on his family’s land – an elegant property on high ground that took eight years to construct. After a twenty minute boat ride we tied up at the tiny harbour of Agrapidia in the early evening. Soon Yannis was introducing me to his Antipaxiot parea, all of whom are winemakers. The island is famous for the quality of its wine, with the oldest and largest commercial producer being a local priest – Papa Vangelis. Plots of land passed down through the generations are separated by rolling hills of vineyards and joined by a few meandering lanes. We headed off into the warm evening to toast the sunset on the rooftop terrace of nearby neighbour Vasilis Vlachopoulos, a former merchant ship captain, who having sailed the seven seas, now prefers to
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To find out more about Paxoi’s hidden treasures go to: www.paxi.gr, www.gaiostravel.co.uk, www.4paxos.com
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Travel
Melbourne is home to over 150,000 people of Greek descent, making it the largest Greek city in the world, outside of Greece. Mike Sweet clicks up his heels at Melbourne’s Antipodes Festival to unmask Australia’s most dynamic and ethnically diverse metropolis.
48 insider athens | April 2011
N
ot much stops the traffic in the central business district of Melbourne. But last month for two days the Antipodes Festival, the largest celebration of Greek culture in the world outside of Greece, transformed the center business district into a kaleidoscope of colour, smells, tastes and sounds; a bustling celebration of all things Hellenic. Greek Australians trace their migration as far back as the 1850s, when the first settlers from southern Europe arrived in the Gold Rush era. By the turn of the 20th Century, Greek communities were to be found in most Australian cities. In the torrent of emigration from war-torn Greece in the 1950s, of all the cities in the world that welcomed the Greek diaspora, none did more so than Melbourne. Today Australia’s second largest city with a population of four million, is ranked second (behind Vancouver) as the ‘World’s Most Livable Cities’ according to the Economist Intelligence Unit Report for 2011. More than a third of Melbourne’s population was born overseas, exceeding the Australian national average of around 25%.Walk down any main city thoroughfare and those demographics come vividly to life; young Asian Australians are everywhere, often making Melbourne appear an Asian city. The Vietnamese surname Nguyen is the second most common in Melbourne’s phone book. Adding to the mix is a potpourri of European identities, all of which have been integrated into the rainbow nation which is Australia in the 21st Century. Melbourne, more than any other city, is the epitome of that ideal. The Antipodes Festival has been joyously celebrating Melbourne’s Hellenic identity since 1987. This year it is timed to coincide with the last week of Apokriés, the traditional Greek carnival season, when revelers enter into a world of party, fantasy, jinks and ‘kefi’ (high spirits) - for a feast of dance, wine and meat before the sacrifices of Lent. With the central arteries of downtown Melbourne closed to traffic, this year’s festival is made up of distinct precincts, arranged around the main festival stage in the traditional heart of the Greek precinct - Lonsdale Street. Stalls offering tasty traditional delicacies vie with associations promoting cultural and artistic traditions for the attentions of the thousands of festival goers. A new departure for the festival this year is the creation of the plateia where visitors can experience Greek culture, up, close and personal. Made up of individual stalls, each region of Greece is represented by a cultural association that showcases their own Apokriés traditions. At the stall of the Pontiaki Estia Association, Despina Donato, in full traditional Pontian dress,
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Travel
reveals to me the symbolism of ‘Koukara’ - the potato with seven feathers (that hangs beside her as we speak) in Pontian folklore.“It represents the seven weeks of Lent” explains Despina. “It’s an ancient tradition but people still do it today. They count down seven weeks to Easter. Every week that passes they take out a feather. It was also used as a scare tactic for the kids, so if they wanted to eat meat or dairy during Lent, parents would say the potato is coming to get you!.” The Pandora Playground (I Paidiki Xara) is dedicated to non-scary children’s’ activities, with an area for the many youth traditional dance groups appearing. Alongside, the Elliniki Kouzina stage hosts cooking demonstrations throughout the two days by Australia’s leading Greek chefs. On the main stage this year, the headline music acts are as usual, from Greece; Ta Paidia apo tin Patra (The Kids from Patras) with their contemporary rebetika groove are fronted by founder Christos Papadopolous, and east west folk fusion Zig Zag, also from the Patras region, top the bill this year, supported by a host of leading Greek Australian artists. As the crowds mill around us, Antipodes Festival board member and former director Jorge Menidis tells me how after thirty-four years the festival is as strong as ever. “We used to hold the festival over Greek National Day but this year we wanted to link it with Apokriés to give it a distinct theme. It’s a more appropriate time and we can join in with events and celebrations in Greece such as the Patras carnival. Over the two days we estimate some 70,000 people will come to the Antipodes Festival. It’s been growing year on year and look around, it’s second and third generation kids who are running it.”Whilst Menidis has worked for the festival as its director in the past, his involvement today is voluntary like most of the organizers and festival staff. “The burden of running an annual street festival on this scale is a great one.You need to pull up half a million dollars each year to do it. You don’t get given that money easily, so a lot of work goes into fundraising.” Jorge’s father was originally from Sparti, and his mum from Epirus, and it was Jorge who created one of the now most popular elements of the festival ten years ago – the ‘Zorba Till You Drop!’ competition. Contestants undertake a grueling dance marathon, dancing the traditional Zorba (Syrtaki) instrumental, without pause, for as long as they can. The last dancer standing wins a return
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air ticket to Greece. “It started as a bit of a challenge and something to promote the festival in the media” says Jorge “But people now train for it! You have to keep your arms up and you’re not allowed to bend your elbows. I think the record is an hour and a quarter!” With the Lonsdale Street Glendi as the most visible aspect of the Antipodes Festival, it reaches out far beyond the two day explosion of music, dance, food and culture with events across the city – a Greek film festival, art and photography exhibitions, poetry readings and plays, and this year even a Hellenic Open Tennis tournament. The diversity and number of events are testimony to the energy and imagination of the organizers, and Melbourne’s Greek community as a whole. “This is a city that totally embraces multiculturalism. It’s entrenched in the city’s fabric.” says Jorge. “It’s not a ghettoized approach to other cultures. It’s about embracing those cultures and making them your own”. I make my way back home by tram, through Chinatown to Melbourne’s old port, the gateway for the first immigrant generations who arrived here. On my way, the accents and languages I hear fleetingly, tell this city’s remarkable story: English,Vietnamese, Chinese and a host of continental European dialects. And of course Greek. If Australia is ‘the lucky country’, then Melbourne is its lucky city. i
Mike Sweet enjoying a frappe
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Hidden Gems How much do you know about Tiki culture? Athens has its very own Polyfusion joint, as Dimitris Polymenopoulos finds out.
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have to admit – I’m a real sucker for Hollywood nostalgia. For years now in the dead of winter there’s always a day so dreary that I have to listen to Bing Crosby’s Mele Kalikimaka – twice. Sure it’s the epitome of artificial cold war optimism but I’m old-fashioned – I like my threats symmetrical and my bar roof thatched. Speaking of thatched roof bars, allow me to go on a tangent straight towards Tiki culture. For those unfamiliar with Tiki, I recommend reading Wayne Curtis’ excellent article on the American Heritage Magazine website. It traces the Tiki cultural phenomenon from its origins in the 30’s until today. According to the article, Tiki was introduced into the US by South Pacific “protobeatnik” Ernest Gantt. After a humble start, the enterprising Ernest and his ex-wife Cora Irene brought Tiki into the mainstream and by the end of WWII a chain of highly successful “Don the Beachcomber” bars had been established. Soldiers returning home from the war in the Pacific, Hollywood and the music industry further embraced Tiki culture - and the rest is history. This is nothing new for Tiki Athens owner Dimitris Voglis. He was part of Tiki culture in Berlin, London and Mexico and when he opened Tiki Athens he made sure the décor stayed true to the original Tiki
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spirit.Tiki Gods and menacing voodoo artifacts? Check. Animal print furniture and retro cinematic paraphernalia? Ditto.Yet, shouting in each other’s ear on the tail end of a live gig by Scottish garage revivalists “The Thanes”, Voglis explains that he wanted to inject some punk attitude in the normally laid-back aura of Tiki.The atmosphere is transformed as lush cinematic themes and frivolous French pop ultimately make way for soul beats and feverish old school rock. The recipe has managed to attract a variety of musical ears, as I discovered while squeezing past hipsters, mods and rockers in my initial attempt to find Voglis amongst the crowd. Tiki Athens showcases a number of alternative Greek and foreign bands as well as DJ sets. It also hosts its Stage Live theatrical events and The Tenorman Show – a mix of stand-up comedy, operetta and jazz.The last Burlesque show of the season is also set to steam some collars somewhere around May-June. I suggest visiting TikiAthens.com and subscribing to their newsletter so that you can keep up to date about everything going on. Cocktails are an integral part of Tiki culture and the Athens Tiki barmen and barwomen work overtime for their preparation and presentation. Browsing the ingredients of the 120 cocktail strong Tiki
catalogue you’ll find an impressive array of exotic fruit juices and syrups. If indecision’s dogging you, may I suggest the quintessential and absolutely fabulous Mai Tai. A caveat - don’t let its dainty tropical essence trick you into downing too many too quickly, for it packs a punch like a freight train. Of course, you can always metabolize your way out of trouble by ordering some finger food or great burgers beforehand – the kitchen is open until 1 a.m.. As with all Athens hot spots though, you either need to drop by early and find a good corner, or call ahead to reserve a table. In six decades the world has progressed beyond cat-eye glasses, brilliantine and aloha shirts – but at the same time we unashamedly mix and match the past in our search for new combinations that reflect us. This is what the Athens Tiki has also done, and done it well – cocooning you in the easy atmosphere of one past, you’re inclined to let your guard down to the perpetual energy of so many others. Its a combination that will get the better of you - you’ve been warned. i Tiki Athens - 15 Falirou Street in Makriyianni. Metro station Acropolis. Tel: 210 9236908
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Gastronomy
Sudha Nair-Iliades tucks in to a late afternoon lunch at 2 Mazi and is bowled over
J
ust off the busy Filellinon street, in a nurturingly restored neoclassical house at the intersection of Nikis and Kydathinaion streets, is 2 Mazi, a refined restaurant that is perfect for an afternoon getaway or business lunch.
2Mazi is a joint venture, as the name so aptly suggests, of the gastronomic influences of two young, entrepreneurial chefs who have acquired a quiet reputation in serving wholesome, Mediterranean fare with just the right amount of flair to make a meal here a stylish, though not overpowering, experience. Ilias Gogos and Yiannis Baxevanis (who also runs Eclipse in Kolonaki) work together to create a truly terrific culinary corner in Athens that is ideal not only for extended lunches and early dinners but also, hold your breath, offer deliveries to your home or workplace! No more excuses for ordering in greasy pizzas and souvlaki take-aways when affordable, gourmet cuisine is so readily available. I happened upon 2Mazi while trying to park my car at one of the ubiquitous empty vacant lots that double up as parking zones off Nikis street. I suggested it as a possible meeting place to friend and wine-grower Yiannis Paraskevopoulos of Gaia wines, who had never lunched there before. We walked in with the intentions of having a good meal while working on an interview. Before long, any notions of conducting the interview to looming deadlines were put to rest as I met my match in an equally glib talker. Done up in shades of Bordeaux and black, the décor like the food is just so without being too overwhelming. The restaurant had a couple
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of busy tables when we got in and even before we had the opportunity to glance at our menus (to my delight, the waitress had offered me a Greek menu and to my Greek friend, an English one!!), the chef was at hand to explain the menu of the day. Young and lanky, Ilias is clearly a modern chef who actually steps out of the kitchen to read his clients’ needs before stepping back in to create something that matches the mood and disposition of the guest. We’d mercifully decided to share a poached fish for two but had clearly underestimated the very copious portions of delectable starters that preceded it - Dolma stuffed with herbs and an exquisite artichoke vinaigrette dip, wrapped feta cheese on fig jam, a very filling salad in the form of lettuce with goat cheese(geremez), prosciutto and fruits in raspberry sauce and finally, meat pie with yogurt, tahini and pomegranate. Despite our loud protests, once the main course arrived – in our case a plump sea bream bursting with flavour, stuffed with six aromatic herbs and baby mushrooms, it was hard to resist the very primal call of one’s senses. 2Mazi doubles up as a Wine Bar in the evenings and serves tapas. The desserts here, especially Baxevannis’ baklavas are highly recommended though we’d settled for lighter, humbler fare – a frozen yogurt served in a long narrow boat. i A meal for two with a bottle of wine adds up to around 50 euros a head but well worth it for an enjoyable meal in a pleasant setting.
W
hat’s with the strikers? After an almost nonstop string of strikes right from December through February on a daily basis that brought the city to its knees and saw the blossoming of websites devoted to strike info like the ever reliable www.apergia.com, suddenly there seems to be lull in the momentum of strikers. Does it have to do with larger-than-life events outside of Greece that put things in perspective - the events in Libya and the devastation in Japan or to more mundane obsessions such as the programming on TV including the new season of Greek Idol. How can prime time TV devote its precious airtime to people who clearly have no talent. And the same show gets recycled and regurgitated in the breakfast shows on TV!! For those really keen on seeing some fine talent on and off-screen, head to the French film festival for a glimpse of legends such as Catherine Deneuve and Claudia Cardinale, the stunning Diane Kruger and the smokily sexy Chanel girl Anna Mouglalis. More French talent in the form of Charlie le Mindu, coiffeur to the stars including fave client Lady Gaga will be in town to exhibit his hair-raising art at the Benaki Museum on May 14. The other day we chanced upon a quaint little neoclassical building that housed a vintage clothing boutique, a travel book store and a tea room aptly called Belle Epoque at the corner of Voulis and Apollonos streets. A great break from the hustle and bustle of Ermou and with an amazing array of teas served in, you guessed right, vintage teapots, Belle Epoque transports you to that magical age.
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Insider guide
refer to corresponding area for more information and contact details
restaurant index by type AMERICAN JACKSON HALL Kolonaki TGI FRIDAY’S Kolonaki
ARGENTINEAN ORO TORO Vouliagmeni
ASIAN Golden Phoenix Halandri Saipan Halandri
BAR - RESTAURANTS Apsendi Halandri BACARO Omonia BALTHAZAR Mavili Sq BARAONDA Mavili Sq CENTRAL Kolonaki Eclipse Kolonaki ENTEKA Glyfada KITCHEN BAR Faliro & Halandri FRAME Kolonaki GINGER Mavili Sq ISLAND Vouliagmeni NIXON Kerameikos SEMIRAMIS RESTAURANT Kifissia SHOWROOM Kolonaki
FISH RESTAURANTS 7 THALASSES Kolonaki Ai Nikolas Syngrou CAPTAIN JOHN’S Piraeus FISH BAR Glyfada ITHAKI Vouliagmeni JIMMY AND THE FISH Piraeus KASTELORIZO Kifissia Kollias Syngrou LA PECHE Glyfada MILOS Hilton MYTHOS OF THE SEA Vouliagmeni PAPADAKIS Kolonaki PLOUS PODILATOU Piraeus Psaroma Halandri THALATTA Gazi TO VAROULKO Kerameikos ZEFYROS Piraeus
FISH TAVERNAS Almyra Halandri DOURAMBEIS Piraeus KOLLIAS Piraeus MAISTRALI Vouliagmeni PSARAKI Vouliagmeni TRATA O STELIOS Pangrati VASSILENAS Piraeus
FRENCH L’ABREUVOIR Kolonaki LE PETIT SOMMELIER Faliro SPONDI Pangrati TARTARE Glyfada VARDIS Kifissia
GOURMET KUZINA Thissio Eclipse Kolonaki Essence Kifissia Fuga Mavili Square Funky Gourmet Kerameikos
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P-Box Kolonaki, Kifissia Polly Magoo Metaxurgeio Première Syngrou
GREEK 2 MAZI Plaka ATHIRI Kerameikos CUCINA POVERA Pangrati DAKOS Kolonaki DIPORTO Psyrri EDODI Acropolis ELAEA BISTROT Acropolis FASOLI Exarhia IDEAL Omonia KARAVITIS Pangrati KAVOURAS Exarhia LIANA’S KITCHEN Glyfada MANI MANI Acropolis MARE MARINA Faliro PLATANOS Plaka PROSOPA Gazi RIFIFI Exarhia TO KOUTI Monastiraki YANTES Exarhia YDRIA Plaka
GRILL 1920 Halandri Meat Square Glyfada & Halandri
INDIAN Indian Masala Thissio ISKANDAR Alimos JAIPUR PALACE Maroussi
ITALIAN AGLIO OLIO Acropolis ACQUA AZZURA Kifissia AL FRESCO Vouliagmeni AL MILANESE Kolonaki ALTRO Kolonaki BOSCHETTO Kolonaki CANTUCCIO Psyrri DA LUCIANO Vouliagmeni DA VINCI Ag. Paraskevi DVLCIS IN FVNDO Voula GENOVESE Voula LA CASA DI GIORGINO Gyfada IL SALOTTO Glyfada IL SEGRETO Voula MEZZA LUNA Vouliagmeni MULTI 22 Syntagma Nanninela Ag. Paraskevi Novo Romantico di Antonio Halandri PIZZA POMMODORO Kolonaki SALE E PEPE Kolonaki SCALA VINOTECA Kolonaki TONY BONANO Piraeus VINCENZO Glyfada
JAPANESE COO Kolonaki DOSIRAK syntagma FAR EAST Syntagma FREUD ORIENTAL Kolonaki FURIN KAZAN Syntagma GOLDEN PHOENIX Kifissia
INBI Kolonaki KIKU Kolonaki MATSUHISA ATHENS Vouliagmeni NOODLE BAR Syntagma SHOGUN Kifissia
KOSHER KOL TUV Monastiraki
LEBANESE BEIRUT Glyfada NARA NARA Psyrri NARGILE Kifissia
MEDITERRANEAN AIOLI RESTAURANT Glyfada BEREKET Glyfada BRACHERA Monastiraki BYZANTINE RESTAURANT Hilton CAFE AVYSSINIAS Monastiraki CAFE BOHEME Kolonaki CAFE TABAC Vouliagmeni Dalí Halandri DAPHNE’S RESTAURANT Plaka DORIS Monastiraki Essence Kifissia FATSIO Pangrati GALAZIA HYTRA Vouliagmeni GB CORNER Syntagma GRILL ROOM Vouliagmeni IDEAL RESTAURANTOmonia KITRINO PODILATO Gazi KOUZINA CINE-PSIRRI Psyrri MAGEMENOS AVLOS Pangrati MAGIREVONDAS Kolonaki MEIDANIS Monastiraki OCHRE & BROWN Psyrri Olio by Portofino Ag. Paraskevi Omikron Kifissia PARLIAMENT Syntagma PRYTANEION Kolonaki PSARAKI Vouliagmeni RATKA Kolonaki TA KIOUPIA Kolonaki TO KOUTI Monastiraki TO POLITICO Glyfada ZEPHYROS Piraeus ZORBAS Piraeus
MEXICAN AMIGOS Glyfada DOS HERMANOS Kifissia EL TACO BUENO Maroussi LA TIENDA Glyfada Santa Fe Halandri
PUB RESTAURANTS BAYERN BIERHAUS MICROBREWERY Glyfada BEER ACADEMY glyfada BIER HAUS Vouliagmeni MOLLY MALONE’S Glyfada
ROOFTOP DINING ELECTRA Plaka GALAXY BAR Hilton IOANNIS Syntagma LE GRAND BALCON Kolonaki ORIZONTES LYKAVYTTOU Kolonaki ST’ASTRA Mavili Sq
SOUVLAKIA AND KEBAB BUTCHER’S SHOP Gazi DREAM GRILL Voula KALAMAKI KOLONAKI Kolonaki KILIZA Glyfada NAIADES Voula SAVVAS Monastiraki SCHARA Vouliagmeni SIGALAS-BAIRAKTARIS Monastiraki Souvlaki Bar Thissio THANASSIS Monastiraki ZAHOS Vouliagmeni
SPANISH MI SUENO Kolonaki PUERTA DE ESPANA Pangrati SALERO Exarhia
TAVERNAS AMMOS Piraeus FILIPOU Kolonaki LOUIZIDIS Vouliagmeni MAMACAS Gazi MARGARO Piraeus SKOUFIAS Exarhia VLASSIS Hilton
THAI ROYAL THAI Kifissia
WINE BARS CELLIER LE BISTROT Syntagma L’Enoteca Halandri Whispers of wine Maroussi
Westin Kids Club
MEZEDES AND OUZO ATHINAIKON Omonia KIRKI Thissio OUZADIKO Kolonaki SCHOLARHEIO Plaka SOLON Piraeus
MULTI ETHNIC Altamira Kolonaki
POLYNESIAN KONA KAI Syngrou
Register Now!
210.890.2000
insider athens | April 2011
61
Insider guide SHOP
Salero Valtetsiou 51, Tel: 210.381.3358 Spanish and mediterranean cuisine in the heart of Exarhia
Children Damigos
central Athens Mediterranean cuisine in a modern industrial atmosphere
Prosopa
Dimitrakopoulou 40 Tel: 210.922.0317 Toyshop with a wonderful selection, including wooden designs
Meg.Vasiliou 52 & Konstantinoupoleos 4 Tel: 210.341.3433, Delicious dishes in a warm atmosphere right beside the train tracks. A popular gay haunt.
Gifts
Thalatta
Greece is for Lovers
Karyatidon 13A Tel: 210.924.5064 www.greeceisforlovers.com Tongue-in-cheek souvenirs for the discerning traveller
Ilias Lalaounis museum
Acropolis
Shop, Eat, Drink & Chill!
Vitonos 5, Tel: 210.346.4204 Fresh seafood creations
DRINK Bars, Clubs & Lounges Almaz
Mani Mani
Skoufias
Falirou 10. Tel: 210.921.8180 Peloponnesian specialities with Mediterranean touches
Lontou 4, Tel: 210.382.8206 Exceptional entrees you are unlikely to find elsewhere
Tramezzini
Yantes
Hatzichristou 8, Tel: 210.921.1770 All day italian café bistrot with gourmet street food
Valtetsiou 44, Tel: 210.330.1369 Modern Greek cuisine prepared with organic ingredients. 20 Euros per person
Triptolemou 12, Tel: 210.347.4763 Lounge in a modern atmosphere while listening to music from around the world
Barouge Andronikou 4, Tel: 210.342.4994 A staple of Athenian nightlife
Aglio Olio & Peperonicino Porinou 13 , Tel: 210.921.1801 Authentic Italian pasta in a cozy setting, accompanied by luscious salads and homemade dolci
Syllektiko Paleopolio Asklipiou 41, Tel: 210.364.1718 Antiques of all sorts and restoration services
Art Rat Records Zoodohou Pigis 48, Tel: 210.384.8001 Various vinyls
Medusa Tattoo Kallidromiou 85, Tel: 210.825.4593 Athens’ finest since 1995
Asimenia Bakery
Vinyl Microstore
Beles 1 and Androutsou Tel: 210.924.7655 Raisin bread, almond shortbread, yummy cookies & tasty loaves
Didotou 34, Tel: 210.361.4544 New vinyls & cds; also reissues from the 60s & more
Edodi
Kallidromiou 87-89, Tel: 210.881.1233 Imported second-hand clothes; individuality guaranteed
Veikou 80 , Tel: 210.921.3013 Fresh ingredients presented at your table, then cooked to perfection
Yesterday's Bread
DRINK Circus Bar Navarinou 11, Tel: 210.361.5255 Attracts a hip and happening crowd in a cozy space
Ginger Ale Themistokleous 74, Tel: 210.330.1246 Enjoy a cocktail or a coffee in a retro pop atmosphere
Vox Arahovas 56 & Themistokleous Tel: 210.383.5811, One of the oldest summer cinemas in Athens is a picturesque place for a retro-tinged drink
EAT Butcher’s Shop
EAT
Persefonis 19, Tel: 210.341.3440 Traditional psistaria serving grilled meat dishes
Makriyanni 19-21 , Tel: 210.921.2280 Greek chic coffee and tempting snacks beside the Acropolis Museum www.elaea.gr
Fasoli
Mamacas
Emanouil Benaki 45 , Tel: 210.330.0010 A great meal in an uplifting environment
Gelato-Café
Themistokleous 64, Tel: 210.381.0202 Dine while enjoying live Rebetika music
Persefonis 41, Tel: 210.346.4984 Modern taverna located in an old barrel warehouse offering traditional Greek fare
Elaea Bistrot
Makriyanni 19-21, Tel: 210.923.8124 Homemade ice cream and waffles
62 insider athens | April 2011
Kavouras
Kitrino Podilato Keramikou 116, Tel: 210.346.5830
Triptolemou 46, Tel: 210.342.3809 Excellent cocktails
Grande Dame Persefonis 23, Tel: 210.341.6412 Chic bar serving elaborate champagne cocktails
Nipiagogeio Elasidon & Kleanthous 8 Tel: 210.345.8534, For late-night dancing to funky electronic music
Villa Mercedes Andronikou & Tzaferi 11 Tel: 210.342.2380 Mega club ideal for all-night dancing
Live Greek Music Athinon Arena Pireos 166, Tel: 210.347.1111 The latest in live Greek music acts
Hilton
EAT
SHOP
Gazi
Greece is for Lovers
Exarhia
Dirty Ginger
EAT Alatsi Vrassida 13, Tel: 210.721.0501 Exquisite Cretan specialties
Byzantine Restaurant
Athens Hilton Vas. Sofias 46, Tel: 210.728.1400 Traditional Greek recipes with a Mediterranean twist
To advertise, contact ads@insider-magazine.gr
central Athens
To Varoulko
Jack in the Box
DKNY
Athens Hilton Vas. Sofias 46, Tel: 210.724.4400 Simply prepared local flavours. Guaranteed value for money
Pireos 80, Tel: 210.522.8400 Seafood prepared by Michelin star-winning chef Lefteris Lazarou
Haritos 13, Tel: 210.725.8735 Beautiful wooden toys and more
Solonos 8, Tel: 210.360.3775 Classic American sportswear
Marie Chantal Boutique
Elina Lebessi
Antiques
Spefsippou 11, Tel: 210.722.2029 Old-fashioned chic for little princes and princesses
Iraklitou 13, Tel: 210.363.1731 Ethereal frocks, pretty tea-dresses and accessories from around the world
Kilim Hali
Mouyer
Ermenegildo Zegna
Milos Garden
Vlassis Neandrou 15, Tel: 210.646.3060 & 210.725.6335, Family-run taverna serving traditional Greek food
Kolonaki
Milos
Valaoritou 9 Tel: 210.363.7056 www.kilimhali.gr Antique carpets from around the world
Beauty & Cosmetics Apivita
Kanari 8, Tel: 210.361.7714 Good-quality orthopaedic shoes as well as funkier styles
Fashion Atelier Loukia Kanari 24, Tel: 210.362.7334 Fairytale dresses in lace and embroidery from Greece's doyenne designer
Solonos 26 Tel: 210.364.0560 Shop natural Greek cosmetics, get a prescription cream made up and have a quick massage
Athens Hilton Vas. Sofias 46, Tel: 210.728.1402 Rooftop cocktails in a chic atmosphere
CHILL
Amerikis 19, Tel: 210.360.0516 Smart separates for a work wardrobe
Bespoke Athens
Bespoke Athens Anagnostopoulou 15-17 Tel: 210.364.5518, Made-to-measure suits and shirts from top international tailors
Athens Hilton Vas. Sofias 46, Tel: 210.728.1801 Indoor and outdoor pools, pilates studio, cardio classes and weight-training
Carouzos Kanari 12 , Tel: 210.362.7123 Designer items from Prada, Brioni, Donna Karan, Fendi and other top-flight brands
EAT Funky Gourmet Paramythias 13 and Salaminos, Tel: 210 524 2727 Haute cuisine in art deco interior
Kanari 8, Tel: 210.362.7768 Menswear from Armani, Boss and Allen Edmonds brogues
Kalogirou Patriarchou Ioakim 4, Tel: 210.335.6401 Fetish footwear from Prada, Tod's & Casadei
Kathy Heyndels Patriarchou Ioakeim 21 Tel: 210.729.9966 Greek label selling barely-there gowns and basics with a twist
Coach Tsakalof 28, Tel: 210.362.5669 Leather totes and luggage in easy American style
Deux Hommes
Athiri
Kanari 18, Tel: 210.361.4155 Greece's design ambassadors create structural separates and heavenly bridal gowns. www.deuxhommes.gr
Plataion 15, Tel: 210.346.2983 Greek & Mediterranean cuisine in beautiful surroundings
Diesel Skoufa 3, Tel: 210.362.2748 A treasure trove of denim, and all the hip accoutrements to go with it
Nixon Agisilaou 61B, Tel: 210.346.2077 Burgers, a private cinema & an artsy crowd. Open for brunch on Sundays at noon
Incrocio
Frattina
Hiltonia Health & Wellness Club
Voukourestiou 50 Tel: 210.364.1308 A haven of hip, carrying labels from Balenciaga to Martin Margiela to Marlene Birger
Hugo Boss
Kanari 5, Tel: 210.339.2597 Designer togs for tots Kanari 21, Tel: 210.360.4481 Casual clothing and gifts for kids
Free Shop
Koumbari 8, Tel: 210.361.3603 Suit- and dress-maker to the stars
Bambineria
Galaxy Bar
Skoufa 18, Tel: 210.361.3700 Home of fine fabrics and handsome tailor-finished suits
Giorgio Armani
Children
DRINK
Kerameikos
SHOP
Dior Boutique Hiltonia
Voukourestiou 18-20, Tel: 210 361.3014 High-end designer fashion
insider athens | April 2011
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Insider guide Shop, Eat, Drink & Chill! La Perla
Paul & Shark
Spefsippou 14, Tel: 210.729.9720 Lingerie to flaunt
Anagnostopoulou 6, Tel: 210.339.2334 Casual yachting styles
Lacoste
Preview
Solonos 5, Tel: 210.361.8030 French take on American sportswear
Patriarchou Ioakim 19 Tel: 210.722.4731 High fashion designer shoes
Lanvin Iraklitou 9 Tel: 210.360.8315 Alber Elbaz's gloriously chic take on the classic French couture house
Puma Concept
Linea Piu
Skoufa 62, Tel: 210.364.4300 Distinctive creations by two young Greek women and other international imports
Sekeri 6, Tel: 210 360.6125 Collections from exclusive fashion houses including Chanel, Galliano, Lagerfeld and Sonia Rykiel
Luisa Skoufa 15, Tel: 210.363.5600 Designer emporium stocked with Chloe, Roberto Cavalli, Ralph Lauren, Missoni & more
Marc by Marc Jacobs Xanthou 3, Tel: 210.363.6030 Budget knick-knacks and must-have casuals from America's fashion hero
Nike Tsakalof 34, Tel: 210.363.6188 Trainers, tracksuits and other swooshmarked sports paraphernalia
Kanari 17, Tel: 210.361.0516 International sportswear for all ages
Rere Papa
Thalassa Collection Patriarchou Ioakim 30-32 Tel: 210.725.8525 Original silk designs for scarves, ties, shawls & blouses
Vlassis Holevas Anagnostopoulou 19 Tel: 210.361.6167, Elegant fashion with a contemporary twist
Cake
La Fenetre Irodotou 21, Tel: 210.723.5029 Elegant objects and sophisticated gifts for the house, mostly from France
Parousiasi Patriarchou Ioakim 33, Tel: 210.723.7656, A range of international brands in crystal, china and other eye-catching homeware accessories
Jewellery Apriati Pindarou 29, Tel: 210.360.7878 Smartly designed necklaces, bracelets and rings
Elena Votsi Xanthou 7, Tel: 210.360.0936 Conversation-starting pieces in gold and stone
Folli Follie
Kylix Karneadou 20, Tel: 210.724.5143 Quality picks from the world’s best vineyards; including Greek labels
Wine Garage Xenokratous 25, Tel: 210.721.3175 Browser-friendly cava with helpful service
Gadgets Observatery Attitudes
Bakeries & Patisseries
Koumbari 5, Tel: 210.362.0483 Classis silver and crystal ideal for wedding gifts
Patriarchou Ioakim 23 Tel: 210.721.1762, Unique collection of animal and insect pins & earrings
Ypsilantou 13-15, Tel: 210.725.1050 Comprehensive wine and liquor wholesalers
64 insider athens | April 2011
Christofle
Fanourakis
Cava Anthidis
Solonos 9, Tel: 210.364.6910 The ultimate fashion store www.attitudes.gr
EAT
Fleria
Food & Wine
Observatory Attitudes
Home
Flowers Patriarchou Ioakim 35 Tel: 210.722.9697
Octopus Solonos 15, Tel: 210.363 6677 Quirky designs with a sense of humour
central Athens
Irodotou 15, , Tel: 210.721.2253 For real American homemade cheesecake, brownies and more
Fresh Kriezotou 12, Tel: 210.364.2948/ Loukianou 21, Tel: 210.729.3453 Desserts and cakes
Restaurants 7 Thalasses Omirou 11, Tel: 210.362.4825 Fresh fish with refined service
Al Milanese Xenokratous 49, Tel: 210.729.4111 Authentic Italian cuisine for the discerning
Altamira (Multi-ethnic) Tsakalof 36A, Tel: 210 361 4695 Flavours of multiethnic cuisine
Altro Haritos 39, Tel: 210.724.2717 Tiny funky restaurant that specializes in Italian food
Boschetto Evangelismos Park, Tel: 210.721.0893 Italian food in a lush central setting
Tsakalof 6 & Solonos 25 Tel: 210.323.0739, Greece's high-street export stocks affordable watches and everyday bijoux
Cafe Boheme
Liana Vourakis
Coo
Pindarou 42, Tel: 210.361.7705 For unique baptism and wedding gifts, start here
Dinokratous 1, Tel: 210.725.4008 A Mykonos favourite now in Athens
Lylian Syrigou
Tsakalof 6, Tel: 210.894.7040 New-age Cretan specialties
Anagnostopoulou 12, Tel: 210.361.3350 Handcrafted bijoux and one-off designer pieces. www.liliansyrigou.gr
Magia Haritos 18, Tel: 210.724.0697 Ileana Makri's silver jewellery amid eclectic pieces from New York
Oxette Skoufa 37, Tel: 210.339.0547 Trendy, affordable jewellery
Omirou 36, Tel: 210.360.8018 Welcoming nook with Greek cooking and more-ish cocktails
Dakos
Eclipse (Bar restaurant) Alopekis 21, Tel: 210 364 1545 Fabulous cocktails and creative Mediterranean cuisine by Yiannis Baxevannis
Filipou Xenokratous 19, Tel: 210.721.6390 Home-cooked Greek taverna dishes
Frame
Gifts
Ozzi
Benaki Museum Gift Shop
Skoufa 30, Tel: 210.364.2139 Greek silver fashion jewellery
St George Lycabettus Hotel Dinokratous , Tel: 210.721.4368 Exotic cuisine in the heart of Athens
Van Cleef & Arpels
Freud Oriental
Pindarou 42, Tel: 210.331.1107 The jeweller of the international jetset
Xenokratous 21, Tel: 210.729.9595 Sushi in a cool setting
Vas. Sofias & Koumbari Tel: 210.367.1045, Artefacts and jewellery inspired by the museum’s exhibits
Inbi
P-BOX
TGI Friday’s
Iraklitou 21, Tel: 210.339.2090 Sushi fusion
Haritos 24, Periscope hotel Tel: 210 7298556, Simple ingredients, special flavours in a setting designed by Theodore Zoumboulakis
Kolokotroni 35, Kefalari sq. Tel: 210.623.3945 American restaurant with real steak and barbecue sauce!
Jackson Hall Milioni 4, Tel: 210.361.6098 Gourmet burgers with all the fixings
Kalamaki Kolonaki Ploutarhou 32, Tel: 210.721.8800 Souvlakia on the sidewalk have never been so trendy
Kiku Dimokritou 12, Tel: 210.364.7033 Fresh, beautifully presented sushi
L'Abreuvoir Xenokratous 51, Tel: 210.722.9106 Fine French cuisine
Le Grand Balcon St George Lycabettus Hotel, Kleomenous 2, Tel: 210.729.0711 Gourmet Greek cuisine
Pizza Pommodoro
DRINK
Alopekis 9, Tel: 210.729.6500 Great Italian specialties
Bars, Clubs & Lounges
Prytaneion
Kolonaki Square, Tel: 210.724.5938 The place to see & be seen while sipping on coffee or cocktails
Milioni 7, Tel: 210.364.3353 Generous portions of Mediterranean fare
Ratka Haritos 32, Tel: 210.729.0746 Popular haunt of the rich and almost famous, with cosmopolitan cuisine
Sale e Pepe Aristipou 34, Tel: 210.723.4102 Authentic Italian trattoria
Central
Mai Tai Ploutarhou 18, , Tel: 210.725.8306 Early evening cocktails in a laid-back atmosphere
Ten Ploutarhou 10, Tel: 210.321.7836 One of the most popular hot spots in town
W Kanari 24, Tel: 697.270.0712 Private seating areas, speciality cocktails & exclusives events
CafĂŠs Da Capo Tsakalof 1, Tel: 210.243.3902 Long-established people-watching hangout
central Athens CHILL La Prairie Day Spa Kanari 24, Tel: 210.360.1550 High-tech beauty treatments in a clinical setting
Mavili Sq
To advertise, contact ads@insider-magazine.gr
DRINK Balthazar Tsoha 27, Tel: 210.644.1215 Lovely garden and chic interior attracts a cool crowd
Baraonda Tsoha 43, Tel: 210.644.4308 Gourmet cuisine and funky beats
Briki Dorileou 6, Mavili sq. Tel: 210.654.2380 Trendy hole-in-the-wall hangout
Flower Dorileou 2, Mavili sq. Tel: 210.643.2111, Fun, funky and affordable watering hole
Peros Kolonaki Square, Tel: 210.364.5068 Enjoy a cup of java if you can find a spot
Tea To Tsai Magirevontas ti Mesoghio
Scala Vinoteca
Vissarionos 9, Tel: 210.338.97.41 Authentic home cooked food with mediterranean flavors for just 15 euros per person
Sina 50, Tel: 210.361.0041 Mediterranean restaurant ideal for wining & dining
Mi Sueno
Milioni 12, Tel: 210.364.6460 Missoni-designed interiors, serving unique Mediterranean flavours
Akadimias 30, Tel: 210.361.6271 Tapas & other Spanish specialties
Orizontes Lycavyttou Lycabettus Hill, Tel: 210.722.7065. Gourmet dining with a spectacular view
To Tsai
Showroom
Square Sushi
Karneadou 25-26, Tel: 210.729.5484 Traditional Greek appetizers & ouzo
Deinokratous 65, Tel: 210.725.5236 High-quality sushi & other Japanese favourites
Papadakis
Ta Kioupia
Fokilidou 15 & Voukourestiou 47A Tel: 210.360.8621 Paros' legendary gourmet restaurant serving seafood in the heart of Athens
Dinokratous & An Polemou 22 Tel: 210.740.0150 Superb set menu of Greek classics with refined touches
Ouzadiko
Soutsou & Likavitou, Tel: 210.338.8941 Tea & tea paraphernalia from around the world
Baraonda
insider athens | April 2011
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Insider guide EAT Fuga Vas.Sofias & Kokkali 1, Tel: 210 724 2979 Italian inspired menu by chef Andrea Berton at the Athens Concert Hall
Ginger Dorileou 10-12, Tel: 210.645.1169 Original dishes and innovative combinations in an elegant atmosphere
St’Astra
Praxitelous 30, Tel: 210.323.2671 Hearty stews & pasta dishes at reasonable prices
Paleovivliopolio Hiotakis
Kol Tuv
Normanou 7 Tel: 210.324.7835 Historic bookshop houses rare & old books
EAT Bairaktaris Monastiraki Square 2 Tel: 210.321.3036 Old-world taverna serving traditional Greek fare
Normanou 4, Tel: 210.524.4049 The only kosher restaurant in Athens serving traditional shabat meals
Meïdanis Sokratous 3 & Evripidou Tel: 210.324.9073, A menu that is sure to please with speciality oven dishes
Savvas Mitropoleos 86, Tel: 210.321.9919 Gyros & Middle Eastern dishes like pastourmali
Sigalas-Bairaktaris
Thanassis
Karavitis
Adrianou 23, Tel: 210.321.3229 Mediterranean fare right next to the ancient agora
EAT Polly Maggoo
Brachera
DRINK
Avissynias 3, Tel: 210.321.7202 Traditional Greek recipes with a European twist overlooking the Acropolis & Observatory
Orea Ellas
Café Avyssinias Kynetou 7, Tel: 210.321.7407 Spcializing in regional dishes & live music on weekends
SHOP Antiques Darousos Normanou 7 Tel: 210.331.1638 Small antique shop in the heart of the flea market
Pandrosou 36, Tel: 210.321.3842 An eclectic cafe & bookshop
Ivikou 8 & Eratosthenous Tel: 210.722.2774 Natural Greek products made using Mediterranean herbs
EAT
Efroniou 5, Tel: 210.721.7421 Greek food & political gossip Arktinou & Pausaniou Tel: 210.721.5155 Classic Greek cuisine in a dining room lined with wine casks
Magemenos Avlos Amynta 4, Tel: 210.722.3195 Mediterranean fare, welcoming decor & generous servings Antinoros 42, Tel: 210.725.8666 Spanish cuisine & live music
Spondi
SHOP Department Stores
Pyrronos 5, Tel: 210.756.4021 A mix of European & more exotic flavours. Voted one of the best in Athens
Hondos Center Omonia Square, Tel: 210.528.2800 Cosmetics, perfumes, luggage, clothing, & much, much more
EAT Ideal Restaurant
Arapian
Panepistimiou 46, Tel: 210.330.3000 Greek classics in old-world decor
Evripidou 41, Tel: 210.321.7238 Old-style butcher shop offers interesting sausages, pasturma & smoked meats
Bacaro Sophokleous 1 & Aristidou Tel: 210.321.1882, Lavish Italian and contemporary dishes
Bahar
66 insider athens | April 2011
Korres
Puerte de Espana
Food & Wine
Evripidou 31, Tel: 210.321.7225 Well-known herb haven
Beauty & Cosmetics
Evforionos 13 & Eratosthenous Tel: 210.756.6008, Greek cuisine with a menu that changes daily
Fatsio
To Kouti
SHOP
Cucina Povera
Monastiraki Sq. 2, Tel: 210.321.3036 Century-old restaurant serving a variety of fresh dishes Mitropoleos 69, Tel : 210.324.4705 A souvlaki lover’s paradise
Leonidou 80 & Salaminos, Tel: 210 524 1120 Gourmet cuisine in a postmodern and industrial setting. New hot spot for the trendy
Monastiraki
Doris
Evripidou 45, Tel: 210.321.7187 Sausages, pastrami & cured meats
Omonia
Metaxurgeio
Alexadras 10, Tel: 210.889.4500 For an unforgettable roof-top dining experience
Miran
central Athens
Pangrati
Shop, Eat, Drink & Chill!
Athinaikon Bahar
Themistokleous 2, Tel: 210.383.8485 A traditional Greek ouzeri
Spondi
Trata o Stelios Anagenniseos Sq. 7-9, Tel: 210.729.1533 The best grilled fish in town
Plaka
To advertise, contact ads@insider-magazine.gr SHOP
Home
Antique stores
Notoshome
Maritinos Pandrosou 50 Tel: 210.321.2414 Specializes in 19th Century folk art, embroidery & furniture
Food & wine Mesogaia
Kratinou 5, Tel: 210.374.3000 Home décor superstore
EAT Cantuccio Lepeniotou & Ivis 1 Tel: 210.323.3670 Authentic Italian cuisine in a friendly environment
Diporto
Nikis 52, Tel: 210.322.9146 Packaged & fresh speciality foods
Theatrou & Sokratous Tel: 210.321.1463 Old-world tavern offers bargain basics like salads, sardines & fava
Gifts
Kouzina Cine-Psirri
Amorgos Kodrou 3, Tel: 210.324.3836 Hand-carved & painted furniture
Nara Nara
Ochre & Brown
Nikis 48, Tel: 210.322.2839 Creative gourmet dishes that change monthly
Daphne’s Restaurant Lysikratous 4, Tel: 210.322.7971 Refined classic Greek dishes in a resplendent atmosphere
Electra Nikodimou 18-20, Tel: 210.337.0000 Roof-top dining with Greek cuisine
Platanos Diogenous 4, Tel: 210.322.0666 One of the few remaining tavernas preserving 1940s Athens
Scholarheio Tripodon 14, Tel: 210.324.1605 A traditional tray taverna with old fashioned decor & prices
Ydria Adrianou 68 & Eolou Tel: 210.325.1619 Taditional Greek cuisine
SHOP Fashion Christoforos Kotentos Sachtouri 3, Tel: 210.325.5434 Glamorous & unique designs
Leokoriou 7, Tel: 210.331.2950 Mediterranean/French cuisine
Books
Gadgets
Eleftheroudakis
Public
Panepistimiou 17, Tel: 210.325.8440 The largest foreign language bookstore in Greece
Gifts
Stadiou 28, Tel: 210.322.2160 Mostly French books and small selection of English fiction
Argalios
Attica
Bars, Clubs & Lounges
Panepistimiou 9, Tel: 211.180.2600 Home to an array of luxury goods
Soul
Fokas
Evripidou 65, Tel: 210.331.0907 Show off your groovy disco moves
Stadiou 41, Tel: 210.325.7770 Clothes, shoes and accessories for men, women & children
SHOP Accessories Bag Stories Panepistimiou 41, Tel: 210.323.7405 Luggage & travel bags by Tumi, Porsche Design, Rimowa & Delsey
Antiques Antiqua
Vassilis Amalias 2-4, Tel: 210.323.2220 One of the oldest antique stores in Athens
Beauty & Cosmetics MAC Ermou 44, Tel: 210.325.8260 International cosmetic brand for women who like to play with colour
Syntagma Square, Tel: 210.324.6210, Five floors of gaming, gadgets & books
Kauffman
Department Stores
DRINK
Syntagma
2 Mazi
Psyrri
Sari 44, Tel: 210.321.5534 Mediterranean fare & eclectic music Karaiskaki 26,, Tel: 210.331.2091 Lebanese food & dancing
EAT
central Athens
Stock House & Travel Ermou 45, Tel: 210.324.7732 Outlet store featuring brands from Parousiasi, Cook Shop & Bag Stories
Fashion - Men’s Pagoni Akadimias 61, Tel: 210.363.9277 Selling ties and cufflinks since 1933
Flowers Dromoloulouda Voulis 15, Tel: 210.323.2321 Specializing in arrangements with wild flowers, many indigenous to Greece
Food & Wine Aristokratikon Karageorgi Servas 9, Tel: 210.322.0546 Handmade chocolates
Cellier Kriezotou 1, Tel: 210.361.0040 Speciality wine shop
Filellinon 7, Tel: 210.322.2659 Hand-woven fabrics & souvenirs since 1940
Graf Von Faber-Castell Boutique Panepistimiou 41, Tel: 210.321.8564 Traditional hand-held writing utensils
Kori Mitropoleos 13, Tel: 210.323.3534 Traditional & contemporary jewellery
Psarros 1917 Stadiou 3, Tel: 210.322.0908 Executive gifts and smoking accessories
Home Baccarat Voukourestiou 21, Tel: 210.362.2863 Fine crystal from the venerable French luxury house
Jewellery Apriati Pentelis 9 & Mitropoleos, Tel: 210.322.9020 Smartly designed necklaces, bracelets and rings
Bulgari Voukourestiou 8, Tel: 210.324.7118 Opulent designs in jewellery, watches & accessories
Cartier Voukourestiou 7, Tel: 210.331.3600 Two floors of designs & timepieces by the prestigious Cartier maison
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Insider guide Gofas
Vassilis Zoulias Old Athens
Stadiou 3, Tel: 210.331.7540 High-end timepieces
Akadimias 30, Tel: 210.361.4762 Handmade shoes and handbags inspired by films of the 50s & 60s
Ilias Lalaounis Panepistimiou 6, Tel: 210.361.1371 Fabulous gold designs by famous Greek jeweller
Stadiou 2 & Vas. Georgiou 210.325.0555 Legendary time pieces and jewellery.
Folli Follie
Explorer’s Lounge
Panepistimiou 7, Tel: 210.323.2919 Wide range of luxury brand timepieces
Panepistimiou 10, Tel: 210.363.8525 Excellent dishes accompany the extensive list of international wines
NJV Athens Plaza, Syntagma Square, 210.335.2400, Magnificent cocktails and live jazz in an intimate atmosphere
Marathianakis
Dosirak
Voukourestiou 21, Tel: 210.362.7118 Old-world shop known for its original & elegant designs
Voulis 31-33, Tel: 210.323.3330 Japanese & Korean cuisine in the heart of Athens
Zolotas
Nikis 58 & Kydathynaion Tel: 210.322.2839 Traditional Greek cuisine combined with modern elements
Panepistimiou 10, Tel: 210.360.1272 Designs inspired by the antique & classical periods as well as contemporary collections by designers like Paloma Picasso
Shoes
To Ergastirio to Baxevani
Far East Stadiou 7, Tel: 210.323.4996 A mix of Asian cuisines in elegant surroundings
Furin Kazan Apollonos 2, Tel: 210.322.9170 A Japanese favourite of expats & Athenians alike
GB Corner
The concierge of the Grande Bretagne Hotel in Syntagma Square recommends:
Club Eat See
Boutique
Cellier Le Bistrot
Ermou 63, Tel: 210.322.7590 Pick up a pair of Manolo’s at half price!
George Economou collection at the new municipal gallery in Metaxourgeio Spondi, 2 star Michelin restaurant in Pangrati Cibus for Greek cuisine and Acropolis view in the Nat.Gardens Varoulko Michelin star with gourmet fish cuisine in Gazi Papadakis good island cuisine in Kolonaki Vanilla Club at Kanari 24 Villa Mercedes at Andronicou & Zafeiri 11, Rouf Messiah Rebirth at Karneadou 25 in Kolonaki Baraonda, Tsocha 43, Ambelokoipi
68 insider athens | April 2011
Bars, Clubs & Lounges Filellinon 15, Tel: 210.323.1315 Popular Athenian night spot
Spiliopoulos
Ermou 18, Tel: 210.323.0739 Trendy & affordable jewellery & accessories
DRINK
EAT
Kessaris
Chopard
central Athens
Hotel Grand Bretagne Syntagma Square, Tel: 210.333.0750 Luxurious surroundings, Mediterranean cuisine
Ioannis Royal Olympic Hotel Ath. Diakou 28-34, Tel: 210.928.8400 Greek & Mediterranean cuisine with breathtaking views from the rooftop
Multi 22 Ermou 116 & Leokoriou Tel: 210.331.6766 Italian fare served in a neoclassical house
Noodle Bar Apollonos 11, Tel: 210.331.8585 A congenial place to drop in for a quick noodle fix
Parliament Vas. Georgiou A & Stadiou Tel: 210.335.2400 International cuisine with Mediterranean accents
Paul Panepistiomiou 10, Tel: 210.722.4824 A true French patisserie
Kalua Amerikis 6, Tel: 210.360.8304 Dance the night away in a chic environment
T Palace King George Palace Syntagma Square, Tel: 210.322.2210 Sophisticated atmosphere for mingling & people-watching
CHILL GB Spa Syntagma Square, Tel: 210.333.0799 Award-winning spa featuring treatments by E’SPA,Valmont & Algoane
Holmes Place Stadiou 4 & Voukourestiou Tel: 210.325.9400, Fully equipped health club with excellent array of classes
The Palace Spa Syntagma Square, Tel: 210.374.3590 Ideal for rejuvenation after a long flight or a hectic bout of shopping
Syngrou
Zolotas pendant in gold with diamonds
Shop, Eat, Drink & Chill!
EAT Peacock Hotel Hera, Falirou 9, Tel: 210 923 6682 Traditional food with an inventive dash and breathtaking Acropolis views
Kollias
Syngrou Ave. 303 Tel: 210 940 8620 Diverse excellent seafood in a pleasant Mediterranean atmosphere
central & Southern Athens
To advertise, contact ads@insider-magazine.gr Plous Podilatou
Syngrou Ave. 156, Tel: 210 923 2918 Original seafood dishes, fresh ingredients and simple elegant interior
Ak. Koumoundourou 42 Tel: 210.413.7910 Sumptuous seafood & mouth-watering deserts on the waterfront
Kona Kai Athens Ledra Marriott, Syngrou Ave. 115, Tel: 210 930 0000 Polynesian, Teppanyaki and Sushi cuisine in an original luxury setting
Café Zoe
Tony Bonano Papanastasiou 63, Tel: 210.411.1901 Italian cuisine with a view of the harbour
Athenaeum InterContinental, Syngrou Ave 89-93 Casual dining and terrific buffets for lunch and on Sundays Tel: 210 920 6655
Vassilenas
Première
Ak. Koumoundourou 48 Tel: 210.417.5152 Fresh seafood on the quay
EAT Indian Masala (Indian) Ermou 129, Tel: 210 321 9412 Amazing Indian food at affordable price in a pleasant environment
Kirki
Apostoplou Pavlou 31 Tel: 210.346.6960 Ideal for a lunch break
Kuzina Adrianou 9, Tel: 210.324.0133 Inspired traditional recipes in a cozy arty environment
Piraeus
SOUTHERN ATHENS EAT Captain John's Ak. Koumoundourou 16A, Tel: 210.417.7589 Traditional seafood
Dourambeis Ak. Protopsalti 29, Tel: 210.412.2092 Classic fish taverna
Jimmy and The Fish
Ak. Mikrolimanou, Tel: 210.413.4084. Excellent seafood; try the astakomakaronada
Kollias Plastira 3, Tel: 210.462.9620 Excellent seafood but difficult to find; reserve on weekends
Zefyros
Zorbas Ak. Koumoundourou 14 Tel: 210.411.1163 Unique flavours of the Mediterranean
DRINK
Food & Wine
Big Apple South
All about Whisky
Posidonos 1, Tel: 210.948.5190 Casual cocktails in a modern atmosphere
Vas. Georgiou B' 10 Tel: 210.968.1191, Specialty shop with a large selection of single malts, books, & anything to do with whisky
Zinc “Flisvos” Marina, Tel: 210.985.3183 Cocktails whith music
Zythos Eleftherias 45, Tel: 210.985.0478 Reminiscent of an Irish pub with several beers to choose from
SHOP Books Eleftheroudakis Lazaraki 27, Tel: 210.325.8440 Book superstore with a large selection of English titles
Fashion Enny di Monaco
Iguana
Provence Posidonos 80, Tel: 210.898.1435 Gourmet French delicatessen
EAT Ache Kypriou 57, Tel: 210.894.2949 International cuisine & delectable deserts
Aioli Restaurant Artemidos 9, Tel: 210.894.0181 Mediterranean cuisine with an excellent “secret” seafood sauce
Amigos Kyprou 65A, Tel: 210.898.3167 Mexican flavours in a friendly setting
Bayern Bierhaus Microbrewery Chr. Nezer 19, Tel: 210.894.4439 Authentic German cuisine
Laodikis 41, Tel: 210.894.0153 Carefully selected designs by various international designers
Beer Academy
Ensayar Donna
Beirut
Kyprou 55, Esperidon Square Tel: 210.894.3034 Top lines from leading designers with an English touch
Saki Karayiorya 13, Tel: 210.894.3169 Lebanese cuisine & entertainment
Obervatory Attitudes
Bereket
Kitchen Bar
A. Panagouli 17, Tel: 210.894.2113 The ultimate fashion store www.attitudes.gr
Mikras Asias & Lefkosias 36 Tel: 210.960.9337 Traditional dishes from Asia Minor
Poseidonos 3, Tel: 210.981.2004 Comfort food overlooking the sea
Jewellery
Le Petit Sommelier
ZerTeo
Zaimi 6, Tel: 210.984.2344 French cuisine & excellent wine list
Metaxa 24-26, Tel: 210.894.6682 Unique jewellery designs
Ak. Dilaveri 15, Tel: 210.407.8861 Playing disco & techno tracks until 6am
N. Zerva 14, Tel: 210.898.0121 International cuisine in a cozy setting
Istioploikos Ak. Microlimanou, Tel: 210.413.4084 One of the hip places to see and be seen with a rooftop bar overlooking the yachting marina
Katafigio Ak. Koumoundourou 4 Tel: 210.413.1612 Club, cafe & beer house
Faliro
Thissio
Athenaeum InterContinental, Syngrou Ave 89-93, Tel : 210 920 6981 Gourmet cuisine with splendid views
Etolikou 72 & Vitolion Tel: 210.461.2457 Friendly food and atmosphere
DRINK
Glyfada
AiNikolas
EAT Il Tinello Knossou 54, Tel: 210.982.8462 Real Italian home cooking
Iskandar
Amphitheas 6 & Poseidonos Tel: 210.988.6474 Authentic Indian cuisine
Far East Lazaraki 61, Tel: 210.894.0500 A mix of Asian cuisines in elegant surroundings
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Insider guide Shop, Eat, Drink & Chill! Kiliza
Vincenzo
Konstantinopoleos 13 Tel: 210.894.4648 Delicious kebabs & decadent deserts
Giannitsopoulou 1, Tel: 210.894.1310 Value for money Italian specialities with a Southern Italian touch
Lefkosias 42A, Tel: 210.963.85770 Authentic Italian pizza made in a traditional wood-burning oven
La pêche Posidonos 58, Tel: 210.894.1620 Creative seafood dishes combining Greek & French techniques
Meat Square (Grill) Lambrakis 63 & Ag. Nikolaou, Tel: 210 961 1160 Juicy steaks in pleasant family environment
Molly Malone's Zannitsopoulou 8, Tel: 210.894.4247 Irish pub serving probably the best Irish Stew in Athens
Tartare Panagouli 52, Tel: 210.968.0320 Quality French cuisine
DRINK Bars, Clubs & Lounges Babae Posidonos 88, Tel: 210.894.1629 Beachfront dancing all night long
Balux Posidonos 58, Tel: 210.898.3577 Waterfront lounging
Capri Bay Grigoriou Lambraki 2 Tel: 210.894.9995, Excellent cocktails in a Moroccan style garden
Cafes Chocolat Zisimopoulou 9, Tel: 210.894.3442 Satisfies even the most discerning coffee connoisseur
Cosi
Il Segreto
Zisimopoulou 12, Tel: 210.894.5746 One of the first cafes to inspireGlyfada's coffee culture
Bizaniou 3, Tel: 210.965.9526 Authentic Italian set on a beautiful terrace
Nest Café Bar
CHILL
Lazaraki 45, Tel: 210.898.6035 An all-day hangout for locals & visitors
Seiza
Ithaki Stunning view, live piano music and chef Clessienne’s sea-inspired cuisine Lambros Combines waterfront freshness and the casual atmosphere of a traditional Greek fish tavern. Attica Mall One-stop mall in the heart of the city-centre Golden Hall 41.000 sq meters of shopping therapy hosting 131 fashion brands Scuba diving at Athina Diving a dive resort on the beach at the 38km on the Athens-Sounio road Sailing to Aegina just 45 minutes by motor boat for an island experience
Did you know: .… the Lake of Vouliagmeni is about 50 cms above sea level and is replenished by the hot springs beneath it? A small freshwater lake fed by underground currents seeping through the mass of Mount Hymmetus, it maintains a constant 24 degrees celsius temperature all year long and functions as a year-round spa.
70 insider athens | April 2011
Lazaraki 45, Tel: 210.968.0545 Cafe with a unique style & hip design
The House Project Posidonos 58A, Tel: 210.898.3577 A beach house turned lounge with all the amenities of a home.
Live Music Thalassa People's Stage Posidonos 58, Tel: 210.898.2979 Live Greek acts in a club atmosphere attracting a young crowd
Voula
Sip
Zen Moorings Great for coffee or a meal by megayachts in the Vouliagmeni marina En Plo Meeting place for a coffee, meal or drink in Vouliagmeni bay Matsuhisa Athens Pre-dinner cocktails to an assortment of sushi for a true omakase experience
Do Eat
The concierge of the Arion, A Luxury collection Resort & Spa in Vouliagmeni recommends:
EAT Dream Grill V. Pavlou 78, Tel: 210.895.5110 Traditional recipes & authentic taste
Dvlcis in Fvndo
Prinkipos Petrou 33, Tel: 210.894.2136 Top-quality authentic Italian
Genovese Vas. Pavlou 99, Tel: 210.895.8400 Italian eats al fresco
Naiades Vas. Pavlou 74, Tel: 210.965.7706 Popular family grill joint
Vari Sports Club Vari-Koropiou & Kalamatos 1 Tel: 210.899.0048 www.varisportsclub.com
Vouliagmeni
La Casa Di Giorgino
Southern & Northern Athens
EAT Café Tabac Margi Hotel, Litous 11, Tel: 210.967.0924 Delicious variations of Mediterranean food
Da Luciano Posidonos 17, Tel: 210.896.2217 Trattoria serving traditional Italian dishes & pizza
Al Fresco The Westin, 40, Tel: 210.890.1709, Enjoy a romantic meal of creative Italian cuisine
Grill Room
Apollonos 40, Tel: 210.890.1794, Mediterranean & seafood flavours on a breathtaking veranda, in the Astir complex
Ithaki Apollonos 28, Tel: 210.896.3747 Beautiful sea view, fresh seafood & great service
Louizidis Ermou 2, Tel: 210.896.0591 Traditional Greek taverna popular with the locals
Southern & Northern Athens
To advertise, contact ads@insider-magazine.gr
Matsuhisa Athens Astir Palace, Apollonos 40, Tel: 210.896.0510, Celebrity chef Nobu Matsuhisa serves up sushi favourites with a Latin-American flair
Mezza Luna Orpheos 2, Tel: 210.967.1046 Chic Italian restaurant
Mythos of the Sea Ag. Nikolaou 10 & Iliou Tel: 210.891.1100 Gourmet Mediterranean cuisine that blends local produce with fresh seafood
Oro Toro Varis-Koropiou 73, Tel: 210.899.4514 A taste of Argentinian cuisine in a cosy atmosphere
Psaraki Posidonos 15, Tel: 210.896.2432 Seafood served in an informal setting
Schara Posidonos 15, Tel: 210.896.2432 Grills with frills in a friendly setting at reasonable prices
Waffle House Posidonos 17, Tel: 210.896.1227 Sure to satisfy your sweet tooth
DRINK En Plo Posidonos 4, , Tel: 210.967.1770 Cocktails overlooking Vouliagmeni Bay
Island 27th klm Athinon-Souniou Tel: 210.965.3809 Award-winning cuisine & an unmatched location with views of the Saronic Gulf
Sofa Bar
NORTHERN ATHENS
Novo Romantico di Antonio
Bakaliko Ola Ta Kala
EAT
25th Martiou 21, Tel: 210 689 6891 Authentic Italian cuisine with a modern twist
Kifissias 238-240, Mela Shopping Centre, Tel: 210.808.9908 Quality Greek delicacies
Da Vinci
Saipan
Il Salumaio di Montena Poleone
K.Varnali 9, Tel: 210 685 0644 Exquisite dishes from China, Japan and Indonesia
Panagitsas 3, Tel: 210.623.3934 Milan based company selling high quality produce
1920
Sorpresa Italiana
Ag. Ioannou 23, Tel: 210 600 0102 Delightful dishes in fantastic ambience
Nanninela Peloponnissou 13 Tel: 210 600 5622 Authentic Italian cuisine in traditional decor
Olio by Portofino Ag. Ioannou 63, Tel: 210 639 1666, Mediterranean flavours in a chic interior
EAT Apsendi Kifissias 250-254 & Serres Tel: 210 671 7890 Refined cuisine and cocktails in stylish urban atmosphere
L’Enoteca Pendelis 133, Tel: 210 689 0238 Choice of 600 wines to accompany memorable meals
Almyra Filikis Eterias 39, Tel: 210 6819109 Refined seafood and magical summer garden
Dalí Kifissias 336, Tel: 210 685 4004 Multi-ethnic cuisine with original suggestions in arty set-up
CHILL
K.Varnali 6,, Tel: 210 689 2015 Delightful gastronomic tour in a relaxing atmosphere
Divani Apollon Palace & Spa Ag. Nikolaou 10, Tel: 210.891.1100
Sokratous 23, Tel: 210 683 9348 Imaginative parade of seafood and fresh fish
SHOP
Stefanidis Finest Foods Dimitrios Square 13, Tel: 210.808.2191 Excellent European delicatessen
Varsos
Beauty & Cosmetics
Kassaveti 5, Tel: 210.801.2472 Milk products & patisserie
Nyhi-Nyhi
Vinifera
Kifissias 230 Tel: 210.623.2824 Stop by for a quick mani-pedi
Fashion
21 Kifissia Kifissias 265, Tel: 210.801.3594 Extreme sport parafernelia
Gap Kifissias 328, , Tel: 210.623.1571 Casual American fashion
Vassilis Zoulias Argyropoulou 1-3, Tel: 210.801.7023 Unique designs reminiscent of times past
Food & Wine Aristokratikon Argyropoulou 8, , Tel: 210.801.6533 Decadent handmade chocolates
Kifissias 317, Tel: 210.807.7709 Selection of wines from all over the world
EAT Acqua Azzurra Panagitsas 3, Tel: 210.623.3934 Specially-prepared Italian meals
Apla 135 Charilaou Trikoupi Tel: 210.620.3102 Chrysanthos Karamolegos creates refined Mediterranean dishes
Barceloneta Kifissias 267, Tel: 210.801.3448 Spanish cuisine in a fun atmosphere
Berdema Vas Amalias 20, Tel: 210.801.3853 Traditional dishes from Greece & Asia Minor
Ag. Georgiou 30’B, Tel: 210 685 9690 Mexican food in traditional setting
Golden Phoenix
Astir Complex, Apollonos 40 Tel: 210.890.2000
Psaroma
Kiriazi 6-8, Tel: 210.801.7886, Authentic fresh Italian pasta, sauces, truffles & more
Santa Fe
The Westin Hotel Apollonos 40, Tel: 210.890.1709 Modern lounge bar serving up delectable cocktails
Arion Spa
Ag. Paraskevi 110, Tel: 210 681 3029 Accent on meat in an elegant setting
Kifissia
Apollonos 28, Tel: 210.967.1184 Traditionally prepared seafood dishes presented exquisitely
Halandri Ag.Paraskevi
Maistrali
Leof. Pendelis 85, Tel: 210 682 5017 Asian cuisine and sushi bar in luxury environment
Kitchen Bar
Meat Square Ethnikis Antistaseos 9-11, Tel: 210 683 1300, Juicy steaks in pleasant family environment
Matsuhisa Athens
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Insider guide Shop, Eat, Drink & Chill!
Northern Athens
Common Secret
Nargile
Tike
Aneton
Kifissias 324, Tel: 210.623.3810 Coffee and light Mediterranean meals in a pleasant setting
Harilaou Trikoupi 50 Tel: 210.808.3333 Lebanese cuisine in a cosmopolitan ambiance
Harilaou Trikoupi 27, Tel: 210.808.4418 Watch chefs prepare Turkish kebabs and other treats before your eyes
Stratigou Lekka 19, Tel: 210.806.6700 Traditional cuisine in a comfy-chic setting reminiscent of the 50s & 60s
Dos Hermanos
O Tzitzikas Ki O Mermigas
Vardis
El Taco Bueno
Kyriazi 24, Tel: 210.808.7906 Excellent Mexican food & super margaritas
Drosini 12-14, Tel: 210.623.0080 A modern taverna serving traditional dishes at reasonable prices
Deligianni 66, Pentelikon Hotel Tel: 210.623.0650-6, Cornerstone of French cuisine in Greece
Ethnikis Antistaseos & Psaron 1 Tel: 210.684.0460 Mexican flavours in a traditional setting
DRINK
Jaipur Palace
Dragoumi & Andrianou 28 Tel: 210 623 3900, Gourmet cuisine with Mediterranean influences by chef Christos Markopoulos in a cool urban setting
Piazza Mela
Gefsis Me Onomasia Proelefsis
Kolokotroni 37, Tel: 210.808.9160 Generous portions of
Kifissias 317, Tel: 210.800.1402 Divine food from all over the world
Kifissias 238, Mela Shopping Centre Tel: 210.623.6596, Classic & traditional Italian dishes
Prytaneion
Mediterranean fare
Golden Phoenix
Royal Thai
Harilaou Trikoupi & Gortinias Tel: 210.801.3588, Chinese classic popular for the brunch buffet
Zirini 12, Tel: 210.623.2322 Thai cuisine in an opulent setting
Gourounakia Kifissias
Panagitsas 3, Tel: 210.623.3934 Authentic Italian food & fabulous deserts
Kifissias 289, Tel: 210.801.1093 Delicious salads, appetizers, souvlakia & grilled platters
Ichthyes
Salumaio di Atene
Semiramis Restaurant
Evagelistrias 36, Tel: 210.620.1572 Seafood taverna
Semiramis Hotel, Harilaou Trikoupi 48, Tel: 210.628.4500 Mediterranean cuisine in a hip atmosphere
Kastelorizo
Shogun
Platanon 2, Tel: 210.807.5408 Part of a chain of upscale seafood restaurants that is sure to please
Philadelpheos 2, Tel: 210.623.3622 Promises authentic Japanese cuisine for the truly discerning
Meat Me HarilaouTrikoupi 92 Tel: 210.623.2358 Simple yet discerning cuisine in a funky Greek taverna
The Mall
72 insider athens | February 2011
Boudoir Deligianni 50 & Georganta Tel: 210.801.8384, Massive club for dancing & sipping on signature cocktails
Divine Kifissias 239, Tel: 201.801.0810 Chic lounge serving classic concoctions
Menta CafĂŠ Ag. Theodorou 10, Tel: 210.808.0193 Traditional home turned stylish cafe
Ag. Konstantinou & Themidos Tel: 210.805.2762 Indian cuisine and fine wines
Leptes Gefseis Fine French food at affordable prices Pindou 22, Pefki, Tel: 210.802.4817
Mauzac Alamanas 1, Tel: 210.619.9902 Clean lines and a beautiful garden make this cafĂŠ, bar, restaurant a must
Oinopathia
Maroussi
Essence
SHOP Golden Hall Kifissias 37A, Tel: 210.680.3450 131 high-end (and highstreet) stores for anyone with a passion for fashion
The Mall Athens Andrea Papandreou 35 Tel: 210.630.0000 Shops, cinemas and food
EAT
Telemachos Barbeque Club
Altamira
Fragkopoulou 22, Tel: 210.807.6680 Rare meats char-grilled to perfection
Perikleous 28, Tel: 210 612 8841 Multiethnic cuisine in funky environment
Aghias Paraskevis 79 & Diogenous Tel: 210.685.5375, Great selection of wines with Greek and international cuisine
Pausa Ag. Konstantinou 46 & Ifestou 3 Tel: 210.617.9290 Italian cuisine accompanied by a selection of Greek & Italian wines
Wagamama Kifissias 37A, Tel: 210.683.6844 Fresh, nutritious Asian fusion food in a sleek yet simple setting
Whispers of wine Ag. Konstantinou 48, Tel: 210 617 9051 Gourmet food with rich wine list and vintage decor
partner hotels ARION RESORT & SPA
ATHENS LEDRA MARRIOTT HOTEL
DIVANI PALACE ACROPOLIS
METROPOLITAN
The legendary beauty resort is part of Starwood Hotels and Resorts. Breathtaking views of the Saronic Gulf, elegant and sophisticated décor in all 123 rooms and suites, private swimming pools and beaches, spa and gourmet restaurants. Apollonos 40,Vouliagmeni.Tel: 210.890.2000
314 deluxe guest rooms, 18 suites. Rooftop swimming pool and bar, health club, Kona Kai Polynesian - Tepanyiaki Restaurant and sports bar. Syngrou 115.Tel: 210.930.0000
Located at the base of the Acropolis and close to Plaka. Pool with bar, roof garden restaurant with Acropolis view. Parthenonos 19-25. Makrigianni. Tel: 210.928.0100
Beautifully renovated property with views of the sea and the Acropolis. Ten minutes from central Athens, the port of Piraeus and main exhibition centers. Syngrou 385. Tel: 210.947.1000
ATHENS LIFE GALLERY
GRANDE BRETAGNE
NJV athens plaza
ATHENAEUM INTERCONTINENTAL ATHENS
543 rooms with renovated Deluxe rooms and suites. Dedicated business centre facilities and 3.500 m2 of extensive & flexible meeting space. New I-Spa and renovated gym. Award winning restaurants. Syngrou 89-93.Tel:210.920.6000
Where modern architecture finds its expression among Zen gardens and ethnic elements. 30 ultra-modern rooms and suites. Avenue 103 restaurant trendy Pisco Sour Bar. Two pools, full-service Ananea Spa. Thisseos 103, Ekali. Tel: 210.626.0400. www.bluegr.com Crowne plaza
Boutique-style hotel with 182 rooms including 23 suites with breathtaking views of the Acropolis, ideally located in the heart of the business and shopping district within walking distance of Plaka. 2, Vas.Georgiou A’ St, Athens Tel: 210 3352400 NOVOTEL
Holiday Inn Attica Avenue
ATHENIAN CALLIRHOE HOTEL
66 state-of the-art rooms, 15 executive rooms and 3 suites. The acclaimed Etrusco Restaurant serves top quality Mediterranean cuisine. Kallirois 32 & Petmeza.Tel: 210.921.5353
Newly renovated, the former Holiday Inn Athens is at a very convenient location and attracts both business and leisure travellers. Amenities include restaurant, bar, rooftop swimming pool, conference and business facilities, garage parking. Michalakopoulou 50. Tel: 210.727.8000, www.cpathens.com
ATHENS ELECTRA PALACE HOTEL
DIVANI APOLLON PALACE & SPA
Located in historic Plaka beneath the Acropolis. Facilities include bar, restaurant, spa area with indoor swimming pool, business centre, garden and underground parking. N. Nikodimou 18-20, Plaka.Tel: 210.337.0000
This city landmark is part of Starwood Hotels and Resorts. All 265 rooms and 56 suites are decorated with original artwork and antiques. Reception areas, ballrooms, roof garden with Acropolis view. Luxury spa, indoor and outdoor pools. Syntagma Sq.Tel: 210.333.0000
Located seaside with a magnificent view of the Saronic Gulf. All rooms with balconies and sea views. Indoor and outdoor pools, boutiques, beauty parlor, business centre and spa. Ag. Nikolaou 10 & Iliou, Kavouri-Vouliagmeni. Tel: 210.891.1100
ATHENS HILTON
New five-star property on Attica Avenue linking Athens with the international airport. State-ofthe art conference facilities, restaurant, two bars, pool and fitness center. 40.2 km Attica Road, between exits 17 & 18. Tel: 210.668.9000, www.hiathens.com
The newly renovated Novotel is designed for natural living. Close to Omonoia square and the National Museum. Open plan bar and rooftop bar and restaurant and pool.4-6 Mikhail Voda Street Tel: 210.820.0700 www..novotel.com Royal Olympic
Holiday Suites
Elegant, all-suite hotel offering high standard accommodation. Each suite provides guests with a separate living room and kitchenette. Arnis 4.Tel: 210.727.8000, www.holiday-suites.com KEFALARI SUITES
Near the Acropolis Museum. 265 rooms and 45 unique Panorama Suites, overlooking the Temple of Zeus and the Acropolis. Pool, business center, convention and banquet facilities. Roof Garden Restaurant/Bar “Ioannis”. 28-34, Ath. Diakou Str., 11743 Athens, Greece. Tel. 210 9288400, www.royalolympic.com SEMIRAMIS
DIVANI CARAVEL
508 renovated rooms, two pools, banquet rooms restaurants, convention facilities, business centre & spa. The rooftop Galaxy bar has gorgeous city views.Vas. Sofias 46.Tel: 210.728.1000
situated close to major tourist attractions with , rooftop restaurant and swimming pool. Vas. Alexandrou 2, Tel: 210.720.7000
Turn-of-the-century hotel in Kifissia, part of YES! Hotels.Themed suites with modern facilities. Pentelis 1, Kifissia. Tel: 210.623.3333
YES! Hotel designed by Karim Rashid. 51 luxury rooms, 4 suites and 6 poolside bungalows. Ultra-trendy bar-restaurant. Harilaou Trikoupi 48, Kefalari-Kifissia.Tel: 210.628.4400
partner hotels SOFITEL ATHENS AIRPORT
TwentyOne
Herodion
COSTA NAVARINO THE WESTIN RESORT
Brand-new airport hotel. Executive floor, business center and conference facilities.Two bars and two restaurants. Health club and covered swimming pool. Eleftherios Venizelos International Airport, Spata.Tel: 210.354.4000
A member of YES! Hotels. Modern design and simple architectural charm. 16 ergonomically designed rooms and 5 loft suites. “21” Bar Restaurant for indoor and outdoor dining. Kolokotroni 21, Kefalari-Kifissia Tel: 210.623.3521. www.twentyone.gr
ST. GEORGE LYCABETTUS HOTEL
A CATEGORY
Located at the base of the Acropolis and a five minute walk to Plaka. 90 guest rooms, meeting facilities and a lovely atrium barcoffee shop. Rovertou Galli 4, Makrigianni. Tel: 210.923.6832 HOTEL ELECTRA
AVA HOTEL & SUITES
Located in the upper part of Kolonaki, not far from the Lycabettus (Lykavittos) funicular railway. Excellent restaurant, Le Grand Balcon. Rooftop swimming pool. Kleomenous 2, Dexamenis Square, Kolonaki.Tel: 210.729.0711 THEOXENIA PALACE HOTEL
Luxurious apartments and suites in Plaka. Magnificent views of the Acropolis, Hadrian’s Arch and Zeus Temple. Short walk to Syntagma and Monastiraki. Lysikratous street 9-11, Plaka. Tel: 210.325.9000, www.avahotel.gr
Within walking distance from all major archaeological sites, business and commercial districts. Includes bar, restaurant, lobby and meeting areas. Ermou 5, Syntagma. Tel: 210.337.8000
Inspired by old Messinian mansions, the Westin resort's low-rise villa clusters use natural stone and local design elements to create a motif in perfect harmony with the virgin sandy beach and pristine hillside landscape. Its 445 deluxe rooms and suites, 123 with private infinity pools, offer access to an extensive common pool areas, and reflect Westin's soothing aesthetic THE ROMANOS
PERISCOPE HOTEL
BEST WESTERN ESPERIA PALACE HOTEL
In an elegant neoclassical building in Kefalari, this hotel has a restaurant, bar, gym, sauna and outdoor pool. Business centre, internet and conference facilities. Filadelfeos 2, Kifissia. Tel: 210.623.3622-6 THE MARGI
In the heart of the commercial and historic centre of Athens. The restaurant Athinaios, serves gastronomic delights in an elegant setting. Stadiou 22. Tel: 210.323.8001
Designed for people who wish to be part of all that goes on in the city. 17 rooms, 4 junior suites and a super-lux penthouse suite. Part of YES! Hotels. Haritos 22, Kolonaki. Tel: 210.729.7200, www.periscope.gr Philippos
The Romanos Hotel boasts of 289 exquisitely appointed rooms and 32 suites with private infinity pools. Traditional Greek design with contemporary touches sets the tone in each space, where the sparkling blue of the Mediterranean is the preferred hue.
Santorini MYSTIQUE SANTORINI
CORAL HOTEL
Boutique hotel with 90 spacious rooms and suites and great views to the sea and pine forests. Café Tabac Restaurant offers a unique dining experience while Malabar and J-lounge are perfect for a glass of champagne. Close to the lake, beach and tennis courts. Litous 11,Vouliagmeni. Tel: 210.892.9000. ww.themargi.gr THE WESTIN ATHENS
Part of the Astir Palace Complex with 162 guest rooms and suites and views of the Saronic Gulf. Sea view lounges, trendy bars, fusion and Mediterranean cuisine restaurants and private gazebos by an Olympic-sized pool. Apollonos 40,Vouliagmeni.Tel: 210.890.2000
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The Coral’s 86 rooms and 2 suites offer all modern conveniences. Poseidonos Avenue 35, Paleo Faliron. Tel: 210.981.6441
Recently refurbished, all 50 rooms are wellappointed and comfortable. Offers good value for money in the Acropolis area. Mitseon 3, Makrigianni.Tel: 210.922.3611-4
VEDEMA, SANTORINI
Fresh Hotel
Situated in the heart of old Athens within walking distance of the Plaka, Psirri and Monastiraki. Enjoy the hip Orange Bar, rooftop restaurant and pool. Sophocleous 26 & Klisthenous. Tel: 210.524.8511-6.
Mystique is an 18 villa hotel, designed by Frank Le Fevbre. Mystique, Oia.Tel. 22860 81786
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Vedema has 45 rooms converted from a 100 year old neo-classical captain’s house and a private swiming pool for all the suites. Vedema, Megalohori.Tel. 22860 81 796
AUDIOVISUAL OTE video conference service 7.30am-10pm. Patission 85. Tel: 210.883.8578, 210.822.0399 TCS M. Antipa 20 & 2 Prometheus, Tel: 210.976.7086
COMPUTER & CELL-PHONE RENTAL TrimTel Mobile Communications Michalakopoulou 41, Tel: 210.729.1964
Commercial Office spaces Regus Tel: 210 727 9000 Global Business Services Tel: 210-8764 876 Kifissias Ave. 90, Maroussi
COURIER SERVICES ACS Tel: 210.819.0000 DHL Tel: 210.989.0000 Express City Tel: 210.821.9959 Geniki Taxydromiki Tel: 210.485.1100 Interattika Tel: 210.540.5400 Speedex Tel: 801.11.000.11 UPS Tel: 210.998.4000
Driving Schools in English Denis Kasimatis - Driving School
Zografou, Papagou, Ilissia, Psychiko, Cholargos and Goudi - Tel: 210 778 3157 210 779 6981 Trochokinisi Driving School 28th Oktovriou 126, Ambelokipi, Athens Tel: 231 072 9092 Driving School Highway Amfitheas and Ag. Triados 30, 175 64 Paleo Faliro - Tel: 210 988 8098 / 6997 722 777 Vlachos Bros 25th Martiou 11, Peristeri; Xenofodos 17, Peristeri; Afroditis 39, Ilion Tel: 210 574 4895 / 210 576 9190
TRANSLATIONS / INTERPRETING
Relocation Agencies
Travel plan Tel: 210 333 3300 www.travelplan.gr Amphitrion Tel: 210 900 6000 Meg Alexandrou 7 & Karaiskaki, www.amphitrionholidays.gr TravelPlanet24 Tel: 211 107 9684 241, Syngrou Ave. & 2, Alikarnassou 171 22 Nea Smyrni, Athens www.travelplanet24.com Mid-east Travel Tel: 211 211 8888 Vas Sofias 105-107 / www.mideast.gr
Allied Pickfords Tel: 210 610 4494 Mourouzi 7, Athens Athens Relocation Centre Tel: 210 96 50 697, Zakynthou 10, Attica Movers Tel: 210 922 7221 19, Syngrou Ave Celebrity International Movers 102, Kapodistriou Ave , Tel: 210 272 0106 Corporate Relocations Athens Tel: 210 800 3510, Ag. Saranta 32 Nea Erithrea, Orphee Beinoglou Tel: 210 9466100 27th km Old National Road Athens-Korinth Location Elefsinia, GR-19200 Elefsina, Omega Transport Thesi Kyrilos , 19300 Aspropyrgos Tel: 210 947 5500 Octopus Relocation Services Ygeias 7, Marina Zeas, Tel: 210 4599530
MISSED THESE GREAT ISSUES ? 35.000 readers get the best of Greece each month.Subscribe to Insider and never miss another issue! send us an e-mail at: subscriptions@ insider-magazine.gr or give us a call at: 210.729.8634 or 210.721.3450
Executive services, translation & interpreting All EU and Balkan languages - legal, technical and medical documents. Athens Tower B. Tel:Â 210.778.3698 www.executiveservices.gr Global Business Services Kifisias 90, Maroussi. Tel: 210.876.4876 IBS - International Business Services Michalakopoulou 29, Tel: 210.724.5541
Travel Agencies
Embassies Cultural Institutes
Business services
useful information
French Institute Sina 31, 10680 Athens Tel: 210 339 8600 Hellenic American Union Massalias 22, 10680 Athens, Tel: 210 368 0900 British Council 17 Kolonaki Square 17 106 73 Athens Tel: 210 369 2333 Instituto Cervantes Mitropoleos 23, 105 57 Athens Tel: 210 3634117 Goethe Institut Omirou 14-16, 100 33 Athens Tel: 210 3661000 Onassis Cultural Centre Syngrou Ave. 107-109 117 45 Athens, Tel: 213 017 8000 Instituto Italiano di Cultura Patission [28 Oktovriou] 47 Tel: 210 369 2333, 210 524 2646 ALBANIA Vekiareli 7, Filothei, Tel: 210.687.6200 ARGENTINA Vas. Sophias 59. Tel: 210.724.4158 ARMENIA K. Palaiologou 95, Tel: 210.683.1130, 210.683.1145 AZERBAiJAN Skoufa 10. Tel: 210.363.2721 AUSTRALIA Kifisias & Alexandras, Tel: 210.870.4000 AUSTRIA Vas. Sofias Avenue 4, Tel: 210.725.7270
BELGIUM Sekeri 3, Tel: 210.360.0314 BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA Hatzikosta 3. Tel: 210.641.0788 BRAZIL Filikis Etaireias Sq. 14. Tel: 210.721.3039 BULGARIA Stratigou Kallari 33A, P. Psychiko. Tel: 210.674.8105 CANADA Ioanni Gennadiou 4. Tel: 210.727.3400 CHILE Rigilis 26. Tel: 210.725.2574 CHINA Krinon 2A, P. Psychiko. Tel: 210.677.1212 CROATIA Tzavella 4, N. Psychiko. Tel: 210.677.7033 CUBA Sofokleous 5, Filothei. Tel: 210.685.5550 CYPRUS Xenofontos 2A. Tel: 210.373.4800 CZECH REPUBLIC G. Seferi 6, P. Psychiko. Tel: 210.671.9701 DENMARK Mourouzi 10. Tel: 210.725.6440 EGYPT Vas. Sofias 3. Tel: 210.361.8612 ESTONIA Messoghion 2-4. Tel: 210.747.5660 FINLAND Hatziyianni Mexi 5. Tel: 210.725.5860 FRANCE Vas. Sofias 7. Tel: 210.339.1000 FYROM Papadiamanti 4, P. Psychiko. Tel: 210.674.9585 GEORGIA Ag. Dimitriou 24, P. Psychiko. Tel: 210.674.2186 GERMANY Karaoli & Dimitriou 3. Tel: 210.728.5111 HUNGARY Karneadou 25. Tel: 210.725.6800 INDIA Kleanthous 3. Tel: 210.721.6481 INDONESIA Marathonodromon 99, P. Psychiko. Tel: 210.674.2345 IRAN Stratigou Kallari 16. Tel: 210.674.1436 IRELAND Vas. Konstantinou 7. Tel: 210.723.2405 ISRAEL Marathonodromon 1, P. Psychiko. Tel: 210.670.5500 ITALY Sekeri 2. Tel: 210.361.7260 JAPAN Ethnikis Antistaseos 46, Halandri. Tel: 210.670.9900 JORDAN Papadiamanti 21. P. Psychiko. Tel: 210.674.4161 Kazakhstan Imittou 122, Papagou Tel: 210.654.7765 KOREA Messoghion 2-4, Athens. Tel: 210.698.4080 KUWAIT Perikleous 2, P. Psychiko. Tel: 210.674.3593 LEBANON 6, 25th Martiou, P. Psychiko. Tel: 210.675.5873 LIBYA Vyronos 13, P. Psychiko. Tel: 210.674.2120 LITHUANIA Vas. Sophias 49. Tel: 210.729.4356
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useful information
76 insider athens | April 2011
Ambulance Tel: 166 Doctors SOS Tel: 1016. They will issue an invoice to claim reimbursement from your insurer. Duty Pharmacies Call 1434, Also check newspapers for listings. Emergency Hospitals Tel: 1434 Fire Brigade Tel: 199 Forest Fire Tel: 191 Poison Hotline Tel: 210.779.3777 Police Tel: 100 Tourist Police Tel: 171 Coastguard Tel:108 Air Police Tel: 210.964.2000
ROAD ASSISTANCE ELPA Tel: 10400 Emergency Service Tel: 104 Express Service Tel: 154 Hellas Service Tel: 1057 Interamerican Tel: 168 Tourist Information Tel: 174
Paediatric Hospitals
EUROCLINIC PAEDON Lemessou 39-41 & Aharnon 209, Kato Patissia, Tel: 210.869.1900 PAEDON AGIA SOFIA HOSPITAL Mikras Asias and Thivon, Goudi. Tel: 210.746.7000 PAEDON AGLAIA KYRIAKOU HOSPITAL Livadias 3 and Thivon, Goudi. Tel: 210.772.6000 & 1535
Private Hospitals Advanced Medical Services, Symmetria Building Ethnikis Antistaseos 66, Halandri. Tel: 210.677.3573 www.symmetria.gr
EURODENTICA Specialized dental care Patision 150, Tel: 210. 866.3367-8 Alamanas 3, Maroussi. Tel: 210.619.5760-1 El.Venizelou 162, Kallithea. Tel: 210.956.5365 HYGEIA Kifissias & E. Stavrou 4, Maroussi. Tel: 210.686.7000 www.ygeia.gr IATRIKO KENTRO (ATHENS MEDICAL CENTER) Areos 36, P. Faliro. Tel: 210.989.2100-20. Distomou 5-7, Maroussi. Tel: 210.619.8100 METROPOLITAN HOSPITAL Ethnarou Makariou 9 & El.Venizelou, N. Faliro. Tel: 210.480.9000 www.metropolitan-hospital.gr IASO Kifissias 37-39, Maroussi. Tel: 210.618.4000 MITERA Kifissias & E. Stavrou 6, Maroussi. Tel: 210.686.9000
public Hospitals ASKLEPIEION HOSPITAL Vas. Pavlou 1,Voula. Tel: 210.895.8301-4 EVANGELISMOS Ypsilantou 45-47, Kolonaki. Tel: 210.720.1000 KAT HOSPITAL specialized trauma unit. Nikis 2, Kifissia. Tel: 210.628.0000 TZANNEIO Afentouli & Tzani, Pireaus.Tel: 210.451.9411-9
PHYSICIANS (ENGLISH SPEAKING) Ioannis Bitzos, MD Plastic & Reconstructive Surgery, Harilaou Trikoupi 62 Kifissia. Tel: 210.808.0682 A.J. Kanellopoulos, MD Eye Surgeon, Mesogeion 2, Athens Tower B’ Tel: 210.747.2777 Dimitris Linos, MD FACS General Surgeon, Kifissias 227, Kifissia. Tel: 210.612.5001-2 heart & vascular centrE E.N. Deliargyris, MD FACC FSCAI Interventional cardiologist. Southern Athens. Vakchou 2 & Vas. Kostantinou Tel:210.897.6276. www.heartline.gr
General and cranial osteopathy
SYLVAIN GATEAUD Osteopath (France, UK) MKDE- C0 ( France) HP (Germany). Energy management. Karaiskaki 42, Pallini. Tel: 210 60 33 622 M. 6937 20 44 72 sylvain.gateaud@hotmail.co.uk www.whyosteopathy.com
English media
EMERGENCY NUMBERS
CENTRAL CLINIC OF ATHENS Asklipiou St. 31. Emergency number 1169 or Tel: 210.367.4000 www. centralclinic.gr EUROCLINIC diagnostic, surgical and treatment centre. Athanasiadou 9. (near Mavili Sq.). Tel: 210.641.6600
Newspapers The International Herald Tribune carries the English version of Kathimerini The local Athens News comes out Fridays.
Radio Antenna 97.2 FM news at 8.25am, Flash Radio 96.0 FM 8.55am, 3pm and 8pm daily. ERA public radio 91.6 FM for bulletins at 5am and 9am, full news coverage at 9.30pm.
Schools
Greek Language
Emergencies
UNITED KINGDOM Ploutarchou 1. Tel: 210.727.2600 UNITED STATES Vas. Sofias 91. Tel: 210.721.2951 URUGUAY Menandrou 1, Kifissia Tel: 210.361.3549 VATICAN Mavili 2, P. Psychiko. Tel: 210.674.3598 VENEZUELA Marathonodromon 19, P. Psychiko. Tel: 210.672.9169
Health
LATVIA Vas. Konstantinou 38. Tel. 210.729.4483 LUXEMBOURG Vas. Sofias 23A & Neofitou Vamva 2.Tel: 210.725.6400 MALTA V. Sofias 96.Tel: 210.778.5138 MOLDAVIA Georgiou Bacu 20, Filothei. Tel: 210.699.0660 MOROCCO Marathonodromon 5, P. Psychiko. Tel: 210.674.4210 MEXICO Filikis Etaireias Sq. 14. Tel: 210.729.4780 NETHERLANDS Vas Konstantinou 5-7. Tel: 210.725.4900 NIGERIA Dolianis 65, Maroussi. Tel: 210.802.1188 NORWAY Vas. Sofias 23. Tel: 210.724.6173 PAKISTAN Loukianou 6. Tel: 210.729.0122 PALESTINE Giassemion 13, P. Psychiko. Tel.: 210.672.6061-3 PANAMA Praxitelous 192 & II Merarchias, Piraeus. Tel: 210.428.6441 PERU Semitelou 2. Tel: 210.779.2761 PHILIPPINES Antheon 26, P. Psychiko. Tel: 210.672.1837 POLAND Chrysanthemon 22, P. Psychiko. Tel: 210.679.7700 PORTUGAL Vas. Sofias 23. Tel: 210.729.0096 / 210.723.6784 ROMANIA Emm. Benaki 7, P. Psychiko. Tel: 210.672.8875 RUSSIA Nikiforos Lytra 28, P. Psychiko. Tel: 210.672.5235 SAUDIA ARABIA Marathonodromon 71, P. Psychiko. Tel: 210.671.6911 SERBIA Vas. Sophias 106, Tel: 210.777.4344 SINGAPORE Aigialias 17, Paradissos Amaroussiou. Tel: 210.684.5072 SLOVAK REPUBLIC G. Seferi 4, P. Psychiko. Tel: 210.677.1980 SLOVENIA Mavili 10, Tel: 210.672.0090-091 SOUTH AFRICA Kifissias 60, Maroussi. Tel: 210.610.6645 SPAIN Dionysiou Areopagitou 21, Tel: 210.921.3123 SWEDEN Vas. Konstantinou 7, Tel: 210.726.6100 SWITZERLAND Iasiou 2, Tel: 210.723.0364-6 TAIWAN Marathonodromon 57, Tel: 210.677.5122 THAILAND Marathorodromon 25 & Kyprou, P. Psychiko. Tel: 210.674.9065 TUNISIA Antheon 2, P. Psychiko, Tel: 210.671.7590 TURKEY Vas. Georgiou B’ 8, Tel: 210.726.3000 UKRAINE Stephanou Delta 4, Filothei, Tel: 210.680.0230
The Athens Center 48 Archimidous Street, Mets, Athens 11636, Greece 210 7015-242 CELT Athens 77 Academias Street, 106 78 Athens, Greece, Tel: 210 3301455 Greek House Dragoumi 7, 145 61 Kifissia, Tel: 210 808 5186 Hellenic American Union 22 Massalias str., 106 80 Athens, Tel: 210368.0900 Omilo Greek Language And Culture Panagi Tsaldari 13 (4th floor), 15122 Maroussi , Tel: 210 6122706
useful information Road Assistance ELPA: 104 Public Power Corporation (DEI) In case of power failure: Tel: 210 523 9939 www.dei.gr Water Supply & Sewage (EYDAP) In case of water cut: Tel: 1202. www.eydap.gr
Social Security & Health insurance (IKA) www.ika.gr Greek Manpower Employment Organization (OAED) www.oaed.gr , Tel: 210 99 89 000 Public Services Administration Information Center (paperwork assistance) on weekdays 8am-3pm (KEP): Tel: 177 ww.kep.gov.gr
French kindergartens Au petit bonheur 50 Iraklitou, Glyfada, Tel: 210 9658 207 Les Alouettes Spartis 36 & Harilaou Trikoupi, Kifissia Tel: 210 80 11 570 L’Air des Contes 11, Cycladon, Glyka Nera, Tel : 210 600 3196 Le Castelet 18 Gortinias, Kifissia, Tel: 210 808 7760
Weather Attica, Tel: 148 www.hnms.gr
Mary Poppins 4, Kodrou, Filothei, Tel: 210 677 3803
Citizen’s Rights Ombudsman: 5 Hatziyiannis Mexis (near the Hilton Hotel) Tel: 210 72 89 640
Play and Learn Kassaveti 22, Kifissia, Tel: 210 801 1428
Benakeios Library Anthimou Gazi 2, Tel: 210 322 71
Money
Telephone & Internet Services (OTE) New tel: 138, Tel. (defective): 129 OTE customer service: 134 International call information (English, French & German): 169 www.ote.gr
LOST OR STOLEN CREDIT CARDS AMERICAN EXPRESS Tel: 210.326.2626 DINERS CLUB Tel: 210.929.0200 EUROCARD Tel: 210.950.3673 MASTERCARD Tel: 00800.1188.70303, VISA Tel: 00.800.1163.803.04
Universities University of Indianapolis Ipitou 9, Athens, Tel: 210 323 6647 DEREE Gravias 6, Aghia Paraskevi , Tel: 210 600 9800 ALBA Graduate Business School Athinas Ave. & Areos 2A,Vouliagmeni Tel; 210 896 4531
Business College of Athens Tatoiou 2 & Othonos 77, Kifissia Tel: 210 808 8008
English kindergartens The Cottage Kindergarten Psaron 74, Halandri Tel: 210 682 7629 Early Learning Rizountos 53, Elliniko Tel: 210 961 8763 Hopscotch International Kindergarten Ag. Triandos 93,Vari Tel: 210 965 3985 Kifissia Montessori School Ellinikon Stratou 5, Kifissia Tel: 210 620 7481 Melina’s Kindergarten Harilaou Trikoupi 16, Kifissia Tel: 210 801 2719 Peek-a-boo PreSchool Vougliameni Tel: 210 967 1970 Peter Pan Lakonias 4-6,Voula Tel: 210 895 9654 Prince Allen The English Nursery School Lysimahou 8,Vari Tel: 210 965 6800
O mikros Antonis Barbayiannis, Pallini, Tel: 210 603 2527
Italian kindergartens Scuola maternal italiana de Atene Mitsaki 18, Ano Patissia, Tel: 210 202 0274 Il Mulino magico Troados 23, Ag Paraskevi, Tel: 210 600 3148
Libraires
American University of Athens Kifisias & Sochou 4, Neo Psichiko, Tel; 210 725 9301
International Kindergartens
International Schools
St Catherine's British Embassy School Sofoklis Venizelou 77, Lykovrissi Tel: 210 282 9750 St. Lawrence College Anemon St, Koropi Tel: 210 891 7000 American Community Schools of Athens Aghias Paraskevis Ave. 129, Halandri , Tel: 210 639 3200 Campion School Aghias Ioulianis, Pallini Tel: 210 607 1700 Byron College Filolaou 7, Gerakas Tel: 210 604 7722 International School of Athens Xenias and Artemidos, Kifissia, Tel: 210 623 3888 Lycée Franco-Hellénique Eugène Delacroix Chlois & Trikalon, Ag. Paraskevi Tel: 211 300 9121 Scuola Statale Italiana Odos Mitsaki 18, Ano Patissia Tel: 210 228 2720 German School in Athens Homatianou & Ziridi, Maroussi Tel: 210 619 9261 Greek German School 25 Martiou & Vernardou,Vrylissia Tel: 210 682 0566
British Council Library Kolonaki Sq. 17 Tel: 210 363 3211/5 American Library Masalias 22 (4th floor) Tel: 210 363 8114
Post Phone
German kindergartens Post offices operate weekdays 8am-2pm. The main post offices in Athens are located at SYNTAGMA SQUARE and OMONIA SQUARE at Aeolou 100 and open weekdays 7:30am-8pm, Sat 7:30am-2pm, and Sun 9am-1:30pm. Country Code: 30 City Code: 210 international calls first dial 00, then the country code. To call from a Public payphone buy a phone card at the kiosks
American School of Classical Studies Blegen Souedias 54, Tel: 210 723 6313 Athens College Library Stephanou Delta, P. Psychiko Tel: 210 671 4628
Hellenic American Union Greek Library 22 Masalias St (7th floor) , Tel: 210 362 9886 French Institute Library 31 Sina St, Tel: 210 362 4301 German Archaeological Institute Library Pheidiou 1, Tel: 210 362 0270
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Goethe Institute Library Omirou 14-16 , Tel: 210 360 8111 Italian Institut Library Patision 47, Tel: 210 522 9294 EU Library Vas. Sophias 2, Tel: 210 724 3982 National Library Tzavella 25, Tel: 210 382 0657
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see & do Art galleries
A. Antonopoulou Art Aristofanous 20, Psirri Tel: 210.321.4994 Artzone 42 42 Vas. Konstantinou, Agalma Troyman, 11635 Athens, Tel: 210 725 9549 Astrolavos Dexameni Xanthippou 11, Kolonaki Tel: 210.729.4342 Astrolavos ArtLife Irodotou 11, Kolonaki Tel: 210.722.1200 Athens Art Gallery Glykonos 4, Dexameni Sq., 106 75 Athens, Tel: 210 721 3938 Badminton Theatre Olympiaka Akinita, Goudi 157 73, Athens, Tel: 211 101 0020 Bernier/Eliades Gallery Eptachalkou 11, Thisseio, Tel: 210.341.3935 Beyond Art Gallery Haritos 10, Kolonaki, Tel: 210.721.9744 B&M Theoharakis Foundation for the Fine Arts & Music Vas. Sofias 9 & Merlin 1, Athens Tel: 210.361.1206 (The) Breeder Gallery Iasonas 45, Metaxourgio, Tel: 210.331.7527 Ekfrasi Gallery Valaoritou 9a, 10671 Athens, Greece Tel: 210 360 7598 EMST National Museum of Contemporary Art Vas. Georgiou B 17 - 19 & Rigilis Str. Athens 10675, Tel: 210 9242 111-3 Fizz gallery Valaoritou 9c, Athens 10671 Greece, Tel: 210 360 7598 Gagosian Gallery Merlin 3, Athens 10671, Tel: 210 364 0215 Gallery 7 Zalokosta 7, Syntagma, Tel: 210.361.2050 Gialino Music Theatre Sigrou 143, N. Smirni, Athens Tel: 210 9316 101-4 Herakleidon Herakleidon 16, Thissio, Tel: 210.346.1981 Ileana Tounta Contemporary Art Centre 48 Armatolon-Klephton st. 11471 Athens, Tel: 210 643 9466 Jill Yakas Spartis 16, Kifissia. Tel: 210.801.2773 www.yakas.com K-Art Gallery Sina 54, 106 72, Athens, Greece Tel: 211 401 3877 Kalfayan gallery Haritos 11, Kolonaki,Tel: 210.721.7679 Kourd Gallery Kassiani 2-4, Tel: 210.642.6573 ww.gallerykourd.gr
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Acropolis is open daily and entrance, includes archaeological sites. Tel: 201.321.0219 Ancient Agora was the heart of ancient Athens - the focus of political, commercial, administrative and social life for centuries. Athinais Cultural Centre formerly a silk factory, this space has been converted into a large cultural centre. Kastorias 34-36, Votanikos. , Tel: 210.348.0000. Byzantine Churches many churches dating from the 11th and 12th centuries are found around the city. Noteworthy examples include: Agios Eleftherios, next to the cathedral on Mitropoleos Street; Kapnikarea, halfway down Ermou Street from Syntagma; Agi Apostoli, Agora area south of Stoa of Attalos; and Agia Triada (Russian Orthodox church) on Filellinon Street. Churches are open to the public on Sundays and holidays, also usually for daily prayers 7am1pm and 4-6:30pm. Dress soberly when visiting. Technopolis (Gazi) a 19th century gas factory turned major cultural centre for performing arts and installation works. Pireos 100 & Ermou, Gazi. Tel: 210.346.1589. Hadrian’s Arch a Roman arch that marked the boundary of ancient Athens and the new city. Located at the corner of Vas. Olgas and Amalias Avenues.
Agora Museum Located in the Stoa of Attalos. Tel: 210.321.0185. Atelier Spyros Vassiliou Webster 5A, Athens. Tel: 210.923.1502 www.spyrosvassiliou.org Athens University History Museum Tholou 5, Plaka, Tel: 210.368.9502 www.history-museum.uoa.gr Benaki Museum Koumbari 1 & Vas. Sofias Avenue Tel: 210.367.1000, www.benaki.gr Benaki Museum of Islamic Arts Dipylou 12, Kerameikos. Tel: 210.325.1311 www.benaki.gr
Benaki Museum, Pireos Pireos 138 & Andronikou Tel: 210.345.3111, www.benaki.gr Byzantine Museum Vas. Sofias 22, Tel: 210.721.1027. Hellenic Cosmos Foundation of the Hellenic world Pireos 254, Tavros. Tel: 212.254.0000. www.hellenic-cosmos.gr Frissiras Vlassis Museum of Contemporary European Art Monis Asteriou 3-7, Plaka, Tel: 210.323.4678 www.frissirasmuseum.com Goulandris Foundation Museum of Cycladic Art Neofytou Douka 4, Tel: 210.722.8321 www.cycladic.gr Herakleidon Herakleidon 16, Thissio. Tel: 210-346.1981. www.herakleidon-art.gr Ilias Lalaounis Jewellery Museum Karyatidon & Kallisperi 12, Makrygianni. Tel: 210.922.7260. www.lalaounis.com Jewish Museum Nikis 39, Plaka. Tel: 210.322.5582. www.jewishmuseum.gr Keramikos Museum Ermou 148, Monastiraki, Tel: 210.346.3552. Maria Callas Museum Technopolis, Pireos 100, Gazi, Tel: 210.346.1589 National Archaeological Museum Patission 44, Athens, Tel: 210.821.7724 National Gallery and Alexandros Soutsos Museum Vas. Konstantinou 50. Tel: 210.723.5857, 210.723.5937 Numismatic Museum Panepistimiou 12, Athens. Tel: 210.363.5953. www.nma.gr The Acropolis Museum Dionysiou Areopagitou Street Tel: 210.924.1043, www.theacropolismuseum.gr
Just for kids
Tel: 210.322.9705
Lykavittos Hill is the highest point in Athens. Take the teleferique from the top of Ploutarchou St. Megaron Mousikis (The Athens Concert Hall) live concerts, operas and other performances. Vas. Sofias Ave. & Kokkali. Tel: 210.728.2333 Odeon of Herod Atticus built in 161 AD, this is where the Athens Festival takes place. Accessible for e1.50 and open daily from 8:30am. Panathenian Stadium “Kalimarmaro”was the site of the first modern Olympics in 1896. Located at Vassileos Konstantinou and Agras, across from the National Garden. Pnyx Hill here, for the first time in history, every citizen could vote, giving Pnyx the name the “birthplace of democracy”. Close by is the beautiful Old Observatory. Presidential Palace formerly the Royal Palace, this building is used by the President of Greece to host dignitaries. Irodou Attikou Street. Stoa of Attalos shopping arcade built in the 2nd century BC and totally reconstructed in the 1950s. Tues-Sun 8:30am-3pm. Admission to the Agora and museum e3.50. Adrianou 24. Tel: 210.321.0185 Syntagma (Constitution Square) is the heart of the city and the best spot for new visitors to orient themselves. The Evzones, dressed in traditional uniforms, guard the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in front of the Parliament. The changing-of-the-guard ceremony takes place every hour. Temple of Olympian Zeus once the largest temple in ancient Greece, its ruins lie just behind Hadrian's Arch. Mon-Sun 8am-7:30pm. e2.00. Vas. Olgas and Amalias Avenues, Tel: 210.922.6330. Theatre of Dionysus built in the 5th century BC is where the plays of Aristophanes, Euripides, Aeschylus and Sophocles were first performed. Tower of Winds the octagonal tower, representing the eight directions of the wind, was built in the 1st century BC by the Syrian astronomer Andronicus. MonSun 8am-7pm. Just east of the Ancient Agora. Tel: 210.324.5220.
Museums
ASSOCIATION OF GUIDES
Attractions & Sites
ORGANISED TOURS
Pallas Theatre Skoufa 77 & Staikou 2, Kolonaki Athens, Tel: 210 364 0783 Skoufa Gallery Skoufa 4, Kolonaki, Tel: 210.360.3541 Stavros Mihaliaras Art 260 Kifissias & Diligianni, Kifissia Tel: 210.623.0928 Thanassis Frisssiras Gallery Kriezotou 7, Tel: 210. 364.0288 The Art Foundation (TAF) Normanou 5, Monastiraki, Tel: 210.323.8757 The Eynard Mansion Aghiou Konstantinou 20 & Menandrou, Athens 104 31, Tel: 210 322 1335 The National Art Gallery and Alexander Soutzos Museum Michalakopoulou 1 - Vas. Constantinou 1, 115 28 Athens, Tel: 210-7235857 Titanium Yiayiannos Vas. Konstantinou 44, Pangrati, Tel: 210.729.7644 Tsatsis Project/ Artforum 12 Mitropoleos st. & Venizelou PC 54624 Thessaloniki, Tel: 231 025 7552 Xippas Gallery Sofokleous 53D, 105 52 Athens, Greece, Tel: 210 331 9333 Zoumboulakis Gallery Kolonaki Square 20, Kolonaki Tel: 210.360.8278 Zoumboulakis Gallery Graphics & Editions Kriezotou 7, Syntagma , Tel: 210.363.4454
Allou Fun Park Kifissou & Petrou Ralli, Ag. Ioannis Rentis, Tel: 210.425.6999, www.allou.gr Children’s Museum Kydathinaeon 14, Plaka, Tel: 210.331.2995. Goulandris Museum of Natural History Levidou 13, Kifissia. Tel: 210.801.5870, www.gnhm.gr Greek Folk Art Museum Daily Karaghiozis puppet shows! Kydathinaeon 17, Plaka, Tel: 210.322.9031 Museum of Children’s Art Kodrou 9, Plaka, Tel: 210.331.22621 www.childrensartmuseum.gr
Summit U The Wall Sport Climbing Center Ag. Athanasiou 12, Pallini, Tel: 210.603.0093, www.summit.gr Westin Kids Club Apollonos 40, Vouliagmeni, Tel: 210.890.2000 http://www.westinathens.com/en/westin_kids_club/
getting around
Ada Rent-a-Car Tel: 210.322.0087 Arena Tel: 210.894.6883, 210.614.7400 Auto Union Tel: 210.922.1211/1213 Avis Tel: 210.322.4951 Budget Tel: 210.921.4771-3 Europcar Tel: 210.924.8810-8 Hertz Tel: 210.998.2000 Michael Stamou Luxury Rentals Tel: 210.922.2442/43 Sixt Rent-a-Car Tel: 210.570.6895, 210.922.0171
24 HOUR VIP TRANSPORT SERVICE
WSW Skycap Services at Athens Airport provides Meet & Greet, Baggage Hauling and Transport Service. Tel: 210.353.0100 www.skycap.gr For info about the public bus lines please check our section Getting Around
LIMOUSINES
Public transport
AAA Royal Prestige Tel: 210.988.3221 Astra Limousine Service Tel: 210.922.0333/807.9996 Convecta Travel Agency & Limousine Services Tel: 210.322.5090 Limousines Kakaya Tel: 210.323.4120 Combined tickets for metro, buses and trolleys (e1) are available from metro stations and central ticket booths, valid within 90 mins of validation for all public transport - except the airport service, which costs 6e.
EXPRESS BUS from/to airport To and from Syntagma Square (bus X95, 70 min. approx.), Ethniki Amyna metro station (bus X94, 50 min. approx.) and Piraeus (bus X96, 90 min. approx.). Tickets available at the Arrivals Hall; validate on board. Buses leave every 10-15 minutes. Fare is e3.20 and the ticket is valid for 24 hours on buses, trolleys and metro. For further information dial 185 or visit www.oasa.gr, www.ametro.gr. For info on trains see www. proastiakos.gr
HELLENIC RAILWAYS ORGANIsATION Karolou 1. Tel: 210.529.7002 www.ose.gr
ATHENS METRO Line 1 (Piraeus-Kifissia) 5am-midnight, Line 2 (Agios Antonios-Agios Dimitrios) 5.30am-midnight, Line 3 (Egaleo-Doukissis Plakentias) 5.30am-midnight Line 3 (Egaleo-Airport) 5.30am-22.52pm and 06.30am-23.30pm. The last itinerary is 2 hours later on Friday and Saturday night than it is during the week. www.ametro.gr
tram Tram itineraries are only from Syntagma to S.E.F (in Neo Faliro) and from Syntagma to Asklipio Voulas. From Monday to Thursday, trams operate from 5.am until midnight and non-stop from Friday morning to Sunday midnight. www.tramsa.gr
TAXIS from the airport cost about e20 to Syntagma Square, e25 to Piraeus, depending on traffic. Between midnight and 5am double tariff applies. Note: If you suspect that you have been overcharged, you can call the tourist police 0n 171
INTERCITY BUSES Terminal 1: Buses for Igoumenitsa, Ioannina, Kavala, Loutraki, Patra, the Peloponese, and Thessaloniki. Kifissou 100Tel: 210.512.4910-1, www.ktel.org Terminal 2: Buses for Delphi, Evia, Galaxidi, Karpenisi, Katerini, Lamia, Livadia, Thiva and Volos. Liosion 260.
RADIO TAXI Enotita Tel: 210.645.9000 Ermis Tel: 210.411.5200 Ikarus Tel: 210.515.2800 Kifissia Tel: 210.801.4000 Piraeus Tel: 210.418.2333 Radio Taxi Glyfada Tel: 210.960.5600 There is a booking fee of e1 added to the meter.
Sea ports Piraeus Tel: 210.422.6000-4 Rafina Tel: 22940.22300, 22940.28888
Sea ports & Ferries
Airport
Eleftherios Venizelos International Airport, Spata. Tel: 210.353.0000, 210.353.1000. www.aia.gr.
Car rental
Airlines
Aegean Tel: 801.11.20000 Air France Tel: 210.998.0222 Air Malta Tel: 210.965.2300-22 Alitalia Tel: 210.998.8888 American Tel: 210.361.3373 Air Taxis (Helicopter and plane charters) Tel: 210.938.4149 Austrian Tel: 210.960.1244 British Airways Tel: 801.11.56000 BMI Tel: 210.960.0942 Continental Tel: 210.353.4312 Cyprus Airways Tel: 210.353.4100 Delta Tel: 210.331.1673-6 Easy Jet Tel: 210.353.0300 El Al Tel: 210.934.1500-1 Emirates Tel: 210.933.3400 Etihad Tel: 210.960.56.08 Gulf Air Tel: 210.322.0851 Iberia Tel: 210.353.6004 KLM Tel: 210.998.0333 Lufthansa Tel: 210.617.5200 Olympic Airways Tel: 210.966.6666 SAS Tel: 210.353.0373 Swiss / Crossair Tel: 210.617.5320 Turkish Tel: 210.353.7280-2
Ferries Ferries run year-round. For information on seasonal schedules contact a travel agent or call the Port Police on 210.422.6000 From the Port of Piraeus Northern and Eastern Aegean Islands: Gates A & B Chios, Ikaria, Lesvos, Samos, Dodecanese Islands: Gate E Kalymnos, Kos Leros, Patmos, Rhodes, Saronic Gulf Islands: Gates G & E Aegina, Hydra, Poros, Spetses, Crete: Gate A Aghios Nikolaos, Chania, Iraklio, Kastelli (Kissamos), Rethymno, Cycladic Islands:
Thessaloniki: 2310.560.700 www.superfast.com Hellenic Seaways 210 41 99 000 www.hellenicseaways.gr, Anek Lines www.anek.gr Domestic lines: 210 41 97 420 International lines: 210 41 97 430 Minoan Lines www.minoan.gr Tel:801 11 75 000
YACHT CHARTERS A1 Yacht Trade Consortium Akti Themistokleous 8, Marina Zeas, Piraeus. Tel: 210.458.7100 Ghiolman Yachts Filellinon 7, Syntagma. Tel: 210.323.0330 Nava Yachts Loudovikou Sq. 6, Piraeus. Tel: 210.417.7728 Northstar Poseidonos 54, P. Faliro. Tel: 210.988.4000 PGA Alimou & Poseidonos, Alimos. Tel: 210.985.9400 Seahorse Alkyonidon 83 (Marina), Voula. Tel: 210.895.2212, 210.895.6733 Seascape Poseidonos Ave. 29, Alimos. Tel/Fax: 210.985.8301 Valef Yachts Pl. Chatzikonstanti 2, Piraeus. Tel:210.451.2010 Vernicos Yachts Posidonos 11, Kalamaki. Tel: 210.985.0122-8
Gates B, G & D
Astipalea, Folegandros, Kimolos, Kithnos, Milos, Serifos, Sifnos: Gate B Amorgos, Donoussa, Ios, Iraklia, Koufonissi, Mykonos, Santorini, Schinoussa, Syros, Tinos: Gates G&D Naxos, Paros: Gate G
Superfast Ferries Daily departures, Greece - Italy: from Patras and Igoumenitsa to Ancona and Bari Head office: 23-125 Syngrou Avenue & 3 Torva Street 11745 Athens. Tel:210.891.9000 Reservations: Athens: 210.891.9130
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athens citysales mappoints For central Athens points, see i on map EASTERN SUBURBS Gerakas: Mini Market Milionis: 131, Marathonos Avenue Pallini: Bookshop Bouzas: 63, Marathonos Street Peania: Bookshop Tangopoulos: Agias Triados Street
NORTHERN SUBURBS AG.PARASKEVI: Mini Market Avarakis: 3, Themistokleous Street, Kiosk Theodoropoulos: 8, Polytechniou Street DIONYSSOS: Kiosk Michail: 4, Mitropolitou Kydonion Street EKALI: Kiosk Kyrpoglou: Vassileos Pavlou Square FILOTHEI: Kiosk Roupa: Drossopoulou Square, Super Market Kyriakopoulos: 11, M.Renieri Street, Mini Market Plati: 27, V.Georgiou Street HALANDRI: Mini Market Kyriakou: 3, Lykourgou Street, Kiosk Drizos: V. Konstantinou & V.Georgiou Street, Bookshop Evripidis: 11, V.Konstantinou Street, Mini Market Bakatsia: 46, Pendelis Avenue, Bookshop Vivliostyl: 34, Olympou Street, Mini Market Tsakiri: 76, Ag.Antoniou Street HOLARGOS: Kiosk Bekiaris: 212, Messogion Aveue, Kiosk Tambouridis: 256, Messogion Avenue KEFALARI: Kiosk Glentzis: Patr.Maximou & Apergi Square KIFISSIA: Kiosk Karadouman: 36-38, Kyriazi Street, Bookshop Gioggaras: 34, Elaion Street, Kiosk Koutsodimou: 308, Kifissias Avenue MAROUSSI: Tobacco & Gifts Tsitsilonis: 41-43, Kifissias Avenue, Tobacco & Gifts Raptis: 64, Kifissias Street, Kiosk Stefanopoulos: 46, Kifissias Street, Mini Market Kitsios: 43, Grammoou & Dionyssou Street MELISSIA: Kiosk Manikas: 75, Dimokratias Avenue, Mini Market Koufopandelis: 28, Pigis Street NEA ERYTHREA: Kiosk Anastassopoulos: 142, Harilaou Trikoupi Street, Bookshop Giannaki: 169, Eleftheriou Venizelou Street, Newsstand: 20 klm National Road Athens-Lamia, Kiosk Konidakis: Thisseos Avenue & Papadaki, Kiosk Kallergis: 130, Tatoiou Street NEO PSYCHIKO: Kiosk Katichidis: E.Makariou & Michalakopoulou Street, Kiosk Doukas: 44, Diamantidou Street, Kiosk Gionis: 25, Chr.Smyrnis & Ag.Georgiou Street PAPAGOU: Mini Market Papavassiliou: 16, Ellispontou Street
PALEO PSYCHIKO: Kiosk Kyriakou: Solomou Square, Kiosk Gialama: Efkalypton Square, Kiosk Polydoros: Kifissias & Ag.Dimitriou Street, Kiosk Kalogeropoulos: V. GeorgiouSquare, Kiosk Kontabasis: 2, Amaryllidos & V. Pavlou Street, Kiosk Kalfagian: V. Georgiou B’ 11 POLITIA: Kiosk Vovlas: Politia Square VRILISSIA : Kiosk Theodoropoulou: 5, Analypsi Square, Kiosk Aggelopoulos: Pendelis Avenue & Omirou, Bookshop Karystinaiou: 69, Alefiou Street
SOUTHERN SUBURBS GLYFADA : Kiosk Tamourantzis: 3, Metaxa & Maragou Street, Kiosk Tsakanikas: 3, Lambraki Street, Kiosk Mavraki: Pandoras & Ioanni Metaxa, Kiosk Adamopoulos: 20, Ioanni Metaxa Street, Kiosk Papadakou: 7, Ioanni Metaxa Street, Kiosk Haikal: 1, Ioanni Metaxa & Fivis Street, Kiosk Bolota: Gounari & Iraklitou Street, Kiosk Bellou: 5, Saki Karagiorga Street, Mini Market Agiokatsikos: 24, Ilias Street HELLINIKO : NewsStand: 43-47, Vouliagmenis Avenue ILIOUPOLIS : Super Market Kokossis: 5, Glastonos Street LAGONISI: Kiosk Vassiliadis: 37,5 klm Athinon-Souniou Avenue NEA SMYRNI: Kiosk Manoussos: 28, Eleftheriou Venizelou Street VARKIZA: Kiosk Paraskevopoulou: Varkiza Square VOULA: Kiosk Leontopoulos: 12, Sokratous Street, Mini Market Pournara: 33, Pringipos Petrou Street, Kiosk Christopoulou: V. Pavlou & Ag. Ioanni Street VOULIAGMENI: Kiosk Andrioti: Armonias Square, Kiosk Chryssikos: 1, Ermou Street, Kiosk Kylitis: 14, Thisseos Street PALEO FALIRO: Kiosk Kombogianni: 1, Ag. Alexandrou Street, Kiosk Kapetanou: 24, Achilleos Street, Mini Market Nikouli: 9, Pliadon Street, Tobacco & Gifts Berekos: 1, Possidnos Avenue & Moraitini Street PIRAEUS: Hand Delivery Telstar: 57, Akti Miaouli, Tourist Chop Siatras: 46, Akti Koumoundourou Street, Kiosk Samarogiannis: 7, Merarhias B’Street, Kiosk Siaho: Akti Moutsopoulou (Kanari Square), Kiosk Kentros: 73, Iroon Polytechniou Street, Kiosk Fotis : 1, Loudovikou Street, Kiosk Spalas: 111, Karaiskou Street, Newsstand: Railway Station Loudovikou Square
www.mysephora.gr For central Athens stores, see on map ASPROPIRGOS Filis 100 & Bouboulinas, Tel: 210.558.0989 ERMOU Ermou 24 Tel: 210. 331.3167 & 325.7744 KALLITHEA Thisseos & Davaki, Tel: 210.956.5959 - 956.5446 KIFISSIA Kassaveti 6 Tel: 210.623.1741 & 623.1742 KORYDALLOS Taxiarhon 110A, Tel: 210.569.5270 569.5998 THE MALL, Notios Paradromos Attikis Odou, Tel: 210.630.0125 & 630.0126 AVENUE Kifissias 41-45, Tel: 210.610.9739 & 610.9740
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GOLDEN HALL Kifissias Av. 37A & Sp. Louis, Tel: 210.683.7343 PANGRATI Ymittou 110 & Hremonidou, Tel: 210.751.8005 GLYFADA A. Metaxa 33-35 , Tel: 210. 894.3378 & 894.5884 KOLONAKI Milioni 2, Tel: 210. 361.2666 & 362.9925 NEA MAKRI Marathonos Av. 117, Tel: 229.409.9661 PERISTERI Ethnikis Antistaseos 12, Tel: 210. 571.0755 PETROU RALLI Petrou Ralli 97, Tel: 210. 569.6596 & 569.7316 PIKERMI 21oklm. Marathonos Av. , Tel: 210. 603.9987 PSYCHIKO Kifissias 210, Tel: 210. 677.5527 & 674.0178 VRILISSIA Pentelis Av. . 72, Tel: 210. 810.1971 & 810.1972
city map
Map courtesy of Emvelia Publications
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KA L E I DOS COP E
French cinema has always had a large following in Greece and constitutes 6% of the global market for French films worldwide. Doyennes of the big screen like Catherine Deneuve and Claudia Cardinale add to the glamour of the event this year as do younger stars Diane Kruger and Anna Mouglalis. The films range from ‘Elle s’appelait Sarah’, an emotion-laden movie touching on one of the darkest periods of recent history to Donoma created on a budget of 150 euros to Claude Chabrol’s Bellamy. The jury that will award the ‘Chouette d’Athenes’ for the best film includes a who’s who of Greek cinema including Costas Gavras and Theo Angelopoulos. For programme details and screenings, check www.ifa.gr.
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