| Greeting someone in Athens |
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Punctuality is considered very important. Shaking hands is the standard international business greeting. |
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| Tipping advice |
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Service charge is 15 percent in Greece and is usually incorporated in bills. However, it is customary to leave a tip of up to 10 percent for waiters. Others, such as porters, should be tipped in proportion to the level of services rendered. Tip doormen and concierges between 2 -3 €. |
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| Athens dress code |
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In summer, due to the heat and the Greek's relaxed attitudes towards formality, dress code is informal and casual dress is acceptable except at official gatherings. |
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| Electric Current |
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The standard in Greece is 220V AC (50Hz). If you are bringing your own equipment please remember to bring the Converters or Transformer you will need.
Electric devices that are designed for use with 110V systems require Greek 220V current to be 'stepped-down.' The choice between a converter or a transformer depends on several things.
* First, is your device an electric appliance with a high power heating element or mechanical motor such as a hair dryer or iron? If you are using an electric appliance, you need a converter. Or is your device electronic, using electronic chips or circuits, such as a computer, printer or VCR? If you are using an electronic device, you need a transformer. When in doubt about the type of device, use a transformer. Both electric appliances and electronic devices work with a transformer, but only electric appliances work with a converter.
* Second, is your use continuous and long-term or is it sporadic and short term? Transformers are designed for long term, continuous use. Converters are designed to operate for only an hour or two at a time |
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Time |
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Greek time is two hours ahead of Greenwich Mean Time, an hour ahead of Central European Time and seven hours ahead of Eastern Standard Time. |
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| Telephone |
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| Getting prepaid phone cards is the cheapest way to make intercity or international calls. Local and international calls can be made from a public card phone using these prepaid calling cards or from kiosks (periptera) equipped with meters. Prepaid calling cards can be purchased from kiosks and OTE offices. Tip: Use Vivodi Telecom Prepaid Calling Card as the cheapest way. |
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| Mobile Phones |
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In Greece you can use all GSM mobile phones (system used in Europe and a few other countries) but, US cell phones do not work in Greece. If you bring your own mobile phone with you, when you first switch it on in Greece, you will be prompted to which mobile phone provider to use. We recommend you to choose the one recommended by your home mobile phone service provider.
Certain companies provide a fixed charge per minute when "roaming" outside the country your phone service is from. Where this does not apply, you will pay fairly high rates for outgoing calls.
Incoming calls are expensive, because you pay for the international part of the call (from your country, where your phone service is provided, to you, in Greece).
Tip: Check on rates and services with your phone service provider, before your travel. Currency converter |
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| Internet and E-mails |
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When traveling in Greece You want to have a look at your e-mails, or at your favorite news site using your Notebook, but don't have an Internet Connection or your provider does not offer roaming in Greece.
Easiest way to "connect" your own notebook in Greece and on all your travels worldwide, is to set up an account with Net Roamer. They give you an ISP account that you can use worldwide without changing settings on your laptop. You can also use internet cafes which are easily found on almost every street. |
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| Postal Service |
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| If you need to send a letter there are stamp vending machines and post-boxes outside all central post offices. Parcels sent abroad must be inspected, so do not wrap and seal them beforehand. Brown paper, soft padded envelopes and cardboard boxes can be bought at the post offices themselves. Signs denoting post offices are usually bright yellow, as are post-boxes. |
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| Tourism Police |
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| Offers tourists information and help, whenever they have any problems. You can recognize them by the shoulder flash Tourism Police on their uniforms. 171 is an emergency telephone line on a 24 hour basis from all over Greece. |
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| Visiting Churches and Monasteries |
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| You are expected to dress in a respectable manner when visiting churches and monasteries: long trousers for men, sleeved dresses and no miniskirts for women. |
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| For More Information |
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You can visit Greek National Tourism Organisation - G.N.T.O. (EOT in Greek) offices. The G.N.T.O. addresses in Athens are:
Head office
2, Amerikis Street, 105 64 Athens
Tel.: 010 3271300-2, 010 3272000
Working hours: Weekdays 08.00-15.00
Information desk
2, Amerikis Street, 105 64 Athens
Tel.: 010 3310565, 010 3310692
E-mail: eotda01@mail.otenet.gr
Information Desk at "Eletherios Venizelos" airport (arrivals hall)
Tel.: 010 3530445-448
Working hours: Monday-Sunday: 08.00-22.00 |
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| Money |
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| Euro is the currency of Greece since 1 January 2001. Click here for today exchange rate. |
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| Credit Cards |
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All major Credit Cards are recognized and accepted in most hotels, shops, travel agencies, car rental offices and restaurants. Stickers in the front doors will advise you about the acceptable credit cards. For one thing, Greek ATMs usually allow for only a four-digit password; you must get advice from your bank as to how deal with this if your password has more than four. Also note that the punch keys on the Greek ATMs do not use letters, so you must convert your password to numbers.
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TRAVELLER'S CHEQUES issued by all the major companies are widely recognized. You can cash your traveler's cheques in all Greek and foreign banks, exchange bureaus and big hotels. Identification is necessary for the transaction, so do not forget to have your passport with you.
For more information please visit: Bank of Greece |