INSIDER issue 88

THE CITY MAGAZINE OF

October 2010 Year 8. Issue 88 â‚Ź4.50

insider ISSN 1790-3114

ATHENS

The green issue Eco-logical thoughts / Green initiatives / Grassroots policy / Sowing the seeds of change Putting greens / Eco designers / Sustainable tourism in Gavdos / Restoring Kapsaliana Alkioni - a wildlife refuge / Gardening reinvented Plus: Sephora celebrates in style / 2500th anniversary of the marathon PLUS: ARTS, ENTERTAINMENT, FOOD & WINE, NIGHTLIFE, SHOPPING, NOVELTIES, MAPS| October AND2010MORE insider athens 1

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Sudha Nair-Iliades

Going to the printers can be a nerve-wracking affair at the best of times. Emotions run high and the frenzy in the office is palpable.Throw in the pressure of altering articles and squeezing in last minute ads and the delirium is complete. So in that sense, our decision to move at the end of September to our new offices couldn’t have had poorer timing.The scramble to get the logistics and the paperwork in place while producing a punch-filled magazine should have completely thrown us. Surprisingly, we were calmer than usual, keying in our last few changes, as the packers went about their business.

Within five hours we were in our new office, a charming home in Makriyianni, stretched across two floors with a lovely roof terrace, with enough space to double up as a gallery, conduct workshops and host charity events.

publisher’s note While I’ll always cherish the wonderful friendships we’d cultivated and the irresistible wafts of chocolate cookies fresh off the oven from Pastry Family next door, there is so much to look forward to in our new premises.

We’d always wanted our office to be an extension of the magazine – a hub for interaction, a venue promoting the arts and supporting charity. To that end, we’ll be hosting our office-warming cum charity event for Ninelives on November 8 and hope it will be the beginning of more fun evenings throughout the year.

Sudha Nair-Iliades

Publisher Sudha Nair-Iliades

Web Coordinator Ranti Bam

Delivery Hellenic Foreign Press Distribution Agency

Art Director Michel Devanakis

Art Editor Stephanie Bailey

Subscriptions

Editor Toula Victor

Contributors in this Issue Stephanie Bailey, Connie Burke, Barbara J. Euser, Marie Fiorin, Cordelia Madden-Kanellopoulou, Nick Malkoutzis, Donald Charles Richardson, Mike Sweet, Toula Victor,

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contributors Cordelia Madden-Kanellopoulou is a freelance journalist based in Athens since 1999. She has written for publications ranging from the Athens News to Marie Claire Australia and the South China Morning Post, and was editor of Insider between 2008 and 2010. She contributed the lifestyle sections of the Time Out and Dorling Kindersley guides to Athens, and her own guidebook, Shopping in Athens, was published in 2004. She lives in Athens with her husband and three cats, and spends her spare time running marathons and trying to improve the lives of street cats through the charity www.ninelivesgreece.com

Stephanie Bailey

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

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. Since May 2010 he has taken over as art director of Insider and Bonjour Athènes. Passionate about art, and painter in his ‘rare’ spare time, you can find out more about him on his website: www.studiozip.com

Marie Fiorin

Cordelia Madden

Michel Devanakis

After a Masters in Economics and a Masters in Fashion Management from SDA Bocconi in Milan, Marie gained significant experience in the fashion industry working for leading brands such as Vivienne Westwood, Emanuel Ungaro, Ermenegildo Zegna and GianFranco Ferré. She also worked for Fashion TV as a presenter as well as for Yoox Group as a shoe buyer. Marie then started a career as a freelance fashion stylist and launched marilicious.com in 2009, a website dedicated to fashion, style & beauty. Follow her tips in the Agora pages!

As the Luxury Lifestyle Writer for both Accent and Forum Magazines, Donald Charles Richardson is always on the lookout for the world’s most wonderful experiences. His recent articles include Finding the World’s Best Ice Cream, Discovering White Truffles, The Style Legacy of the Duke of Windsor, The Most Expensive Cocktails, Wine Choices of European Sommeliers, and A Perfect Day in Paris. He lives in New York City between trips.

Donald Charles Richardson

editorial

by Toula Victor

Some say that ‘green’ is a state of mind. Indeed, the human mind can accomplish many things if made aware. Global initiatives have set out to bring environmental awareness to the forefront and have been largely successful, with environmental policies ranking at the top of the agenda for organizations like the United Nations. The issues that many doubted at first have quickly become a hard reality. With the threat of global warming, the need for alternative fuels, and renewable energy sources becoming a necessity, it is clear that an impending dilemma could be just around the corner.

To some extent, it has been difficult to escape the call for environmental awareness. From Al Gore’s An

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Inconvenient Truth, to corporate social and environmental responsibility policies, to celebrities making the Toyota Prius a preferred mode of transportation, we have been made aware in a variety of ways. And that is exactly the point. We have reached a state of mind where we walk the extra few steps to dispose of recyclables in the blue bins placed around the city, we use public transportation although at times it seems inconvenient, we transform our balconies or rooftops into mini-ecosystems or herb gardens, we pay attention to the energy saving tips on the back of our DEH bills, and we choose paper over plastic when bagging our groceries at the super market.

After a while, the physical actions become mechanical.

And although these actions make an impact, it is our state of mind that makes a difference.

contents Features

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Art in the time of collapse 10 Stephanie Bailey has a thoughtprovoking discussion with AD Gallery’s Pantelis Arapinis on art as a barometer of Greece’s economic and ethical bankruptcy

The suite life 14 Afroditi Arvaniti of NJV Athens Plaza shares her favourite city haunts Sephora turns ten 20 Jacques Levy, CEO Sephora Worldwide on his company’s success in catering to the bold and the beautiful Countdown to the Marathon 22 Insider compiles a fun-fact file on the occasion of the 2500th anniversary of Pheidippedes’ legendary run From the grassroots up 26 Nick Malkoutzis captures the change in Greece’s perception towards recycling Positive Energy 27 In an exclusive interview, Dr Ioannis Tsipouridis, CEO of PPC Renewables comments on his company’s pioneering efforts in producing electricity with zero environmental impact since the fifties

Departments Eco-logical thoughts 28 Four CEOs,Alexandros Tombazis, Jean-Michel Heironimus, Ashok Kapoor and Andrew Clements discuss their green agendas The future looks green 32 Meet dreamers and designers at the Green Design Festival Green Initiatives 34 Toula Victor assesses eco-friendly initiatives in the public and private sector Golfing greens 36 In-depth reviews of Greece’s environment friendly golf courses On a wing and a prayer 38 Cordelia Madden-Kanellopoulou follows Marios Fournaris on a tour of the Alkioni Wildlife Hospital on Paros A world apart 42 Mike Sweet examines the latest challenges to creating sustainable tourism on a unique and endangered Greek island, Gavdos Whispers of Cretan lore 44 Donald Charles Richardson reflects on the restoration of a deserted Cretan quarter into the Kapsaliana Village Hotel

Arts and events

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Art review

10

My Athens

14

Society

16

Fast lane

18

Business

20

Sport

22

Education

23

Green Living

24

Talking Point

26

Energy

27

Greenspeak

28

Agora

52

Wellness

54

Giving

56

Insider News

57

Restaurant lndex 58 Area-wise listings 60 Kaleidoscope

80

32 34 38 54 80 Cover by Michel Devanakis

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Arts & events

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until

03 04 31 05 13 0610 oc t o be r

october

october

november

Technopolis

Cheap Art

Kalfayan Galleries

Ibero-American Festival LEA: Literature in Athens After a largely successful LEA Festival in 2009, the cultural magazine Sol Latino has organized the festival for a second consecutive year in cooperation with the Intercultural Center of Athens, the Instituto Cervantes, the Language and Culture Center Abanico and Technopolis.A variety of activities focused mostly on Spanish and Portuguese-speaking literature and history will include speeches, debates, workshops, round tables, and book presentations. Art, cuisine, music and a children’s programme will also be presented.

Nikos Gavropoulos: Athens 2450 Years Later 1 In response to the surge of violence in Athens that culminated in the events of December 2008, Nikos Gavropoulos has created a series of works that capture the progress of Greek society 2450 years after the completion of the sculptural decoration of the Parthenon. In his exhibition, Giavropoulos suggests that today’s problems may be different, but society’s response, the propensity for violence, and mutual resentment among citizens, remain the same.

Matteo Montani: The Guard of the Threshold Abstract works present a surreal atmosphere, where colors merge together and objects seem to have no borders, where time is momentarily suspended. A dream-like quality is evoked through the use of a limited palette of colors in shades of blue, white, black and grey. Montani guides the viewer through a world of pure perception and visual emotion with poetic references to the transcendental qualities of the natural world.

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www.cheapart.gr

www.kalfayangalleries.com

october

Goosun Art-illery Workshop in Athens In collaboration with Atropos and Kinitiras Studio 2 Inferno, a solo performance inspired by and based on the myth of Prometheus, accounts of Guantanamo Bay detention camp and the writings of Albert Camus, explores the issues of imprisonment, torture, human rights and also human body-andmind as the target of violence. A 5-day workshop is scheduled in Athens where dance rehearsals and lectures will take place and the performance will premiere in Copenhagen at the beginning of February.

www.goossun.com

On the town For location details see listings p76

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0718 12 31

october

Ekfrasi Yianna Grammatopoulou Vasilis Karakatsanis : Alcohol 3 An exhibition that decrypts the attitudes, habits and hidden thoughts of the bourgeoisie, especially those determined to attain a certain life style. Karakatsanis’ works lead the way to another world, one where restraint, dignity and grandiose statements dissolve between cigarette smoke and alcohol.

october

november

october

Fizz Gallery

Bernier Eliades

Skoufa Gallery

K.N. Patsios: The Divine Comedy 4 Through various painting techniques and styles, Konstantinos Patsios uses images, characters and symbols associated with the childhood and adolescence, characteristic of artists of his generation. His works represent a continuous and dynamic shift in society while making references to other art movements, such as expressionism and realism.

Jim Shaw By juxtaposing the metaphysical associations of Colour Field painting with “low” commercial naturalism, then filtering the result through a construction of modern spirituality, Jim Shaw engineers a bizarre compendium of compromised attempts at purity. His new project is a provocative re-conceptualization of the high / low divide and a sly critique of modernist painting’s quest for “purity”.

Philip Tarlow: Everyday Poetry After living and painting in Greece for 15 years, Philip Tarlow continues to be inspired by Athenians. His series of people and landscapes is a continuation of his previous work and depicts poetic, mysterious and sometimes romantic glimpses of meandering locals.

www.fizzgallery.gr

www.skoufagallery.gr

http://www.bernier-eliades.gr/

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Arts & events

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octo be r

Benaki Museum Pireos Street Annexe Building Sustainable Communities Held under the auspices of Hyperborean Refractions of European Architecture, this exhibition introduces Danish architects and engineers and invites participation in the development of a global action platform.The event aims to increase consciousness and social responsibility in architecture and technical projects, and seeks the collaboration of state agencies and citizens for global sustainability and for a better society.

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october

6th Biennale of Young Greek Architects 1 Organised by the Hellenic Institute of Architecture within the framework of its activities to support the development of contemporary Greek architecture, the event’s purpose is to gather together a representative sample of contemporary works by young architects, up to 45 years of age, to promote new creative viewpoints and to exchange views about the development of an architectural discourse in Greece today.

www.benaki.gr

The St. George Lycabettus Hotel Kidimo Created using letters made of zinc, Bakelite, wood and plastic, letters from old French shop signs find new life. Unique,vintagestyle words and phrases will be on display at the St. George Lycabettus Hotel for all to admire and even purchse. For more information or to pre-order the word of your choice, visit

www.kidimo.com.

until

22 october

B&M Theocharakis Foundation for the Fine Arts & Music Immersed in Hydra’s Light: Timothy Hennessy Ioannis Kardamatis Through 60 works of art, this show explores the long lasting friendship of Timothy Hennessy and Ioannis Kardamatis and the impact of Hydra’s landscape on their artistic development.

With different backgrounds and aesthetic education, the two artists share an interest in the Orient and Byzantium and an admiration for the classical ideal of ancient Greece.

www.thf.gr

On the town For location details see listings p76

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22 octo be r

IFA Auditorium

Banda Magda 2 French songs sprinkled with a touch of jazz and a dash of South American rhythm. This group of five musicians, influenced by the music of Henri Salvador, Astor Piazzolla, Richard Galliano, Serge Gainsbourg, among others, will present a preview of some tracks from their latest album.

www.ifa.gr

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until

30

until

o c to b e r

31 october

Siakos.Hanappe

k-art

Benaki Museum

Adam Chodzko: taken-in, fall-out 3 Using a wide variety of media - from video to performance to fly-posters to drawing – Adam Chodzko explores the interactions of human behaviour. He looks at the mystery of daily life, reaserches the gaps between knowledge and reality, resorts to fantasy as a way of filling these gaps, and believes in myth and ritual as a way of energizing communal society.

Phantasmagoria 4 In it’s fourth year, this group exhibition includes a series of images associated with rapid changes in light intensity and colour by artists including Nikos Alexiou, Vanessa Anastasopoulos Andreas Voussouras, Maurice Gkanis, Angeliki Douveri Tasos Latskos Thomou George Kavounis, Dimitra Marouda, Emmanuel Mpitsakos Martin Donev, Marilena Tzavara and Nick Houliaras.

Theophilos: Works from the Collection of the Emporiki Bank Exhibiting a group of twenty paintings from the art collection of Emporiki Bank of Greece, this collection includes a selection of the usual themes chosen by Theophilos Hadjimichael: scenes from history or mythology; images taken from postcards and old lithographs or photographs; landscapes; and images of everyday life.

www.siakos-hanappe.com

www.k-art.gr

www.benaki.gr

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Arts & events

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nove m be r

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n o ve m b e r

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december

0710 october

january

Herakleidon Museum

Xippas Gallery

Gagosian Gallery

Museum of Cycladic Art

Woman as Muse, 1900-1950 1 The female form has been an inspiration to artists of all ages and ethnic groups, dating back to antiquity. This exhibition showcases works on paper by world renowned artists of modernism, depicting their varied interpretations of the female form and reflecting the prevailing artistic movements of their time.Woman is portrayed as mother, muse, lover, friend or confidante. She is alternately nurturing, beguiling, assertive or conspiratorial. Showcasing works inspired by women by European artists, Herakleidon presents approximately ninety watercolors, prints and drawings from the Museum’s collection, the Greek National Gallery, the Alpha Bank Collection, as well as from the private collections of Mr. Economou and Mr. Leontiadis.

Yves Oppenheim In his second solo exhibition at Xippas gallery,Yves Oppenheim showcases a collection of recently completed oversized works where patterns and background continue to change creating intense layers.

Michael Craig-Martin 2 In his first solo exhibition in Greece, Michael Craig-Martin exhibits his new and vivid acrylic-on-aluminium paintings, exploring reality and representation in art. By constructing a series of open-ended pieces.

Each painting is based on a single word, with letters in varying sizes and order, mixed with line drawings of objects such as shoes, hammers, light bulbs, safety pins, and chairs, against a vivid monochrome background, exploiting the complex and often contradictory relationships between word and image.

The Lost World of Old Europe. The Danube Valley, 5000-3500 BC …and the relations between Neolithic Greece and the Balkans 3 The unknown world of “Old Europe” is revealed in this exhibition, which features more than 200 Neolithic objects from Romania, Bulgaria and Moldova.

Among the exhibits are impressive models of the human form, stunning painted pottery and metalwork, including the earliest known assemblage of gold artifacts from the cemetery of Varna.

www.herakleidon-art.gr

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www.xippas.com

www.gagosian.com

www.cycladic.gr

On the town For location details see listings p76

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Art

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Planting a Seed for Discourse;

Art in the Time of Collapse A When the going gets tough, the tough get going, and in the case of the AD Gallery’s latest show, the tough need to encourage a whole lot more than market speculation and art world trends. Stephanie Bailey talks to AD Gallery director Pantelis Arapinis about why.

1.Vangelis Gokas, Untitled, 2008, oil on canvas, 195 x 210 cm 2. Caroline May, Untitled#11(Hustler), 2005, Framed c-print, 120 x 120 cm 3. Nikos Markou, Untitled, Inkjetfine art print, 130 x 176,5 cm 4. Maria Loizidou, Blow counters, dresses for all, 1999, fabric-synthetic cotton 5.Yiorgos Kordakis, Global Summer#22, 2005, inkjet print, 135 x 105 cm

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strange atmosphere persists in Greece as the country settles back into a post-summer rhythm after one of the most tumultuous years in its modern history. As the shock of the worst economic catastrophe to hit the European Union subsides, today’s reality feels wholly unstable.The spectre of collapse looms, while environmental catastrophe, pollution and huge immigration problems lurk in the shadow of the economic crisis; but still people carry on, clinging to the systems that have apparently failed them, while those who attempt to make any kind of change discover obstacles too great to overcome alone. Suddenly, art doesn’t seem so important when there are more important issues to talk about.

But when looking at the AD Gallery’s latest exhibition, Art in the Time of Collapse, a narrative emerges that holds contemporary relevance while touching on the urgent need for a discourse that could encourage a new age of rationalism in a time where things have become a little too crazy for most people’s liking. “There is a big crisis at the core of Greek politics,” gallery director Pantelis Arapinis laments. “There is no real discussion; people are not encouraged to participate in any kind of discourse.When people understand no discussion is taking place, they move away from politics. You know, I was a student under the dictatorship, and today, the dictatorship is like a small headache compared to what has happened here in Greece over the last 20 years. But we talk about the dictatorship in a way that we cannot see what is happening today.”

Thus if contemporary art acts as a lens by which to interpret contemporary times, Art in the Time of Collapse attempts to provide space to critically assess contemporary Greece through art produced as the crisis unfolded. “I wanted to find artworks made in the last decade that express a sense of the emerging crisis,” Arapinis explains, exposing a sense of responsibility the gallery takes not only as a commercial space, but as a public platform to encourage communication. “What

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is the main thing a gallery should have in mind? Showing works for commercial purposes? Ok,” Arapinis states. “But this is done to create a stable ground to understand art. To create ground like that you must put the past and present together to create a model of understanding.

You cannot understand art outside a historic, cultural, geographical and political frame.”

As such, the texts discussing the works are just as important as the works themselves. “I needed a political context for this exhibition,” Arapinis says. The exhibition catalogue uses Politics Against the Ruins, a text by Nikos Xydakis, published in Kathimerini, 21 March, 2010, as an introduction. An observation of Greek reality, Xydakis’s words summarise Arapinis’s own opinions on what has led to the current political, social and economic climate. “The people, the mentalities, the mechanisms, the administrative tricks, the world theory they constituted, raised and encouraged bad management; corruptness, impunity and wastefulness supplied the crisis…ethical bankruptcy preceded the economic one,” Xydakis writes. Arapinis touches on this issue. “The main problem is that this society doesn’t produce ethical and moral possibilities. Look at the television and you will understand. What is the way out? How can people even find a way out of this situation?”

While the blown-up Polaroid images of summer beach scenes taken from Yiorgos Kordakis’s Global Summer series, 2005-2008, evoking the reality of a warming climate and the human denial of man’s impact on the environmental crisis that has been sidelined by economic woes, Vasilis Polychronakis’s Stefanie, 2005, and Alexandros Avranas’s video Happy Together, 2006, conjure up the sense of isolation and hopeless-

ness that many identify with today. Documenting the day in the life of a woman with not much to do except sit in the house, smoke rolled cigarettes and drink tea, (amongst other activities), Avranas presents an image of what life is like for any young person in Greece, and it isn’t very hopeful. As Xydakis wonders, will the concepts of moral engagement, social responsibility, collective life, solidarity, and dignity overcome the autonomy given to the economy over politics and society?

Perhaps the answer lies in one of the most poignant works on show, Untitled, 19.06.2010, by Nikos Markou. “What is interesting about this piece is unlike Markou’s other photographic works, which are heavily manipulated in Photoshop, Markou has not manipulated this one at all,” gallery assistant Christina Androulidaki reveals, as we stare at a cherry tree in decadent blossom emerging from the darkness.“You know,” Androulidaki continues,“apparently this particular type of cherry tree bears the most fruit just before it dies.” With the tree bearing more cherries than one could imagine, the image is at once beautiful and grotesque. It reflects on the extravagance that preceded Greece’s financial downfall, and reminds us that rise and fall within society is a natural cycle Greece actually knows quite well. But if the tree is dying, it’s time to plant new seeds, no matter how bleak the future looks. Whether this will happen or not, however, is a collective responsibility. i September 22-November 6, 2010.

See www.adgallery.gr for more information.

Art in the Time of Collapse; Alexandros Arvanas, Vasilis Vasilakakis, Vagelis Gokas, Yiorgos Kordakis, Maria Loizidou, Panagiotis Loukas, Nikos Markou, Karolina May, Maria Polyloizidou,Vasilis Polychronakis, Anastasis Stratakis.

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Art

Re-Connecting to Creative Potential

Els Hanappe talks to Stephanie Bailey about the thinking that goes behind Siakos.Hanappe House of Art’s latest projects, revealing a few things about herself in the process.

W

andering into the Hilton for an interview with Belgium gallerist, Els Hanappe, one half of Siakos.Hanappe House of Art alongside Lazarus Siakos, I almost pass a sculpture of Ingbert Brunck without noticing it. A sculptor capable of making marble look as light as paper, and as ethereal as a cloud shielding the glowing, summer sun, it almost felt as if the natural character Brunck extracts from his material had been somewhat muted by its urban setting.

This in itself is interesting; it gives the viewer responsibility to discover the soul of the material, and in doing so, perhaps come a little closer to nature and creation. In his own words, Brunck’s sculpture is all “about discovering a distinctive language. The material itself has a big power and spirit; there is a spirit in everything and it is nice to make it clearer.”

His approach to marble is one of the key reasons Hanappe was attracted to his work; “I did this show because I feel like marble is an important material for Greek heritage and so I wanted to know who was using marble and how.”

Whether in terms of the natural world, human nature, or the man-made realities of history and the modern city, connecting is one of the core principles behind the Siakos.Hanappe venture. On the latest exhibition at the Glyfada-based gallery space, Hanappe describes the work of British artist, Adam Chodzko as; “very sensitive and very warm in the human sense. He is interested in human beings in a positive way, in that we are all humans together. He tries to find ways related to how can we live together and how can we connect.”

In many ways, the Siakos.Hanappe House of Art attempts to re-connect.

“I am more interested in what’s here, and how you can work with the materials, the traditions, the problems, as well as the crisis. I mean for the future this is far more interesting,” she explains, using her gallery’s previous show that looked at travellers in Greece during the 18th and 19th centuries and their relation to the modern relationship with the land. “It was about how the traveller changes the perceptions of nature,” she says. “We don’t have direct contact with nature anymore and therefore we lose how we understand a country.”

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The concept of the traveller must resonate with Hanappe, as it does for expatriates and immigrants who have made Athens their home, the international Greek Diaspora who return as strangers, or the Greeks who simply want to escape their current reality. On why she has stayed in Greece, Hanappe admits, “I ask myself that question everyday. But in the end, though everyone has criticisms about Greece and everybody complains about Greece, it’s not that simple. There are also many positives. I’ve met wonderful people here and have had many chances to do things.”

Moving to Athens from Belgium some 15 years ago, Hanappe started doing shows in an old soap factory in Maroussi. When the property was confiscated by the state, Hanappe started C3A, or the Archive of Contemporary Art in Athens. She later donated the archives to the DESTE Foundation when she decided to open her own gallery space, Els Hanappe Underground, before deciding to leave the city centre for Glyfada, noting that the sea is one of Athens’s biggest assets. Yet she is quick to note that it wasn’t just the sea that led her to Athens in the first place.

“Athens is a very vivid city,” Hanappe concludes. “Of course, before the 2004 Olympics there was a lot of optimism. After the Olympics, everything became much more difficult, and now it is more difficult than ever. The Greeks were very self-destructive in a way because everyone could see this coming and no one cared. But I think they will get out of it; the Greeks are quite inventive when there is an emergency. They have this entrepreneurial spirit.” And if Hanappe’s example is anything to go by, it’s all about finding hidden or existing potential and working with it. i Adam Chodzko, Taken In; Fall Out at Siakos.Hanappe House of Art until October 30 and Contemporary Marble Sculpture: Ingbert Brunk & Dimitris Skalkotos at the Hilton Hotel, Athens, until October 24. For more information see http://www.saatchi-gallery.co.uk/ dealers_galleries/Gallery/SIAKOS.HANAPPE+House+of+Art/20137.html.

From left to right: Dimitris Skalotos, Ingbert Brunk

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The suite life

What do you do?

I am the General Manager of NJV Athens Plaza Hotel, a 5star property located in the heart of the commercial and historic centre of the city.

Which area of Athens do you live in?

I live in Glyfada.

What do you see from your balcony?

The Aegean Sea (Saronic gulf).

Your all-time favourite restaurant?

Ratka on Haritos in Kolonaki.

Where do you unwind after work?

Great restaurant/bar, with exclusive design by Missoni elements and nice music located on Milioni street called Showroom.

Afroditi Arvaniti, General Manager of NJV Athens Plaza Hotel shares her favourite city haunts with Insider 16 insider athens | October 2010

Describe your perfect Sunday in Athens.

Start downtown with a visit of the new Acropolis Museum, walk along Aeropagitou towards the Ancient Agora followed by an afternoon drive for late lunch and espresso freddo in Vouliagmeni. A perfect Sunday in “My Athens� that combines history and culture with delicious tastes by the beach only a breath away from the city.

Secret parking space in central Athens?

If I had one it would be my best hidden secret!! In general I prefer to take the metro when I come downtown.

My Athens

Can you describe a quintessentially Athenian sound, smell, taste and sight?

The song of collared doves in the summer in late afternoon, smell of Jasmine in spring, delicious taste of figs and juicy grapes from Vravrona in mid August, the ancient theatre of Dionysos on the slope of the Acropolis.

What’s your favorite city stroll?

Walk down Ermou street, all along the Roman Agora and Plaka until the temple of Ifestos in Thissio. Then back to the NJV Athens Plaza for a special margarita at the Explorer’s Lounge enjoying the sounds of live jazz music together with precious friends.

What is the ideal souvenir from Greece?

A violin shaped figurine from the Cycladic Museum!

Any favorite shops or boutiques?

Kalogirou, Hugo Boss, Attica . . .

Best place to get away from it all?

Up on cape Sounio by the Southwest side of the temple of Poseidon overlooking the Aegean Sea . . . so far yet so close to eternity!

Most positive change in Athens over the last ten years?

The new metro, new International Airport, improved lighting of the city, improved cleanliness, construction of the new Acropolis Museum,

completion of renovation of major archeological sites, tram, development of the city centre shopping areas, unique state of the art Olympic Stadium and improvement of the overall image of the city.

Do you think the crisis will in the long term have a positive impact?

An old Chinese proverb says “A crisis is an opportunity riding the dangerous wind”. It is proven in history that in times of crisis man faces great danger and insecurity but at the same time there are opportunities for real growth and change that would not appear under different circumstances. Being innovative and open to change, being persistent and fast adjusted to new trends will help get through and enjoy the positive impacts.

If you were mayor for a day, what would you change?

I would include the whole area around Syntagma Square to the historic centre of the city and would not allow any kind of demonstrations. I would keep it bright, clean and a place of social and artistic interaction, clearly connecting the ancient with the modern history of our city, representing our image and culture. I would try to keep it forever as it was during the 30 days of the Olympic Games. Of course in one day I would only have time for a very quick and optimistic start . . . the rest I would leave to those that follow. i

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Chopard, celebrating 150 years of creating exquisite jewellery and timepieces, presented its Imperiale Watch collection on 16 September.

1. The charismatic Drew Campbell-Smith, Managing Director for Chopard, Greece, is flanked by actress Vicky Kaya and Vicky Paleologou, Communications consultant for Chopard in Greece. 2. Also present were a bevy of socialites bedecked in Chopard’s signature creations.

In picture, Elli Angelidaki, Carolina Melberg, Hema Bravou, Juliet Boumsog, Sophie Paschali, Annita Nathaneil, Manta Papadakou, Claudia Della Flore,Yiota and Maria Trigoni. 3. Close-up of the new collection

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Hydra was home to US artist Timothy Hennessey and the Berlinborn Greek artist Ioannis Kardamatis for sixty years. It’s impact on this stylistically diverse yet complementary pair as well as their enduring friendship are the highlight of ‘Immersed in Hydra’s Light’, an exhibition currently on at the B&M Theocharakis Foundation. Seen here in picture, 4. Fotis Papathanassiou, Director of the Foundation with Marina Theocharaki. 5. Making a rare public appearance after a tumultuous year in politics was former foreign minister Dora Bakoyianni, the octagenarian artist Timothy Hennessey and curator Magda Baltoyianni 6. Denny Theocharaki with French Ambassador Christophe Farnaud and Helene Farnaud. 7. Iconoclastic publisher and artist Thanassis Lalas of FAQ with TV presenter Anna Drouza and Magda Baltoyianni. 8. A view of the exhibition

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At Hermes’ unique window dressing by Bulgarian artist Deyan Semkov, 9. Francesca di Carrobio, Irini Daifa and Anne von Typinski of Hermes.

10. Also présent were Irini Bogdanou,Villy Giovaniti of Hermes and Amalia Mei 11. The artist seen here with Nathalie BouthoumieuxTheofilou.

At UNESCO’s fundraising event, 12. Dimitris Pantermalis, Director of the Acropolis Museum with Irina Bokova and Aikaterini Tzitzikosta 13. Marios Frangoulis performed on the occasion and 14. UNESCO’s Sandra Elisabeth Roelofs also had a brief visit with Athens’ incumbent mayor, Nikitas Kaklamanis.

At the Eurovoice 2010 contest on September 23-24, 15. the winning Cypriot duo of Flora Theodorou and Panos Nikolakopoulos of The Secret, stole the show with an energizing performance. But all eyes were on Latin star 16. Enrique Iglesias and 17. the apparently ageless Pamela Anderson, who co-hosted the show with Eric Serra, producer and author of soundtracks of many films including The Fifth Element and the Joan of Arc.

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Fast Lane Musical ties Under the auspices of the Hellenic Ministry of Culture and Tourism and the Embassy of the Republic of Turkey, a concert presenting Phillippos Tsalahouri’s Three Dance Images from Asia Minor, Ferid Alnar’s Concerto for canun and string orchestra, Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky’s Souvenir de Florence, Opus 70 and a performance by soloist Tahir Aydogdu, will take the stage at the Benaki Museum Pireos Street Annexe on October 9.

Vicious Cycles Although the metro, tram, and suburban railway have certainly done their part in helping reduce traffic congestion and pollution in the centre of Athens, Vicious Cycles, a new bike shop that recently opened in Psyrri, offers a comfortable, economical, practical and environmentally friendly take on transportation.

Aiming to offer custom bicycles to specific needs both in performance and aesthetics,Vicious Cycles is leading the way to a cleaner, less congested city.

Isle of Hippocrates In the spirit of Breast Cancer Awareness Month, the Municipality of Heraclides, the Cultural Association Kardamena Argo and Mrs. Carol Jerramy organized Walk for Life Kos 2010 for a third consecutive year. Stressing the value of early diagnosis and raising funds for necessary equipment were the goals of this year’s event which started at the Doubletree

by Hilton Resort Kos and ended at the city center.

A contemporary theatre experience A new season begins at Badminton Theatre, with shows including Stomp, Alladin on Ice, Dance Ballet for Life Bejart, Momentum, Rock the Ballet, International Magic Festival, Katsarida, Flamenco Eva Yerbabuena and much more. For a complete programme visit: www.badmintontheater.gr

A wine lovers’ paradise Going on its sixth consecutive year, the Genka Wine Fair will take place at the Athens Hilton on October 3, offering samples of vintages from Greece and abroad. Featured labels include Torres, Baron Philippe de Rothschild, Antinori and Penfolds in addition to Greek producers like Montofoli Estates, Mercouri Argyros Dougos and Ayvalik.

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Fast Lane Hollywood takes Greece Greek scriptwriter Nicholas Proferes teams up with director Phedon Papamichael (of Walk the Line and Arcadia Lost proportions) to produce Romero, Julieta and the General, winner of the Los Angeles Greek Film Festival. The romantic comedy follows a young Greek-American filmmaker, Romero, who goes to Greece to settle a long-standing family dispute. In the process he discovers a manuscript that he just has to make into a film . . . if his mother, his sister, his brother-in-law, his aunts, the village priest, the old General who wrote the manuscript, the General’s beautiful granddaughter, Julieta, the village shepherd, and even the town’s plumber can just leave him alone long enough to shoot it.

Ode to Marathon 2500 years after Pheidippides’ legendary run, marathons continue to attract spectators and participants in cities all over the world.

Adidas, official sponsor of the 28th Athens Classic Marathon, has launched a collection of sportswear dedicated to the time honoured sport, available at Adidas stores and at the Athens Classic Marathon exhibition to be held October 28-30 at Zappeion.

Dolphin day The long awaited Dolphinarium at Attica Zoological Park now boasts six new residents including dolphins Callia, Chloe, Iason, and Ermis, and California sea lions Mara and Charlie. Interactive shows continue to introduce visitors to these magical creatures while the zoo runs a research study about the therapeutic properties that such animals can offer to people with special needs.

Froyo in Athens at last Combining the coolness of ice cream and the nutritional properties of yogurt,Froyo offers a healthy alternative for dessert lovers.

Whether in a cup or cone, with 30 toppings to choose from including fresh fruit, cereals, honey, chocolate and nuts, you can’t go wrong. Located at the bottom of Ermou, Froyo is the perfect stop for a refreshing treat.

Apple takes Athens storm With the sleek, attractive design characteristic of Apple stores in major cities around the world, iStorm opened to a qeue of spectators waiting to get a glimpse of Apple’s latest gadgets in Kolonaki.

Complete with Apple experts on standby and training rooms fully equipped with Mac computers, converting Greek consumers should be nothing more than effortless.

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but beauty has no age !

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On the occasion of Sephora’s 10th anniversary in Greece, Jacques Levy, CEO, Sephora Worldwide insists that his company’s success is more than just ‘cosmetic’.

Business

Have we become a vainer society? From spas to metrosexuals and anti-aging potions to extreme makeovers, are we more obsessed with beauty than ever before?

Throughout the history of mankind, men and women have sought to beautify their image. Was our male ancestor vain when he shaved himself for the first time? Perhaps. We find cosmetics throughout ancient history. In the Middle East, perfumes have existed since time immemorial.

What have been the most defining changes in the cosmetics industry in the past ten years?

One of the significant changes in the industry has been the arrival of smaller ‘challenger’ brands against big name luxury brands, that were experiencing a slowdown ten years ago. The other major change has been the diversification of retail channels. I am obviously thinking of the Internet but also of our teleshopping experience in the USA through HSN (home shopping network) and of vending machines, which might only have a marginal impact today, but has nevertheless increased the channels of distribution.

Sephora has been a trendsetter in distribution by relying on smaller brands and niche labels rather than beauty heavyweights such as L’Oreal to bolster revenues. Is this where retailing is headed?

In 2004, taking a cue from the American model, which is in many respects different from the European one, the idea of feeding the European market with niche American brands was born. Today that exercise has evolved and we’ve been scouting around for brands not just from the US but from all over the world. This successful model has allowed us to create a constant ‘buzz’ for our clients. Clearly this has inspired men and women to visit our stores more often .The next step was to develop innovative services. I’d say that the ideal retail model would be as follows: make a break from convention and differentiate ourselves so that our consumers continue to choose Sephora.

duplicated and applied progressively to our future store upgrades and launches. Interactive advertisements and terminals will be installed at sales points within the next three years.

Trends suggest that the 2020 woman will not be a recipient of marketing messages but an active participant in the conversation on what she should look like or buy. What are the challenges Sephora is likely to face in marketing to the Millenials?

Customization, as I mentioned in my previous answer, is the key to the evolution of our loyalty programme. This commitment to create a strong interaction between the consumer and Sephora will also be reflected in our personnel training programmes and at points of sale.

How will you be celebrating Sephora’s 10th anniversary in Greece?

To celebrate our 10th anniversary, we want to create an unforgettable event for our clients. Over a period of six weeks, from 27 September to November 6, our clients will have the opportunity to find their favourite products at incredible prices, thanks to special discounts that will change weekly. Make-up and beauty care products will have a place of honour, as will perfumes, through the ‘discovery of our legendary fragrances’ campaign. And we have not ignored our male customers either, who, are now increasingly inclined to using grooming products.

Name three Sephora products you wouldn’t travel without?

Shaving cream, moisturizer and Sephora Men’s facial scrub.

How do you ensure customer loyalty? Are there any other ways that Sephora would like to leverage mobile technology and social media to attract online and in-store shoppers?

Our loyalty programme is geared towards using all available distribution channels to meet our final objective of offering the most personalized service.We want our clients to speak of ‘their Sephora’. Our loyalty card allows us to cull a lot of consumer information.We also study blogs to better understand the expectations of our consumers. Our stores will also undergo a facelift. The concept we launched in Milan will be

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Sports

Countdown to the marathon Insider does some number-crunching on the Athens Classic Marathon The marathon is not just a race or a sporting event; ask any marathoner and they will testify that it is a journey, of body and mind, in the pursuit of a single-minded goal. Insider caught up with five runners in the run-up to the Athens Classic Marathon

‘We are different, in essence, from other men. If you want to win something, run 100 meters.

If you want to experience something, run a marathon.’ Emil Zatopek When and why did you run your first marathon? What is so special about the Athens Classic Marathon?

What the marathoners have to say...

In 2006 after one of my friends said that ‘running the marathon was like making ratatouille - anyone who tried it seriously could.’ What I find special about the Marathon in Athens? The start and the finish: the start is legendary and the finish is emotional.

I like to compare crossing the finishing line to childbirth. It is excruciating but indescribable and lifealtering.

It is the original one and one of the most gruelling ones. Nobody who has run a marathon should miss this one.

In Rome in 2005. We had been fun-running and jogging for a year or so, and decided to set the goal of running a marathon to make our training more meaningful. We picked Rome because it was a beautiful route through the historic city. The Athens Marathon is the original long-distance race, the mother of all marathons, which gives an extra, spiritual, element to the run.

And the finish in the aweinspiring Kallimarmaro is euphoric.

Dr John Kolovos, Director of Radiology, Metropolitan Hospital

Cordelia Madden-Kanellopoulou Kiehl’s Greece brand ambassador / freelance journalist

In 2005 as I thought it would be a shame to live in Athens and not run the legendary race.

Dr CharalambosPavlopoulos Radiologist

In a nutshell: Date: 31 October 2010 to Olympic Stadium Venue: Marathon bridge

rs: 12,000 Total number of marathone ts for all events: 21,000 Total number of participan 2 kms Distance to be covered: 42. h km Highest point in race: 29t to 20 degrees Celsius Expected temperature: 18 rsary of Pheidippides’ his Anniversary: 2500th annive to Athens in 490 B.C tor ical run from Marathon

The first marathon was in Rome in 2005. A good choice for 1st time marathoners, due to the flat course and the fun spirit of the Italian crowd.

They say if you haven’t run the Athens Marathon, you haven’t run a marathon.

Especially this year with the 2,500 year anniversary of the Battle of Marathon, the 28th Athens Marathon will be legendary.

Pavlos Kanellopoulos Economist

Pierre Bonnet-Bidaud Director, Asset Development Carrefour

Just to give you an idea: Whilst undertaking the grueling 42.2 km course on October 31, the 12000 participants as a whole should *: • Exert a weight of over 75,600,000 tonnes through feet and knees • Cover 506,400 kilometres or 336 million strides, enough to cover the globe 12.4 times • Lose 528,000 centigrades of heat • Expend 324,800,000 heart beats,

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In 1994, in Medoc et des Graves, in Bordeaux. It was to experience something exceptional in communion with a group. It is my fifth marathon overall and my second in Athens. It is the mythical dimension of the Athens Marathon that makes it so special. It is also a technically difficult race and one that takes at least ten minutes longer to complete than other marathons.

enough to allow the average heart to beat for 7 years • Lose on average 48,000 litres of perspiration (enough to fill a large swimming pool) • Burn off 31,200,000 calories, the equivalent of 106,123 Mars Bars • Lose over 9,896.50 kilograms in weight * The statistics are based on a 2hour, 30minute marathon

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Green fingers 1u47

Gardening Reinvented Insider picks out the latest in gravity-defying and space-saving gardening techniques to bring nature in from all sides

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ardening has evolved from being restricted to those with plenty of land and water to also cater to eco devotees with limited space and resources. Innovative designers are continuously coming up with small space gardening solutions and radical landscaping concepts from functional and aesthetically pleasing vertical gardens to roof gardens and even, sky planters.

Award-winning ceramics designer Patrick Morris’ head-turning invention combines cool design with affordability with his Boskke Skyplanter, an inverted pot for flowers, herbs and other leafy companions. Skyplanters are aesthetically chic, save space (what better way to put an under-utilised ceiling to use) and water and completely transforms your view of nature by literally turning gardening on its head.

Other creative home gardeners have also been using vertical spaces to produce some unusual and dramatic effects in gardens but also to create a functional and attractive ‘living wall’ in cramped apartments and sterile offices. Australian designer Joost Bakker’s simple yet elegant vertical garden provides the perfect backdrop for any office or apartment that needs an extra bit of greening but can’t afford the space required for them. Taking a cue from high-rises, Bakker insists, “when you can’t build out, build up!»

Vertical gardening applies as well to exteriors. Anyone can transform plain blank house walls into waterfalls of colour and foliage by using metal cans and a bit of wire or quite simply by using a sturdy hanging pocket shoe organizer over a fence.

Gardening has never been more fun! Boskke Skyplanters are available in Greece at www.oladeco.com. For roof gardens, visit www.oikosteges.gr, and for gardening tips get creative and seek inspiration at www.vitaverde.com i

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1. Biodegradable chalkboard Greek turtle sticker Cocobohème 2. 100% eco-design beech cutlery Cocobohème 3. 100% eco-design Pig cutting board Cocobohème 4. Biodegradable chalkboard Butterfly sticker Cocobohème 5. Decorative Totem tree recycling heavy carton Kidsonroof

6. Kids house 170X105x70 recycling heavy carton Kidsonroof 7. 100% eco-attitude Candle “Green” 8. Baroque organic cotton towel set in aniseed and lime green from Green Conscience 9. Hand-made eco design bowl RISO from Ekobo

all products available at www.oladeco.gr

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Talking point

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From the grassroots up Nick Malkoutzis explains how the economic crisis has inadvertently nurtured the green movement in Greece

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hey say that necessity is the mother of invention and it certainly seems the economic crisis has handed Greece an opportunity to make the great environmental advance that has been in the deepest of deep freezes for so many years.While the government looks for ways to trigger “green growth” and to protect the country’s endangered natural beauty, at society’s grassroots, people seem to be turning to eco-friendly, and often cheaper, solutions.

PASOK’s ascent to power last year has undoubtedly brought a fresh approach to environmental issues. A separate environment ministry was created and several pieces of legislation, including one marking out forest land so it is protected from illegal construction, have been drawn up.

Meanwhile, bicycle-riding, hybrid car-driving Prime Minister George Papandreou has espoused the idea of creating jobs and economic growth through investment in clean energy and technology.

Papandreou has ceaselessly promoted the idea that Greece can mirror Denmark by producing much of its energy from renewable sources and building a “green industry” from scratch. He was it again in September, telling an audience in New York that 250,000 jobs could be created this way.This target looks ambitious given the constraints on public finances.

Nevertheless, the green shoots of this process are beginning to appear.

For instance, the government has already announced a four-year plan to invest 1.5 billion euros with the assistance of Piraeus Bank, which will provide 65 percent of the funds, to help businesses become more environmentally friendly and to create new, green business parks around the country. It is estimated that 12,000 new jobs will be created.

For Papandreou, Environment Minister Tina Birbili is a vital ally in spearheading this seemingly daunting transition. Papandreou caused many eyebrows to be raised when he appointed Birbili, a young woman with no real political background and with little experience in the formulation of policy, let alone heading a department. Yet, in her first year in the job, she has developed a reputation as being strong-willed and fully focussed on the task at hand. Birbili dons her jeans and sports shoes and puts on her rucksack. She is an unconventional character but her iconoclastic attitude combined with her environmental sensibility means she is very much a product of her time, when younger Greeks are beginning to develop greater environmental awareness and refusing to conform to the political rigidity of her past.

This is reflected in the way that residents of several Athens neighbourhoods have given up on waiting for central or local government to make something of their public spaces and are doing so themselves. But it is also epitomised by a growing trend for people to search for alternative, more environmentally-conscious ways of doing things.There is no doubt that this shift in attitude has been spurred by the current economic problems, which have pushed Greeks to consider options that would have been inconceivable before.

Skyrocketing fuel prices, for instance, have made cycling a much more

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attractive proposition. Despite the lack of cycle lanes in Athens, a drive through the capital will tell you that more cyclists are taking the plunge and pointing their two wheels towards the main roads where they compete with cars and trucks. Podilates.gr, a group that promotes cycling in the city claims that up to 1,000 people are now taking part in its Friday afternoon rides in various parts of Athens.Tapping into this spirit, the tram has just launched a pilot program to offer its passengers free use of bicycles.

If the move from four wheels to just two represents a shift in attitude, then there has been a sea change in the way people view reusing products rather than buying new ones. Following the deprivation of the Second World War and its aftermath, it became the Greek way – at least for those that lived in the cities – to prove their status through the things they owned: the newer, the better. Dabbling in second-hand items was not to be countenanced. But the last few months has seen a burst of activity from groups, such as the local branch of the Freecycle Network, helping people exchange items they no longer need. In fact, a local group called xariseto.gr formed in March 2008 now has almost 15,000 members and holds regular bazaars where people can give away things they don’t need.

Grassroots initiatives like these are a clear indication that it is not just attitudes that are changing in Greece but practices as well. All of which could mean that, unlike most Greeks, the environment might actually be better off at the end of this crisis.

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Positive energy

Dr. Ioannis Tsipouridis, Chief Executive Officer of Public Power Corporation Renewables (PPCR), speaks to Insider about the history of green energy in Greece and plans for an even greener future

Few realize that PPCR has been spearheading the ‘green’ movement in Greece since as far back as 1954 when the first hydroelectric dam was built. How does PPCR intend to translate this wealth of experience into providing accessible and affordable energy?

The history of green energy production in Greece dates back to the mid 1950s, when PPC developed the first hydroelectric power plants and continued in the early 80s when PPC first built a wind farm, a solar station and a geothermal base.The experience gained during these years has been enormous and it is upon this experience that PPC Renewables SA, a 100% subsidiary of PPC, is building upon as a key player in the Renewable Energy Sources (RES) sector.

Being the only Greek company that operates in five main forms of renewable energy, PPC Renewables is steadily producing electricity with zero environmental impact. With 123 MW installed in wind farms and small hydroelectric plants, 200 MW worth of projects under or near construction and many other projects under study and development phases, PPC Renewables is able to provide reliable energy with respect towards the environment and communities.

How does PPCR aim to present a positive and proactive image of a public sector company in the renewable energy sources sector?

Through the promotion and implementation of RES projects across the country to generate electricity, PPC Renewables contributes positively to protecting the environment and stimulating national and local economies by creating a number of positive synergies. More specifically, the company has implemented a green development policy, helping to build a sustainable model of economic development with zero environmental impact. It should be noted that the vast geographical spread of our projects (unlike most companies), helps strengthen regional development in many parts of the country.

In addition to the implementation of renewable energy investment projects, PPC Renewables’ strategy is focused on strengthening local communities through the promotion of specific social actions. These actions take place within the implementation framework of each investment, through the provision of socio-economic compensatory benefits

to various groups.The creation of compensatory public works, providing aid to the local authorities, grants and donations, as well as free electricity to groups in need, are some examples of the benefits offered to local communities by PPCR. In this way, PPC Renewables contributes to fostering a culture of balanced energy resources, combined with economic and social development.

What projects are in the pipeline for making Greece a hub for renewable energy?

PPC Renewables continues to invest heavily and create a healthy portfolio of projects.The company’s business strategy, aims for a total investment of €2 billion by 2015, while contributing to strengthening regional development and creating jobs across the country. Some of the major projects already underway or beginning construction are the photovoltaic park in Megalopolis (50 MW), nine wind farms in the Cyclades and the Dodecanese (total power 33,45 MW) and a hybrid park in Ikaria (power 6,55 MW). In addition, PPC Renewables has acquired three operating wind farms of 24,65 MW and three wind farms of 48 MW currently under construction, thus significantly enhancing its portfolio.

At the same time, a cooperation has been established with the French company EDF Energies Nouvelles Greece, PPC and PPC Renewables SA to develop renewable energy projects in Greece. Among the projects under consideration are those of developing wind farms in Florina and a hybrid project in Crete.

Prime Minister George Papandreou has been stressing that Greece could be the next Denmark. In your opinion, does Greece have the resources and the will to do so?

In a country like Greece, with a rich and inexhaustible potential for renewable energy, promotion of such investments and full exploitation of the consequent benefits constitute a unique opportunity as well as a strategic advantage. This has already been done in Denmark. Greece has a unique geographic location and has an obligation towards future generations to create the infrastructure and conditions needed. Of course the Danish model is not limited to the use of renewable energy, but also includes creating parallel jobs. In other words, economic growth.

That should be the goal of Greece and I am sure this is what the Prime Minister meant when setting our national strategy. i

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Ecological thoughts Insider asks four CEOs from different sectors of the economy on how they and their companies have consciously made an effort to make Greece greener

Jean-Michel Heironimous CEO Total Greece

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Ashok Kapoor Chairman, Crown Hellas Can Packaging

Andrew Clements Managing Director of Oikosteges Systems

Alexandros Tombazis Founder, A.N.Tombazis Associates & Architects

How is your company helping make Greece greener?

Total has been investing huge amounts in innovating products and in research and development. In Greece, Total has been trying to develop solar energy - a great opportunity for a country with more that 300 days per year of sunlight! This booming market is a real gold rush for the time being, but our ambition is to become a major player in Greece in the coming years. Our innovative range of ‘Fuel Economy’ lubricants enables to reduce

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fuel consumption by 3%. It is both a money and fuel-saver. We also have a ‘Bio Lubricants’ range, but prices compared to nonbio products remain high and end users are not ready to pay for it. Finally, one of our main missions is to educate and guide our customers on how to deal with waste oil and old packaging.

Thanks to public collection, things are improving a lot.

Greenspeak 1u47 Crown is a supplier of metal packaging solutions to consumers around the world. In Greece, we have two plants manufacturing a range of aluminum beverage cans and can ends and a third plant manufacturing food cans.With regard to greener products, metal packaging has a great story to tell. Metal packaging, due to its inherent properties, is 100% recyclable. It can be recycled again and again without any loss of or alteration in quality. It is also permanently reusable in any form, even to make another can. Lightweighting of aluminum cans is another way the metal packaging industry is helping to make Greece greener. While

it’s an ongoing process, today’s technology allows us to reduce the thickness of can walls but still provide a high-performance container that retains critical barrier and strength properties. Can ends have also been lightweighted using our SuperEnd beverage end technology, which uses 10% less metal than standard ends.To date, Crown and its licensees have produced more than 250 billion SuperEnd® beverage ends, saving more than 61,000 metric tons of aluminum, over 1,000 metric tons of coatings and more than 500,000 metric tons of greenhouse gases, which equates to the annual emissions of 91,000 automobiles.

Oikosteges is committed to greening every horizontal and vertical built surface in Greece.We are aggressively beating the urban greening drum by lobbying the state as well as canvassing business to raise awareness of what can be done in terms of corporate social responsibility.This work has paid off with us doing a good number of Green Roof projects and achieving widespread consciousness of the technology and its potential since you last wrote

an article about us. Oikosteges has just launched a revolutionary breakthrough in Green Roof technology which has the potential to ensure the massive implementation of Green Roofs in Greece. The new system is called OS8 and it can be purchased for as little as 30 euros, end of story. It is the lightest system in the world by a long, long way at 15KG/M2 wet! We are certain that it going to cause a stir.

Our company has been bringing eco-conscious creativity into our designs, many of them landmark buildings in Greece and abroad. Even the red-brick office building of our architectural practice in Polydrosso Amarousiou is actually a representative example of our notion of bioclimatic architecture, which we have been advocating since the beginning of my career in the early 60s.

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Is the price of going green too steep?

Yes and no! Of course, a lot of investments are necessary to develop new technologies and to find other raw materials or even energy sources. Everybody talks about the new “green attitude” but people aren’t ready yet to accept the price difference and to trust new products.Things move slowly, but if we look back to 50 years ago, we see a huge change in our day-to-day habits regarding this issue. New technologies allow us to see things differently.

And the cost of being green is much more affordable.

This is a question I get asked often. I always say that the extra cost could be zero. It could even be minus, it could be a few percent more, for example 2% on top of the projected cost. Cost is not a problem. Everything is a matter of mentality and philosophy.

Some people have the means and unfortunately will say: “I am well-off enough to pay for the air-conditioning and the electricity bill, so I don’t really care.”

It’s never too steep and its well worth it.

I think this is covered in my previous answer. Basically put, OS8 makes going green affordable. Everybody in Greece could invest at least 30 euros. In addition OS8 puts roof greening in the hands of the ordinary person. All available Green Roof systems around the world have hitherto required specialist installers. OS8 makes it so easy that a yiayia could do it. So as cost has been reduced to almost nothing and accessibility has been raised to the level of anyone being able to install, we believe going green is easy and affordable.

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How do you get people to act more responsibly – through penalties or through education?

I believe that when one has limited means, one needs unlimited brains and when one has unlimited means, one usually ends up with limited brains! We can start by being logical. And, consequently, eco-logical. It is as simple as that. I do not want to oversimplify, but basically it is an issue of common sense.We have now got used to relying on heavy doses of medicine to pay for our past follies instead of undertaking preventive steps with regards to the protection of the environment. That said, this summer I

found myself in the main square of a Greek village, practicing my favourite hobby, painting. There were two children playing, the one not more than 5 years old and the older one maybe 10.

Most of their conversation was about the environment. I just bring it up to point out that certainly things are changing. Going green is a matter of education or, as the ancient Greeks would say, it is a matter of paideia, educating people to discover their true and genuine nature!

I personally think that today everyone is keen on ‘bringing his brick’ to build a greener future.When people are enforced to do something through a penalty scheme, results are perhaps quicker but never long-term. To change the way of thinking and living,

it needs time, education and information. My opinion is that through education results are permanently and better established.

People realize their responsibility and they understand why they have to respect their environment or other people.

The key is training and education of consumers, helping them understand the importance of recycling and their role in continuously improving the environment.

By doing the thinking for them. What I mean by that is that I believe that we have a responsibility to create systems and products that empower and enable the general public to act conscientiously.

Green residence

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Greenspeak 1u47

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Any changes you have made to reduce your carbon footprint?

We are committed to continuous improvement in product design and manufacturing practices to provide the best outcomes for the environment. As a global leader in the metal packaging industry we have helped lead the way in reducing the amount of metal required to manufacture consumer packaging while also improving productivity, developing new manufacturing processes, raising packaging performance standards and increasing functionality.

This has enabled us to reduce the amount of energy, water and other resources needed to manufacture metal containers and ends. Our commitment goes beyond legal compliance to include participation in voluntary programs. We focus on several areas of Environmental Action including conserving natural resources.

We also take steps to reduce the emissions of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and manage waste.

I avoid flying as much as I can possibly get away with and I encourage my peers and friends to do the same. I drive a motocycle. I plant something, somewhere just about everyday. I have Green Roofs on all the buildings I own or control the use of. I shop locally from local producers as much as possible. I develop products which are manufactured locally using locally sourced materials.

Several small and seemingly insignificant steps like installing a ceiling fan instead of full-on air conditioning. I have often persuaded my clients to make more use of these simple possibilities.

Everything in architecture is a matter of logical and beautiful balances and I try my best to practice what I have been preaching for the last fifty years to reduce my carbon footprint.

I try, for instance, not to over-consume. Over-consumption leads to an increased volume of goods being produced, more raw materials, packaging, and more waste. I’m not suggesting that we live in a cave but to eschew the ‘single use’ life style we have adopted.

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The Future Looks Green

Visiting the Green Design Festival, Stephanie Bailey discovers a group of designers and dreamers who hope to make Athens a better place for everyone.

34 insider athens | October 2010

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he realities of a throwaway economy finally came to a head in 2007 - a population that had known only how to consume had to not only learn to live with austerity – but also learn how to recycle.

This urgency led Vassilios P. Bartzokas, President of NGO, Brainlab, to create the Green Design Festival, started in 2008. Supported by the City of Athens and the Hellenic Ministry of the Environment, Energy, and Climate Change, the event brings together designers from the Greek design world, with a proposal to mould an ecological, and more positive future out of the present.The commitment to the issue is evidenced in that the event is run voluntarily, the main reason why it is held once every two years instead of annually.“Apart from our own jobs, we work on organizing the programme while trying to fundraise in the meantime,” explains festival organizer Effie Komninou on a sunny, Sunday afternoon during the Swap Not Shop party that encourages exchanging items as opposed to binning them.

Talking to Marilena Stafylidou and Nikandre Koukoulioti, organizers of DIY Fashion Tales, which encourages the recycling and re-designing of clothes, the concept of recycling, reusing or exchanging items is something that people need to grasp before it is too late. “People have become trapped in a cycle of consuming, and it is up to the individual to learn to be more creative,” Koukoulioti insists. Discussing issues of Greece’s past and present, and how it has led to a society that is only really grasping the concept of recycling and reusing now after a period of consumerism based on cheap

Art and easily disposable goods, Stafylidou gravely notes;“we simply cannot sustain this way of life anymore.”

But when all habits are so difficult to shake will the green movement ever take off in Greece? Perhaps the hope lies in educating children, which is where ActionAid Hellas comes in. With educational programmes for schools that inform students on the effects of climate change and its effect on third world countries, ActionAid will stage workshops for children and adults on Sunday, October 10, as part of the global 10:10 campaign. Held in collaboration with the Greek Climate Advocates, a British Council initiative, the aim is to reduce the global ecological footprint by 10% within a year. So far 90,000 people in 128 countries have committed.

But how receptive are the children and adults to ecological living? “With the children from primary school, they surprise you with the things they understand,” answers Kostantina Papadimitriou, Head of Policy and Campaigns at ActionAid Hellas. “The adults are a harder audience to get.The older we become, the more conflicted we become, the more responsibilities and stresses make us forget.”This is why the festival’s location works so well. Staged at Syntagma Square working as a gateway to the busy crossing that leads to Ermou, passersby are immediately drawn into a world where everyone could make a difference simply by creating a garden on their rooftop, as proposed by the Mediterranean Garden exhibition.

The concept of cladding existing structures in plants is also dreamed up in the Eye Opener series of architectural installations, while the main entrance to the structure housing the entire exhibition, the Ecomuseum, boasts a green roof clad in Mediterranean plants. Leaving the fair, the massive challenge of saving the environment looks as doable as buying a potted plant or two. “It’s amazing how these small actions can create a movement of educated people and active citizens that can dream how they want to change the world,” Papadimitriou muses.

The small actions the Green Design Festival proposes hopes to inspire those who care, but don’t have the time to do anything about it. After all, with the economic crisis clogging everyone’s mind, the environment is the last thing on many people’s agenda. But participants at the festival choose to see the potential. “The way to think ecologically is the way to think economically,” Komninou asserts. “Living economically makes living better. We don’t need to consume so much. Quality of life, even within the crisis, can become better.We can change things, reuse things, recycle things; it’s about being more active. In my opinion, ecology is about undertaking responsibility. If we can redesign our present we can enjoy a better future.”

Until October 10. For more information, see www.greendesignfestival.gr.

Posters from (left to right): Prop4g4nd4 - Noni Nezi - Konstantinos Trichas - Tetris

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Protecting the lifeline of Greece Avra mineral water, in cooperation with Arcturos, lead an initiative to raise awareness and educate citizens through organized forest protection seminars held all over Greece. With an overwhelming turnout and equally strong response, the seminars proved that education is the key to tackling Greece’s environmental issues.

According to Arcturos research associate Mr. Evangelou Christakis, «forests cover almost half of Greece” and although forest fires appear to be the country’s biggest environmental problem, Dr. Paul Constantinides of the Forest Research Institute, National Agricultural Research Foundation in Thessaloniki, states that “the problem is not the fire, but after fire management. To solve this problem, we must accept that fires are a natural phenomenon and understand them in depth.”

Minding your money Piraeus Bank’s green branch, the first of its kind in Greece and the Balkans, opened for business in 2008 on Panepistimiou Street in the centre of Athens. As one of many green business initiatives championed by Piraeus Bank, the branch is in line with the company’s environmental policy as applied through its wider Corporate Social Responsibility strategy, considered more of a ‘strategic investment’ than a ‘cost’ by the company.

The banking centre offers information pertaining to what is meant by a company’s ‘ecological footprint’, how this affects the environment and society, and what benefits derive from its reduction. In addition, visitors are able to find out about European Union environmental policies, trends, obligations, and new opportunities to invest in renewable energy and also green technologies and services, and of course, benefit from the green products Piraeus Bank has designed and offers to its clients.

Organic meltdown Having a sweet tooth has never been so guilt-free. Delicious chocolate bars by Organic Meltdown, a company dedicated to saving five million trees by 2012, offer an innovative, tasty take on going green. Simply open the wrapper and enter the unique code printed on the inside at www.organicmeltdown.com and the proceeds from your chocolate bar are given to the World Land Trust to protect the area around your tree. The more funds given to WLT, the more land they can buy and protect from destruction.

The project is meant to symbolize that the roots of chocolate extend into the Earth and can be healed if we all take a moment to enjoy high-quality, organic chocolate and show the world that together we can find sweet solutions to global warming.

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Driving responsibly Almost exclusively made of recycled materials, Citroën has designed a range of vehicles with extremely low environmental impact, intelligent design and advanced construction techniques resulting in a lightweight yet sturdy means of transportation. Using an innovative hybrid system, Citroën aims to offer an affordable and pleasant driving experience while providing solutions for a cleaner future.

The French brand’s latest technology known as “e-HDi” has been applied to diesel engines and basically combines several advanced features such as a Stop & Start system, energy recovery system in the case of slowdown, advanced automatic transmission, and low-resistance tyres.

The new C3 HDI 1.6 diesel engine emits 99gr / km CO2

Apart from creating «green» cars, Citroën has implemented a trade policy known as “Green Bonus”, where old automobiles are taken in exchanged for new, low emissions vehicles.The policy makes economical, environmentally friendly transportation solutions for both passenger and commercial use more attractive than ever.

Learning by living Designed by architects P. Makridis & Associates, and built by Provoli S.A., a construction firm headed by American Farm School graduate Dimitris Tsoufis, the Aliki Perroti Student Residence centre opens on October 7 at the Thessaloniki campus of the American Farm School.

The three-level, 4,000 m2 residence hall and student centre includes dormitory rooms to house 100 Greek and international students and multipurpose public spaces to accommodate educational, cultural and recreational events and gatherings.

Both the design and the construction materials used in the building maximize the efficiency of energy and water use, and principles of bioclimatic architecture were applied to every aspect of the structure.

Built to fit into the surrounding landscape, the structure consists of simple geometric forms with roofs that double as solar energy hubs connected to heat storage tanks.With the majority of dormitory rooms facing south, natural light and heating is maximized. All construction materials were selected for their suitability to the local climate, their respect for classic aesthetics, and their low maintenance requirements.

City with a conscience With more than 4,000 blue recycling bins placed in Athens’ neighborhoods, entire recycling centres in super markets and public squares throughout the city, and bell-shaped collection bins for paper and glass becoming a familiar sight around town, it seems the city of Athens is making it as easy as possible for its citizens to mind where they dispose off their rubbish.

electrical items at a specific time and place for pick-up by municipal staff.

But in addition to the bins, the municipality has made an effort to establish several programmes, in cooperation with recycling facilties, for making Athens a cleaner, more pleasant city:

• An underground recycling system, for all types of recyclable materials, has been installed at Petroula Square, in the area of Kolonos.

• A designated phone line, 1960, allows citizens to call and make arrangements for the deposit of

• The City of Athens cooperates with an approved old vehicle recycling operator and forwards abandoned vehicles for recycling.

• All oil products and vehicle tyres from the municipality’s own mechanical equipment is forwarded to recycling facilities.

• Paper recycling bins for interior spaces of public and private entities, are provided by the city at no cost.

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Golfing

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reece boasts several organic, eco-friendly golf courses: Porto Carras, Porto Elounda, Navarino Dunes and soon-to-open Navarino Bay and Olympia.The definition of an organic golf course is one that uses no synthetically produced pesticides, herbicides or fertilizers. Eco-friendly means that a golf course also minimizes its use of fresh water, possibly substituting salt, brackish or effluent (gray) water. It includes protecting existing habitats, and planting native grasses, flowering plants, shrubs and trees in the rough to shelter local birds and wildlife.

Porto Carras and Porto Elounda both maintain hundreds of olive trees scattered throughout their golf courses – from which they produce organic olive oil for use in their respective resort kitchens. The production of organic oil precludes the use of synthetic herbicides and pesticides.

The organic certification bodies in Greece, BIOHELLAS and DIO, do recognize certain herbicides and pesticides that meet organic requirements, so these products may be used on golf courses and trees.

Navarino Dunes has demonstrated that a new golf course does not need to cut down trees to create wide fairways and generous greens. During its construction, more than five thousand olive and fruit trees were carefully uprooted and temporarily transplanted, before being replanted in their final positions on the course. Some of the trees were over five hundred years old.

Aiming to put Greece on the map as a golf destination, Connie Burke and Barbara J. Euser, authors of Golf in Greece provide in-depth reviews of each of Greece’s eco-friendly golf courses 38 insider athens | October 2010

Throughout the world, the impact of synthetic pesticides and herbicides on water quality – and thus on the health of people and environments – is an important issue. Golf courses are often located near city water supplies or lakes, streams or other bodies of water. It is important not to contaminate water sources with harmful chemicals. Properly maintained organic golf courses keep the water supply safe.

Maintaining golf courses organically is not just for new courses. One of the oldest golf courses in the world, St. Andrews Old Course in Scotland, stopped using pesticides and fungicides eighteen years ago.

To develop and maintain an organic golf course requires a holistic approach.

If turf grass is healthy and strong, it will be able to resist pests without

Costa Navarino

greens

Books TZ

Mark your calendars September 27 - October 3: International Seniors & Veteran Ladies Championship, Cofu September 30 - October 3: 6th Porto Elounda Autumn Golf Cup & Pro-Am 2010, Crete October 8 - 10: MDA Hellas Golf Tournament, Messinia

artificial pesticides. Growing healthy strong plants starts with the soil.

Soil that is rich in compost contains beneficial micro-organisms that enable grass roots to withstand attack from harmful micro-organisms.

Golf courses can be fertilized with compost (rotted organic matter) and with compost tea, made by soaking compost in water. Compost can be added to the soil when a new course is under construction, when course features are reconstructed, or applied as topdressing. Worm castings are another effective organic fertilizer.

The choice of species of turf grass can also reduce problems with plant diseases. For example, creeping bent grass has been crossed with colonial bent grass to create a hybrid grass that resists dollar spot, a serious problem on putting greens.

To eliminate the use of herbicides, golf courses can grow species of grass that are thick and tough and do not allow weeds to germinate. Any weeds that do grow are pulled out by hand, not sprayed with chemicals.

As one greenskeeper pointed out, the costs of labour are higher, but the cost of products is lower – so an organic course is not necessarily more expensive to maintain.

fairways and greens were all planted with paspalum grass. Generally, the course is watered with effluent water recycled into a lake from the two large hotels of the resort. However, during dry summer months, the lake water becomes brackish: planted with paspalum grass, the course does not suffer.

Because they are not over fertilized, overwatered and over sprayed with chemicals, organically maintained courses will have some imperfections.

Once golfers understand the hazards of using chemicals on golf courses and learn that courses can have great playing conditions without the use of chemicals, they will appreciate the opportunity to play on organic golf courses – such as Greece offers golfers today. i Golf in Greece (ISBN 978-0-9842992-0-1) includes over 200 pages of full-color photos with detailed descriptions of Greece’s seven golf courses and tourist attractions surrounding them.

Available at local bookstores, Eleftheroudakis and Papasotiriou, and at Amazon.com

The amount of water a golf course requires is critical. Organically maintained courses keep watering to a minimum not only to preserve water but to prevent diseases, many of which thrive in constantly damp environments. Some species of turf grass require much less water than others.

One species, paspalum, will grow when watered with salt water, brackish water or effluent water. Since many courses in Greece are near the sea, paspalum may be an appropriate choice. Large seaside resorts employ desalination plants to provide water for their hotels. Although the salt content of desalinated water may be too high for some species of turf grass, paspalum will tolerate it. Hybrids of paspalum grass have blades of different widths, some with wider blades suitable for fairways and others with narrower blades suitable for greens.

When Portos Carras golf course was renovated in 2003, the tee boxes,

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On a wing and a prayer Marios Fournaris takes Cordelia MaddenKanellopoulou on a tour of the Alkioni Wildlife Hospital on Paros, where injured birds from throughout Greece are rehabilitated before release back to their natural habitats

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Wild life wtyu

Tips for injured wild bird care • Find an adequately sized cardboard box and poke small air holes into it • Immobilize the bird by throwing a large cloth over it

“T

noise (never leave it outside the house; injured animals have a unique ability to escape)

• Keep the animal away from your face, place it carefully in the box and close it well

• Telephone Alkioni or Anima immediately to receive instructions on first aid and on ways of transporting the animal

• Place the box in a warm, quiet, dark and safe place away from human or animal

• If you find an injured wild mammal or reptile, ring immediately for advice

his bird was found in Crete; he kept landing on people’s heads and asking for food,” smiles Marios Fournaris, as we gaze into the downy white face of a Griffon Vulture. About the size of a large toddler, the bird is standing companionably next to us against the perimeter fence of his aviary, beadily eyeing a bowl of raw chicken pieces in Fournaris’ hand. He is believed to have been kept as a ‘pet’ by someone until he outgrew his welcome, and is now too tame for release. Gently telling the vulture that he has had more than his share of chicken, Fournaris continues: “He will stay here; he likes to keep company with us.”

We are wandering along a shady path that skirts the purpose-built aviaries of Alkioni Aegean Wildlife Hospital on the Cycladic island of Paros. From the road which undulates past on its lazy way from the port of Paroikia to the Mycenean Acropolis site at Kolymbithres, the hospital is distinctive only for the abundant plantings of indigenous trees and shrubs which screen the 12.5 acre site. But within lies an unparalleled wildlife hospital, one of only two such establishments in the whole of Greece, where injured or otherwise incapacitated wild birds from the length and breadth of the country are received, nurtured and, wherever possible, rehabilitated for eventual re-release into their natural habitat.

Every year, Alkioni receives around 1,000 birds, from kingfishers (after the Greek name for which the hospital is named) to swans, pelicans, flamingos, buzzards, barn owls, kestrels and falcons. It also takes in hedgehogs, tortoises, hares and foxes in need, and has even served as a retirement home for an elderly, blind Parian donkey.

Some of the birds are merely exhausted and dehydrated from migration; others are hatchlings that have fallen from the nest; many have been struck by cars; but by far the most – between 60% and 75% of the intake – are the victims of hunters’ pot-shots, arriving at the hospital peppered with pellets, often unable to fly and sometimes even blinded.The vast majority of these bullet-ridden birds belong to species which hunters are strictly prohibited from shooting by Greek and international law, such as kestrels, common buzzards and yellow-legged gulls.

Fournaris, the director of Alkioni, attributes this trigger-happy behaviour to a general disrespect for the law in Greece. “The problem is that there is no control of hunters and in the very few cases where the forestry officials or locals have tried to take action, the cases never went to court,” he says. “So hunters know that they can go out and shoot everything and that there will be no penalty.”

Fournaris started Alkioni in 1995 in a couple of aviaries in the garden of his Paroikia home. Two years later, enough money had been raised to rent the current site from the Monastery of Agios Longovardas.

For the next three years, Fournaris, his friends, and fellow volunteers from around the world laboured to transform it into a state-of-the-art wildlife hospital with 28 camouflaged aviaries, two fenced areas with artificial lakes for seabirds, a pristine white clinic and hospitalisation room, and an environmental education centre.

Environmental education is a subject which Fournaris, a teacher himself, believes to be practically non-existent in Greece. Recent initiatives involving clean-up activities and recycling at schools he feels are far too “general”. “What I have seen all these years is that, although

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Wild life wtyu

Anima: Athens’ rescue centre Found a dazed baby bird fallen onto the pavement from its nest? Seen a tortoise at the side of an Athenian thoroughfare, its shell partially crushed by a passing car? Don’t carry sorrowfully on, thinking that there’s nothing you can do. Pick up the unfortunate creature, put it into a cardboard box (or the boot of your car) and speed-dial Anima.

Anima, the Association for the Protection and Welfare of Wildlife, hosts and cares for rescued birds, tortoises, foxes, hedgehogs and other traumatised wild animals – up to 100 per year since they started in 2005 – at their first-aid station in the southern Athens district of Kallithea.

The group works with a specialised vet to treat these wild creatures, which may have been shot by hunters, burned in forest fires, struck by speeding cars or might just be dehydrated, starving or disoriented.

Once fully recovered, they are released back into the wild at carefully chosen locations, while birds that need larger aviaries for a longer recuperation period are usually transferred to Alkioni hospital on Paros.

Like Alkioni, Anima emphasises education of the general public, especially raising awareness among children about the needs of wild creatures and the damage that we – often unwittingly – cause to wildlife and their habitats through our actions and lifestyles. The group organises events with local schools, incorporating wildlifethemed puppet shows and games, and often culminating in the release of a recuperated bird or other animal from the first-aid station.

See www.wild-anima.gr or ring 210 951 0075

we might be very well educated in other ways, we know nothing about natural history,” he laments. “No-one knows which snakes are dangerous and which aren’t. No-one knows what birds of prey eat, they think that they will swoop down and eat their children. No-one knows what to do if they see a bear – some think they can play with it, and others try to kill it.”

At Alkioni’s education centre, the walls of which are decorated with Fournaris’ jaw-dropping photographs of the indigenous flora and fauna of Paros, groups of schoolchildren are given audiovisual displays about Greek wildlife and the major threats to it, such as habitat loss, pesticide use and hunting, and are encouraged in discussions about the value of Greece’s natural heritage and how it can be protected.

When rehabilitated birds are ready for release, it is done in collaboration with classes from the local schools of the area selected as the most appropriate location. (Non-migratory birds are largely released where they were found, within reason, while migratory birds are released either at nesting sites or, during migration, along migratory routes.) One child is given the honour of gently launching the recuperated bird into the sky, while the others watch in awe as the bird takes wing.

Noting that this powerful sensation of close contact with a wild crea-

42 insider athens | October 2010

ture is one that most of the children are experiencing for the first time, Fournaris believes that youngsters who have participated in a release are less likely to grab a hunting gun and follow in their father’s footsteps of destruction.

In general, Fournaris feels that the turn towards more sedentary pursuits by today’s youth - preferring video games to outdoor activities - “might not be good for their own health, but might prove good for nature”.

Already the numbers of licensed hunters in Greece have dropped from a high of 300,000 ten years ago.

But there could be another, even sadder reason for this. With habitat degradation (creeping construction, widespread pesticide use and forest fires) also wreaking its devastating toll, maybe there just aren’t enough wild birds and animals left in the Greek countryside to make it worthwhile for a hunter to go out on the kill.

“In the past, we used to receive emergency calls from around Greece about the rarest species in the wild. Now we mainly get calls about pigeons and doves,” says Fournaris.“I think that this shows us something very important, and very tragic, about bird populations in Greece and what is happening to them.” i See www.alkioni .gr or ring 22840 22931

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A world apart Greece’s most southerly isle has experienced a frustrating summer, with the main ferry service from Gavdos to the south coast of Crete cut, as a result of a European Union directive. Mike Sweet examines the latest challenges that add another hurdle to creating sustainable tourism on a unique and endangered Greek island Just as the tourist season began, the implementation by the Greek government of European Union directive 9818 for marine transport safety, meant that the only two ferries capable of carrying hundreds of visitors at a time, were at a stroke, prevented from operating the route. The EU’s directive came into force on July 2 and has remained in place ever since, despite a loophole in the legislation which would have allowed the government, if it had wished, to exclude Gavdos, albeit temporarily, because of its special circumstances. The government feared one rule for Gavdos and another for other islands would set a difficult precedent.

Overnight tourist visitors to Gavdos dropped by eighty percent from the same time last year, with the small boat from Paleochora being the only means for foot passengers to make the voyage. In short, the 2010 tourist season in Gavdos has been a disaster.

T

here’s usually no shortage of takers for the journey from Chora Sfakion to the tiny island of Gavdos, nearly fifty kilometres off the coast of Crete. The Samaria and Daskalogiannis ferries have plied this route for the past eight years (wind strength allowing) and have been Gavdos’ lifeline, bringing business and economic growth to one of Greece’s most isolated communities. But not this summer.

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“Visitors to my accommodation have dropped by fifty per cent” says George Papadakis owner of the Princess Apartments in the island’s tiny capital of Kastri. “The mayor of Gavdos went to Athens to ask the government to do something but nothing happened” explains Papadakis. “I’m very disappointed. People ask me if they can come in the wintertime and I have to say - I just don’t know.”

Ioannis Braoudakis, Executive Director of ANENDYK Marine which operates the ferries, says that the company has done its utmost to remedy the situation, but that responsibility for a solution has to be shared with the government. “The directive allowed exclusions, but the government didn’t want to do this. We could have avoided the whole situation.” At the core of a future solution is ANENDYK’s offer to transfer a larger

Eco tourism

ferry in its fleet to operate the route, but that can only happen if and when the government undertakes work to deepen the entrances to the harbours at Karave, the port of Gavdos and Sfakia, allowing the larger ship to dock. “It’s not a big deal of money to complete the work” says Braoudakis “100,000 Euros would do it. We’re now trying to convince the government and the local authority to make this decision quickly, but…” he adds ominously “you know how bureaucracy works in Greece.” The ferry problem is just the latest challenge facing Gavdos.

Fifteen years ago the island became the focal point of a confrontation between Greece and Turkey, when Turkey suggested Gavdos’ sovereignty was in question. Immediately the Greek government put in place a €1.5 million plan for Gavdos’ development, with infrastructure improvements also financed by the European Union.

It was Homer who described Gavdos as ‘a world apart’. Twenty-seven centuries later it’s still a very apt description. With less than fifty permanent residents and encompassing only thirty-six square kilometres, Gavdos achieved an almost mythic status in recent years as the last ‘undiscovered’ island retreat in Greece, largely untouched by mass tourism. But that’s all changing. For years it was the preserve of a few hardy independent travelers, who rocked up on Sarakiniko beach to camp and sleep for free under the trees and a canopy of the brightest stars in Europe.

But in recent years it has been a different story. Usually in the summer months that original traveler demographic still came, but in much greater numbers, others tempted by the limited but increasing amount of built accommodation on the island, arrived too. Such an influx brought with it problems for the island and its resident community, which despite the need for economic growth, want to protect the island’s unique natural environment, and ensure that more visitors does not mean uncontrolled and insensitive commercial exploitation - destroying the pristine environment which brought visitors to the island in the first place.

In some places those effects have already been felt. In recent years the

famed Sarakiniko beach stretching along Gavdos’ north coast has been blighted by the appearance of ugly concrete bunkers – allegedly illegal tavernas, each with its own perpetually humming generator, serving cold beer and souvlaki.The accommodation nearby is not much better.

It’s a sad reflection of what happens when unregulated development is left to its own devices. Thankfully this September steps were taken to remove these eyesores and prevent such irresponsible and unmanaged construction in the future.

George Papadakis’ approach to providing accommodation to tourists has been different.The Princess Apartments are built of stone and timber in a traditional design - sensitive to the surrounding natural environment.

Solar power is used to complement electricity that is legally obtained from the island’s main official grid. It’s an example of how tourist development on Gavdos can be managed sustainably; reflecting both the needs of increasing numbers of visitors and the environment. Vitally, Papadakis is committed to working within the official regulations that are being applied in order to manage the expansion of tourism on the island responsibly.

Seventy years ago, George’s grandfather was the priest in Kastri. As the German occupation of Crete reached the island in June 1941, his grandfather was the one who negotiated with the invaders to secure the safety of the three hundred families who lived on the island. Today his grandson’s vision, shared by those with Gavdos’ best interests at heart, is helping create a better future for the island. With a long-term solution for the ferry problem likely to be in place by spring next year, 2011 will hopefully be more rewarding for Papadakis and those committed to sustainable tourism at this southernmost point of Europe. i Left Page: Agios Ioannis Beach George Papadakis at The Princess Apartments with his father Vassilis, the last remaining Gavdos-born resident of Kastri, the island’s capital.

Right page: View from Karave

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Whispers of

Cretan lore

Thirty years ago, architect, Myron Toupoyiannis fell in love. Donald Charles Richardson reflects on the architects’ restoration of a nearly deserted Kapsaliana Village in Crete, the project closest to his heart

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orn in Crete, Myron was educated in Greece and France and lived many years in Paris. On a trip back to Crete, he found the nearly deserted Kapsaliana Village and knew he had to restore it.The village dates from 1763 when the first building was constructed in the area of an olive press. A few years later, a private olive mill was built during the tenure of Abbot Filaret at Arkadi Monastery (the Arkadi Monastery, only 4 km away from the settlement, is a favourite tourist site). Soon enough, a few houses were also added, eventually totaling 15 buildings of one or two levels, with flat or pitched roofs and stone Venetian arches.The olive press closed down in 1955 and the settlement was mostly abandoned.

Now, after five years of renovations, the Kapsaliana Village Hotel is a member of Historic Hotels of Greece. The small houses have been transformed into comfortable hotel rooms with Wi-Fi, the Monastery Olive Press, attached house of the caretaker monk, and an area where clay storage vessels were kept, are now a museum connected to the hotel lounge. Even with all the luxury amenities, including a swimming pool, Kapsaliana remains very much a village.

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Travel

Friends drove me the short distance from Rethymnon to the hotel and in the late afternoon we settled down on the guest terrace, surrounded by fruit trees and flowers. Nearby, a cat slept in the last rays of the setting sun. In the background, I heard music and recognized the voice of Maria Callas singing a Puccini aria. I had a glass of my favorite Cretan wine and simply relaxed in the tranquility, enjoying one of those perfect moments that come to travelers when they ignore their schedules, stop looking for souvenirs, and simply allow themselves time to absorb a new environment (I have a lot of these).

Myron Toupoyiannis joined us. Tall with a full head of graying hair; a little shy yet with great charm and obvious intelligence, he apologized for his English, which is actually very good. I commented on the music and Myron smiled. «She was wonderful,» he said, and immediately began talking about Callas and her talent. I’m not exactly sure how, but the conversation then rambled on to history and art. Myron insisted that we should visit the small church of the Archangel Michael immediately,

which happens to be right outside the gates of the hotel. With the expertise of an art historian, Myron explained the carefully maintained paintings and Venetian influenced architecture.When we left the church, it was time for dinner, but as most visitors soon discover, time really doesn’t play a big part in any Greek’s arrangements, so we went to look at some of Myron’s favorite places, including the museum, where he explained the monk’s olive oil-making process. By the time we finished, it was late and we strolled down the stone streets in the moonlight. At dinner, our conversation, which went well into the night, ranged from the formation of the hotel to renaissance art to opera and then, of course, to Cretan culture and history (it’s interesting to find that a Cretan is a Cretan before he’s a Greek).

For the next three days, I explored the property and surrounding area.

Often during my stay, I saw Myron chatting with other guests.When he had time we would talk about Crete and the village. He told me there had been a couple of elderly inhabitants who still lived in the village

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Travel

when he bought it, and explained the idea of relocating them hadn’t entered his mind. Now, only a woman who has lived in the area all her life remains (she remembers when the German soldiers parachuted onto Crete in the Second World War). Myron took me to visit with her and translated as she told of her life. She always waved when I saw her working in her garden.

On my last day at the hotel, a maid knocked on my door. She said Myron was on his terrace which looked over my terrace and wanted to talk to me. I asked why he didn’t just call, and the maid said he thought that it was nicer to chat from terrace to terrace. I went outside and found him sitting comfortably on the wall of his terrace. He explained he simply wanted to make sure everything was all right and that I was happy. He had to leave on business but would be back for dinner, if I would join him. I agreed and we met that evening. I got to the terrace a little early and was having my favorite wine (again) when Myron arrived. He told me to come with him to see an ancient olive tree. We walked a short distance and on a little hill there was a gnarled olive tree with massive roots, obviously centuries old.Turning,

48 insider athens | October 2010

I realized we were in a marvelous valley, with olive trees (the hotel is surrounded by the largest olive grove in Crete) and a view of the sea. The valley extended for miles and from our place, next to the old tree, the timeless scene was extraordinarily beautiful. Myron told me he wanted to build a seat on that very spot so people could enjoy the silence and sights. I pointed out that the panorama only needed a herd of sheep coming down the hill to make it perfect. Myron glanced around, nodded and pointed. A flock of sheep and a shepherd were coming down one side of the valley. I heard an occasional baa and the tingle of the bells on their necks. Myron smiled. «You want sheep?» he said, «I get you sheep.»

The next morning, I stepped onto my terrace and as usual, the view was stunning, but now I realized that even more impressive than the locale was the unchanging sense of harmony that pervades Kapsaliana. The gentle, almost fragile atmosphere is so tangible it’s almost physical in its impact. This was, after all, Crete, an island filled with ancient traditions.

Maybe, along with their olive oil making equipment, the monks also left the village serenity. i

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Architecture

Organized by the Danish Architecture Centre and featuring Danish architectural firms, the Benaki Museum’s exhibition Building Sustainable Communities, hopes to create a global platform that encourages people to look at architecture as a way to create, in the words of architect Tanja Jordan, a world that is healthier than the one we were given. The exhibition poses five key questions touch on environmental and social responsibility. Greek architect and artist, Andreas Angelidakis answers the same questions within a Greek context.

What if public spaces promoted the participation and safe co-existence of citizens?

I guess the world would be a better place. What is questionable though is the use of the term sustainability. Public space in Greece is most often generated by outdoor cafés or tavernas, so it’s more a space of consumption than a place to spend time. In villages throughout Greece, you see two sets of inhabitants of public space; old Greeks sitting at cafes, and new citizens just hanging out in park benches. It’s a space of tension and financial divide, and definitely worth studying further.

What if housing was designed to generate human dignity?

New buildings seem to inspire communities, and give a sense of development and worth. In Greece the significant lack of important public architecture might be one of the reasons why the public seems to care so little about the public domain. It is important to observe that new architecture flourishes only in the private sector. Public buildings have, for a long time, been the result of competitions, which by design leave out young or experimental firms.

50 insider athens | October 2010

What if health care, education, and information were designed for everyone?

Those are more complicated questions, since in the theory they are designed for everyone, but practice is often different. In Greek hospitals, even though service might be basic, somehow everybody gets some kind of treatment, whereas in the United States for example if you do not have a valid credit card sometimes you are not even able to enter a hospital.

Sometimes disorganization leads to care, in an absurd way.

What if architecture and planning promoted cultural development through global awareness?

Cultural development is again a complicated field, and in Greece what is lacking is not the public display of culture but the support of individuals who produce culture.The same that goes for all public buildings, stands for cultural buildings too.The general lack of architecture in the public sector leads to all sorts of problems and lack of development. To speak of a specific kind of architecture that leads to cultural development, we would first need to be able to speak of architecture in general.

What if workplaces supported innovation, growth, and wealth?

Then perhaps the public sector would not be the sorry mess that it is.

The history of interior design in large corporations, with recent examples from Google and Apple, seem to indicate that design together with administration can indeed lead to innovation and growth.

Building Sustainable Communities is at the Benaki Museum (Pireos) until October 17. For more information, see www.benaki.gr. Andreas Angelidakis will be participating in contemporary group show, Taseis Fugeis at Kourd Gallery until October 23. See www.gallerykourd.gr for more.

Time lapse

Voula, November 2009 This rooftop was a drab, soulless concrete surface, like most other terraces in the city, crammed with antennas, satellite dishes and rusty metallic spikes sticking out like sore thumbs and marring an otherwise perfect skyline.

Voula, March 2010 The same roof is transformed into an oasis of drought-resistant flora and indigenous herbs making it an aesthetic, energy-efficient structure to the delight of its occupants and its neighbours, who can now vicariously enjoy greener pastures on the other side.

51 insider athens | October 2010

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Special promotion

As environmental awareness increases, consumers expect companies to act responsibly and to find innovative solutions to reduce the environmental impact of their products and services. Elais-Unilever combines sustainability with business growth through its new generation laundry detergents which not only achieve environmental savings in manufacturing, packaging and distribution, but also help reduce impacts during consumer use of the products What is so special Elais-Unilever’s approach to sustainability and business growth relies on harnessing the power of its brands to deliver positive social and environmental benefits while growing the business. To that end, it launched a range of concentrated laundry detergents in the Greek market in 2007 with SKIP Small and Mighty.

SKIP Small & Mighty is three times more concentrated than regular detergents.

Concentrating the same number of washes into a bottle one third the size has meant one third the packaging, one third the water used and only one third of the transport compared to diluted liquids.

Elais-Unilever aims to reduce the impact of laundry on the environment through these and other future product innovations and to motivate consumer behaviour change. SKIP Small & Mighty has been packaged in a smaller 475ml recyclable bottle which means less packaging, less energy required to transport the product, and less waste.

Better Laundry Habits Products such as SKIP Small and Mighty are important innovations in themselves but to achieve real environmental savings, innovative products alone are not enough. Much of the environmental impacts associated with laundry products come from how consumers use them and in motivating consumer behaviour change.The end goal is to strive for ‘a future where people can enjoy the pleasure of wearing clean clothes without damaging the environment or depleting natural resources’.

52 insider athens | October 2010

e water, Start now, sav sts energy and co , perature settings • use lower tem hing • avoid pre-was hines. ac m • fully load

Wash and watch The environmental impact of consumers choosing SKIP Small & Mighty instead of diluted liquid detergent offering the same number of washes has led to:

- 345.8 tons of less plastic being used in packaging (a reduction of 63%) or the equivalent of 49.4 million supermarket bags.

- 344 fewer trucks required leading to a corresponding reduction in CO2 emissions by 132 tonnes (33% less fuel to transport)

- the saving of 7004 tons of water from the composition of product (85%) or the equivalent to 4.6 Olympics diving pools

- a saving of 291.7 tons of paper packaging (67%), equivalent to 69 million A4 pages or 5050 trees.

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Fashionably Green Dark green, military green, bright green, turquoise.

All those shades are in fashion this Fall, up to you to pick yours!

Marilicious gives you the green light.

1

3

6

4

5 2

Mother & Daughter Combine a ruffle dress with knitwear for easy chic.

1. For you: Diane Von Furstenberg, available at the boutique, Xanthou 5.

2. Wear it with a pair of sandals by Sergio Rossi, available at Kalogirou, Irodotou 28

3. For her: Sonia Rykiel, available at www. soniarykielshoponline.com

54 insider athens | October 2010

Military 4. Burberry Prorsum, available at the boutique, Voukourestiou 33 5. Boots by Giuseppe Zanotti, available at Kalogirou, Irodotou 28

Girly 6. Sonia Rykiel, available at www. soniarykielshoponline.com Adorable!

Transparency 7. No. 21 by Alessandro Dell’acqua

7

Agora

Shades of Green Marilicious gives you the perfect eye shadows to reveal your eyes. Different greens to play with but one objective:

To be super trendy!

1 3

2 5

6

4 1. Eye shadow set “Wild Safari n°3”

by Sephora Available at Sephora

7

8

2. Eye shadow “Ligth green n°43”

by Korres Available at Attica 3. Superslick liquid eyeliner by MAC Available at Attica

4. Eye shadow trio “Blue my mind n°300” by MAC Available at Attica 5. Pigments “Antique green” by MAC Available at Attica

6. Waterproof eye shadow cream “Aqua cream, Emerald green” by Make Up For Ever Available at Sephora Because your hands shouldn’t be jealous: 7. Nail polish “Gargantuan green grape” by OPI 8. Nail polish “Jade is the new black” by OPI Both available at Sephora

Tip by Marilicious: A green eye shadow is strong and can lead to an overwhelming look.

Complete your eye makeup before working on your face. With a bold shadow shade you might need only some tinted moisturizer to be gorgeous! insider athens | October

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Holistic healing Toula Victor travels to the bustling city of Volos where the Dreamway Spa is only part of a completely tranquil experience

A

bout halfway between Athens and Thessaloniki, the bustling city Volos lies at the foot of Mount Pyleion, home of the mythical centaur and summer resort of the gods. A coastal port town overlooking the Sporades islands,Volos is only a three hour drive from Athens, but seems worlds apart.

With a large student population,Volos is a lively town and is home to the third largest port in all of Greece. The picturesque harbour is lined with traditional ouzeris and tsipouradika, where the menu is always a surprise. Custom has it, that an order of ouzo or tsipouro is automatically accompanied by a round of the house’s specialty mezedes. With each round of drinks, the mezedes get better and better, making you want to keep ordering out of curiosity of what the next round might be; there is something to be said about being on holiday and not having to make decisions about what to eat.

56 insider athens | October 2010

Wellness

14

After settling into my hotel room, the clear sound of waves just outside the window already set the scene for a weekend of relaxation. A step out onto the balcony confirmed that the room was almost literally built on top of the water below.

In a quiet corner at the edge of the city, situated almost directly on the waters of the Pagasetic Gulf, Domotel’s Xenia Volou is a city landmark, housed in a building once owned by EOT. The Xenia Volou is modern with a retro splash where service and hospitality live up to Greece’s once renowned filoxenia.

Dreamway Spa, conveniently located just off the lobby and fully equipped with hydrotonic spa pool, sauna, hamam, event shower, and inviting relaxation spaces, offers a holistic spa experience, combining a cozy atmosphere with tailored treatments. I entered a warmly lit treatment suite and was immediately presented with a tray of powders, balms and creams that were then mixed in my presence for use during my facial treatment, specifically tailored to my skin type. As my senses absorbed the lightly scented mixtures that were being applied and removed from my skin, I couldn’t help but feel a sense of freshness on my complexion.

Leaving the spa feeling revived, I made my way up to the Yacht Club, the hotel’s rooftop lounge for a casual cocktail. With the Pagasetic Gulf to my left and Mount Pyleion to my right, I found myself in the centre of a mystical scene that added to a completely tranquil experience. i

Can’t make space in your schedule for a spa treatment?

Set the scene in the comfort of your own home with some candles or a spritz of essential oil, then renew and rejuvenate with the following Anne Semonin products: Mineral Mask Tissue Serum Black Sand Body Scrub

46 euros 111 euros 91 euros

For product information and availability contact Orloff Ltd at 210.522.6215

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Giving H4F7

Sowing the seeds of change Insider suggests how you can join in efforts in making Greece green: one tree, one recycled dress, one beach clean-up at a time

Plant-a-tree

Prasinos Gatos What they do: Prasinos Gatos (The Green Cat) is a recycling store where people are encouraged to give away items - everything from used clothes, shoes, bags, books, games, jewellery, DVDs and CDs - to be resold at a very low price to those in need. It is a very effective way of re-inculcating the habit of giving instead of just stocking up on unused objects and over-consuming.

What they do: Plant-a-Tree aims to increase urban green spaces, starting from Attica and, in due course, extending to other areas around Greece. The objective is to promote public awareness and strengthen the sense of personal and social responsibility to the environment as well as educating companies and citizens on reducing their ‘carbon footprint’. Plant-a-Tree also strives to raise awareness within the Greek community about the environment, so that companies, unions, people’s organizations and individuals actively participate in making Greece greener.

What you can do: Become a member, buy a tree and contribute to a greener Greece.www.plant-a-tree.gr

What you can do: Make a list of things you haven’t used in the past two years. Chances are you’ll never use them again. Call 6979 178257 before carrying your stock and make a world of difference to someone in need. www.prasinosgatos.gr

Clean-up Greece What they do: The programmes and activities of Clean up Greece (Ellada Kathari) cover a wide range of issues and events. Its efforts focus on three areas of action:Volunteer Programmes, Research, and Public Awareness and Information. It aims are to encourage the public to follow a new life style, which respects the environment and considers environmental protection as its prime concern.

What you can do: Visit www.cleanupgreece.org.gr and volunteer for beach clean-ups, reforestation programmes, nesting programmes and in organizing educational seminars for children.

58 insider athens | October 2010

news Cultural cats: Insider Art Space returns!

From November 8, our new offices at Markou Botsari 16A in Makriyianni will moonlight as an informal gallery where mixed media works by amateur artists will be displayed.

For our feline-themed opening exhibition,we welcome submissions of paintings, photographs, sculptures or any other artworks featuring that elegant and intriguing creature, the cat. 15% of each sale will go to the charity Nine Lives Greece (www.ninelivesgreece.com), a small volunteer group which helps stray cats in Athens now, through feeding and veterinary care, and for the

future, by neutering and rehoming. All are welcome to contribute, admire and purchase at the opening reception, which will be held on November 8 from 6 to 8pm. Come along for cocktails and art-shopping in a casual environment, for a very good cause. The gallery will then be open every Tuesday and Thursday from 5 to 7pm until December 5.

Please send images of your proposed cat-themed work, with dimensions, by October 25 to info@insidermagazine.gr Artworks to be delivered to Insider Art Space by November 1

Meet you at Starbucks!

Insider Pet Corner

Subscribe to Insider now and treat a friend at Starbucks, on us.

Visit www.insider-magazine.gr or send an email to subscrptions@insider-magazine.gr If you’re French speaking and would like to discover the best Greece has to offer in French, subscribe to Bonjour Athènes!

Abonnez-vous maintenant!

20.000 lecteurs lisent Bonjour Athènes pour trouver le meilleur en Grèce sur: les achats, les évènements culturels, le vin & la gastronomie, les tendances, les beaux arts, les affaires, la diplomatie, les voyages et la vie politique.

Par téléphone: 210.729.8634, par e-mail: subscriptions@insider-magazine.gr ou par Internet via Paypal. En Grèce 20€par an. A l’étranger 40€ par an (envoi inclu)

These four newborn puppies were found in a bag disposed off on Mount Pendeli. There were originally six, but two of the poor creatures had already died. The remaining pups are being bottle-fed and we hope they will pull through after their ordeal and grow into beautiful, healthy dogs with loving care in good homes. Please email alex@trigreece.gr if you can adopt, or even just foster a puppy until it can find a permanent home.

I See...an interesting internship with

flexible hours in a fun environment!

Interested?

Contact Toula at toula@insider-magazine.gr

These two brothers, Castor & Pollux, were found playing on a pavement close to Athens’ Olympic stadium. They were taken to the vet for a check-up and anti-parasite treatment, had a good bath and are now looking for good homes.They are 8 weeks old. One is a gorgeous fluffy grey with white points and the other a beautiful white with grey details.

Contact ninelivesgreece@gmail.com / 6944 630638

Visit www.insider-magazine.gr and chat with us LIVE! Comment on articles, join our chat room or just let us know what you think of Insider.

Follow us on Twitter and Facebook insider athens | October

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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

BAR - RESTAURANTS BACARO Omonia BALTHAZAR Mavili Sq BARAONDA Mavili Sq CENTRAL Kolonaki ENTEKA Glyfada KITCHEN BAR Faliro FRAME Kolonaki GINGER Mavili Sq ISLAND Vouliagmeni NIXON Kerameikos SEMIRAMIS RESTAURANT Kifissia SHOWROOM Kolonaki

FISH RESTAURANTS 7 THALASSES Kolonaki CAPTAIN JOHN’S Piraeus FISH BAR Glyfada ITHAKI Vouliagmeni JIMMY AND THE FISH Piraeus KASTELORIZO Kifissia LA PECHE Glyfada MILOS Hilton MYTHOS OF THE SEA Vouliagmeni PAPADAKIS Kolonaki PLOUS PODILATOU Piraeus THALATTA Gazi TO VAROULKO Kerameikos ZEFYROS Piraeus

FISH TAVERNAS DOURAMBEIS Piraeus KOLLIAS Piraeus MAISTRALI Vouliagmeni PSARAKI Vouliagmeni TRATA O STELIOS Pangrati VASSILENAS Piraeus

FRENCH L’ABREUVOIR Kolonaki LE PETIT SOMMELIER Faliro PIL POUL JEROME SERRES Thissio TARTARE Glyfada VARDIS Kifissia

GOURMET ALATSI Hilton KUZINA Thissio TO ERGASTIRIO TOU BAXEVANI Syntagma PIG PONG Glyfada

60 insider athens | October 2010

GREEK 2 MAZI Plaka CUCINA POVERA Pangrati DAKOS Kolonaki DIPORTO Psyrri EDODI Acropolis ELAEA BISTROT Acropolis FASOLI Exarhia IDEAL Omonia IRIDANUS Kerameikos 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

INDIAN ISKANDAR Alimos JAIPUR PALACE Maroussi

ITALIAN AGLIO OLIO ET PEPERONICINO Acropolis ACQUA AZZURA Kifissia AL MILANESE Kolonaki ALTRO Kolonaki BOSCHETTO Kolonaki CANTUCCIO Psyrri DA LUCIANO Vouliagmeni DVLCIS IN FVNDO Voula GENOVESE Voula LA CASA DI GIORGINO Gyfada IL SALOTTO Glyfada IL SEGRETO Voula MEZZA LUNA Vouliagmeni MULTI 22 Syntagma 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 DAPHNE’S RESTAURANT Plaka DORIS Monastiraki FATSIO Pangrati GALAZIA HYTRA Vouliagmeni GB CORNER Syntagma GRILL ROOM Vouliagmeni IDEAL RESTAURANTOmonia IRIDANUS Kerameikos KITRINO PODILATO Gazi KOUZINA CINE-PSIRRI Psyrri MAGEMENOS AVLOS Pangrati MEIDANIS Monastiraki OCHRE et BROWN Psyrri PARLIAMENT Syntagma PRYTANEION Kolonaki RATKA Kolonaki SPONDI Pangrati TA KIOUPIA Kolonaki TO KOUTI Monastiraki TO POLITICO Glyfada ZEPHYROS Piraeus ZORBAS Piraeus

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 THANASSIS Monastiraki

SPANISH MI SUENO Kolonaki PUERTA DE ESPANA Pangrati

TAVERNAS AMMOS Piraeus DIPORTO Psyrri FILIPOU Kolonaki LOUIZIDIS Vouliagmeni MAMACAS Gazi MARGARO Piraeus SKOUFIAS Exarhia VLASSIS Hilton ZAHOS Vouliagmeni

THAI ROYAL THAI Kifissia

WINE BARS MEXICAN AMIGOS Glyfada DOS HERMANOS Kifissia EL TACO BUENO Maroussi LA TIENDA Glyfada

CELLIER LE BISTROT Syntagma OINOPATHIA Maroussi

Westin Kids Club

MEZEDES AND OUZO ATHINAIKON Omonia KIRKI Thissio OUZADIKO Kolonaki SCHOLARHEIO Plaka SOLON Piraeus

PUB RESTAURANTS BAYERN BIERHAUS MICROBREWERY Glyfada BEER ACADEMY glyfada BIER HAUS Vouliagmeni MOLLY MALONE’S Glyfada

Register Now!

210.890.2000

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Insider guide SHOP Children Damigos Dimitrakopoulou 40 Tel: 210.922.0317 Toyshop with a wonderful selection, including wooden designs

Gifts

Greece is for Lovers Karyatidon 13A Tel: 210.924.5064 www.greeceisforlovers.com Tongue-in-cheek souvenirs for the discerning traveller

www.elaea.gr Greek chic coffee and tempting snacks beside the Acropolis Museum Gelato-Café Makriyanni 19-21 Tel: 210.923.8124 Homemade ice cream and waffles Mani Mani Falirou 10 Tel: 210.921.8180 Peloponnesian specialities with Mediterranean touches Takis' Bakery Misaralioutou 14 Tel: 210.923.0052 Locals' favourite; koulouria (sesame rings) & white chocolate biscuits

Aglio Olio & Peperonicino Porinou 13 Tel: 210.921.1801 Authentic Italian pasta in a cozy setting, accompanied by luscious salads and homemade dolci Asimenia Bakery Beles 1 and Androutsou Tel: 210.924.7655 Raisin bread, almond shortbread, yummy cookies & tasty loaves Edodi Veikou 80 Tel: 210.921.3013 Fresh ingredients presented at your table, then cooked to perfection

Exarhia

EAT SHOP 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

Elaea Bistrot Makriyanni 19-21 Tel: 210.921.2280

Takis' Bakery

62 insider athens | October 2010

Aglio Olio & Peperonicino

Vinyl Microstore Didotou 34, Tel: 210.361.4544 New vinyls & cds; also reissues from the 60s & more Yesterday's Bread Kallidromiou 87-89 Tel: 210.881.1233 Imported second-hand clothes; individuality guaranteed

EAT Fasoli Emanouil Benaki 45 Tel: 210.330.0010 A great meal in an uplifting environment Kavouras Themistokleous 64 Tel: 210.381.0202 Dine while enjoying live Rebetika music Rififi Emanouil Benaki 69A & Valtetsiou Tel: 210.330.0237 Ideal for a quiet, affordable Aegean-style dinner Skoufias Lontou 4, Tel: 210.382.8206 Exceptional entrees you are unlikely to find elsewhere Yantes Valteziou 44, Tel: 210.330.1369 Modern Greek cuisine prepared with almost exclusively organic ingredients

Elaea Bistrot

central Athens 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

Gazi

Acropolis

Shop, Eat, Drink & Chill!

EAT Butcher’s Shop Persefonis 19 Tel: 210.341.3440 Traditional psistaria serving grilled meat dishes

Mamacas Persefonis 41, Tel: 210.346.4984 Modern taverna located in an old barrel warehouse offering traditional Greek fare Kitrino Podilato Keramikou 116, Tel: 210.346.5830 Mediterranean cuisine in a modern industrial atmosphere Prosopa Meg.Vasiliou 52 & Konstantinoupoleos 4 Tel: 210.341.3433, Delicious dishes in a warm atmosphere right beside the train tracks. A popular gay haunt.

Greece is for Lovers

To advertise, contact ads@insider-magazine.gr

Almaz 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 Dirty Ginger 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

Athinon Arena Pireos 166, Tel: 210.347.1111 The latest in live Greek music acts

Hiltonia Health

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 Milos Athens Hilton Vas. Sofias 46, Tel: 210.724.4400 Simply prepared local flavours Vlassis Neandrou 15 Tel: 210.646.3060/210.725.6335 Family-run taverna serving traditional Greek food

DRINK Galaxy Bar Athens Hilton Vas. Sofias 46, Tel: 210.728.1402 Rooftop cocktails in a chic atmosphere

& Wellness Club Athens Hilton Vas. Sofias 46, Tel: 210.728.1801 Indoor and outdoor pools, pilates studio, cardio classes and weighttraining

Kerameikos

Bars, Clubs & Lounges

CHILL

EAT

Kolonaki

DRINK

Live Greek Music

Hilton

Thalatta Vitonos 5, Tel: 210.346.4204 Fresh seafood creations

SHOP

Iridanus Plataion 15 Tel: 210.346.2983 Greek & Mediterranean cuisine in beautiful surroundings Nixon Agisilaou 61B Tel: 210.346.2077 Burgers, a private cinema & an artsy crowd. Open for brunch on Sundays at noon

To Varoulko Pireos 80, Tel: 210.522.8400 Seafood prepared by Michelin starwinning chef Lefteris Lazarou

central Athens Frattina Kanari 21, Tel: 210.360.4481 Casual clothing and gifts for kids Jack in the Box Haritos 13, Tel: 210.725.8735 Beautiful wooden toys and more Marie Chantal Boutique Spefsippou 11 Tel: 210.722.2029 Old-fashioned chic for little princes and princesses Mouyer 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 Bespoke Athens Anagnostopoulou 15-17 Tel: 210.364.5518 Made-to-measure suits and shirts from top international tailors

Antiques Kilim Hali Valaoritou 9 Tel: 210.363.7056 www.kilimhali.gr Antique carpets from around the world

Beauty & Cosmetics

Apivita Solonos 26 Tel: 210.364.0560 Shop natural Greek cosmetics, get a prescription cream made up and have a quick massage

Children

Road of Tea

Bambineria Kanari 5, Tel: 210.339.2597 Designer togs for tots

Hiltonia

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Insider guide Shop, Eat, Drink & Chill!

Carouzos Kanari 12 , Tel: 210.362.7123 Designer items from Prada, Brioni, Donna Karan, Fendi and other topflight brands Coach Tsakalof 28, Tel: 210.362.5669 Leather totes and luggage in easy American style Deux Hommes Kanari 18, , Tel: 210.361.4155 www.deuxhommes.gr Greece's design ambassadors create structural separates and heavenly bridal gowns Diesel Skoufa 3, Tel: 210.362.2748 A treasure trove of denim, and all the hip accoutrements to go with it Dior Boutique Voukourestiou 18-20 Tel: 210 361.3014 High-end designer fashion DKNY Solonos 8 Tel: 210.360.3775 Classic American sportswear Elina Lebessi Iraklitou 13, Tel: 210.363.1731 Ethereal frocks, pretty tea-dresses and accessories from around the world

Ermenegildo Zegna Skoufa 18, Tel: 210.361.3700 Home of fine fabrics and handsome tailor-finished suits

Lacoste Solonos 5 Tel: 210.361.8030 French take on American sportswear

Paul & Shark Anagnostopoulou 6 Tel: 210.339.2334 Casual yachting styles

Free Shop Voukourestiou 50 Tel: 210.364.1308 A haven of hip, carrying labels from Balenciaga to Martin Margiela to Marlene Birger

Lanvin Iraklitou 9 Tel: 210.360.8315 Alber Elbaz's gloriously chic take on the classic French couture house

Preview Patriarchou Ioakim 19 Tel: 210.722.4731 High fashion designer shoes

Giorgio Armani Koumbari 8, Tel: 210.361.3603 Suit- and dress-maker to the stars Hugo Boss Amerikis 19, Tel: 210.360.0516 Smart separates for a work wardrobe Incrocio 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 La Perla Spefsippou 14 Tel: 210.729.9720 Lingerie to flaunt

Papadakis

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central Athens

Bespoke Athens

Linea Piu Sekeri 6, Tel: 210 360.6125 Collections from exclusive fashion houses including Chanel, Galliano, Lagerfeld and Sonia Rykie 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 Observatory Attitudes Solonos 9, Tel: 210.364.6910 www.attitudes.gr Seven storeys of fashion

Puma Concept Kanari 17 Tel: 210.361.0516 International sportswear for all ages Rere Papa Skoufa 62 Tel: 210.364.4300 Distinctive creations by two young Greek women and other international imports 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

Flowers Fleria Patriarchou Ioakim 35 Tel: 210.722.9697

Bespoke Athens

To advertise, contact ads@insider-magazine.gr Food & Wine Cava Anthidis Ypsilantou 13-15, Tel: 210.725.1050 Comprehensive wine and liquor wholesalers 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 Octopus Solonos 15, Tel: 210.363 6677 Quirky designs with a sense of humour

Gifts Benaki Museum Gift Shop Vas. Sofias & Koumbari Tel: 210.367.1045 Artefacts and jewellery inspired by the museum’s exhibits

Home Christofle Koumbari 5, Tel: 210.362.0483 Classis silver and crystal ideal for wedding gifts 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

Fanourakis Patriarchou Ioakim 23 Tel: 210.721.1762 Unique collection of animal and insect pins & earrings Folli Follie Tsakalof 6 & Solonos 25 Tel: 210.323.0739 Greece's high-street export stocks affordable watches and everyday bijoux Liana Vourakis Pindarou 42 Tel: 210.361.7705 For unique baptism and wedding gifts, start here Lylian Syrigou Anagnostopoulou 12 Tel: 210.361.3350 www.liliansyrigou.gr Handcrafted bijoux and one-off designer pieces 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

EAT Bakeries & Patisseries Despina Patriarchou Ioakim 56 Tel: 210.729.5582 Reputed patisserie best known for its millefeuille

central Athens Coo Dinokratous 1 Tel: 210.725.4008 A Mykonos favourite now in Athens Dakos Tsakalof 6 Tel: 210.894.7040 New-age Cretan specialties

Cake Irodotou 15, Tel: 210.721.2253 For real American homemade cheesecake, brownies and more

Filipou Xenokratous 19 Tel: 210.721.6390 Home-cooked Greek taverna dishes

Fresh Kriezotou 12, Tel: 210.364.2948/ Loukianou 21, Tel: 210.729.3453 Desserts and cakes

Frame St George Lycabettus Hotel Dinokratous , Tel: 210.721.4368 Exotic cuisine in the heart of Athens

Restaurants

Freud Oriental Xenokratous 21 Tel: 210.729.9595 Sushi in a cool setting

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 Altro Haritos 39, Tel: 210.724.2717 Tiny funky restaurant that specializes in Italian food

Inbi Iraklitou 21 Tel: 210.339.2090 Sushi fusion Jackson Hall Milioni 4 Tel: 210.361.6098 Gourmet burgers with all the fixings

Ozzi Skoufa 30, Tel: 210.364.2139 Greek silver fashion jewellery

Boschetto Evangelismos Park Tel: 210.721.0893 Italian food in a lush central setting

Kalamaki Kolonaki Ploutarhou 32 Tel: 210.721.8800 Souvlakia on the sidewalk have never been so trendy

Van Cleef & Arpels Pindarou 42, Tel: 210.331.1107 The jeweller of the international jetset

Cafe Boheme Omirou 36, Tel: 210.360.8018 Welcoming nook with Greek cooking and more-ish cocktails

Kiku Dimokritou 12 Tel: 210.364.7033 Fresh, beautifully presented sushi

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

Om Indian Beauty Lounge Lykavittou 11, Kolonaki 210 362 5125

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Insider guide Shop, Eat, Drink & Chill!

Mi Sueno Akadimias 30, Tel: 210.361.6271 Tapas & other Spanish specialties Orizontes Lycavyttou Lycabettus Hill, Tel: 210.722.7065 Gourmet dining with a spectacular view Ouzadiko Karneadou 25-26, Tel: 210.729.5484 Traditional Greek appetizers & ouzo Papadakis Fokilidou 15 & Voukourestiou 47A Tel: 210.360.8621 Paros' legendary gourmet restaurant serving seafood in the heart of Athens Pizza Pommodoro Alopekis 9, Tel: 210.729.6500 Great Italian specialties Prytaneion 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 Scala Vinoteca Sina 50, Tel: 210.361.0041 Mediterranean restaurant ideal for wining & dining

Square Sushi Deinokratous 65, Tel: 210.725.5236 High-quality sushi & other Japanese favourites

Tea

EAT

To Tsai Soutsou & Likavitou Tel: 210.338.8941 Tea & tea paraphernalia from around the world

Ginger Dorileou 10-12 Tel: 210.645.1169 Original dishes and innovative combinations in an elegant atmosphere

CHILL

Ta Kioupia Dinokratous & An Polemou 22 Tel: 210.740.0150 Superb set menu of Greek classics with refined touches

OM Indian Beauty Lounge Lykavittou 11 Tel: 210.382.5125 Incredible massages and exotic treatments

TGI Friday’s Kolokotroni 35, Kefalari sq.

Tel: 210.623.3945 American restaurant with real steak and barbecue sauce!

La Prairie Day Spa Kanari 24, Tel: 210.360.1550 High-tech beauty treatments in a clinical setting

DRINK Bars, Clubs & Lounges Central Kolonaki Square Tel: 210.724.5938 The place to see & be seen while sipping on coffee or cocktails Mai Tai Ploutarhou 18, Tel: 210.725.8306 Early evening cocktails in a l aid-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

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Baraonda Tsoha 43 Tel: 210.644.4308 Gourmet cuisine and funky beats

Antiques Darousos Normanou 7 Tel: 210.331.1638 Small antique shop in the heart of the flea market

Food & Wine Arapian Evripidou 41, Tel: 210.321.7238 Old-style butcher shop offers interesting sausages, pasturma & smoked meats

Bahar Evripidou 31 Tel: 210.321.7225 Well-known herb haven

Flower Tel: 210.643.2111 Fun, funky and affordable watering hole

Miran Evripidou 45, Tel: 210.321.7187 Sausages, pastrami & cured meats

Da Capo Tsakalof 1, Tel: 210.243.3902 Long-established people-watching hangout

To Tsai

Balthazar Tsoha 27 Tel: 210.644.1215 Lovely garden and chic interior attracts a cool crowd

SHOP

Briki Tel: 210.654.2380 Trendy hole-in-the-wall hangout

Cafés

Peros Kolonaki Square, Tel: 210.364.5068 Enjoy a cup of java if you can find a spot

DRINK

St’Astra Alexadras 10 Tel: 210.889.4500 For an unforgettable roof-top dining experience

Monastiraki

Le Grand Balcon St George Lycabettus Hotel, Kleomenous 2, Tel: 210.729.0711 Gourmet Greek cuisine

Showroom Milioni 12, Tel: 210.364.6460 Missoni-designed interiors, serving unique Mediterranean flavours

Mavili Sq

L'Abreuvoir Xenokratous 51, Tel: 210.722.9106 Fine French cuisine

central Athens

Baraonda

Bairaktaris Monastiraki Square 2 Tel: 210.321.3036 Old-world taverna serving traditional Greek fare Brachera Avissynias 3, Tel: 210.321.7202 Traditional Greek recipes with a European twist overlooking the Acropolis & Observatory Café Avyssinias Kynetou 7, Tel: 210.321.7407 Spcializing in regional dishes & live music on weekends Doris Praxitelous 30, Tel: 210.323.2671 Hearty stews & pasta dishes at reasonable prices Kol Tuv 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

To Kouti Adrianou 23, Tel: 210.321.3229 Mediterranean fare right next to the ancient agora

DRINK Orea Ellas Pandrosou 36, Tel: 210.321.3842 An eclectic cafe & bookshop

SHOP Department Stores Hondos Center Omonia Square Tel: 210.528.2800 Cosmetics, perfumes, luggage, clothing, & much, much more

EAT Ideal Restaurant Panepistimiou 46, Tel: 210.330.3000 Greek classics in old-world decor Bacaro Sophokleous 1 & Aristidou Tel: 210.321.1882, Lavish Italian and contemporary dishes Athinaikon Themistokleous 2, Tel: 210.383.8485 A traditional Greek ouzeri

Sigalas-Bairaktaris Monastiraki Square 2 Tel: 210.321.3036 Century-old restaurant serving a variety of fresh dishes

SHOP

Food & wine

Beauty & Cosmetics

Mesogaia Nikis 52, Tel: 210.322.9146 Packaged & fresh speciality foods

Korres Ivikou 8 & Eratosthenous Tel: 210.722.2774 Natural Greek products made using Mediterranean herbs

EAT Cucina Povera Evforionos 13 & Eratosthenous Tel: 210.756.6008, Greek cuisine with a menu that changes daily

Amorgos Kodrou 3, Tel: 210.324.3836 Hand-carved & painted furniture

EAT 2 Mazi 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

Karavitis Arktinou & Pausaniou Tel: 210.721.5155 Classic Greek cuisine in a dining room lined with wine casks

Electra Nikodimou 18-20 Tel: 210.337.0000 Roof-top dining with Greek cuisine

Magemenos Avlos Amynta 4, Tel: 210.722.3195 Mediterranean fare, welcoming decor & generous servings

Platanos Diogenous 4, Tel: 210.322.0666 One of the few remaining tavernas preserving 1940s Athens

Puerte de Espana Antinoros 42, Tel: 210.725.8666 Spanish cuisine & live music Spondi Pyrronos 5, Tel: 210.756.4021 A mix of European & more exotic flavours. Voted one of the best in Athens Trata o Stelios Anagenniseos Sq. 7-9 Tel: 210.729.1533 The best grilled fish in town

Spondi

Gifts

Fatsio Efroniou 5 Tel: 210.721.7421 Greek food & political gossip

Plaka Bahar

central Athens

SHOP Antique stores Maritinos Pandrosou 50 Tel: 210.321.2414 Specializes in 19th Century folk art, embroidery & furniture

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

Psyrri

EAT

Thanassis Mitropoleos 69, Tel : 210.324.4705 A souvlaki lover’s paradise

Omonia

Paleovivliopolio Hiotakis Normanou 7, Tel: 210.324.7835 Historic bookshop houses rare & old books

Pangrati

To advertise, contact ads@insider-magazine.gr

SHOP Fashion Christoforos Kotentos Sachtouri 3 Tel: 210.325.5434 Glamorous & unique designs

Home Notoshome Kratinou 5, Tel: 210.374.3000 Home décor superstore

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EAT

Books

Gifts

Cantuccio Lepeniotou & Ivis 1 Tel: 210.323.3670 Authentic Italian cuisine in a friendly environment

Eleftheroudakis Panepistimiou 17, Tel: 210.325.8440 The largest foreign language bookstore in Greece

Argalios Filellinon 7, Tel: 210.322.2659 Hand-woven fabrics & souvenirs since 1940

Kauffman Stadiou 28, Tel: 210.322.2160 Mostly French books and small selection of English fiction

Graf Von Faber-Castell Boutique Panepistimiou 41, Tel: 210.321.8564 Traditional hand-held writing utensils

Diporto Theatrou & Sokratous Tel: 210.321.1463 Old-world tavern offers bargain basics like salads, sardines & fava Kouzina Cine-Psirri Sari 44, Tel: 210.321.5534 Mediterranean fare & eclectic music Nara Nara Karaiskaki 26, Tel: 210.331.2091 Lebanese food & dancing Ochre & Brown Leokoriou 7, Tel: 210.331.2950 Mediterranean/French cuisine

Attica Panepistimiou 9, Tel: 211.180.2600 Home to an array of luxury goods Fokas Stadiou 41, Tel: 210.325.7770 Clothes, shoes and accessories for men, women & children Stock House & Travel Ermou 45, Tel: 210.324.7732 Outlet store featuring brands from Parousiasi, Cook Shop & Bag Stories

Fashion - Men’s

DRINK Bars, Clubs & Lounges Soul Evripidou 65, Tel: 210.331.0907 Show off your groovy disco moves

Syntagma

Department Stores

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

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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

Jewellery Apriati Pentelis 9, Tel: 210.322.9020 Smartly designed necklaces, bracelets and rings

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

central Athens Ilias Lalaounis Panepistimiou 6, Tel: 210.361.1371 Fabulous gold designs by famous Greek jeweller Kessaris Panepistimiou 7, Tel: 210.323.2919 Wide range of luxury brand timepieces Marathianakis Voukourestiou 21 Tel: 210.362.7118 Old-world shop known for its original & elegant designs Zolotas Panepistimiou 10, Tel: 210.360.1272 Designs inspired by the antique & classical periods as well as contemporary collections by designers like Paloma Picasso

Shoes Spiliopoulos Ermou 63 Tel: 210.322.7590 Pick up a pair of Manolo’s at half price!

Vassilis Zoulias Old Athens Akadimias 30, Tel: 210.361.4762 Handmade shoes and handbags inspired by films of the 50s & 60s

EAT

Cartier Voukourestiou 7, Tel: 210.331.3600 Two floors of designs & timepieces by the prestigious Cartier maison

Cellier Le Bistrot Panepistimiou 10, Tel: 210.363.8525 Excellent dishes accompany the extensive list of international wines

Folli Follie Ermou 18, Tel: 210.323.0739 Trendy & affordable jewellery & accessories

Dosirak Voulis 31-33, Tel: 210.323.3330 Japanese & Corean cuisine in the heart of Athens

Gofas Stadiou 3, Tel: 210.331.7540 High-end timepieces

To Ergastirio to Baxevani Nikis 58 & Kydathynaion Tel: 210.322.2839 Traditional Greek cuisine combined with modern elements

Gadgets

Far East Stadiou 7, Tel: 210.323.4996 A mix of Asian cuisines in elegant surroundings

Public Syntagma Square, Tel: 210.324.6210, Five floors of gaming, gadgets & books

Furin Kazan Apollonos 2, Tel: 210.322.9170 A Japanese favourite of expats & Athenians alike

To advertise, contact ads@insider-magazine.gr

CHILL

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

DRINK Bars, Clubs & Lounges Boutique Filellinon 15, Tel: 210.323.1315 Popular Athenian night spot

The Palace Spa Syntagma Square, Tel: 210.374.3590 Ideal for rejuvenation after a long flight or a hectic bout of shopping

EAT Kirki Apostoplou Pavlou 31 Tel: 210.346.6960 Ideal for a lunch break Kuzina Adrianou 9 Tel: 210.324.0133 Contemporary Greek cuisine

The New Acropolis Museum An inside view of the Parthenon and its surroundings The National Archaeological Museum Archaeological finds from all over Greece The Benaki Museum A chronological view of Greece’s history The Museum of Cycladic Art Works characteristic of the Aegean and Cyprus Astir Beach Vouliagmeni Dip into the cool glamour of the Athens Riviera Grand Beach Lagonissi Spend a fun-filled day at the beach with family and friends Balux An all day experience complete with a beach house open to all

Pil Poul Jerome Serres Apostolou Pavlou 51 & Pavlopoulou Tel: 210.342.3665 Contemporary French cuisine with a Meditarranean twist

Dionyssos, Classical Greek cuisine with a spectacular view of the Acropolis Horizontes Mediterranean cuisine atop Lycabettus Hill Ithaki Excellent seafood in beachside Vouliagmeni Jimmy & Fish Great seafood overlooking the bobbing sailboats in Mikrolimano Milos Specializes in seafood dishes for business and leisure lunches Psaras The oldest restaurant in Plaka serving fresh fish and traditional Greek dishes

Drink

Kalua Amerikis 6, Tel: 210.360.8304 Dance the night away in a chic environment

Holmes Place Stadiou 4 & Voukourestiou Tel: 210.325.9400 Fully equipped health club with excellent array of classes

Thissio

Multi 22 Ermou 116 & Leokoriou Tel: 210.331.6766 Italian fare served in a neoclassical house

GB Spa Syntagma Square, Tel: 210.333.0799 Award-winning spa featuring treatments by E’SPA,Valmont & Algoane

The concierge of the Grande Bretagne Hotel in Syntagma Square recommends:

See

Ioannis Royal Olympic Hotel Ath. Diakou 28-34 Tel: 210.928.8400 Greek & Mediterranean cuisine with breathtaking views from the rooftop

athens in 24hrs

Do

T Palace King George Palace Syntagma Square, Tel: 210.322.2210 Sophisticated atmosphere for mingling & people-watching

Eat

GB Corner Hotel Grand Bretagne Syntagma Square, Tel: 210.333.0750 Luxurious surroundings, Mediterranean cuisine

central Athens

Zonar’s A landmark Athenian café serving specialty coffees and delectable desserts Kolonaki Square Lined by cafes ideal for people watching Balthazar A chic garden atmosphere for the fashionable and fabulous in Ambelokipi Bobayo Cocktails served under the Athenian stars in the centre of the city

Paul

Akrotiri Boutique All night dancing to the wee hours by the coast

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Insider guide Ammos Ak. Koumoundourou 44 Tel: 210.422.4633 Casual waterfront dining 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 Margaro Hadjikyriakou 126, Tel: 210.451.4226 Fish taverna with a simple menu Plous Podilatou Ak. Koumoundourou 42 Tel: 210.413.7910 Sumptuous seafood & mouthwatering deserts on the waterfront Solon Themimstokleous 284 Tel: 210.451.2340 Enjoy traditional Greek mezedes Tony Bonano Papanastasiou 63, Tel: 210.411.1901 Italian cuisine with a view of the harbour

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

EAT Eric Kayser “Flisvos” Marina Tel: 210.987.1446 A bread-lover’s paradise

Il Tinello Knossou 54, Tel: 210.982.8462 Real Italian home cooking Iskandar Amphitheas 6 & Poseidonos Tel: 210.988.6474 Authentic Indian flavours in a warm and luxurious environment Kitchen Bar Poseidonos 3, Tel: 210.981.2004 Comfort food overlooking the sea Le Petit Sommelier Zaimi 6, Tel: 210.984.2344 French cuisine & excellent wine list Mare Marina “Flisvos” marina, Tel: 210.982.2220 Greek & Mediterranean creations served with a waterfront view www.maremarina.gr

Vassilenas Etolikou 72 & Vitolion Tel: 210.461.2457 Friendly food and atmosphere

DRINK

Zefyros Ak. Koumoundourou 48 Tel: 210.417.5152 Fresh seafood on the quay

Big Apple South Posidonos 1, Tel: 210.948.5190 Casual cocktails in a modern atmosphere

Zorbas Ak. Koumoundourou 14 Tel: 210.411.1163 Unique flavours of the Mediterranean

DRINK

Zinc “Flisvos” Marina, Tel: 210.985.3183 Fascinating cocktails while listening to the rhythm of lounge, Latin & dance music

Iguana Ak. Dilaveri 15, Tel: 210.407.8861 Playing disco & techno tracks until 6am

Zythos Eleftherias 45, Tel: 210.985.0478 Reminiscent of an Irish pub with several beers to choose from

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Glyfada

EAT

Faliro

Piraeus

Shop, Eat, Drink & Chill!

Southern Athens

SHOP Beauty & Cosmetics Body 'N' Soul Phivis 17, Tel: 210.677.4554 The crème de la crème of luxury cosmetics

Books

Eleftheroudakis Lazaraki 27, Tel: 210.325.8440 Book superstore with a large selection of English titles Fnac Lazaraki & Kar. Servias 4, Tel: 210. 898.4300

Fashion Enny di Monaco Laodikis 41, Tel: 210.894.0153 Carefully selected designs by various international designers Ensayar Donna Kyprou 55, Esperidon Square Tel: 210.894.3034 Top lines from leading designers with an English touch Kokkoris Optics Esperidon Square 3, Tel: 210.898.0850 Excellent selection of eyewear

Jewellery ZerTeo Metaxa 24-26, Tel: 210.894.6682 Unique jewellery designs

Food & Wine All about Whisky Vas. Georgiou B' 10 Tel: 210.968.1191, Specialty shop with a large selection of single malts, books, & anything to do with whisky Green Farm Dousmani 5, Tel: 210.898.5191 Organic products of all kinds Provence Posidonos 80, Tel: 210.898.1435 Gourmet French delicatessen

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 & live music on weekends Beer Academy N. Zerva 14, Tel: 210.898.0121 International cuisine in a cozy setting Beirut Saki Karayiorya 13, Tel: 210.894.3169 Lebanese cuisine & entertainment Bereket Mikras Asias & Lefkosias 36 Tel: 210.960.9337 Traditional dishes from Asia Minor Dakos Zissimopoulou 26, Tel: 210.894.7040 Authentic Cretan dishes Enteka Kyprou 11, Tel: 210.898.2880 Mediterranean dishes & an extensive wine list Far East Lazaraki 61, Tel: 210.894.0500 A mix of Asian cuisines in elegant surroundings Fishbar Zisimopoulou 2, Tel: 210.968.0100 Seafood appetizers & dishes in a fun environment Kiliza Konstantinopoleos 13 Tel: 210.894.4648 Delicious kebabs & decadent deserts La Casa Di Giorgino 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

EAT

La Tienda Vas. Georgiou B' 58 Asteras Glyfada Tel: 210.894.1620 Latin steak house & live music

Ache Kypriou 57, Tel: 210.894.2949 International cuisine & delectable deserts

Labi Maragou 18, Tel: 210.968.0205 Modern taverna serving traditional taverna food

Tartare Panagouli 52, Tel: 210.968.0320 Quality French cuisine To Politico Zisimopoulou 7B, Tel: 210.894.0170 Flavours of Asia Minor Vincenzo Giannitsopoulou 1, Tel: 210.894.1310 Value for money Italian specialities with a Southern Italian touch

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 Zisimopoulou 12, Tel: 210.894.5746 One of the first cafes to inspireGlyfada's coffee culture Nest CafĂŠ Bar Lazaraki 45, Tel: 210.898.6035 An all-day hangout for locals & visitors Seiza 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.

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 Il Segreto Bizaniou 3, Tel: 210.965.9526 Authentic Italian set on a beautiful terrace

CHILL Vari Sports Club Vari-Koropiou & Kalamatos 1 Tel: 210.899.0048 www.varisportsclub.com

Vouliagmeni

Molly Malone's Zannitsopoulou 8, , Tel: 210.894.4247 Irish pub serving probably the best Irish Stew in Athens

Voula

To advertise, contact ads@insider-magazine.gr

EAT

Southern Athens

Louizidis Ermou 2, Tel: 210.896.0591 Traditional Greek taverna popular with the locals

Schara Posidonos 15, Tel: 210.896.2432 Grills with frills in a friendly setting at reasonable prices

Maistrali Apollonos 28, Tel: 210.967.1184 Traditionally prepared seafood dishes presented exquisitely

Waffle House Posidonos 17, Tel: 210.896.1227 Sure to satisfy your sweet tooth

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

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 The Westin Hotel Apollonos 40, Tel: 210.890.1709 Modern lounge bar serving up delectable cocktails

CHILL Arion Spa Astir Complex, Apollonos 40 Tel: 210.890.2000 Divani Apollon Palace & Spa Ag. Nikolaou 10, Tel: 210.891.1100

CafĂŠ 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

Galazia Hytra The Westin, 40, Tel: 210.890.1709, Enjoy a romantic meal of creative Greek cuisine

Live Music

Grill Room Apollonos 40, Tel: 210.890.1794 Mediterranean & seafood flavours on a breathtaking veranda, in the Astir complex

Thalassa People's Stage Posidonos 58, Tel: 210.898.2979 Live Greek acts in a club atmosphere attracting a young crowd

Ithaki Apollonos 28, Tel: 210.896.3747 Beautiful sea view, fresh seafood & great service

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Insider guide SHOP Beauty & Cosmetics Nyhi-Nyhi 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 Bakaliko Ola Ta Kala Kifissias 238-240, Mela Shopping Centre, Tel: 210.808.9908 Quality Greek delicacies Il Salumaio di Montena Poleone Panagitsas 3, Tel: 210.623.3934 Milan based company selling high quality produce Sorpresa Italiana Kiriazi 6-8, Tel: 210.801.7886, Authentic fresh Italian pasta, sauces, truffles & more

Stefanidis Finest Foods Dimitrios Square 13, Tel: 210.808.2191 Excellent European delicatessen Varsos Kassaveti 5, Tel: 210.801.2472 Milk products & patisserie Vinifera 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

Nargile Harilaou Trikoupi 50 Tel: 210.808.3333 Lebanese cuisine in a cosmopolitan ambiance O Tzitzikas Ki O Mermigas Drosini 12-14, Tel: 210.623.0080 A modern taverna serving traditional dishes at reasonable prices Piazza Mela Kifissias 238, Mela Shopping Centre Tel: 210.623.6596, Classic & traditional Italian dishes Prytaneion Kolokotroni 37, Tel: 210.808.9160 Generous portions of Mediterranean fare Royal Thai Zirini 12, Tel: 210.623.2322 Thai cuisine in an opulent setting

Berdema Vas Amalias 20, Tel: 210.801.3853 Traditional dishes from Greece & Asia Minor

Salumaio di Atene Panagitsas 3, Tel: 210.623.3934 Authentic Italian food & fabulous deserts

Common Secret Kifissias 324, Tel: 210.623.3810 Coffee and light Mediterranean meals in a pleasant setting

Semiramis Restaurant Semiramis Hotel, Harilaou Trikoupi 48, Tel: 210.628.4500 Mediterranean cuisine in a hip atmosphere

Dos Hermanos Kyriazi 24, Tel: 210.808.7906 Excellent Mexican food & super margaritas Gefsis Me Onomasia Proelefsis Kifissias 317, Tel: 210.800.1402 Divine food from all over the world

Gourounakia Kifissias Kifissias 289, Tel: 210.801.1093 Delicious salads, appetizers, souvlakia & grilled platters Ichthyes Evagelistrias 36, Tel: 210.620.1572 Seafood taverna

72 insider athens | October 2010

Meat Me HarilaouTrikoupi 92 Tel: 210.623.2358 Simple yet discerning cuisine in a funky Greek taverna

Barceloneta Kifissias 267, Tel: 210.801.3448 Spanish cuisine in a fun atmosphere

Golden Phoenix Harilaou Trikoupi & Gortinias Tel: 210.801.3588, Chinese classic popular for the brunch buffet

Bakaliko Ola Ta Kala

Northern Athens

Kastelorizo Platanon 2, Tel: 210.807.5408 Part of a chain of upscale seafood restaurants that is sure to please

Shogun Philadelpheos 2, Tel: 210.623.3622 Promises authentic Japanese cuisine for the truly discerning Telemachos Barbeque Club Fragkopoulou 22 Tel: 210.807.6680 Rare meats char-grilled to perfection Tike Harilaou Trikoupi 27 Tel: 210.808.4418, Watch chefs prepare Turkish kebabs and other treats before your eyes Vardis Deligianni 66, Pentelikon Hotel Tel: 210.623.0650-6, Cornerstone of French cuisine in Greece

DRINK 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

Maroussi

Kifissia

Shop, Eat, Drink & Chill!

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 Aneton Stratigou Lekka 19, Tel: 210.806.6700 Traditional cuisine in a comfy-chic setting reminiscent of the 50s & 60s El Taco Bueno Ethnikis Antistaseos & Psaron 1 Tel: 210.684.0460 Mexican flavours in a traditional setting Jaipur Palace 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 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

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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

74 insider athens | October 2010

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

SOFITEL ATHENS AIRPORT

TwentyOne

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

Herodion

THE ROMANOS

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

Santorini

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

THE MARGI

Mystique is an 18 villa hotel, designed by Frank Le Fevbre. Mystique, Oia.Tel. 22860 81786 VEDEMA, SANTORINI

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 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

Philippos

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

The Coral’s 86 rooms and 2 suites offer all modern conveniences. Poseidonos Avenue 35, Paleo Faliron. Tel: 210.981.6441 Fresh Hotel

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

COSTA NAVARINO THE WESTIN RESORT

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

MYSTIQUE SANTORINI

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 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.

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.

!

Would you like TO see your hotel LISTED here?

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

CONTACT US at: ads@insider-magazine.gr

insider athens | October

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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

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

TRANSLATIONS / INTERPRETING 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 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

Embassies

Business services

useful information 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

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76 insider athens | October 2010

KOREA Messoghion 2-4, Athens.

Tel: 210.698.4080 KUWAIT Marathonodromon 27, 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 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

Emergencies

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 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

EMERGENCY NUMBERS

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

Weather Attica, Tel: 148 www.hnms.gr Citizen’s Rights Ombudsman: 5 Hatziyiannis Mexis (near the Hilton Hotel) Tel: 210 72 89 640

ROAD ASSISTANCE ELPA Tel: 10400 Emergency Service Tel: 104 Express Service Tel: 154 Hellas Service Tel: 1057 Interamerican Tel: 168 Tourist Information Tel: 174

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 Paediatric A.J. Kanellopoulos, MD Eye Surgeon, Mesogeion 2, Athens Tower B’ Hospitals Tel: 210.747.2777 EUROCLINIC PAEDON Dimitris Linos, MD FACS General Lemessou 39-41 & Aharnon 209, Surgeon, Kifissias 227, Kifissia.

Kato Patissia, Tel: 210.869.1900 Tel: 210.612.5001-2 PAEDON AGIA SOFIA heart & vascular centrE HOSPITAL E.N. Deliargyris, MD FACC Mikras Asias and Thivon, Goudi. FSCAI Interventional cardiologist.

Tel: 210.746.7000 Southern Athens. Vakchou 2 & Vas. Kostantinou PAEDON AGLAIA KYRIAKOU Tel:210.897.6276. www.heartline.gr 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 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 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

Newspapers

The International Herald Tribune carries the English version of Kathimerini, with a weekly newspaper Athens Plus 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.

Athens International Radio 104.4 FM Offers news bulletins in 13 languages, as well as interviews, music and current affairs programmes.

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

Money

Water Supply & Sewage (EYDAP) In case of water cut: Tel: 1202. www.eydap.gr

Public Services Administration Information Center (paperwork assistance) on weekdays 8am-3pm (KEP): Tel: 177 ww.kep.gov.gr

General and cranial osteopathy

LOST OR STOLEN CREDIT CARDS

Phone Post

Public Power Corporation (DEI) In case of power failure: Tel: 210 523 9939 www.dei.gr

Greek Manpower Employment Organization (OAED) www.oaed.gr , Tel: 210 99 89 000

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

English media

Road Assistance ELPA: 104

Social Security & Health insurance (IKA) www.ika.gr

Health

Telephone & Internet Services (OTE) New tel: 138, Tel. (defective): 129 OTE customer service: 134 International call information (English, French & German): 169 www.ote.gr

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.

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

!

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

advertise in our listings,and reach thousands of customers

email us at ads@insider-magazine.gr

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Art galleries

Tel: 210.322.9705

A. Antonopoulou Art Aristofanous 20, Psirri Tel: 210.321.4994 Astra Karyatidon 8, Koukaki Tel: 210.922.0236 Astrolavos Dexameni Xanthippou 11, Kolonaki Tel: 210.729.4342 Astrolavos ArtLife Irodotou 11, Kolonaki Tel: 210.722.1200

Bernier/Eliades Gallery Eptachalkou 11, Thisseio Tel: 210.341.3935 Beyond Art Gallery Haritos 10, Kolonaki Tel: 210.721.9744 The Breeder Gallery Iasonas 45, Metaxourgio Tel: 210.331.7527 Gallery 7 Zalokosta 7, Syntagma Tel: 210.361.2050 Jill Yakas Spartis 16, Kifissia. Tel: 210.801.2773 www. yakas.com Kalfayan gallery Haritos 11, Kolonaki Tel: 210.721.7679 Kourd Gallery With a century of experience in art trade, the Kourd Gallery specialises in 19th and 20th century European Paintings, Icons, Contemporary Art, Antiquities and 18th century Antiques.

Kassiani 2-4, Tel: 210.642.6573 ww.gallerykourd.gr 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 Titanium Yiayiannos Vas. Konstantinou 44, Pangrati Tel: 210.729.7644 Zoumboulaki Gallery Kolonaki Square 20, Kolonaki Tel: 210.360.8278 Zoumboulaki Gallery Graphics & Editions Kriezotou 7, Syntagma Tel: 210.363.4454

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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 7am-1pm 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.

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.

Mon-Sun 8am-7pm. Just east of the Ancient Agora. Tel: 210.324.5220.

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

ASSOCIATION OF GUIDES

Acropolis is open daily and entrance, includes archaeological sites. Tel: 201.321.0219

Museums

ORGANISED TOURS

Attractions & Sites

see & do

Allou Fun Park Kifissou & Petrou Ralli, Ag. Ioannis Rentis 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 U Summit 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 Central Athens

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 AthensLamia, 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

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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

city map

Map courtesy of Emvelia Publications

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KA L E I DOS COP E

Green spaces:

The percentage of urban green spaces in Athens stands at an abysmally low 2 square metres per capita, compared to say Dresden, where it stands at 398 square metres per capita. The first urban green space in Greece, now known as the National Gardens, was created in 1839. Alongwith the Zappeion Gardens, it provides for a green refuge of 28.8 hectares in the heart of the city. Other green lungs include the Botanical Garden featuring 25 lakes and 2,500 plant varieties in its lush186 hectares and Syngrou Park in Maroussi covering 100 hectares.

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