Insider 129 September - October 2016

THE CITY MAGAZINE OF

September - October 2016 Year 15. Issue 129 €4.50 ISSN 1790-3114

ATHENS

THE GOOD LIFE GASTRONOMY Hellenic Kitchen, The New Italians, Designer Ice-Cream CULTURE A World Not Ours, Zonar’s Reborn, Democracy on Trial TRAVEL Islands for All-Seasons: Samos & Hydra PEOPLE Alain Lefèvre, John Carr, Norwegian Ambassador, Mr. Jørn Eugene Gjelstad, Victoria Hislop

ARTS, ENTERTAINMENT, FOOD & WINE, NIGHTLIFE, SHOPPING, NOVELTIES, MAPS AND MORE

As the rest of the world ponders the farcical US Presidential elections, and as the harsh reality of a hard Brexit vote sinks in, Athens, after years of negative headlines, finally seems to be in the news for all the right reasons.

Sensing the well of opportunity and untapped potential Greece still holds, new multinational companies have been investing – in trickles – but nonetheless making their presence felt. At least a dozen new luxury hotels are reenergising the city centre. Documenta, the trailblazing contemporary art event has chosen Athens as its home this year. The Stavros Niarchos Foundation is proving an uplifting example of what can be. There’s fresh hope that much-delayed privatization visions - such as the Elliniko airport project - will eventually see the light of day.... And for what it’s worth, the easing of capital controls has meant that Greeks can finally enjoy the simple pleasures of online shopping once more!

But mainly, it is the indomitable spirit of the Greeks that remains the biggest draw for those who Choose Greece.

For acclaimed pianist Alain Lefèvre, his ardent love affair with this land culminated in a move here, (Lefèvre’s ode to his new home, Sas Agapo, will be released this month). Meanwhile, Victoria Hislop, whose ‘Cartes Postales from Greece,’ distils her passionate love of the country on every page, claims a deep sense of belonging here. And for most of us, who have chosen to make Greece our home too, however temporarily, Hislop’s declaration that: ‘The book is my love letter to Greece, complete with some elements of criticism, because I think “love” means accepting even things that you do not like’, will resonate in more ways than one.

Kalo fthinoporo!

Sudha Nair-Iliades

Publisher - Editor

Contributors in this Issue

Sudha Nair - Iliades

John Carr, Anna Roins, John Zervos, Holley Martlew

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insider athens | September - October 2016 1

Amanda Dardanis

A print journalist for over two decades, Australian-born Amanda Dardanis started out at News Corp Australia where she has covered specialist rounds from news and politics; property and tourism; to crime and entertainment. In London, she held senior creative roles at glossy titles including Marie-Claire, Woman’s Own, and the Mail on Sunday’s YOU magazine. Since moving to Athens in 2009, she has written on Greece for international publications like The Times London, the Guardian UK and Australia’s Sunday Telegraph – and also contributes to local Greek publications.

John Carr

Born in North Staffordshire, John Carr has a BA in history and MA in sociology from Leicester University. He has worked in Greece as a correspondent for the Associated Press, Wall Street Journal Europe, The Times of London and Vatican Radio and as broadcaster, writer and actor since 1978. He has published several books including, The America Capsule (2005),Your Eyes Fourteen (2007), On Spartan Wings (2012), Sparta’s Kings (2012), The Defence and Fall of Greece 1940-41 (2013), RHNS Averof (2014) and the hugely popular Greekisms for Dummies (2016)

Muriel Noël

French by origin and a long-time Greek resident, Muriel is a trained geographer whose love for the media veered her towards a career in publishing with French lifestyle magazine VSD and Maison Française, a design magazine. After a career that spanned several years, she moved to Athens, where she has been actively involved with the French community. Muriel splits her time between Paris and Athens and is the force behind Insider Publications’ French magazine, Bonjour Athenes, its French website and weekly newsletter.

Fokia Kitsou

Fokia is Insider’s graphic designer and a student of graphic design at the Technological Educational Institution of Athens.

Born and raised in Athens which she adores, her native city has often been the subject of her photographic essays. Fokia is passionate about travel, art and fashion and plans to further her studies in the field of fashion design.

Michel Devanakis

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 is a major asset in his creative approach and his services are sought after both in Greece and abroad. An artist in his ‘rare’ spare time, Michel is passionate about discovering obscure destinations. He is the Art Director of Athens Insider, Bonjour Athenes and Insider Weekly.

Anna Roins

Anna Roins is a lawyer and a freelance journalist who writes articles on social and community issues. She is also a regular contributor to AUTHORLINK, assigned to conduct interviews with bestselling global authors.

John Zervos

John Zervos, President of the Athens Centre, is Athens Insider’s chronicler of the city’s history. Using his own brand of erudition and wit to weave in and out of the present, John Zervos recounts anecdotes, reminisces of smoky rembetika bars and elegant Kolonaki women brunching at Zonar’s and tells the story of Athens as few do.

Holley Martlew

Dr. Holley Martlew is an archaeologist who has worked extensively on Minoan and Mycenean sites in Greece and is CoDirector of the Armenoi Excavations in Crete. The main focus of her research was to use organic residue analysis to ascertain what was cooked or stored in ceramic vessels, and stable isotope analysis of human skeletal material to determine overall diet. This culminated in a EU funded project Archaeology Meets Science: Minoans and Mycenaeans - Flavours of Their Time and a series of international exhibitions world over.

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The New Cool

26 Democracy on Trial

12

My Athens

16

Let There Be Light

18

Insider gathered some eminent Athenians around the table to deliver their verdict on the health of the democratic model in today’s troubled times.

Democracy on Trial

Cristina Butler, President of the Women’s International Club of Athens, opens her “insider’s address book” in our popular regular series.

12

Norwegian Ambassador, Mr. Jørn Eugene Gjelstad, opens up about the challenges Greece faces - and how the Nordic Model might illuminate the path.

ARTS

Let There Be Light

18

A Knight’s Tale

22

What Victoria Hislop Wrote Next

23

Crossing the Human Divide

24

John Carr’s new tome retraces the 900-year-history of the Knights of Saint John, and their two-century heyday in medieval Rhodes.

Insider’s books expert Anna Roins reviews Victoria Hislop’s latest paean to Greece, “Cartes Postale from Greece”.

We often see pain in images but we cannot feel it, writes curator Katerina Gregos in a passionate essay about her new international exhibition, “A World Not Ours”.

CITY LIFE

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The New Cool

26

A Star is (Re)Born

30

We’ve got the scoop on the best of the new designer gelato bars to hit the Capital.

Paris has Les Deux Magots, Athens has Zonar’s.

Insider takes a nostalgic look at one of the capital’s most iconic cafes.

Sketches of the Mind

32 TRAVEL

Sketches of the Mind

32

There will never be another island like Hydra, writes John Zervos, as he recalls a history rich in Hollywood starlets, music icons and Presidential hopefuls.

Arts & Events

06

Fast Lane

10

Amanda Dardanis drops in on Samos – birthplace of Pythagoras - and finds an exceedingly beautiful island that’s both modest and miscast.

My Athens

16

City Life

26

The Layers of Lesvos

Travel 32

An Island to Call Your Own

42

36

40

Discover the best things to do on Lesvos, an island as rich in stories as it is in beauty.

Here, I see Paradise

42

World-famous concert pianist Alain Lefèvre invites Amanda Dardanis into his new Athens Riviera home to discuss his Philhellenic album - and his pet hates.

Greek at Heart

GASTRONOMY

Greek at Heart

44

Corfu Beer Festival

46

When did Beer Appear?

48

Ballaro, Take a Bow

50

Introducing Testaccio Organic

51

Australian-born Greek Ruth Bardis shares a trio of memorable recipes from her stylish new collection.

44

Sections

Gastronomy

44

Kaleidoscope

72

Three cheers for beer as the island of Corfu stages its 3rd annual party to pay tribute to the precious amber nectar.

In her archeological series on Greek food and wine, Holley Martlew goes in search of history’s first pint.

Ballaro, Take a Bow

40

Voula’s latest gourmet arrival dishes up sophisticated street dining at surprisingly-friendly prices.

Testaccio Organic Deli & Restaurant, in Vouliagmeni, joins the ranks of a new strain: the Concept Restaurant.

Cover image by: Filippos Theodoridis Leftovers of a Landscape

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Exhibitions

arts&events Until November 26

GAGOSIAN GALLERY Giles Self-reflection and dark humour are to be found in this group exhibition curated by Artemis Baltoyanni, and inspired by John Barth’s “Giles Goat-Boy,” a 1966 comic novel billed as a nihilistic Cold War parody in which a university campus stands in for the universe.

Taking part in the show, are the following global artists: FLAME, Louise Bonnet, Maurizio Cattelan, Dan Finsel, Apostolos Georgiou, Matthew Hansel, Anna K.E., Sanya Kantarovsky, Josh Kline, Friedrich Kunath, Calvin Marcus, Frances Stark, Andra Ursuta, Jan Kiefer, Nicolas Grenier and Cindy Sherman. Opening hours are Mondays to Fridays from 11a.m. to 6p.m. and Saturdays from 11a.m. to 3p.m.

Merlin 3, tel 210.364.0215, www.gagosian.com

Until December 31

Until January 10, 2017 ACROPOLIS MUSEUM Oracle of Dodona Devoted to the oracle of Dodona, this archeological exhibition gives the visitor the opportunity to discover the oldest Greek oracle, its functioning, its role and importance in the ancient world, while examining our eternal human need to predict the future.

Dodona, in Epirus, north-west Greece, lies in a valley on the eastern slopes of Mt. Tomaros and was famed throughout the ancient Hellenic world as the site of Zeus. For the duration of the exhibition, the museum restaurant serves recipes from the Ioannina region of Epirus. €3 entry.

Dionysiou Areopagitou 15, tel. 210.900.0900, www.theacropolismuseum.gr

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Until October 30

FRISSIRAS MUSEUM The Departed

CYCLADIC MUSEUM OF ART Ai Weiwei

A tribute to 28 creative lights of Europe’s contemporary art world who are no longer alive, including Chryssa Romanou, Jean Rustin, Henk Van Boekel and Demosthenis Skoulakis. By reconstructing the creative schemes of their social, political, ideological, personal and artistic pursuits, the Departed shows us that even in front of the finality of death, their artworks occupy a path in time. Entrance €6.

Monis Asteriou 3, tel: 210.323.4678, www.frissirasmuseum.com

Artist, architect, writer, filmmaker and political activist, Ai Weiwei is one of the most riveting artists to emerge from China in recent times. Now, Weiwei’s talking-point art is showing in Greece for the first time, in a bid to introduce Greek audiences to his moving and distinctive techniques. See some of his most significant works, such as his large-scale installations and sculptures, many using reclaimed materials including ancient pottery, wood from destroyed temples, marble and jade, uniting past and present; the old China and the new. Entry €7.

Neofytou Douka 5, Vas. Sofias & Irodotou 1, tel: 210.722.8321, www.cycladic.gr

Dance

October 24 PASSPORT KERAMEIKOS Electricity Black and Light An electrifying moving spectacle as globally-acclaimed dance company, eVolutionDanceTheater, performs its current show “Electricity”/Black & Light in a whirlwind of dance, acrobatics, theater, visual effects and advanced technology. A magical world where the impossible becomes possible. eVolutionDanceTheater was created in 2008 in Rome by American Anthony Heinl, a former dancer and choreographer of MOMIX. Heinl is known for his theatrical sensibility and his ability to combine the human body with stunning effects, creating an exciting mixture of art and science. Tickets from €20-32, available from www.viva.gr Kerameikou 58 and Marathonos, tel: 210.522.2203, www.pass-port.com.gr

November 18

A single performance by hypnotic American jazz and blues chanteuse Madeleine Peyroux. The sultry singer-songwriter will perform tracks from “Secular Hymns,” an album also featuring compositions by Tom Waits, Townes Van Zandt, Allen Toussaint and Willie Dixon. Tickets from €20-42; available from Public, Media Markt, Seven Spots, Reload and online at www.viva.gr or by calling 11876.

Kerameikou & Marathonos 58, tel 210.522.2203, www.pass-port.com.gr

October 15-21

ATHENS CONCERT HALL West Side Story A vivid revival of the late 50s Broadway smash musical West Side Story : a re-telling of Romeo and Juliet on the streets of New York. Set to the award-winning music of Leonard Bernstein and Stephen Sondheim, two gangs battle it out for control of the turf, while a gang member falls in love with a rival’s sister. This co-production between Armonia Atenea -The Friends of Music Orchestra and the Athens Concert Hall Organisation features English lyrics with Greek sub-titles. Tickets from €12-40 (concessions available). For bookings : 210.728.2367.

Vass. Sophias & Kokkali, tel : 210.728.2333, www.megaron.gr

PALLAS THEATRE The Invisible Circus

Theatre

Music

PASSPORT KERAMEIKOS Madeleine Peyroux

October 20-23

Escape from mundane reality with a fantastical trip to an illusory world of magic and dreams with dancer and acrobat Victoria Chaplin – the extraordinarily flexible daughter of Charlie Chaplin - and her real-life partner Jean Baptiste Thierry, an acclaimed conjurer and clown, as they lure audiences into a joyful tornado of surrealistic transformations and energetic comedy, suitable for all the family. Four performances only; seating from €16-60. Tickets from www.viva.gr, www.ticket365. gr or 211.100.0365.

Voukourestiou 5, tel : 210.321.3100, www.lavris.gr

September 30-December 4

SKROW THEATER Orlando Virginia Woolf’s fascinating gender-blurring fantasy Orlando is staged in a production starring Amalia Kavali. Orlando is a creature without ordinary human limitations of old age and death, who begins life as an English nobleman during the Elizabethan era and becomes an emancipated woman of today, exploring the theme that each single self is made of thousands of different selves. Tickets €12 (€8 reduced).

Archelaou 5, Pangrati, tel 210.723.5842, www.skrowtheater.com

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arts&events Family

FALIRO TAE KWON DO Peter Pan on Ice

Community

December 9-18

Every child’s beloved hero Peter Pan visits Athens to dazzle on ice alongside the Russian Ice Stars. The 800sqm Tae Kwon Do arena welcomes Peter Pan, Tinker Bell, Captain Hook and all the wonderful characters created by the imagination of J. M. Barrie. From the London chimneys and the house of the Darling family to Captain Hook’s pirate lair and the camp of Tiger Lily, the show is a magical romp back to Neverland, a world full of energy, fun, music, beautiful sceneries and stellar dance moves: frantic spins, stunts, fencing, flaming hula hoopall performed with absolute precision and synchronization by the Russian Ice Stars. For showtimes and tickets, visit www.viva.gr. Entry from €6. Aeroporou Aristoteli Moraiti, www.stadia.gr

STAVROS NIARCHOS FOUNDATION CULTURAL CENTER October At SNFCC

Throughout October

The hits keep on coming at the dazzling new SNFCC throughout October with a brilliant program of free events that include wellness and fitness programs (wellness and exercise consultants will be available daily from 06:30 to 09:30 and from 18:30 to 21:30; yoga classes every Monday and Friday at 19:00 and every Tuesday and Thursday at 08:00 etc), activities for children and families (such as the music and kinetics educational program “Play and Learn” every Tuesday and Thursday at 18:30 and at 20:00), iconic film screenings on the Great Lawn (every Friday, Saturday and Sunday at 21:00) and music concerts. Plus guided tours of the new venue. For the full list and schedule visit: www.SNFCC.org/events.

Evripidou & Doiranis, Kallithea, tel: 210.877.8396.

Comedy

Sports

November 13

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PANATHENIAN STADIUM 34th Athens Authentic Marathon Power up as over 40,000 runners from across the globe compete in Athens’ historic foot race from Marathon to Panathenian Stadium. Now in its 34th reprisal, the event is a celebration of human will, strength and solidarity. This year, the Hellenic Athletics Federation (SEGAS), which is the Organizer of the Athens Marathon, has set very specific registration limits for each one of the event’s road races. Marathon Race (including Power Walking) – 18,000 entries ;10km Road Race – 9,000 entries ; 5km Road Race, Morning – 9,000 entries ; 5km Road Race, Afternoon – 6,000 entries.

Visit www.athensauthenticmarathon.gr for information and registration.

THEATRO 104 Katerina Vrana: About Sex See Greece’s wickedly funny Queen of Stand-up Katerina Vrana go below the belt in her raunchy show, “About Sex”. The routine, in English, concerns her fear that many of us are not “doing it” right. Examples include sexting, Tinder, food and gymnastics! Performances take place on Wednesdays and Sundays at 915pm. Tickets €10, Evmolpidon 41, Gazi, tel 210.345.5020, www.104.gr

September 28-November 6

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Remembering George Lappas The Benaki Museum, in collaboration with the DESTE Foundation, is shining its light on one of the 20thcentury’s most important and appealing Greek sculptors, George Lappas, who died this year, with an arresting exhibition of his ouvre, titled “Happy Birthday.”

Showcasing recent and largely unknown works, the exhibition’s title refers to a series of Lappas’ sculptures which are inscribed as ‘Happy Birthday’; while the display which was shaped by rich material as it was archived by the artist’s wife, the sculptor Aphrodite Liti strives to highlight certain aspects of his quests.

Lappas’ sudden passing this year has only increased the many questions raised by his works, fuelling the debate on them - but also on sculpture and its relation to the past and the present, to historical events and above all to man himself, through experience, self-reference and psychoanalysis. Sadly, the answers will no longer come from this unique artist himself; from that reserved man who, having delved into the labyrinths of the human psyche, would open wide the “gates” to his mind and emotion when he felt it was worth shedding light on the enigmas some of his works created to the viewers – experts and laypeople alike.

Lappas, born in 1950 in Cairo to Greek parents, did not hesitate to admit, in his serious and disarmingly sincere way, that hiding next to the splendour of creation was something unexpectedly simple and playful.

Happy Birthday is on September 22-November 20 at the Benaki Museum, Vas. Sofias & Koubari 1, tel: 210.367.1000, www.benaki.gr

Reaching for the Sky Athenian artist Kostis Georgiou may be a Man of Many Mediums, but it’s his vivid talking-point sculptures that are earning him the most attention at the moment – especially in southern Athens.

Two such joyful pieces have popped up seemingly overnight recently in Voula and Vouliagmeni (with new works about to appear imminently in Varkiza Square and Palaio Faliro too). Southsiders have been enjoying the uplifting energy that his bright, fluid, and – somehow serene - creations have added to some of their most popular civic landscapes.

Both his Voula project (“Anatasis”) and Vouliagmeni one (“Equus”) were championed by local mayor Gregory Konstantellos.

Georgiou has staged more than 90 solo exhibitions of painting and sculpture in some of the world’s most elite museums and galleries; while his skilful creations have graced civic squares in Beijing, Brussels, New York and several cities in France. He is currently preparing for solo exhibitions in Chicago and Cyprus.

Insider asked Kostis Georgiou what was the meaning behind his stunning new sculptures: ‘The artwork is not necessary to provide something specific, or to have some “hidden” message. The project is an autonomous body that emits its energy in any environment. It has an internal reason to exist and promote and its purpose is not to direct the thought to a specific direction.

‘In true art, there is a “why”, but never a “because”.’

See more of Kostis Georgiou’s work at www.kostisgeorgiou.com

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The New Capital Controls Explained!

Confused by the new capital control rules? Here’s what you need to know.

A year after being imposed, Greece’s strict capital controls were recently relaxed (on July 22) by the Greek Central Bank in a bid to replenish the country’s drained liquidity - and to restore consumer and investor trust in the banking system.

It’s hoped that these changes will flow rapidly into the economy, as depositors act to return some of the €45 billion in cash that exited the Greek banking system during last year’s panic (it’s been estimated that around €15bn of that was transferred to accounts abroad).

But what do the new controls actually mean for us users?

How much cash can I now withdraw from the ATM? The maximum cash withdrawal limit has been increased from €420 a week to €840 bi-weekly, per depositor, per institution. This means you can withdraw this amount fully or partially at any time during the two week period (from Saturday 00.01 until the second following Friday midnight) from the cashiers, ATMs or through instant cash service.

Can I use my Greek credit card to make cash withdrawals now?

No. Greek credit cards and pre-paid cards may still only be used to pay for transactions.

If I return my deposits to the bank or make a new cash deposit, will my withdrawals still be restricted?

No. One of the main aims of the new regulations is to encourage “new” cash – that is, funds pulled from accounts in last year’s bank run and stashed under mattresses or in safe deposit boxes - back into the banking system. All restrictions on withdrawals of “new” cash, deposited after July 22, 2016, have been abolished.

What about funds transferred to Greek bank accounts from abroad? Can I still only access 10% immediately?

No. There is now a 30% limit for immediate cash withdrawal.

What about Greek pensioners living abroad? Can they now access their entitlements?

The opening of an account for pensioners residing abroad is now allowed for the purpose of receiving their pension payments.

Have there been any changes to the rules regarding the repayment of loans?

Yes. The early, partial or total, prepayment of a loan to a credit institution is now allowed.

Is it possible to use my Greek cards to pay for my purchases or services abroad?

Yes you can. Foreign transactions with a card present are permitted for all categories except these: Securities-Brokers/Dealers, Gambling Transactions, Money Transfer.

What about using my Greek cards to purchase foreign goods and services such as through Amazon, or hotels and flights, using internet, PayPal or telephone orders?

Yes. Foreign transactions through the Internet/Telephone are permitted for all categories except: Wire transfer and money orders; Art dealers and galleries; Dating and escort services; Recreational services & betting; Jewelry stores; Telemarketing services, Charitable organisations; and (for some reason!) Food services. The good

news is that previous restrictions preventing the use of Greek cards to buy foreign clothing and accessories; home décor and furnishings; cosmetics; and electronic gadgets and accessories have now been lifted.

Can we expect a complete lifting of cash withdrawal limits any time soon?

Probably not. The Greek Central Bank has made it clear that the relaxed remaining restrictions on cash withdrawals need to stay in place to encourage more widespread use of plastic cards and POS card machines in everyday transactions, in a bid to reduce the evasion of value-added tax.

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City Life

Democracy on Trial Churchill said ‘Democracy is the worst form of government, except for all those other forms that have been tried from time to time.’ Is a flawed democracy better than no democracy at all? A few eminent Athenians gathered around a dinner table at the GB Roof Garden to exchange their views on the subject.

Acropolis View from the GB Roof Garden

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Debate

Dinner debate on Democracy hosted

by Insider Publications and Hotel Grande Bretagne

The Participants: Ambassador Nourredine Bardad-Daidj of Algeria, Ambassador Noel Kilkenny of Ireland, Former Minister of Tourism Olga Kefalogianni, MP and Prof. Theodore Fortsakis, MP, Socrates Now actor-producer Yannis Simonides, Curator Lee Wells, Al Jazeera reporter John Psaropoulos, Thrasy Petropoulos, Head of International Media at Marketing Greece, Alberto Cano of the International New York Times.

Here is an extract from the very stimulating exchange of ideas that followed. Hosted by Tim Ananiadis and moderated by Sudha Nair-Iliades Why should we value democracy? Socrates suggested that the principal flaw of democracy was inexperienced leaders combined with an uninformed electorate. Would you agree?

Prof. Theodore Fortsakis: The value of democracy is the value of the human being. Different philosophers have studied different forms of governance, and democracy was not always recognized as the best regime. Aristotle or Plato did not recognize democracy as the best way to govern people. Since Renaissance, things changed as we recognized the value of the human being as the main interest of our society. Democracy is the only regime that allows people to express themselves in a free way, to undertake responsibility and to act as real human beings. And this is the essence of democracy. It means that we have stable institutions that respect the rule of law, that we respect human rights and we guarantee minimum social welfare to everybody - if not they are not in a position to exercise their rights. Nevertheless, democracy also has its flaws, as Socrates underlined - and Greece is a typical example of a country which has suffered from the erroneous decisions of inexperienced leaders.

John Psaropoulos: Many Greeks have come to doubt the depth of their democracy in the last six years. That is something the system can’t ignore. Politicians have to discuss that. I go back to something Dora Bakoyiannis said in 2007 that the problem with politics is that too often we don’t tell people the truth. Officials have admitted to not having told the truth over the last 40 years. So I don’t think we should be presenting ourselves as some paradigm of democracy, firstly. Secondly, yes, street theatre exists and that gives the illusion of freedom but it is always organized street theatre. There is always a political goal behind it. During the first two or three years of the crisis, not only my editors at Al Jazeera, but also many journalists coming to Athens felt that there was some sort of spontaneous social revolution afoot and that it was only a question of time before Greeks stormed the capital and re-established democracy. What they didn’t understand was that these public demonstrations were the result of careful planning by left-wing political parties.

I think it is a small miracle that parliamentary democracy survived at all in the past six years – I think we ought to give ourselves credit for that – we are still talking to each other instead of killing each other.

Ambassador Nourredine Bardad-Daidj: Following up on Socrates’ prescient insight, I think there is worse: a misinformed electorate with rulers who have a completely different agenda to their electoral promise. I have often been asked why during the Arab Spring uprising, Algeria was not affected. It was because we already had democracy. How we did it was by getting everyone on board. Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika was able to succeed in

insider athens | September - October 2016 13

Alberto Cano and Olga Kefalogianni

co-opting the public and the opposition, where other governments in the region have failed because Algerians still remember the brutal conflict throughout the 1990s, when government forces faced off against various extremist groups. For Algeria, democracy is not intellectual coquetry. It is a very important precept to maintain peace and stability.

Yannis Simonides: If there was one democratic pre-requisite for Socrates, it was education for everybody. Of course, then it was only for some people – not for women or slaves. So is democracy an obsolete institution? Is it healthy? 48% of the Britons are supposedly uncomfortable with the vote of the majority – is democracy in the interest of the majority?

What happens to the rest? Who cares? Shouldn’t democracy care?

H.E.Mr. Noel Kilkenny with Thrasy Petropoulos

John Psaropoulos: In the US, the founders of the Constitution defended against the tyranny of the majority through the electoral college system. On the question of education I couldn’t agree more – I see the job of a good journalist as an educator. We’re trying provide information that is very important in the decisions they’re going to make. But we go down a very slippery path if we start qualifying who the franchised should be or if we start dividing modern society into citizens and slaves.

Olga Kefalogianni: Democracy is a system of political and social organization. It is a system of principles and core values and I believe that it is perpetually challenged. It is a very dynamic thing. We cannot say that we have achieved the level of democracy we want. Or there is one country or society that has achieved optimum democracy.

Even more important than the debate on whether the electorate is informed or not, is whether they participate.

Despite being a country that has traditionally voted in large numbers, in the most recent elections, voter turnout has been abysmal, just 50% vote.

In Greece, it is not democracy that is under threat but social justice.

It’s also become about the politics of truth. A recent article in the New York Times concluded that Donald Trump’s popularity was a result of ‘people not quite wanting to hear the truth.’

So instead of addressing people’s rationale and persuading them to think, what you are addressing is something emotional - their fears and insecurities.

John Psaropoulos with Prof. Theodore Fortsakis

Lee Wells: As an artist, I’m interested in engaging the viewer in a dialogue and to provoke him into examining his insecurities. Greece will be hosting Documenta this week – the World Cup of art shows next week – what building do they choose as their headquarters? The old military police headquarters – is that a metaphor or a dialogue? I try to understand what is happening here with 11 parties in the fray in juxtaposition to democracy in the US and its two-party system.

How has social media re-defined democracy? Or has it become the new democracy? (And how do you safeguard against the corruptive influence of trolls?)

Thrasy Petropoulos: There is an overload of information on social media. But it is a far more democratic way of accumulating information as long as the same core values hold.

Part of the apathy towards politics is the lack of influence a voter believes he has in the final political decision-making process. And then

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Debate there’s the issue of political deficit. In Greece, what difference would it make if it were one party or the other? The policy mix is likely to remain the same – which begets the question, why bother voting in the first place?

Yannis Simonides with H.E.Mr. Nourredine Bardad-Daidj

Ambassador Noel Kilkenny: In Ireland, we took a huge interest in social media and the Brexit vote.

What that whole debate showed us was that you had the one side putting forward facts backed up by argumentation and the other side putting out spurious issues and claims with little validation. But what was worrying was that the electorate saw them as two equally valid options. So the result was that the Brexit version got traction. If you ask the voters how many of them are actually engaged in social media, it is still very small. The overwhelming majority of those who actually cast a ballot are not active on social media.

So young people are voting a lot less than older people?

Ambassador Noel Kilkenny.

Yes and the real effect of social media is the absence of filters. We know that editorializing in a non-democratic state can mean repression. But you have trolls out there and the average voter doesn’t know how to distil all this information.

We’ve had quite a few referenda ourselves –the most recent one was on the Lisbon Treaty. It went to the people and they said NO. We discovered that people were voting on issues that had nothing to do with the referendum. Referenda can be very dangerous – very democratic and very effective for a Yes or No answer - but when you have something very technical, it’s very difficult for people to comprehend what the underlying message to what they are saying yes or no to is - as was the case with the Greek referendum.

Olga Kefalogianni: Populism. This is what has prevented us from being more cohesive during the crisis. Populist voices do not voice the common good, or socially just choices. They just appeal to individual insecurities…Greeks do not understand the meaning of common good.

What is the common good?

Yiannis Simonides: Representative democracy has its traps, its fallacies, its imperfections.

But there is no way to have direct democracy - we are several millions and here is where social media comes in – it is a place for information, but it could also be a venue for everybody to present what the common good is. Social media may be the most democratic gift we have.

Olga Kefalogianni: It is the most effective and cost-effective means of reaching out to my constituents. With the government’s efforts to control mainstream media, its role is all the more relevant. The younger generation have substituted participation in the electoral process with engagement in social media. This is something that needs to be reversed because you need to be physically present at the polls.

Is Democracy under threat? In a year in which we’ve seen populism and fringe politics taking centre stage in ‘established’ democracies how do we salvage the democratic model?

Alberto Cano: Burqini, Brexit, Trump-style politics are all part of a democratic matrix of different factors that may not be even related to each other. De-

mocracy is in itself not the problem. We have social and economic issues – thank god we have democracy to cope with all those pressures because democracy only works under pressure. Otherwise it does not function.

Ambassador Bardad-Daidj: In India, it is a costly exercise. Getting almost a billion people to the polls is an expensive affair. Is it even worth it?

Ambassador Kilkenny: In Europe, in the next three years, we are going to have democratic elections leading to results we may not be comfortable with – centre-right to far-right parties may dominate. It will be democratic. But we may not like it. What do we do? Democracy is great so as long as it gives us the “right” outcome. What about when it gives us the “wrong” outcome?

Olga Kefalogianni: The challenges of our times are huge: Terrorism and the debate between security and privacy. You have populism, you have the refugee crisis where you see the clash with individual rights. But I would not like to see the economic situation be part of the debate on democracy because we are seeing through a distorted lens. Greece, despite the economic crisis, has a resilient Constitution. Our struggle is not one of protecting our democratic principles.

Prof. Theodore Fortsakis: In Greece, we have had difficult periods – dictatorships, riots, extremist parties have been strengthened during the crisis – but democracy is here, institutions are here and people act within the framework of these values. Democracy is the most precious value we should guarantee, so we have to be vigilant. We should not forget our past. Especially the problematic democracy that we used to have for many decades. We should not repeat the same mistakes unless we want to witness its resurrection.

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Art & Culture

My Athens Cristina Butler is a Brazilian-American who grew up in France and has been living in Greece for almost 20 years. She is a true insider who knows the city and its little secrets inside out.

What do you do? And how long have you lived here for?

I’m currently the President of the Women’s International Club of Athens, a prestigious association of international women, presently celebrating its 40th anniversary. I have been living here since the late ‘90s and have had a long, interesting career in the cruise industry!

Which area of Athens do you live in?

Pangrati, an authentic Greek neighbourhood with great value-for-money restaurant options and quaint bookstores.

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

Cats sunbathing on rooftops, the heady perfume of jasmine blossoms filling the air at open-air cinemas, the cries of vendors at the Athens Central Market, the smell of fried calamari and grilled sardines from a seaside taverna, loud chatter over a spirited biriba game, and the incomparable experience of swimming in Vouliagmeni in October!

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What has been the biggest change in Athens since you moved here?

Other than the fact that we have a metro, a swanky airport and the Attiki Odos, the biggest change has been in the attitude of the young generation. They are more into sports – Athens has more runs and sporting events now and cyclists, who would have been considered crazy to attempt to ride the city streets five years ago, are now a regular feature. Also, Greeks have become more eco-conscious and are more eager to volunteer in community events. Of course, the crisis has left its mark too – more abandoned storefronts and more thoughtprovoking graffiti.

An Athenian is ….

A warm, generous soul, who loves the outdoors, revels in good company, is resilient, is always ready to party – someone who values friendships.

City Life

Cristina’s picks Your all-time favourite restaurant?

I have several – Mavro Provato for best value-for-money dining; my favourite seaside taverna is Sardelaki in Vouliagmeni; favourite summer bar Point A at Herodion Hotel and Galaxy Bar at the Hilton; best affordable gourmet restaurant Cookoovaya and for the best melt-in-your mouth meat – Vezene; and Base Grill in Peristeri!

Best souvenirs from Greece?

Greece has some great designers – Christian Zen creates some fabulous kaftans and beach wear that I’d highly recommend. And of course, all the things that capture the Greek summer so perfectly – a bottle of ouzo, a little box of oregano, Greek honey, Apivita’s natural cosmetics…

If Athens were a cocktail it would be……

Mavro Provato

A caipirinha - zesty, sweet, fresh, promising and potent!

Galaxy Bar, Hilton

Point A, Herodion

Cookoovaya

insider athens | September - October 2016 17

Let There Be Light At the first anniversary of his appointment, the Norwegian Ambassador, Mr. Jørn Eugene Gjelstad, talks candidly to Insider’s Amanda Dardanis about the challenges Greece faces - and how the Nordic Model might illuminate the way.

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Traditional Norwegian "selbu" patterns, knitted by Greek grandmothers

Inside the new Royal Norwegian Embassy: Greece’s most energy efficient consulate

T

o understand a culture, one can often look to its buildings.

Several years ago, when the moment came to re-imagine the Norwegian embassy in Athens, the employees were asked exactly what kind of office they wanted – and then contributed to the design process.

The end result? A sleek and light-flooded new consulate that’s midway between hip hotel and contemporary gallery. Glass walls and illuminated panels punctuate an interior realm of oceanic blues, greens and cool greys (tribute to the light and mountains that define the epic Norwegian landscape).

Pride of place in the bright central meeting space is a quirky mounted elk lamp and decorative swatches inspired by traditional Norwegian “Selbu” patterns, knitted by Greek grandmothers (a reminder of the importance of community cohesiveness). With sweeping Lycabettus views, energy-reflective panels and motion-sensor lights, not only is the new Royal Norwegian Embassy on Chatzigianni Mexi extremely easy on the eye – it’s also Greece’s most energy efficient embassy.

The goal of this bold domestic refit - and all those transparent walls!

- was to create a feeling of inclusiveness, Ambassador Jørn Eugene Gjelstad tells Insider at the impressive new diplomatic headquarters.

‘Staying behind closed doors does not foster a feeling of unity,’ says Ambassador Gjelstad.

The ideal of inclusiveness is about as inseparable from the Norwegian temperament as living for the moment is from the Hellenic.

I meet with Ambassador Gjelstad on a day when the serenity of his

new chambers provides a particularly welcome balm from the wobbliness of the outside world. It’s less than a week after the shock of Brexit; a few days after the tragic Istanbul airport attacks which killed 42 people.

There has been no soft landing on any front for this frank and earnestly-spoken diplomat who arrived in Athens almost exactly one year ago (in September 2015), in the wake of capital controls and wide-scale referendum panic.

By all accounts, it was his cool-headed and pro-active mode that earned him the strategic role of Norwegian Ambassador to Athens.

‘I’m quite used to complicated scenarios,’ Ambassador Gjelstad admits. ‘I came from the Norwegian capital of Oslo where I was serving as the head of the Middle East and North Africa department. That was the reason for putting me here.’

Like Greece, Norway is a land of mountains and mythology, museums and maritime might. Like Greece too, it has always marched to its own beat. Twice now, its citizens have rejected the European bloc (most recently in 1994) in favour of its own Nordic Model of social democracy - defined by free market capitalism, a comprehensive welfare state and collective bargaining at the national level.

Since 2014, the country’s second female prime minister, Erna Solberg has also underscored the gender-neutral mindset of Norway.

Subsequently, many in our post-Brexit world are looking to this small, orderly and prosperous nation of just 5 million to see what life outside the EU might look like.

Deste Foundation, Roberto Cuoghi

insider athens | September - October 2016 19

Diplomacy With so much going on in Europe and Greece right now, what is your most pressing priority as Ambassador to Greece?

It’s sad to see so many highly-skilled, energetic young people giving up Greece and feeling they have no future here. This is a disaster for society. So one of our top priorities is a commitment to make Greece a more attractive option for more young people. To see if we can inject some seed money; create some favourable conditions to incubate activities that do not necessarily belong to the old mainstream economic models such as shipping or tourism. And to reach out through marketing with all the fantastic potential that is here.

What cultural affinities do you believe Greece and Norway share?

We are both countries on the margins in a way: we are up in the north and you are down here in the south-eastern corner of Europe and we both have proud shipping traditions. Norwegians have always been very attracted to Greece. It’s not just a matter of good wine, beautiful landscapes and people; it’s a matter of the deep impact you have had on the whole of European culture and art throughout the centuries. What is intriguing also to many Norwegians is the open-mindedness of Greeks; and their friendliness and curiosity to explore cross-cultural phenomena.

IMMIGRATION AND ECONOMY Since Brexit, Norway has been in the spotlight due to its own independent status within Europe. How valid or useful is this comparison with Britain?

In Norway, we have a deal that is serving our people’s interests. The situation in the UK is very strange. The UK has to negotiate the model that will attach them to Europe during the same time when they are exiting the EU organization. This is not an easy task and a nightmare for any politician. And you also have Brussels asking them to speed up and conclude the matter. The British people have made their choice.

Our Prime Minister was a bit saddened by the decision and would have liked to see Britain stay in the EU. We have a very intimate and constructive relationship with them. How this will play out in the time to come, we don’t know.

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How has Norway’s contribution to the EEA Grants program helped Greece with regards to its current challenges, such as the refugee crisis and poverty levels?

I consider myself lucky as Ambassador because Norway has something constructive to offer Greece in terms of its EEA Grants (to reduce economic and social disparities across Europe). In the current programme period leading up to 2020-21, we are talking about €120 million that Norway will use in conjunction with smart partners to stimulate development and transformative change in Greece.

The main areas we are looking into are migration and asylum. We know that Greece is bearing the burden for the whole of Europe and acting on behalf of Europe with the Greek-Turkey deal. So we have to respect that and see what we can contribute to make the asylum machinery more effective. We will also look into what kind of support can be contributed for the Greek economy. And how can we create a framework to attract more people to work here?

Even the most decent person with a highly developed humanitarian mind-set is now asking, “how many refugees should Europe take?”

Can Norway emphasise with the situation Greece is facing regarding its refugee influx?

Of course. It’s very easy to empathise because we are both a receiving country. Even though we have an efficient bureaucracy in place, we were taken completely aback when all the migrants came in from the Russian side earlier this year. And the figures compared to Greece were nothing! The migrant situation is not a national situation, it’s a global phenomenon and Europe needs to develop a calm, cohesive and integrated strategy to deal with it successfully. Transborder challenges cannot be met on a national level. This is a collective obligation.

Diplomacy How the Greek economy recovers from recession is a reference point for all of Europe. What diagnosis would you make about Greece’s current fiscal potential?

It is more than obvious that the Greek people cannot live on reforms or austerity measures in the long run. The government has to go further than the significant market and pension reform initiatives. And this process must be matched by improved conditions for economic growth.

Licencing procedures take too long. If you don’t do anything about it, no one will come and invest. Bureaucratic procedures and management controls must be overhauled so that new initiatives are facilitated and not discouraged.

If you look at the Greek economy, you have a fairly weak total productivity structure. Qualitative methods to create new areas within the economy - such as technological innovation, development and education, research activities - are lacking. To put it in a diplomatic way, too few organized vested interests are having too much influence. This could be a headway for significant systemic economic growth. If this is to be implemented, you could easily see 4.4% added to GDP. If Norway could contribute to that, I would be very happy.

Another issue is the unpredictable taxation system. Businesses need a stable, predictable taxation system that they can relate to.

With immigration fears fueling the Brexit result, do you think that closing more borders is the answer to the migrant crisis?

This is a most sensitive issue. I can understand the hesitation of countries to continue previous policies of inclusion and openness. The influx level has significantly changed calculations and parameters.

Migration and asylum management is no longer strictly a humanitarian issue. It has become a matter of national security with huge implications for public finances. It has provoked crispy calls for safeguarding national and cultural integrity. And there is no denying that the mass influx of refugees is aggravating many of Europe´s other looming problems. Even the most decent person with a highly developed humanitarian mind-set is now asking, “how many refugees should Europe take?”

But the core issue is to balance the humanitarian imperative with the national economic requirements.

A lot of Greek women are highly-educated and have huge potential for contribution at a societal level but are currently dramatically underutilised.

Do you believe that the EU-Turkey agreement in March was a positive decision?

I believe that a decision had to be made in order to make the migration route from Turkey to Greece less attractive. So far the agreement has had a significant impact on the figures of people arriving on the Greek islands, so, you can say it has been successful on that front.

Whether it will continue to work, remains to be seen. The effectiveness of the Greek asylum system and its capacity to uphold basic legal principles such as the right to appeal is key. If you take the right to individual treatment seriously, things will take time.

What key things could Greece learn from the Nordic Model to help it get back on its feet?

One issue is to look into the option of creating a fiscal space to finance the social safety net that’s a core element of the Nordic Model.

All economies benefit from arrangements that protect and preserve the productivity of each single citizen. It’s not just a choice of moral obligation but of rationality. The basic tenet of the Nordic Model is that social equality and inclusiveness fosters political stability. These are the best conditions for economic growth. Conversely, we can see that social inequality impedes political stability.

Scandinavian countries have also created an arena for consensusbuilding between government and private sectors, in key issues like wages, social pensions and public health. This leads to a high level of agreement in our society. A government without this has a shortened life span because social stability is not there. It becomes almost impossible to implement any long-term planning or political rationality.

Also central to the Nordic Model is the championing of women in society, as evidenced by your current prime minister Erna Solberg (Norway’s second female head of state). How does Greece score on this point?

A lot of Greek women are highly-educated and have huge potential for contribution at a societal level but are currently dramatically under-utilised. So we would urge Greece to make full use of your talented women.

TOURISM Given the recent string of terrorist atrocities across Europe, do Norwegians still view Greece as a safe place to visit?

It’s scary to see what is happening across Europe. But it has little impact on Norway’s fascination with Greece and our willingness to come here. Norwegians do believe that Greece is still safe.

How might Greece attract more tourists from Norway?

We have 300,000 Norwegians coming to Greece each year and one of the reasons is that they are very eager to have an interesting and in-depth cultural experience. This is an added-value that Greece offers as a destination and I really hope that Greece will improve its marketing capacity in presenting itself like the fascinating area to explore that it is.

insider athens | September - October 2016 21

Book Review

Dark and Stormy Knights Insider assesses John Carr’s newest historical opus, The Knights Hospitaller: a Military History of the Knight’s of Saint John, due out at the end of October by Pen & Sword Books, UK, and can’t put it down.

M

ost of us by now, we suppose, have trudged awe-struck through the mediaeval Old Town of Rhodes, up the cobbled Street of Knights and through the echoing, palatial home of the Grand Masters. We’ve gasped dutifully at the seemingly endless battlements, the grand gateways and the blurred limestone coats of arms on the ochre-coloured building fronts, and perhaps bought one of the many tourist guides to fill out those initial impressions.

Our own John Carr, too, did this itinerary in September 2013 while working on a web documentary about Rhodes. Being a typical hardnosed journo, he has little use for tourist books, but on this occasion something made him fork over a few euros for one. Once he read what was in it, he fired off an e-mail to his commissioning editor at Pen & Sword for the green light to go one better: to recount the entire history of the Knights Hospitaller of Saint John, not merely their 200year heyday in Rhodes, but the whole gamut of their 900-year activity, from their Crusade-era beginnings in 11th century Jerusalem to their presence as a sovereign entity in Rome today (yes, we kid you not, they have their own flag, passport and seat at the United Nations!).

Within days, the editor commissioned the book. The result is a good solid history, a fascinating pageant of knights and grand masters, popes and kings, emperors and sultans, battling, praying and intriguing all through the book’s 240 pages. Much, of course, has been written about the Knights before (plus their brother organization, the Templars, who were crushed in the early 14th century, so don’t be fooled by all those organizations in Britain and America claiming to be Templars – “fakes and scams,” according to a modern genuine Hospitaller Knight). Move over, Game of Thrones.

Carr’s narrative leads you along relentlessly. His years as a correspondent for the London Times and Wall Street Journal Europe have honed his style to a razor-edge. He has, however, a tendency to overemphasize the religious aspect of warfare and place rather too much credence on the Hospitaller Order’s own sources; however, to be fair, and as he admits in the prologue, these are practically the only serious sources extant. In fact, his present status as a correspondent for Vatican Radio’s English-language service (he is not a Catholic, in case you

22 insider athens | September - October 2016

wondered), helped him gain an entry into the Order’s secretive Rome headquarters in the shadow of the Piazza di Spagna.

For us the most fascinating part of The Knights Hospitaller is the concluding chapter, which chronicles the Order’s activities in the 20th century, including running hospital trains in both world wars and flying aid and supplies to disaster-hit areas around the world. There’s even an aeroplane with Saint John markings in the Italian Air Force Museum, duly photographed by Carr and in the book’s black and white illustrations section. The Order even had a hand in the fall of the Iron Curtain. Never say the age of chivalry is over!

The Knights Hospitaller will be available on amazon.com and in leading bookstores in October 2016

Book Review

Hislop’s Odyssey within an Odyssey Insider’s books expert Anna Roins delivers her verdict on Victoria Hislop’s latest paean to Greece, Cartes Postale from Greece

C

ostas, from Dodoni, works on his plot of land, his ‘kipo’, from morning to night to avoid his malodorous wife. One day, he discovers a piece of shimmering white marble under the hardened soil. ‘By mid-afternoon, he realised he was looking down at the plump cheeks of a woman’s bottom.’ It was the Goddess Aphrodite. Unrequited love began. This is one of the many stories featured in Cartes Postale from Greece (Headline Review, 22 September 2016).

The internationally bestselling author, Victoria Hislop, offers more halcyon days of Greece, a love affair that has spanned 40 years, in her latest novel woven with grit and humility. It’s a ground-breaking precedent; a work of short stories interspersed with vivid postcards or cartes postale - taken by Alexandros Kakolyris. They infuse the reader with the contradictions that stronghold this place; its whimsy, and dilapidation in equal measure.

In essence, Cartes Postale from Greece is a travel diary of a brokenhearted man, ‘A’, for Anthony Brown. He is a 45-year-old art historian who has been stood up at Kalamata airport by the woman he loves, S Ibbotson, (Sarah). He embarks on his journey alone starting off with the incredible Peloponnese.

“The fundamental difference between the UK and Greece is that no one treats you like a stranger here in Greece.” Victoria Hislop Anthony wants to be left by himself in his sorrow, but everywhere he goes he’s offered company; a story. ‘For the Greeks, the worst thing in the world is to be alone, so someone always comes to talk to me, to ask me or tell me something.’

He purges his grief by writing his experiences down on postcards sending them back to his love in northwest London. The problem is that Sarah Ibbotson no longer lives there. Ellie Thomas now does.

Week after week, the postcards arrive at Ellie’s dinghy flat without a return address, signed ‘A’. They startle in their brightness and illuminate

the narrative capturing the light, colour, and sounds, of Nafplio, Sparta, and Ikaria, to name a few.

Ellie, uninspired by her work selling advertising space, creates a colourful montage on her wall until, six months later, the postcards stop.

A spell has been cast, and she is resolved to see Greece for herself.

On the morning she leaves for Athens, a blue notebook arrives. At this point ‘A’ takes control of the narrative in the form of extracts from his ‘spiritual’ journey.

The tales reflect the social, political and financial pillage the Greeks had suffered, past and present, from when the Turks invaded the country, to the introduction of capital controls. Some are nostalgic and without guile, others are downright horrifying. Like the one about the French honeymooner hanged in a strange, obscure village, or the fearsome Maniatis groom in Nafplio. Another is about an energetic 1000-yearold Icarian who claims she knew Daedalus, or about how the ‘evil eye’ killed Lord Byron, and much more.

Sometimes, it feels like Hislop wants to express some of her frustrations at Greece. About the lack implementation of regulations; the avoidance of a tax system created by corrupt governments; the injustice of the German reparations; the undercurrent of misogyny, and the distrust of foreigners, which contradicts place of pride in the national identity – their hospitality.

These stories unravel not only the culture but also the ‘pneuma’ or spirit of this majestic country, as well as Anthony’s desire to live life to the fullest again.

Hislop’s writing in this latest release – with her use of some uninspired descriptive phrases such as ‘he found his heart beating’ - may not deliver the skilful potency of her earlier efforts like The Island. But Cartes Postale from Greece offers a perfect symposium in storytelling – an odyssey that contains a story within a story, unfurling artful anecdotes graced by brilliant images.

Book Review by Anna Roins Cartes Postale from Greece, Headline Review, published September 22, 2016

insider athens | September - October 2016 23

Crossing The Human Divide Samos was the natural choice to host “A World Not Ours�, a moving international exhibition about the refugee plight, says its high-profile curator Katerina Gregos in this passionate essay about a scarcely-understood catastrophe.

24 insider athens | September - October 2016

Art & Culture

A

World Not Ours focuses on the refugee crisis and forced migration by bringing together a group of artists, photographers, filmmakers and activists (such as Pulitzer-winning Reuters’ photographer Yannis Behrakis, Tania Boukal, Róza El-Hassan, Ninar Esber, Mahdi Fleifel and Marina Gioti) who offer different reactions, reflections, and analyses on the subject.

The exhibition takes place in a location at the heart of the refugee crisis, largely as a result of the war in Syria. Samos (together with Lesbos and Kos) lies closest to the Turkish coast, and has been at the crux of this humanitarian tragedy that has been played out on the region’s shores.

Given the highly-charged location, it is vital that an art exhibition here should address this situation, which has been an unremitting reality on the island, and a pressing, unresolved issue for the whole of Europe.

Bringing together diverse practices from installation, performance, photography, film, video and photojournalism, the exhibitors largely transcend one-sided and standardised media representations of the crisis (mostly consisting of rickety boats and images related to the perilous sea crossing) and look into the before and after this dramatic moment.

The work on view provides deeper insight into the plight of the refugees, from a humanitarian point of view, acknowledges the complex roots of one of the most pressing issues of our time, while contextualising it into the larger global picture. A key idea underlying the exhibition is also that of engendering empathy –perhaps one of the things than can spur us to action. It considers what Susan Sontag has said: that we often see pain in images but we cannot feel it. Therefore it aims to make the whole issue more palpable and tangible for the public.

Through their work, the exhibitors provide a reflection on the issues of forced displacement and the experience of homelessness, perpetual insecurity, diasporic identity and existential limbo. The work that is on view is the result of in-depth, long-term research, on-the-ground engagement and first-hand experience.

The pieces offer genuine empathy and sincere motivation, as opposed to what has been called ‘poornography’: the use of images of poverty and precariousness to create sensational images in the media as well as in art. Many of the exhibition’s participants come from the Middle East or southeastern Europe, from countries that have experienced war, trauma, exodus and perilousness first hand.

The controversial deal between the European Union and Turkey that was put into place in March this year (whereby for every Syrian returned to Turkey, the EU will resettle one from a refugee camp there) has seen the numbers of refugees subside. However, this does not

mean that the crisis has been resolved, nor that the refugees have stopped crossing to Europe. There may be fewer boats landing on the shores of the Greek islands, but as long as there is war going on, people will continue to risk their lives to leave danger zones and seek out a better and safer future for their families. The refugee crisis has thus become one of the most fundamental political and existential issues of Europe, testing the continent’s attitudes towards human rights, notions of tolerance and peaceful coexistence. The crisis has brought political polarisation, a rise in nationalist rhetoric, prejudice, increasing xenophobia and racism to Europe once again.

The question of refugees may be highly-politicised but it is first and foremost a humanitarian issue.

Why, might one ask, should an exhibition address such an unresolved critical issue, which is so highly sensitive and difficult to represent?

The answer is that artists and cultural practitioners have a different way of looking into socio and geopolitical catastrophes.

Artists not only reveal the predicament, but also point out the myriad subjectivities that get lost in the mainstream narratives. They steer clear of polarising notions of ‘them’ and ‘us’, make us aware of our own predispositions, biases, preconceptions and hopefully guide us to become more open-minded, and less self-contained and secluded.

They bring untold stories to life and reveal hidden experiences, subjectivities and narratives. Through their work, we can raise public awareness of the different and less familiar aspects of this humanitarian disaster – the worst since the Second World War – especially as it is experienced today in Greece.

As migration will remain one of the pressing issues of our time, with more and more people forced into flight and nomadism for political, economic or environmental reasons, we need to re-consider what it means to co-habit this spherical, increasingly inter-connected planet in terms of mutual hospitality and generosity.

The solution cannot be the divisive politics of exclusion.

What is needed, ultimately, is empathy: the ability to consider the question ‘what if this were me? How would I react then?’

A World Not Ours runs from August 5-October 15 at the Art Space Pythagorion, a new contemporary gallery created by Munich-based Schwarz Foundation. For more information, visit www.schwarzfoundation.com.

insider athens | September - October 2016 25

The New Cool: 7 Super Designer Gelato Bars Remember the Frozen Yoghurt Invasion of a few years back? Well, now it’s ice-cream that’s gone all posh and seemingly multiplied on the streets of Athens of late. Insider has the scoop on the 7 most mouth-watering deluxe gelato bars to hit town. Long Live the Big Chill.

Bufala Gelato Billing itself as “The cream of ice-creams”, Glyfada’s newest and brightest gelato purveyor Bufala Gelato isn’t here to pull any punches.

The Thessaloniki-launched franchise has the Unique Sales Proposition of using buffalo milk in its products, (it apparently has lower cholesterol and more calcium, iron and phosphorus than cow’s milk).

But for us the real crowd puller is the Cold Stone: where you can create your own personalised ice-cream flavors from a Willy Wonkaworthy trove of ingredients (30 different choices) and see it made in front of you in an open-live show.

Top Scoops: Pavlova (white chocolate gelato, strawberry jelly, Strawberry, meringues) and American Breakfast (Peanut Gelato, Oat Cookies, Salted Caramel, Nuts).

Details Address: Artemidos, Esperidon Square, Glyfada, tel: 210.894.6000, www.bufalagelato.com Opening hours: Every day 9.00-24.00 Price: €18/kg (''cows'' ice-cream) €20/kg (''buffalo'' ice-cream).

Ninnolo Despite some pretty heated (or should we say chilled) local competition, Ninnolo is a leading player in the turf war for best ice-cream artisan in Kifissia.

This popular northern suburbs cafe has forged a rep for heavenly home-made gelato using only the best ingredients on the planet without butter, cream or eggs! An atmospheric meet-up spot in the heart of Kifissia, now Northerners can also enjoy Ninnolo’s icecream at home: they’ve just established a local delivery option.

Top Scoops: Exotic Brazilian fruit sorbets (passion fruit, guava, acai berry); the famous nocciola with hazelnut from Piemonte of Italy; the best chocolate in the world from Africa; and the magnificent limited-edition vanilla from the Seychelles.

Details Address: Agiou Dimitriou 8, tel: 210.801.2765.

Opening hours: 8:30 am - 01:00 Price: €20/kg

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City Life

Da Vinci Artisan Gelato After finding its feet in Mykonos in 2012, the kind folk at Da Vinci are now spreading the joy of their divine home-made Italian-styled gelato concoctions across Athens (with stores in Monastiraki, Plaka, Varkiza and Kifissia at last count).

Best of all, the Monastiraki branch in Adrianou is open 24-7 to vanquish all your sweet cravings any time of day or night. Da Vinci’s signature philosophy rests on a balance of seasonality and the absence of additives, dyes and hydrogenated fats (plus a selection of 0% fat free options to sweeten the deal!).

Top Scoops: Ricotta with fig Millefeuille, Grandma Cookies, Mojito, Apple Pie.

Details: Address: Da Vinci city branches: Adrianou 50, Monastiraki, tel: 210.325.3893 and Selley 4, Plaka, tel: 210.322.6046, www.davincigelato.gr Opening hours: Always Open (Adrianou branch).

Price: €16/kg

Le Greche A small but perfectly formed ice cream boutique in downtown Athens which fuses Italian expertise with premium Greek raw materials.

Le Greche uses superior ingredients without artificial additives and margarine or colorings, (and their dreamy concoctions contain only 8% fat!). Plus they use only seasonal fresh fruits, the finest chocolate in the land – and pack a genuine conscience about their products’ nutritional value.

Top Scoops: Try the ice-cream sandwiches topped with grilled pistachios; chocolate ice-cream with rum and prunes; ricotta with bergamot and Aperol, and mascarpone with Kalamata figs.

Details Address: Mitropoleos 16, Syntagma, tel: 216.700.6458, www.legreche.gr Opening hours: Every Day 8:30am – 02:00am Price: €21/kg

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The Waffle House

Zillion’s

With its prime Athenian Riviera locale, the Waffle House combines a delectable palette of sorbets and ice-cream with impressive Vouliagmeni Bay vistas, to deliver the “complete chill” experience. A lazy Sunday afternoon staple or after-school-treat for South-siders, this year the Waffle House celebrates 20 years and on the 20th of each month will offer customers a 20% discount.

Indulge in one of the Waffle House’s signature piping hot waffles and waffins (somewhere between a mini-waffle and a muffin!) at the same time as your ice-cream splurge. It’d be rude not to.

Ice cream is not just for summer at Zillion’s – the new kid on the block in Kifissia that tempts the soul year round with its creative frozen delights. Like the other ice-cream purveyors on this page, Zillion’s also pledges home-made authentic Italian-style products from fresh and pure ingredients. Zillion’s has released 36 different ice cream flavors to date.

Top Scoops: The Ferrero Rocher, Kinder Bueno, Maltesers and Snickers balls are pure ice-cream porn for choco-philes across the land. Other irresistible new hits include: chocolate with banana cubes; lime with basilicum; and white chocolate with Baileys.

Details Address: Leof. Poseidonos 17, Vouliagmeni, tel: 210.896.1227, www.wafflehouse.gr Opening hours: Every Day 10:00am – 02:00am Price: €18, 50/kg

Kayak Kayak – in pole position in central Glyfada (on the old Oscars’ site) – has managed to see off much of its competition in recent years.

With “boutique-styled” branches also in Mykonos, Kifissia and Costa Navarino, you know that this is prime designer ice cream territory.

Kayak keeps rolling out the hits: at last count, they have created more than 60 different ice cream flavors - but the best-sellers are: Organic Madagascar Vanilla, Mastic & Pink Pepper, Melomakarono Ice Cream and Mint Choco Chips.

Top Scoops: Champagne with pink roses; and frozen yogurt with passion fruit.

Details Address: I. Metaxa 24-26 & Zisimopoulou 9, tel: 210.894.9130, www.kayak.gr Opening hours: Every Day 8:00am-02:00am Price: €21,60/kg

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Top Scoops: Fondente chocolate (chocolate with 70% cocoa); Peanut hazelnut, Pavlova, and Oreo biscuit ice cream.

Details Address: Dionyssou 69, Kifissia, tel: 210.620.1211 Opening hours: Every Day 7:30am - 01:00am Price: €18,50 /kg

Art & Culture

All at Sea The bold emotive canvasses of one of Insider’s favourite contemporary artists, the Dutch painter Hans Giesen, can be seen shortly at his solo exhibition, titled Aegean Sea, at the Dutch Institute (Makri 11), from October 19).

Since 1966, Giesen has spent much of each year at his Paros studio; while his recent works express compassion “to the drama happening in the Mediterranean seas at this moment”.

“Giesen’s moveable works seem to tell us that we should not only watch with our eyes, but that we should also listen, feel, smell... a moveable spot where all senses are again connected,” says Dutch writer and poet J. Bernlef. See more of Hans Giesen’s work on www.hansgiesen.nl

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A Star is (Re)Born Paris has Les Deux Magots, Athens has Zonar’s. Insider takes a nostalgic look at one of the capital’s most famous and beloved café icons, Zonar’s, fresh from its recent re-fit.

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raditionally a meeting place for politicians and intellectuals, but also of the Athenian bourgeoisie, the legendary café-brasserie Zonar’s reopened a few months ago after a complete renovation. This quintessential bastion of elegance - the Athenian equivalent of Paris’s Deux Magots - was packed, especially in the 50s and 60s, by the affluent youth of the city, by the power people, by prime ministers and artists, both Greek and foreign, such as Hellenic acting legend Melina Merkouri (pictured with Greek composer Manos Hadjidakis).

You could come across politicians like Konstantinos Karamanlis, Ilias Iliou, Sofoklis Venizelos, Xenofon Zolotas, Giorgos Gennimatas Leonidas Kyrkos and others, sharing floor space with acting greats such as Sophia Loren, Anthony Quinn and Charlotte Rampling, or writers like Lawrence Durrell and Jorge Luis Borges.

The brewery still resembles a hotel lobby. That was the intention of its creator in 1939 and remains the ambition of the new owners. Ideally located close to Syntagma Square, the great historical hotels, major foreign embassies (not to mention the luxe shopping district on the corner of Panepistimiou and pedestrianized Voukourestiou), Zonar cafe-brasserie has been, since its debut, the place of relaxation of the Athenian bourgeoisie.

‘I remember Athens with the elegance of Zonars Cafe, where the Greek ladies all spoke French,’ recalls Athens chronicler John Zervos.

‘It was considered the height of elegance to have a coffee and cake at Zonars, and in the summer, its outdoor seating was the “de rigeur” meeting place for many Athenians,’ Zervos tells Insider.

‘As a child I often went there with my parents and indulged in hot chocolate topped with whipped cream. Zonars at the time exuded a sense of luxury which in the early 1950’s contrasted sharply with the poverty of a city recovering from years of conflict. As it was close to the Parliament, it was frequented by politicians and their entourages, by political hopefuls and social climbers, who could probably ill-afford the minumum 12 drachma charge for a coffee.’

City Scope

The life of Zonar’s founder is as fabulous as the creation itself. Born in 1873 in the Forty Churches region, eastern Thrace (Turkey currently), Kalliklis Zonaras studied in the Great School of the Nation in Constantinople. He then left to work for his uncle, Romania. At age 27, he left Europe to settle in the United States, in Dayton, Ohio. There, while working in a Greek pastry shop, he learned the craft of chocolate and Americanized his name to Charles Zonars.

Six months later, he opened his own shop, specializing in pastries and ice cream. Despite many setbacks, Zonar’s went on to create a chain of stores throughout the region. Next, he decided to fulfill his dream, to travel around the world, inspired by Phileas Fogg in Jules Verne.

In 1920, he visited Athens with the idea of founding a company. His encounter with a beautiful Athenian decided his fate: he settled in the Greek capital. The crisis of 1929 destroyed all of his US assets; never mind, he decided to start a new life in Athens regardless. First came a small pastry in front of where Zonar’s stands today, selling its chocolates and famous ice “Chicago.” But every day, this ambitious entrepreneur eyed up the other side of the street on the construction of a large building, one of the most prestigious of Athens, now occupied by a department store, a theater and a covered walkway. Zonaras saw immediately the potential of this place and he did everything to rent the prime space, straddling these vital street corners mentioned above.

Assisted by the best architects and designers of the moment, he finally opened on 23 August 1940, the most fashionable brasserie cafe in Athens. Closed during the German occupation, the facility reopened in 1950 in all its former glory.

Refined and elegant, Zonar’s occupies a proud place in the history of Athens, not least because of its extraordinary founder. The very name of this café, pub, restaurant or bistro represents a bygone era rich in political and cultural dynamism. In short, Zonar’s possesses a bit of the soul of Athens ...

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Travel

Hydra Harbour

Sketches of the Mind John Zervos, a lifelong Hydra-phile, recalls an extraordinary place that has played muse to everyone from Bridget Bardot to Presidential hopefuls. As a living archivist, he explains why there’ll never be another island like it.

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he island of Hydra in the Saronic gulf is unique in its architecture, significant in its role in modern Greek history, a home for artists, a Paradise for lovers, a playground of people who have learned to say ‘ yes’ to donkeys, to climbing endless steps and blending with an island village that has remained intact despite its international fame.

It is the island of films like Phaedra and Boy on a Dolphin, of Sophia Loren, dancing and daring in the port. An island of windmills, historic houses, cubist white buildings, linked by whitewashed steps and alleys that blend together despite their geometric uniqueness. Smartly dressed Cadets attend a stone-built naval school in the port just beside a beautiful museum. There are no cars, no large hotels, little touristic infrastructure and a charm and beauty unlike any other. There had been an effort to set up a hotel complex outside the port, built by Patronicolas, who was married to Onassis’s sister. He named it Mira Mare, but it lacked charm, was too far a walk from the hotel to the port, and remained isolated and alone in its cove.

My grandmother, Maria, came from Hydra, so I naturally felt drawn to go there. On my first visit in 1962, I met a barefoot American in the port called John O’Cain, who had been expelled from Yale for stealing books from the library and then convinced the university president to reinstate him, telling him that Yale needed him more than he needed Yale. He spoke fluent Arabic and Greek, and was familiar with the history of Hydra’s significant role in the War of Independence between 1821 and 1830.

We used to sit in the port with other friends watching the endless array of Kaikia, fishing boats and other vessels coming and going in the cannon protected port. One evening, with another friend, New Yorker Marta Chelhesky, we dragged John to the town water pump and washed his feet. Later that day, I met a Danish lady called Bodil who invited us to her house. This involved a long walk up the narrow white washed stone path to the top of the village.

The view was stunning, the sunset magical. I used to take the same path years later on my visits to a friend, George Lialios, originally from Patras, who had bought a huge stone 18c mansion, replete with ballroom, a grand fireplace and ghosts. George lived there from the early 60’s until the late 90’s, when he moved to Kifissia so his young daughters could attend school. . He was the most gentle and soft-spoken person I had ever encountered. He had studied music in Vienna and his father was a famous composer, whose family home was a huge neo-classical mansion on Syntagma Square. It is still there today, now owned by Public, a book and computer retail company.

George introduced me to his neighbor, the Canadian singer Leonard Cohen, whose voice captivated the world and focused interest on Hydra. He stayed for many years, and still owns the house, although he now spends little time on the island. Many interesting characters had bought houses in the early ‘ 60’s, when properties where still cheap.

Hatzikyriakos-Gykas, a renowned Greek painter who had a beautiful house at the top of the village, became friends with authors Henry Miller, Lawrence Durrell and others in the late 1930’s and invited them to the island along with poet/ diplomat George Seferis. Miller loved the island. In his book ‘ The Colossus of Marousi ‘ he wrote: “Hydra is a very special rock, entered as a pause in the musical score of creation by an expert calligrapher. It is one of those divine pauses which permit the musician, when he resumes the melody, to go forth in a totally new direction. At this point one may as well throw the compass away. To move towards creation does one need a compass?

Having touched this rock I lost all sense of earthly direction.”

Unfortunately Gykas’s beautiful house burned down and he never returned.

One of George’s friends, Alexis Bolens, a Swiss national originally from Alexandria, had come to the Hydra with Brigitte Bardot and her then boyfriend, Gunter Sachs. Their plan was to buy large areas of the is-

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Travel

lands beachfront and have Bardot announce that Hydra was the place to be, thereby stimulating demand and eventual profit for their investment. But Bardot quarreled with Sachs and left the island and the properties to Alexis who spent the next 30 years trying to sell them. He was witty and charming and held great dinners at his lovely house above the port, regaling us with stories of his life as a mercenary in Katanga and a lemon farmer in South Africa. We used to play poker together with the charming Pandias Scaramangas, a Greek banker/ business man ,Philip Dopoulos, an American from Boston, who was the Associated Press rep in Greece, and others like Alexis Mardas, the urbane first manager of the Beatles, and businessman Alekos Kyrtsis. Alexi Bolens, whose father owned the Bon Rivage hotel in Alexandra before it was nationalized, lived in Geneva and attracted his Swiss friends to the island.

One friend, Henri Bordier, walked around in his Mickey Mouse T-shirt, attending to his house and garden. He felt that Hydra was the perfect antidote to his work as president of Swissair, and the owner of Bank Bordier, which had been in his family since 1832. I once asked him what interest he paid on deposits, and he replied, ‘we just take people’s money, we do not give them money’.

Another Geneva resident, Maury Cohen, and his wife, painter Henriette Martens, were part of the Swiss contingent. They had a cluster of houses on a hilltop close to the port with a panoramic view of the Peloponnese. Maury was a successful businessman and Henriette, a perceptive painter of Hydra scenes.

So many artists, known and unknown, both Greeks and foreigners, were drawn to Hydra. Jane Motley,Marcella Maltais, Jane Porter, Piers Kemp, Terry Oldfield, Adam Shapiro, Anthony Kingsmill, Angelika Lialios, Richard Vick, Guy Allain, just to name a few.

In addition to Hatzikyriakos- Gykas, other Greek artists like Panagiotis Tetsis, George Mavroidis, and Kostas Vizantios, worked extensively on the island. In 1960 film director Mihalis Cakoyannis, filmed The Girl in Black, an international success that made Hydra famous. The port was the meeting place, with Katsikas cafe being the focal point.

Sitting there still today one can watch the ebb and flow of friends and visitors walking along the horseshoe-shaped port. At one end was where the boats arrived with clusters of donkeys and little shops. The walk brought one to the favorite beach at the side of the port, which had a natural cave.

The daily boat from Piraeus, the Neraida, with captain Lasts, who later became one of the richest Greek ship-owners, used to deftly slink into the small port. There were no hydrofoils or catamarans back then, only a daily cruise ship doing a three island visit in the summer months which stayed for an hour while the mostly Japanese tourists who photographed the donkeys waiting patiently in the port.

An Englishman, Bill Cunliffe, opened a bar, called Bill’s Bar, that become the best meeting place on the island. His beautiful Greek wife, Lena, ran a language school where she taught English.

I remember going to their wedding in a chapel on a tiny island off Vlihos beach.

A short walk from the port, passing the beautiful stone building of the Athens School of Fine Arts and a cluster of windmills, one came to a smaller port called Kaminia, with a lovely taverna on the sea front.

It was also accessible by water taxi. One could go further along the

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path, to another small village called Vlichos, also with tavernas and a popular beach. My friend, Corrine Seeds, has a villa there with an attached theatre, and in the summer she puts on ancient Greek plays with American actors. She walks around in local Hydriot costume, and is regarded as ‘eccentric’ by the locals.

In 1978, I had also put on a play in Hydra, in the Miranda hotel. It was Stratis Carras’s The Strong Men, directed by Arthur Beer, an American residing in Spetses.

Richard Branson had bought a house and some land in Kaminia for his daughter many years before. He wanted to make it into a small boutique hotel, but was not given a permit by the local council, who feared it would attract ‘undesirable’ tourists, whatever that meant.

There were many artists and writers who kept and keep houses on Hydra, including Brice Marden from New York, the poet Roger Green from England, who described himself as ‘a nomad who wears the world like a loose garment and goes where the weather suits his clothes”. An American poetess, Ann Rivers, published a poetry magazine called S.H.Y. for a few years. George Slater, an American poet known to one and all as ‘one-eyed George’ was a fixture in the port.

Kevin Magrath, a Harvard poet and writer, commented: “Many of the young poets, painters, and musicians lived freely in the ruins of the fallen and once-pillaged merchant houses: frugal, exoteric, and profoundly romantic.” There was a strong and vigorous ethos of

Travel

Actress and animal activist Brigitte Bardot was a regular The legendary Melina Merkouri in Hydra

vision and invention, a kind of ingenuity that was curiously generous and non-judgemental.

Hydra did not receive domestic electricity or running water until the latter decades of the twentieth century and even now there are no motor vehicles on the isle. All transport is conducted by ponies, mules and donkeys. This pristine and naïf quality of life honed and pared the days and minutes of those foreigners as they lived among the Hydriot—and originally Albanian—township. “Less was certainly and doubtlessly more, plus it was cheaper.”

Many scenes from novels were set on Hydra, written by novelists such as John Le Carré and Jeannette Winterson, as well as Margarita Karpanou, who wrote the book ‘The Sleep Walker’.

I used to return to Hydra giving talks to incoming Fulbright scholars doing their Greek ‘orientation’.

Now the hydrofoils arrive every hour, and numerous restaurants like the chic Bratsera, housed in a former sponge factory, have opened, catering to clients from the many yachts and motor vessels that squeeze into the tiny port.

Hydra has a beauty beyond its port. Walking over the island, through the old threshing circles, the pine forests, the wild fig trees, the sound of goat’s bells and cicadas, amid the gray stone, one has a sense of timeless history and an awareness of the stillness of the moment that lasts forever.

Sophia Loren during the filming of The Boy on a Dolphin

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An Island to Call Your Own… Travel

Fishing village of Balos

With Samos’ tragic miscasting this summer as a chaotic refugee hotspot, many tourists gave it a miss. Now, opportunity beckons, and this exceedingly beautiful and modest island – the birthplace of Pythagoras and Hera, Queen of the Gods - is one of the best-value-for-quality Greek destinations around, reports Amanda Dardanis.

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t’s 3pm in Samos, the far-flung eastern Aegean island.

The same mighty sun that once bore down on Antony and Cleopatra, when they stopped by on their summer hols in the first century BC, is at the height of its powers.

I’m on a two-mile mostly uphill quest from pretty Limnionas Beach, on the island’s south-west, to reach remote local landmark “Taverna at the End of the World”. And if my luck is in, meet its eccentric host and master story-spinner Andreas Kotsos.

It’s utterly the wrong time of day for a scenic hike in July. But the pull of legend is a fierce motivator.

I lug myself around one final elongated arc of ravishing headland, and there it is. Set atop the craggy coastline, with a stupendous unblocked Aegean view, a utilitarian red-roofed abode squats next to a lone spinning wind turbine. Neat terraced vines and a flight of stone steps spill down to a secluded swimming cove.

Andreas does not disappoint. When I appear on his shaded terrace, he’s mid-tall-tale: regaling a German family about some recent heroics involving a live scorpion.

Kotsas, who has the heavy-browed look of Telly Savalas, quit Canada 19 years ago to hide out in this serene Eden where he serves up simplistic fare like feta-stuffed courgette flowers and fried σαρδέλες (sardines) plucked from the seas below. He presents me with iced-water

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and a chilled plate of sliced prickly pear “on the house”, to cool me down.

‘People before profit,’ nods Andreas. ‘That’s the only way to survive. If you do good things, people will make the effort to come and find you.’

Truth is though, you don’t need to travel to the End of the World to escape the crowds in Samos right now. This year, the tourists have cleared out, along with most of the migrants.

Recent negative headlines about Samos painted a misleading picture of an “out of control” island like Lesvos, battling waves of daily arrivals; and with overcrowded, ill-secured migrant camps at flashpoint.

With only 1400m separating Turkey from Samos at the Mycale Strait – one of Greece’s narrowest crossings -Samos has always been a strategic thoroughfare between Asia and Europe.

However, in March, when EU’s migrant swap deal with Turkey came into effect, the Samos camp converted from a processing centre, where migrants could pass through to the mainland, to a “closed facility”, located above the capital Vathy. Refugees have all but stopped coming.

Regardless, even some of the island’s most faithful legion are also saying: “We think we’ll give Samos a miss this year.” For travellers, this means there are a windfall of rare deals to be had.

During the three days that I travel exhaustively all over Samos, I encounter not a single migrant, let alone a migrant “situation”.

Travel Instead, I find blissfully un-choked coastal roads, restaurant bills half the size of Athens and unpeopled beaches like Lemonakia, one of Samos’ most feted horseshoe bays, that unfurls below Villa Penny. Each morning, I come to swim just before 9, and find I’m the first to claim a sunbed on this winsome pine-clad stretch that has the feel of Sardinia.

(Try this in Paros in mid-July and see what happens.)

Once famous in the ancient world as a cosmopolitan island of leisure, intellectual spirit and abundance, humans have evidently lived well on Samos since about the third millennium BC. For a fairly small island just 43km across, the Isle of Samos packs a big poetic legacy. It is quoted in the scriptures. Herodotus and Aesop dwelled here for long periods. Cleopatra and her lover made their doomed preparations for war against Rome. And in the modern age, Lord Byron was stirred to write his paean to the famous sweet Samos Muscat wine. According to mythology, it was also here that Hera married her brother Zeus, with a wedding night that lasted 300 years.

While Pythagoras was busy cracking his right-angled triangle theorem, the enthusiastic tyrant Polycrates made Samos the centre of the Ionian World in the sixth century BC by erecting such archeological, engineering and cultural marvels as the first artificial harbour in Pythagoria (where the popular tourist port still exists today); Hera’s epic temple, the Heraion, (once one-and-a-half times larger than the Parthenon); and the Tunnel of Eupalinus, a 1km water duct still lying underneath the mountain slopes of Panagia Spilani (but currently closed for restoration).

Since antiquity, Samos’ luxuriant mountainous terrain and generous rainfall, has always granted it a working pulse outside of tourism.

The highbrow Polycrates offered his royal court as a spiritual salon for the world’s top thinkers of the day, and threw his vast library of significant texts open to all Samian citizens in order for them to self-educate.

Under his rule, according to Herodotus, Samos rose to become one of the three most powerful city-states of the sea, alongside Athens and Knossos in Crete.

Modern Samos has lost this knack of marketing itself. Although for me, this is the island’s great draw. It’s one of the least cynical Greek islands you’ll visit. Irksome taverna touts are few-on-the-ground and you can pass an entire weekend without seeing one Frozen t-shirt or Premier League kit. Possibly, it’s a residue from the island’s hippy days when the gypset camped out at turquoise-watered beaches like Tsamadou and Potami before catching the boat to Turkey.

Or maybe it’s due to the quiet confidence that comes with self-sufficiency. Since antiquity, Samos’ luxuriant mountainous terrain and generous rainfall, has always granted it a working pulse outside of tourism.

The island supplies its own excellent apples and apricots, almonds and onions, honey and herbs. It’s the only place in Greece that cultivates orchids for export. In winter months, you can watch flamingoes in the salt marshes of Psili Ammos, forage for wild mushrooms, or pluck ripe overhanging olives as you hike in traditional spring-fed mountain villages like Manolates.

Year-round, you can visit honey and apple farms. Or tiny family-run wineries that survive on word of mouth: like the one belonging to Petros and Evaggelia Eleutheriou, in the working village of Stavrinides. I drop in on en-route to Sunday lunch. Even so, they force-feed me Sa-

Caribbean dreams at Tsamadou Beach mian pancakes sprinkled with goats cheese and their glorious honey, while we toast each other’s families under an age-old plane tree with potent local ouzo “souma” and their best six-year-old Muscat.

Unlike the austere Cycladics, you always get the sense of nature being exuberantly alive all around you in Samos. The kissos vines that envelop the metal road barriers all the way down the coast. The deafening tzitzikas (cicada) chorus. The puddles of cranky goats that stream across the path as you drive.

I’m staying at the neo-classical–style Villa Penny apartments run by retired police chief Dimitris Manoliadis and his wife Metaxia, on the outskirts of picturesque fishing village Kokkari. Fresh Samos spring water fills the pool and olive wood lines the fireplaces. Like most small hoteliers here, breakfast is a hospitable home-grown affair of freshly-baked bread with pumpkin seeds, Metaxia’s apricot jam, and eggs procured from the neighbour’s hen house. (Almost everyone eco-moonlights in Samos. Even the mayor has his own lavender oil farm).

‘We haven’t had to watch the island we love change beyond all recognition like so many other Greek islands.’

While there is a lively enough bar scene in attractive Vathy and the university town Karlovasi, people don’t come for the nightlife. This is an island perfectly formed for exploration; where independent-minded folk return each year to plonk themselves down at characterful guesthouses for at least a month to hike, eat terrific food, and visit Samos’ stunning tranche of beaches.

‘There’s a gentle grace to Samos and that character hasn’t altered over the years,’ says Kellie Longhawn, a travel rep from Norfolk who’s been holidaying on the island since 1999, and now lives here year-round.

‘We haven’t had to watch the island we love change beyond all recognition like so many other Greek islands.’

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Travel There are still many intact island traditions like the fruit and vegetable trucks and mobile bakeries that you can hail from the side of the road to buy from, she tells me over a trip-best meal of stuffed wild mushrooms, chickpea balls (a Samian staple); and braised octopus at Enalion taverna in her quaint adopted Balos.

Hiking trail to Taverna at the End of the World

On my last afternoon, I make the 40-minute scenic drive from Kokkari to Potami Beach in the north-west to “do” the sunset at Hippys, another unmissable Samos institution.

I trek through a scruffy field of sunflowers to reach a long sand and pebble beach, where Hippy’s prime sunbeds cost just €3 each - perfectly aware that if this were Mykonos, there’d be an extra zero added just for fun. Random rock formations supply the drama; ambient Indian music and slouchy double divans, the Ibiza vibe. Settling in with a summer cocktail of Prosecco, Muscat and a single lazy swirl of orange peel, I’ve found my Happy Place for the day.

Manolates, one of Samos’ working alpine towns

How to Get the Best out of Samos Samos Wine Museum

– and all are completely free of charge! Tip: Tsamadou is former hippy HQ and locals call it “50 Shades of Blue”, thanks to the nudist strip still going strong on the beach’s right side.

Befriend the famous sweet muscat appellation in all its guises at this attractive stone wine museum on the Vathy waterfront. A tasting tour reveals the Samos Muscat’s surprisingly broad spectrum: from the dry dynamic whites Psiles Korfes and Golden Samena; to the sweeter labels popular in the UK like Samos Vin Douz and the Samos Anthemis (aged in French oak barrels for 5 years).

Malagari, Vathi, Tel: 227.308.7511, www.samoswine.gr

This coveted tourist resort, about 10km from Vathy, is Samos’ Little Venice. Eat at stylish Italian Giro del Sole in pole position. Tip: Keep walking past the long pebbly beach to access the prettier harbour quarters on the western-side. It’s where Kokkari’s best charms are on display.

Potami Waterfall Hike

Mountain Life

Take Samos’ most memorable hiking trail in the mountains behind Potami beach where you’ll see Samos’ oldest church (10th century Metamorphosis) and wade through about 100 yards of chilly waters to reach the impressive Potami Waterfall. Tip: take some small change with you for a rest stop at the café midway along.

Take time-out from the beaches and explore Samos’ beautiful trio of working alpine villages in the north – Ambelos, Stavrinides and Manolates. They’re full of fetching ceramics and jewellery workshops, authentic tavernas, divine hiking trails with abundant springs - and the inescapable Pythagoras Cup (if you overfill it, it runs dry, teaching us all that “when you’re greedy, you lose everything”).

Romantic Dining at Kokkari

Open-air Cinema in Mitilinioi Beloved by locals and tourists alike, experience the Greek summer ritual of cinema under the stars at the family-run Cine Rex, where they give you free home-made honey donuts (loukoumades). Located inland in elevated Mitilinioi village, among the lemon trees and basil plants.

Most movies are in English. Tel: 227.305.1236.

Navagos at Tsamadou Beach Settle in for the day at popular Navagos Beach Bar, on exquisite Tsamadou, near Kokkari. Bright umbrellas and stripy loungers sprawl across an expanse of gently-sloping lawn, overlooking a Caribbean-Dream bay

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Archeology Digested To gain a sense of Samos’ rich cultural backstory, visit the Archeological Museum of Samos (hosting the 5.35m-tall “Kouros of Samos” and Greece’s best preserved Kouros statue); the Archeological Museum of Pythagorio (notable exhibits include a Venus statue and tombstone of Lucius); and the Heraion of Samos: the coastal ruins of Hera’s once mighty temple with its Sacred Way and lone surviving Ionic column; once host to fertility rites and prestigious sporting tournaments for the ancient world. * This article was first published in The Times.

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Layered history, modern vibe Lesvos, where mountains reach the sky and beaches bathe in an ethereal golden light. In a land as rich with stories as it is with beauty, its narrow, meandering medieval streets give way to towers that roar a loaded Byzantine history 40 insider athens | September - October 2016

Travel What to do on Lesvos: Whether it is to immerse in’ Lesvos’ thriving cultural scene, customize your own off-road 4x4 adventure, trek between monasteries at Agiasos, watch flamingos do their thing in Kalloni’s marshlands, go fishing on a traditional kaiki or sip on a cocktail at Molyvos –Lesvos is large enough to accommodate your needs.

Celebrating Greek olive oil With an estimated 11 million olive trees, the beautifully restored Olive Oil Museum in Ag.Paraskevi highlights the award-winning olive oil produced in the region and shines a light on Lesvos’ rich industrial heritage.

An ode to ouzo Take a tasting tour at one of the two revered ouzo distilleries in Plomari dedicated to the spirit that captures the essence of Greek summer.

Imbibe the potent goodness of ouzo and follow up with a mezze platter on one of the waterfront tavernas in Plomari or by concocting your own ouzo cocktails back home.

Thermal Baths Soak in at any one of the five natural baths on Lesvos - try Thermi at Gera Bay that dates back to the beginning of the last century, housed on what is believed to be the ancient temple to Hera. Steam, scrub and shower for just 5 euros!

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nown in the ancient world as a city-state with a cosmopolitan vibe, Lesvos and its capital city Mytilini, packs a virtual who’s who of ancient Greece with the poet Sappho being her most famous citizen. Fellow poet Alcaeus, who wrote paeans for his native city as well as statesman Pittacus, one of the seven sages of Ancient Greece, follow closely in the star ratings. Long before tourist hordes packed into its craggy coastline and limpid bays, Mytilini drew the attention of philosophers, emperors, apostles and writers - Aristotle, who was sought out by King Philip II of Macedon to educate his 14 year old son Alexander (the Great) lived on Mytilini for two years; an inexperienced and young Julius Caesar also chanced by Mytilini in 80 BC; Apostles Luke and Paul stopped here briefly on their missionary journey; and Lesvos was the setting for novelist Longus’ romantic saga Daphnis and Chloe (that inspired Offenbach’s eponymous one-act operetta and Ravel’s ballet).

While its ancient celebrity name-dropping can be a fierce motivator to visit, this Aegean island still exudes the same pastoral charm that the star-struck lovers Daphnis and Chloe were seduced by – the clanking of bells as herds navigate Lesvos’ narrow streets, the deafening chorus of cicadas, octopus laid out to dry like shirts on a clothesline, secluded coves that seem to emerge out of nowhere.

On a wing and a prayer Follow in the ascetic footsteps of medieval monks to visit the Leimonos Monastery, hike upto the the Myrsiniotissis Convent dating back to the 16th century or join in the pilgrimage (the revelries follow the day after!) to Agiasos on August 15. En route, stop by the cold water spring at Karini that used to flow through the Roman aquaducts.

Mytilene tales Take in the capital city’s grand past as you walk past its arched shopping arcades reminiscent of the bazaars of the East, silhouettes of the Yeni and Tsarsi mosques juxtaposed with that of the larger-than-life Ag. Therapon Church and its majestic neoclassical mansions.

Medieval splendour Climb up the Molyvos castle for a spectacular view of the bay and then stay back to dine at one of the several tavernas that dot its harbour.

Relive the island’s storied history at the impressive Mytilini Castle dating back to the 6th century, host to summer concerts and plays.

Fossil Watch Feel humbled as a sprawling forest strewn with fossils and fallen trees provide a window into the geological history of the Aegean over the last 20 million years.

Echoing its alternate histories, punctuated by influences from its Roman, Byzantine and Ottoman past, Lesvos boasts traditional thermal spas, petrified forests that have borne witness to millennia of change, and an annual International Eressos Women’s Festival at the birthplace of Sappho that attracts lesbians from the world over. Unlike the stark, arid beauty of its more glamourous Cycladic cousins, Lesvos is exuberantly verdant and generously blessed with plush rainfall that make for a very versatile flora and fauna, drawing eco-conscious travelers to explore its hiking trails, engage in bird-watching and admire the orchid blossoms the island now proudly exports! And for foodies and Dionysian fun-seekers, this is the land of the ouzo – the anise-flavoured opaque elixir that has been vying for the title as Greece’s national drink along with the ubiquitous frappe.

insider athens | September - October 2016 41

Courtesy of the Athens Festival - Evi Fylaktou

Here, I see Paradise…

World-famous concert pianist Alain Lefèvre invites Insider’s Amanda Dardanis into his new Athenian home to discuss his latest Philhellenic album; why he moved to Greece - and a few of his pet hates.

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s muses go, the epic Athens Riviera panorama which greets you the moment you enter Alain Lefèvre’s coolly-elegant penthouse in Voula, surely takes some beating.

I’m a little early and Alain is fine-tuning some phrasings from one of his new compositions ahead of his forthcoming Canadian tour (which he’s due to depart for the next day). Arguably, the glossy black Yahama enjoys the best vantage point of all in his spacious CD-lined salon. As well it should. For Lefèvre, the instrument has been his passport to fortune, favour and a stellar international career that’s seen the 54-year-old become one of Canada’s foremost virtuosos.

Lefèvre has performed in over forty countries at most of the world’s iconic stages (Carnegie Hall, Kennedy Center, Royal Albert Hall, Royal Festival Hall); alongside leading conductors (Matthias Bamert, James Conlon, Christoph Eschenbach to name a few), and has also appeared at dozens of international festivals including the Athens Festival.

Awarded Canada’s second highest honour, Officer of the Order of Canada, Lefèvre has released some 30 CDs and has garnered particular acclaim for reviving the music of the prodigious composer and pianist Andre Mathieu, known as the “Canadian Mozart”.

Lefèvre’s heated Hellenic affair began two decades ago. Now - after making a change-of-life pact on his 50th birthday while on Samos - he has finally fulfilled his dream of living in Greece. He and French partner Johanne Martineau left Montreal to set up home in Athens’ southern suburbs last summer. Since then, Lefèvre has harnessed the “relaxed ambience” of Riviera Life to stir his creative output.

42 insider athens | September - October 2016

The result is Lefèvre’s forthcoming sixth album of compositions “Sas Agapo”, to be released in mid-October, as a dedication to his adopted home. Most of the album, confesses the affable Canadian, was penned right here in this apartment with its majestic sweeping views.

‘When I am in Greece, I am in contact with something that inspires me,’ the French-born pianist admits.

A year into his new Mediterranean existence, Alain Lefèvre sports both an unshakeable tan and the inner glow of a man who has discovered his personal Eden.

Your new album, Sas Agapo, is quite literally a love-letter to Greece?

This new album, which showcases pieces I have composed since moving here, is first and foremost a tribute to the Greek people, not just Greece. Greeks are generous and warm and free-spirited and I cannot recall having one bad experience with anything here in Greece. I think that what’s happened for the past 6 or 7 years is very humiliating for the Greek people. So this album is me saying, very modestly as a musician, to the Greek people that I do love you and I’m very proud of you.

You moved to Athens about 6 weeks before capital controls arrived.

Any second thoughts at the time?

I had 8 people working here for me and suddenly someone said to me, “Alain, your money is locked”. But I did not worry. The world we are living in is somewhere where people like to be afraid.

Interview So what drove your decision to stay?

I am 54 and there’s a time in life when you don’t want to spend one second losing any of it. You see something good, you take it. In Greece, you are living your life more intensely. When you get old in Canada, no one wants to see you anymore. Go to the cinema and check the age of the people there and you’ll see what I mean!

Alain Lefèvre with partner Johanne Martineau in Paros

When did you Greece first claim you?

It’s very rare for me to go to a country and not like it. But there’s something different about Greece. The Greek spirit is something else.

I’ve been coming to Greece for 20 years. I fell under the spell of Samos 15 years ago during their worst fire. I was supposed to do a concert. I saw 10 enormous buses taking all the tourists to the airport to get out.

They asked me if I wanted to go too, but I stayed. (Lefèvre later staged a charity concert for victims of the blaze).

You become very protective when speaking of Greece. How do you feel when you read negative media reports about this country?

I can’t bear to listen to clichés about Greek people. The mainstream news tells us a lot of lies. For example, that Greek people are lazy and don’t pay their taxes. I travel all over the world and I know that the number one sport everywhere is avoiding tax. The French government has just asked the UBS to hand over the name of 40,000 account holders in Switzerland who don’t pay tax. The Lancet reported in 2014 that Greek people are working 20 percent more than any other European country.

How is your lifestyle here better than in Canada?

The fact is that I’m travelling and touring most of the year. So for the couple of months in between when I’m not, instead of freezing my b*@ lls off in Canada, I’m here looking at this. I can swim every day, even in December. Each day, you can find the perfect beach, depending on the wind or the sun. My first Athens winter was a milestone!

Which local landmarks have inspired you creatively?

I go to Kavouri a lot. There’s a very beautiful spot that I walk to past the restaurants: a place with lots of rocks and a little creek where there are always about 8 people swimming no matter what. I also like the swimming in front of En Plo (Vouliagmeni). I’ve got a friend who swims there and she’s 84 and I kiss her every day and everything is so alive.

I also love the mood of Island (Varkiza); Moorings (Vouliagmeni) for the view. And there’s a little sushi place in Voula called Borocay that I love. When I adopt a restaurant, I bring everyone I know there.

Will Athens audiences hear you play this year?

On October 15, I’m performing a few pieces from Sas Agapo along with some other bits and pieces at a special concert at the Megaron for the Dionysia Trust.

Alain Lefèvre at his new Voula home

Do you feel that classical music gets enough air-time? I read that you took President Obama to task for releasing a list of his favourite iPod tracks without one classical song among them…

Pop music is becoming an enormous problem. The whole mentality of the mainstream Hollywood-fueled pop industry selling its stupid movies and stupid singers. Then you see a President of “the most powerful country” and this country has five of the world’s best orchestras; and probably 25-30 of the world’s best classical artists. And this guy didn’t even stop to think: “Maybe I should say that I like listening to Philip Aaberg or some other classical artist”. This is clearly traumatic. I never got a reply but I did what I had to do.

Has living in Greece changed your nature?

I was with some Greek people recently and one of them said: “Alain, you’re not Canadian, you’re Greek because you laugh and you’re loud and relaxed. It’s because I’m happy here. So now I’m touring and I’m trying to make the tour as short as possible to be back here!

What music do you listen to yourself to relax?

I’m a big fan of blues and jazz. And with no shame at all, I can tell you that I love Julio Iglesias and Barry White.

What do you get asked most at dinner parties?

When I’m invited to dine at someone’s place in New York or L.A. or Chicago, I will always be asked to play piano for them by the end of the evening.

That’s a bit cheeky. Do you mind?

I do mind actually. And I’ll tell you something, it has never once happened to me here in Greece. People here have a lot of respect. They would love me to play - but they do not ask. And because of the fact that they do not ask, I do play. But you shouldn’t have to sing for your supper.

Which places in Greece have stirred you the most?

When I visited the tomb of Philippos (King Phillip II of Macedonia), it moved me to tears. Because I’m a big fan of Alexander the Great. I wish the Greek people would remember more where they came from.

What do you see from your balcony?

I see Paradise from up here.

Sas Agapo is available in Greece from October 28, but can be purchased already from www.analekta.com.

Alain Lefèvre will perform at the Megaron (Athens Concert Hall), October 15, at 8.30pm. Tickets are €15-20 and are available from www.megaron.gr

insider athens | September - October 2016 43

Greek at Heart Cinnamon Chicken with Lemon Potatoes/ Kotopoulo Giahni Gluten-Free Makes: 4–6 servings Time: 1 hour, 30 minutes This is a dish that gets my senses buzzing and brings back the joyful emotions of a special time.

Sitting at our kitchen table alongside my grandmother Angeliki, I shuffle my chair closer to the table, being careful not to trip over her walking stick that is lying between both chairs. She takes a deep breath and says to my mum, “Toula, it’s ready. Let’s eat!”

Amazingly, she is spot-on. She learned to cook by sense and smell. The eyeballing technique and the use of the senses is such an art form in cooking. I also inhale deeply through my nostrils as I create a particular sense in my brain, trying to work out the trick my grandmother uses.

The aroma is delightful but also puzzling. I try to determine what the distinct smell is. There is a sharp lemon smell but also the aroma of cinnamon.

The pot is brought before us, and we dig into this tasteful peasant dish.

Grandmother is speechless but murmuring sounds of satisfaction. I imagine that her thoughts are taking her back to her village in Greece, where her large family, living through wars and famine, cooked this recipe over coals. This dish, carrying emotions from one generation to the next, is best served warm.

44 insider athens | September - October 2016

Method Ingredients

Through exquisite recipes and photographs of her beloved Greece, Australian-born Greek Ruth Bardis shares her family’s stories and the regional specialties of their cuisine in her new book “Hellenic Kanella: Memories Made in a Greek Kitchen”. Insider shares a trio of wonderful recipes from her stylish and heartfelt collection: ½ cup olive oil 1 onion, diced 1 kg (35.2 oz. /2.2 lb.) small chicken drumsticks 1 tablespoon salt 1 teaspoon black pepper 1 tablespoon dried oregano 2 large lemons, juiced 4 large potatoes, each cut into 8 pieces 1½ teaspoons cinnamon powder Light olive oil for frying

In a wide sauté pan that has a lid, sauté the onion in the olive oil until it is soft and translucent. Add the chicken and cook until it is well browned. Add the salt, pepper, oregano, and lemon juice. Pour boiled water into the pan to cover the chicken.

Taste the water mixture. It must be well salted and have a strong lemon bite. If it doesn’t, add another lemon and more salt. Cook the chicken over low heat, uncovered, until the juice is reduced to a little more than half.

While the chicken cooks, fill another pan to the halfway point with light olive oil (never fill a pan more than halfway). Heat the oil and fry the potatoes. To ensure the oil is hot enough, place 1 potato into the oil, and when it sizzles, the oil is ready. Do not cook the potatoes right through; 3 to 4 minutes before they are fully cooked, drain them and place them straight into the chicken mixture. Let them cook together with the chicken for about 3 minutes. Turn off the heat, sprinkle the cinnamon powder on top, and put a lid on the pan. Allow the potatoes to soak up all the juices for about 10 minutes, and then serve the dish.

Gastronomy Riganada is the entrée that relates closest to an Italian bruschetta, though not shy in its portion and its assortment of flavors. It is commonly made with rusks (hard, stale bread). The bread is soaked in a little water and then topped with an array of fresh vegetables and a generous drizzling of extra virgin olive oil. A meal in itself, this is a staple of Kephalonia.

Greek Bruschetta/ Riganada Makes: 3 servings Time: 15 minutes

Hold the rusks under the kitchen tap, allowing the water to run directly on 1 side (as the water will seep through to the bottom) for 10 seconds; set them aside.

Combine all the other ingredients in a bowl and mix them well.

Taste and adjust the seasoning. The mixture must not be dry.

If it is, add a little more olive oil.

Top the rusks generously with the mixture and serve immediately.

Orange-Apricot Semolina Pudding Halva me Portokali Makes: 25 pieces Time: 45 minutes My mother-in-law always remembers this recipe using this method: “One, two, three, and four!” She would say “one” for oil, “two” for semolina, “three” for sugar, and “four” for water. I have opted to lessen the sugar and additionally include dried fruits and citrus zest. This cake really resembles something closer to a pudding than a cake. Its texture is fascinating. The semolina flour, which is toasted in olive oil, feels like tiny balls in the mouth and has a punch of spice, nuts, citrus, and fruit. This pudding is made on the stove and then unmolded to expose an array of nuts and the scent of cinnamon. It consists of humble ingredients that transform into an exquisite dessert. Once again, it shows the complexity and versatility that olive oil brings to Greek desserts. This dessert is best served cold or at room temperature.

Method Ingredients

Method

Ingredients

2 barley rusks* ½ red onion, finely chopped 1 green bell pepper, diced ½ cup Kalamata olives, sliced 2 medium ripe tomatoes, finely chopped 170 g (5.9 oz./0.37 lb.) crumbled feta cheese ¼ cup finely chopped flat-leaf parsley 1 tablespoon dried oregano ¼ cup olive oil 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar Salt, to taste *Barley rusks are available from most international delicatessens.

1 cup light olive oil 2 cups coarse semolina flour 3 tablespoons sesame seeds 1 teaspoon cinnamon powder ¼ cup slivered almonds ½ teaspoon vanilla powder ¼ cup sultanas or raisins ½ cup dried apricots, chopped Zest of ½ an orange ½ cup desiccated coconut

Sugar syrup 1¼ cups castor (superfine) sugar 4 cups water 1 tablespoon orange blossom water* Rind of ½ an orange *Orange blossom water is sold at all international delicatessens.

To prepare the syrup, place all the ingredients in a pot and bring them to a boil. Simmer the syrup over very low heat while you work on the rest of the dessert.

In another pot, brown the semolina flour with the olive oil and sesame seeds over medium heat until the semolina begins to change to a golden-brown color and it starts to smell a little. Do not rush this step—it should take approximately 10–15 minutes. The semolina must be browned; otherwise, the taste of the completed dessert will be doughy.

When the flour is golden brown, add all of the remaining ingredients.

Mix the ingredients well to combine, and then immediately take the mixture off the heat.

Discard the orange rind from the sugar syrup and pour the syrup into the semolina, standing back as it will bubble and splash a little (be very careful not to burn yourself). Start stirring the mixture vigorously until it comes away from the sides of the pot and has thickened into a pudding-like consistency.

Pour the pudding into a 25 cm (9.8 in.) diameter nonstick mold, pressing down with a spoon so that it is distributed evenly. Allow the pudding to cool before unmolding it onto a serving plate. Dust it with a sprinkling of cinnamon powder. This dessert is best served cold.

Hellenic Kanella: Memories Made in a Greek Kitchen” by Ruth Bardis is available from Amazon (£47.95)

insider athens | September - October 2016 45

Gastronomy

Three cheers for Beer!

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et Ale and Hearty as the island of Corfu meets Italy at the 3rd Corfu Beer Festival to be staged over five days in October, to coincide with international Oktoberfestivities.

Greece and Italy are two cultural cousins sharing an epicurean’s fierce love of the good things in life, namely beer, gastronomy, dance and song! All four elements will come together from October 12-16 at the village of Arillas, in the northwest coast of Corfu, opposite the premises of Corfu Beer Microbrewery.

Let your hair down at this lively free festival, safe in the knowledge that you’re also doing your body a favour. The health benefits of the amber nectar – one of history’s first alcoholic beverages – are welldocumented and include: anti-cancer properties, a reduced risk of cardiovascular diseases, increased bone density, the prevention of dementia and coronary disease, as well as being helpful in treating diabetes, gallstones and kidney stones. Beer also has a greater protein and vitamin B content than wine, and contains potent anti-oxidant levels, so it even has anti-ageing powers too, hurrah!

The elite brewers from Italy who have signed up to participate in the 3rd annual Corfu Beer Festival 2016 are: Birrificio Lambrate (Milan), Birrificio Rurale(Desio), Birra Del Borgo (Rieti) and No Tomorrow Craft Beer (Brescia).

Each brewery will work with Corfu Microbrewery to ensure that festival-goers can imbibe from a range of different style beers, (brewed freshly at the event), with original flavors.

Greek and Italian music and dance will feature each night of the festival, along with local dishes from both countries. In the last 50 years, the Corfiot town of Arillas has grown slowly into a popular tourist hub with hotels, restaurants, bars and shops, while still retaining the character of a traditional working village.

The Corfu Beer Festival meanwhile has also evolved since its launch and has now become an annual island highlight, attracting thousands of visitors and involving at least 200 volunteers, 350 dancers, 250 musicians, five different breweries, 20 local producers with 180 local products, as well as several organized seminars.

For the full programme, visit www.corfubeerfestival.org 3rd CORFU BEER FESTIVAL is on October 12-16, Arillas, tel: 6976.894.035, www.corfubeerfestival.org

46 insider athens | September - October 2016

When Did Beer Appear?

48 insider athens | September - October 2016

Gastronomy

We know Greeks were one of the first cultures to produce wine, but just how early did beer come on the scene. In her series on Food and Drink in Greek Archeology, Holley Martlew investigates

It is always more fun to overturn a long held view, so those of us involved in the scientific work had hoped to find evidence for beer, but no one had any idea whether this would be possible. The answer remained in the lap of the gods. Scientific results cannot be made to order. There was no clear path to follow. What we were going to find depended on each and every individual pot we chose. All that could be done was to test potsherds from likely sites and to keep fingers crossed.

his has been one of the riddles of early Greek civilisation -- until recently when state of the art scientific analyses were applied to the pots of the Minoans and Mycenaeans. Particles seep into all clay vessels that are used for eating and drinking. Luckily, largely due to the Greek climate, many of these chemical signals have been trapped inside ancient pots and have waited patiently, for millennia, to be discovered.

The site of Myrtos Phournou Korifi however was a likely subject. It was a village in southern Crete, the final destruction contexts of which were quite early, 2200-2150 B.C. Finds from the site had added a great deal to the understanding of Early Bronze Age agriculture. A raised oven and a quernstone were found in situ in Room 20. A fragment of a pot stand had impressions of barley and wheat, and as such gave indirect evidence that these cereals were grown at the site. On this basis samples from several storage vessels were submitted for analysis.

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The project Archaeology Meets Science, which started in the mid1990’s and continues to this day, has the unraveling of these ancient secrets as its main objective. Whether or not the Minoans and Mycenaeans drank beer was one of the questions uppermost in the minds of archaeologists for two reasons.

First, because what was drunk at the dawn of Greek civilisation is one of the most intriguing questions one can ask.

And second, because nothing had ever been discovered that pointed to beer production such as pots or residues or frescoes, it had become accepted that in the Bronze Age, when beer was known to have been a popular drink in Egypt and the Levant, early Greeks probably had not drunk beer.

Samples from two large storage vessels, both nearly 70 cm. high, one of them from Room 20 cited above, gave results of wine and a barley product. The presence of a barley product was not strong enough for the chemists to argue exclusively for barley beer. We were told there were three possibilities.

The first was the use of the vessels for gruel or beer; the second could have meant that unfermented barley had been added to wine; the third possibility was a mix of beer and wine.

But archaeologists and chemists always err on the side of caution. The presence of barley in such vessels makes a good case for concluding that Minoans were indeed making beer before 2000 B.C.

insider athens | September - October 2016 49

Gastronomy Book Nook

The Italian Job Voula’s newest Italian arrival offers sophisticated street dining with surprisingly friendly prices, discovers Amanda Dardanis.

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ime was when one’s culinary ambitions in Voula square rarely exceeded a lazy Sunday lunch with family and friends at a modest taverna. Or a mid-week break from the kitchen at one of the southern suburb’s perfectly capable souvlaki joints.

But now, this cosmopolitan seaside hamlet is increasingly being seen as a Saturday night destination – and a viable alternative to neighbouring Glyfada. It’s all thanks to an influx of new internationallytilted wine bars and eateries that are dishing up quality, atmosphere and value for money.

Newcomer Ballaro is a prime example. Opened early this summer, with the rustic cuisine of a Palermo street market as its muse, Ballaro Deli & Restaurant has introduced a stylish new note to the magnetic Posidonos pocket of Voula Village. (There are Ballaro branches also in Thessaloniki and Mykonos).

After getting rave reviews from a number of fellow Voula natives, we gave the restaurant a spin ourselves last Saturday night.

Annexed off in a charming sunken enclave behind pretty planter boxes, (opposite the hugely popular Vergera wine bar), dining on the pavement at Ballaro feels like more of an intimate “date night” experience than eating out over in the main square across the road, where most of Voula’s restaurants are situated. Its elegant seating mish mash of white wrought iron and blonde wood, and the well-dressed tables enhance the mood of exclusivity.

It’s not a huge menu. (The other great new Italian arrival in the main square, Il Vero, has a more extensive one, I’m told).

But it’s a sophisticated one and what they do, they do extremely well.

The range is pasta-centric (don’t go if you’re craving pizza) and focuses on well-executed and presented regional Sicilian dishes – alongside instagram-fodder charcuterie boards showcasing the Italian deli range available inside.

50 insider athens | September - October 2016

We ordered 2 starters for the table: the vitello tonnato (veal with tuna and caper sauce) and a caprese salad – both terrific and a portent of good things to come.

The most popular main choices at our table of 8 were the vongole with cuttlefish ink linguine (delicious but a tad under-seasoned); the porcini risotto (marvellous - perfect texture & seasoning); and a standout tortellini al ragu loaded with tender shredded beef in lieu of mince that felt more like a fragrant light stew than a stodgy pasta dish. (It was superb value also at €9 – in fact most of the pasta plates come in at under €10). Meanwhile, my vegetarian friend reported that Ballaro’s white truffle pasta was the best she’s ever eaten.

Service throughout the evening was attentive and conscientious – even at its busiest peak when all the tables were full. (Definitely book ahead on the weekend.) A well-priced and curated selection of Italian wines notched our satisfaction-level up even higher (we went for a wonderful Valpolicella Classico for €19 a bottle ). Sadly, we’ll have to get back to you about the desserts (time defeated us on the night).

In just a short few months, Ballaro has successfully cultivated a delightful, buzzy and convivial vibe – and currently offers one of the best quality for value, elegant dining options on the southside.

Ballaro, you are a very welcome addition to our Voula Village.

Ballaro Deli Italian Restaurant, Posidonos 12, Voula, tel: 210.899.4464.

Find them on Facebook.

Has a great new restaurant, café or bar arrived in your neighbourhood?

Let us know at whatsnew@insider-magazine.gr

Gastronomy

Introducing Testaccio Organic Insider stops by new Vouliagmeni hotspot, Testaccio Organic Deli & Restaurant and finds a chic hangout that plays both naughty and nice

2016 is shaping up as the year of the Concept Store – and now Testaccio Organic Deli & Restaurant, in Vouliagmeni, has joined the ranks of a new strain: the Concept Restaurant.

Out for a Sunday morning stroll over the weekend, it was initially the achingly chic Hamptons-style fit-out of this very recent Riviera arrival (on the old Silver Star steakhouse site) that drew us to investigate further.

With its elegant white plantation shutters, white crocheted parasols, crisp black and white interiors (and zen-like spa tunes floating out onto the pavement), it seemed like a good as spot as any for a caffeinated comfort break.

Inside, there’s a nifty deli section of organic goodies that you didn’t know you couldn’t live without, such as: Manuka honey, red lentil penne, goats milk baby powder, Mayan rainforest chewing gum, and Matcha Ninja powdered green leaf tea from Japan. This all flows onto an organic butchers and photogenic green grocers market that’s open every day from 9am.

The vibe is restful and unhurried, so we took a seat and stayed on to split an egg white omelette with mushrooms, gruyere and multicoloured cherry tomatoes which was pleasingly plump and tasty in a way that egg white omelettes very often aren’t.

Testaccio’s Bio Day menu is one of the most innovative we’ve seen in a long time around these parts. Among the most interesting propositions we’re tempted to come back and try: Broccoli crust pizza, burrata, with mixed mushrooms and poached egg (€13.60); Grilled cauliflower sandwich with Asian slaw and mint (€7.20); oven baked carrot fries with tofu and jalepena dip (€4.20); and papaya, radiccio, shiso leaves, soba noodles, sesame, ginger and miso (€12.30). And among the carnivorous offerings: Flap steak with seaweed butter, pearl onion and potatoes (€19.80).

In the evening, Testaccio apparently amps up into a humming meet-up spot with a very pleasant courtyard bar area serving great cocktails, wines (and oysters!), alongside your favourite detoxifying fruit smoothie. We do love a place where the decision to play naughty or nice is entirely yours.

Testaccio Organic Deli Restaurant, Litous 2 & Apollonos Vouliagmeni, Tel: 210.896.4112, open 9am-2am daily.

insider athens | September - October 2016 51

Special Promotion

Autumn Aromas

Renew yourself at King George Perfumes & More this Autumn

A

utumn is the time when leaves become flowers and the light possesses such exuberant grace.

In step with the exquisite changing rhythms of Autumn, Orloff Spa Experts celebrate renewal of self at King George Perfumes & More, a pop up store dedicated to high perfumery, in the heart of Athens.

A haven of affordable luxury, the perfumery hosts “niche” perfumes, which means that it displays a wide range of rare and exclusive scents: off-the-beaten-track scents that allow you to feel unique - and also make a statement.

Fragrances are artistically composed with premium ingredients, to give them longevity on the skin and to make heads turn when you enter a room…

AMOUAGE introduces Bracken Man, a new fougère for men, green, woody and elegantly refreshing. ETAT LIBRE D’ORANGE’s new “Yes I do” is a white floral bouquet in possession of a powerful romantic sentiment. MONTALE makes its debut, in the boutique with 21 captivating fragrances combining the mystery of the Orient and the craftsmanship of European perfumes.

And if you prefer the art of Italian perfumes, you can choose between Il Profvmo and Aqua di Parma, fresh flowery and fruity colognes, delicate and natural scents, for everyday purpose.

Last but not least, Swiss Valmont brand offers its skin expertise directly to consumers who wish to gather precious beauty advice and samples. Our expert sales girl will assist you to find the right product for your skin, cream, mask or serum, for immediate result.

It is the occasion to discover a new release, Detox cream, a day cream that removes CO2, impurities and infuse oxygen to the cells, for a healthy-looking and glowing skin.

King George Perfumes & More, Vas. Georgiou A, 3, Syntagma Square, tel: 210.333.0266. Opening hours 12:30 to 8pm every day except Sunday.

52 insider athens | September - October 2016

Insider guide restaurant index by type

refer to corresponding area for more information and contact details

AMERICAN

TGI FRIDAY’S The Burger Joint The Burger Joint

Kolonaki Glyfada Psychico

BAR - RESTAURANTS

21 Restaurant Kifissia 360 Cocktail Bar Monistiraki 42 bar Syntagma 48 Urban Garden Mavili Sq 9 Syntagma A for Athens Monistiraki Abariza Syntagma Abaroriza Pangrati Acropolis Museum Acropolis Restaurant Apsendi Halandri BABA AU RUM Syntagma BACARO Omonia BALTHAZAR Mavili Sq BARAONDA Mavili Sq Barley Cargo Syntagma Beer Time Psyrri Bios Gazi Booze Cooperativa Psyrri Café Zoe Syngrou CASH Kifissia CINCO Kolonaki Couleur Locale Monistiraki CV Bar Keramikos Drunk Sinatra Syntagma En Plo Vouliagmeni Explorer’s Lounge Syntagma Gazarte Gazi HIDE & SEEK Halandri HOLY SPIRIT Glyfada Hoxton Bar Gazi ISLAND Vouliagmeni KITCHEN BAR Faliro MoMix Gazi NIXON Kerameikos NoËl Plaka OSTERMAN Syntagma PARKO ELEFTHERIAS Mavili Sq PIXI Gazi SEMIRAMIS RESTAURANT Kifissia SHOWROOM Kolonaki Socialista Gazi Sofa Bar Vouliagmeni Spollati Monastiraki Step by step Halandri Stinking Bishops Kolonaki The Clumsies Plaka THE GIN JOINT Syntagma Throubi Plaka Toy Café Plaka Underdog Thiseio

BEER RESTAURANTS

Octoberfest Silly Wizards

Ag. Paraskevi Ag. Paraskevi

CHINESE

China’s Fantasy Psychico Golden Phoenix Kifissia Keep Woking Glyfada Nama Ag. Paraskevi Noodle Bar Syntagma NUI Kifissia Saipan Halandri Wagamama Maroussi

FISH

Ai Nikolas CAPTAIN JOHN’S DOURAMpEIS

Syngrou Piraeus Piraeus

Dourampeis Oyster Psychiko Fish Co. Platters Psychico ITHAKI Vouliagmeni KOLLIAS Piraeus JIMMY AND THE FISH Piraeus KASTELORIZO Kifissia MILOS Hilton MYTHOS OF THE SEA Vouliagmeni Nikolas tis schinousas Glyfada Nisson Gi Ag. Paraskevi Ocean Basket Glyfada PAPADAKIS Kolonaki Papaioannou Pireaus Piperia Psychico PSARAKI Vouliagmeni RAFALE Vouliagmeni Sardelaki Glyfada THALATTA Gazi ZEFYROS Piraeus Trata Omonia TRATA O STELIOS Pangrati VASSILENAS Piraeus

FRENCH

ARTISANAL Kifissia avenue Syngrou Blue Pine Kifissia Gaspar Food and Mood Psychico L’ABREUVOIR Kolonaki LE PETIT SOMMELIER Faliro MONO WINE RESTAURANT Plaka SPIROS & VASILIS Kolonaki SPONDI Pangrati Tartare Glyfada

GOURMET

ALERIA Kerameikos Aneton Maroussi AVENUE Syngrou Bo Botrini’s Halandri CTC Hilton Fuga Mavili Sq Funky Gourmet Kerameikos F+W Kolonaki HYTRA Syngrou KOOL LIFE Kifissia KUZINA Thissio MODERN Acropolis Museum of Greek Gastronomy Psyrri Orizontes Lycavyttou Kolonaki Pasaji Syntagma Polly Maggoo Metaxurgeio PremiEre Syngrou VAROULKO Piraeus

GREEK

2 MAZI Plaka 310 Street Psychico ANETON Maroussi Archeon Gefsis Metaxurgeio ATHIRI Kerameikos ATRIUM Acropolis Berdema Kifissia Bluefield Burger Psychico Dioskouroi Psychico DIPORTO Psyrri ELAIαS GI Kifissia Feedέλ Urban Gastronomy Syntagma IDEAL Omonia KAVOURAS Exarhia Krithamos Psychico MANI MANI Acropolis

MELILOTOS Olive Garden Pallas Athena PSOMI & ALATI RAKOKAZANO PROSOPA Rena tis Ftelias THIO TRAGI TO KOUTI YANTES YDRIA

Monastiraki Monastiraki Monastiraki Halandri Halandri Gazi Psychico Petralona Monastiraki Exarhia Plaka

GRILL

1920 Halandri Telemachos Bbq Club Kifissia

INDIAN

BOLLYWOOD Indian CHEF Indian HAVELI Indian Kitchen Indian Masala Indi-GO JAIPUR PALACE KOHENOOR

Gazi Syngrou Syngrou Syntagma Thissio Glyfada Kifissia Gazi

INTERNATIONAL

All Senses Gastronomy Glyfada BAKU Vouliagmeni BUBA Kifissia CHEFI’S Halandri Cosa Nostra Monastiraki Food Mafia Glyfada Gefsis Me Onomasia Proelefsis Kifissia La Pierrade Kolonaki Los loros Syntagma Nikkei Kolonaki nolan Syntagma Pere Ubu Glyfada

ITALIAN

30 SOMETHING Halandri AGLIO OLIO Acropolis AL BACIO Vouliagmeni Albion Psychico Al Dente Glyfada AL FRESCO Vouliagmeni Aperitivo Glyfada Capanna Kolonaki Codice Blu Kolonaki DA BRUNO Faliro DA VINCI Ag. Paraskevi Dal Professore Maroussi DULCIS IN FUNDO Voula Il Salotto Glyfada Il Salumaio D’ATENE Kifissia LA CASA DI GIORGINO Glyfada Malconi’s Kolonaki MARGHERITA Kifissia Matilde Pizza Bar Psychico Nanninela Ag. Paraskevi Ombra Psychico Pausa Maroussi Sale Bianco da Salvotoro Glyfada SALE E PEPE Kolonaki SCALA VINOTECA Kolonaki Testaccio organic Vouliagmeni TONY BONANO Piraeus Tutti a tavola Kolonaki Tuttitalia Kolonaki

VEZENE Vespa Rosa VINCENZO

Hilton Pangrati Glyfada

JAPANESE

FURIN KAZAN Syntagma Hama Glyfada INBI Kolonaki KIKU Kolonaki Koi Syntagma, Voula MATSUHISA ATHENS Vouliagmeni OOZORA Kifissia RAKKAN Kifissia SUBA Kifissia Tomoe Kifissia Yoko Sushi & Bento Kolonaki

KOREAN

Dosirak

Syntagma

KOSHER

Gostijo

Psyrri

LEBANESE

FALAFELLAS NARGILE SUZANNA

Psyrri Kifissia Faliro

MEDITERRANEAN

Alatsi Hilton BAKU Vouliagmeni BERDEMA Kifisia BYZANTINO Hilton CAFE AVISSINIA Monastiraki Common Secret Kifissia DAPHNE’S RESTAURANT Plaka FATSIO Pangrati GB CORNER Syntagma HYTRA Plaka IDEAL RESTAURANT Omonia KOUZINA CINE-PSIRRI Psyrri MALABAR Vouliagmeni MAVRO PROVATO Pangrati Mimaya Glyfada OCHRE & BROWN Psyrri PARLIAMENT Syntagma RATKA Kolonaki STOU MEIDANI Monastiraki THE DALLIANCE HOUSE Kifissia TO KOUTI Monastiraki TORTUGA Pangrati TRAPEZARIA Pangrati VOSPOROS Piraeus ZORBAS Piraeus Glyfada Kifissia Halandri Halandri Syntagma

MEZEDES AND OUZO

Antaios ATHINAIKON CINCO KIRKI OUZADIKO SCHOLARHEIO

Psychico Omonia Kolonaki Thissio Kolonaki Plaka

MULTI ETHNIC

Kolonaki Marousi Kifissia

Halandri

POLYNESIAN

LEDRA KAI

Syngrou

PUB RESTAURANTS

KEG ‘N’ CREW MOLLY MALONE’S THE JAMES JOYCE

Piraeus Glyfada Thissio

ROOFTOP DINING

ELECTRA Plaka IOANNIS Syntagma LE GRAND BALCON Kolonaki ORIZONTES LYKAVYTTOU Kolonaki ST’ASTRA Mavili Sq

SOUVLAKIA AND KEBAB

BAIRAKTARIS Monastiraki BUTCHER’S SHOP Gazi Gourounakia Kifissias Kifissia KALAMAKI KOLONAKI Kolonaki Kebabtzidikon Nea Smyrni Barbadimos SAVVAS Monastiraki SCHARA Vouliagmeni Souvlaki Bar Thissio THANASSIS Monastiraki

SCANDINAVIAN

SAFKA

SPANISH

Kerameikos

JAMON PINTXOS BAR LA GABINOTECA SALERO

Glyfada Kifissia Exarhia

TAVERNAS

Kolonaki FILIpPOU Gaidaros Ag. Paraskevi IPIROS TAVERN Psyrri Kolovos Ag. Paraskevi O Tzitzikas Ki O Mermigas Kifissia, Syntagma VLASSIS Hilton

THAI

ANDAMAN BLUE BAMBOO Budoo ROUAN THAI ROYAL THAI TAMARIND

TURKISH

MEXICAN

AMIGOS DOS HERMANOS EL TACO BUENO Santa Fe Taqueria Maya

Altamira Altamira BUBA

PERSIAN

ANAHITA

Mutfak

VEGETARIAN

Avocado MAMMA TIERRA NICE N EASY PURE BLISS TO VAZAKI yi

Petralona Petralona Syntagma Piraeus Kifissia Metaxourgeio Glyfada Syntagma Omonia Kolonaki Syntagma Halandri Glyfada

WINE BARS

By The Glass Syntagma FABRICA DE VINO Exarhia HETEROCLITO Syntagma Kiki’s de Grece Syntagma Syntagma OINOSCENT Vinifera Kifissia Vrettos Plaka Whispers of wine Maroussi VINARTE Glyfada

insider athens | September - October 2016 53

Aglio Olio & Peperonicino Porinou 13, Tel: 210.921.1801 Authentic Italian pasta in a cozy setting, accompanied by luscious salads and homemade dolci

Atrium

Rovertou Galli 4, Tel: 210.923.6832 Refined Greek cuisine in a cosy setting

Mani Mani

Falirou 10, Tel: 210.921.8180 Peloponnesian specialities with Mediterranean touches

MODERN Rooftop Dining Athens Was Hotel Dionysiou Arepagaitou 5, Tel: 210.920.0240

Ag.Paraskevi

EAT Gaidaros

Ellinoservikis Filias 52, Tel: 210.600.4724 A hidden courtyard with home-cooked cuisine

Kolovos

Peloponessou 75, Tel: 210.651.0989 Several reasons to visit, but its succulent spare ribs top the list

Octoberfest

Ag.Ioannou 82, Tel: 210.608.2999 Beer fest all year-round

Silly Wizards

Peloponessou 79, Tel: 210.654.3908 Great selection of beers and Mexican finger food

Nama

Kyprou 50, Tel: 210.600.8936 Asian fusion cuisine with 20€ sushi buffet on Mon-Tue and 15€ Chinese buffet on Wed-Thu

Nanninela

Peloponnissou 13, Tel: 210.600.5622 Authentic Italian cuisine in traditional decor

Νisson Gi

Mesogeion Ave. 356, Tel: 210.651.1354 Island flavours with an urban twist

EAT

Fabrica de Vino

Em. Benaki 3, Tel: 210.321.4148 85 wine etiquettes and mini mezzes in an industrial environment

Kavouras

Themistokleous 64, Tel: 210.381.0202 Dine while enjoying live Rebetika music

Salero

Valtetsiou 51, Tel: 210.381.3358 Spanish and mediterranean cuisine in the heart of Exarhia

Yantes

Modern

EAT

Faliro

Dionysiou Arepagaitou 15, Tel: 210.900.0915, Authentic Greek dishes right across from the Acropolis itself

Ag. Ioannou 23, Tel: 210.600.0102 Delightful dishes in fantastic ambience

Da Bruno

Il Tinello

Bars, Clubs & Lounges

Knossou 54, Tel: 210.982.8462 Real Italian home cookin

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

Suzanna

Orpheus & Chariton 5, Tel: 210.942.8129 Authentic Middle Eastern cuisine

DRINK

DRINK

“Flisvos” Marina, Tel: 210.985.3183 Cocktails whith music

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

Zinc

EAT

Bollywood Gazi

Elasidon 29 & Konstantinoupoleos 44, Tel: 210.345.0041 Indian cuisine in an industrial setting

Butcher’s Shop

Persefonis 19, Tel: 210.341.3440 Traditional psistaria serving grilled meat dishes

Kohenoor

Triptolemou 41, Tel: 210.345.5762 Indian authentic specialties in a neat setting

Prosopa

Acropolis Museum Restaurant

54 insider athens | September - October 2016

Vitonos 5, Tel: 210.346.4204 Fresh seafood creations

DRINK

Valtetsiou 44, Tel: 210.330.1369 Modern Greek cuisine prepared with organic ingredients.

Ginger Ale

Thalatta

Ag. Alexandrou 46, Tel: 210.981.8959 Rich list with Italian flavours

Gazi

Acropolis Museum Restaurant

Da Vinci

Exarhia

Acropolis

EAT

Meg. Vasiliou 52 & Konstantinoupoleos 4 Tel: 210.341.3433, Delicious dishes in a warm atmosphere right beside the train tracks. A popular gay haunt.

Almaz

Triptolemou 12, Tel: 210.347.4763 Lounge in a modern atmosphere while listening to music from around the world

Bios

Pireos 84, Tel: 210.342.5335 An avant-garde multi-level venue housing a bar, a basement club, art exhibitions, music venues, and a rooftop garden

Dirty Ginger

Triptolemou 46, Tel: 210.342.3809 Excellent cocktails, meat dishes and “hot” finger food

Hoxton Bar

Voutadon 42, Tel: 210.341.3395, A cocktail bar based on Hoxton in East London

Gazarte

Boutadon 32-34, Tel: 210.346.0347 Lounge bar with excellent views of the Acropolis, ethnic music and live events

Gasoline

Gargittion 23Α, Tel: 210.346.9396 All day bar with freestyle music and interesting guest-nights

MoMix

Keleou 1-5, Tel: 697.435.0179, Temple of mixology and high-quality bartending

PIXI

Evmolpidon 11, Tel: 210.342.3751 Get in to the groove

Plastiko

Sofroniou 12A, Tel: 210.341.0308 Excellent cocktails, reasonable prices, summer mood

Socialista Triptolemou 33, Tel: 210.347.4733 Mainstream bar-club in industrial setting

To advertise, contact ads@insider-magazine.gr

Glyfada

EAT Bakeries & Patisseries Paul

Esperidon Square and Kyprou 70, Tel: 210.894.7169, A real French boulangerie that serves meals too.

Restaurants All Senses Gastronomy

Lazaraki 12, Tel: 210.898.0080 Lives up to its name of tickling your senses.

Aperitivo

Kyprou 70, Tel: 210.894.0377 Authentic Italian cuisine in a cosy setting

Ark

Grigoriou Lambraki 2, Tel: 210.894.8882 Chef Yiannis Baxevanis brings Miamiinspired opulence to Glyfada

Food Mafia

La Casa Di Giorgino

Kyprou 30-32, Tel: 210.963.8770 Authentic Italian pizza made in a traditional wood-burning oven

Mimaya

Markou Botsari 8, Tel: 210.894.4850 Creative Mediterranean cuisine.

Molly Malone’s

Laodikis 41, Tel: 210.898.2650 Cocktail Bar with great menu and beautiful atmosphere

Il Salotto

Laodikis 38, Tel: 210.894.9060 Politiki Kouzina in a romantic setting

Nikolas tis schinousas

Diadohou Pavlou 48, Tel: 210.894.9550 Chic Greek fish tavern along Glyfada’s seafront.

Ocean Basket

Lazaraki 61 & Pandoras 5, Tel: 210.898.3183, South African seafood chain comes to Greece

Chefi’s

Grigoriou Lambraki 2, Tel: 210.894.9995 Excellent cocktails in a Moroccan style garden

Mikro

Laodikis 33-35, Tel: 210.894.1031 Minimal decor with well-known Greek DJs

Vinarte

Sardelaki

Cafes

Foivis 15, Tel: 211.402.1195 Sardines and seafood in a casual setting.

Sale Bianco da Salvotoro

Markou Botsari 10A, Tel: 210.898.6301, Authentic Italian food in an inviting atmosphere

Soleto

Kyprou 82, Tel: 210.898.5554 Authentic Mexican food paired with any type of tequila you could want

Spiti

Lazaraki 12, Tel: 210.898.0080 A perfect place for a family meal with great food and cocktails

Tartare

Al. Panagouli 52, Tel: 210.968.0320 Gourmet French cuisine that draws regulars.

The Burger Joint

Inbi

Vincenzo

Indi-Go

Giannitsopoulou 1, Tel: 210.894.1310 Value for money Italian specialities with a Southern Italian touch

Jamon Pintxos Bar

Grigoriou Lampraki 69, Tel: 210.964.8512

Perikleous 31, Tel: 210.681.5774 Refined cuisine with international flavours and regular wine tastings

El Taco Bueno

Ethnikis Antistaseos & Psaron 1 Tel: 210.684.0460, Mexican flavours in a traditional setting

Saipan

K. Varnali 9, Tel: 210.685.0644 Exquisite dishes from China, Japan and Indonesia

Psomi & Alati

Eleftherioton Sq 8, Tel: 210.684.8178 Gastronomic paradise serving Greek dishes with a modern twist

Rakokazano

Irakliou 1, Tel: 210.689.5501 Quality Greek mezzes in a cosy simple environment

Santa Fe

Chocolat

Zisimopoulou 9, Tel: 210.894.3442 Satisfies even the most discerning coffee connoisseur

Ag. Georgiou 30’B, Tel: 210.685.9690 Mexican food in traditional setting

Τo Vazaki - juice bar

Aristotelous 33, tel: 210.680.0067

Wine Not

EAT 1920

Ag. Paraskevi 110, Tel: 210.681.3029 Acctent on meat in an elegant setting

Kalogrezis 12, Tel: 210.689.0007 Industrial setting with eclectic wine list

DRINK

30 something

Hide & Seek

Anahita

Spiti Cocktail Bar

Iroon Sq 8, Tel: 210.689.9227 Pizza and cocktail bar in a San Franscisco atmosphere

Chr. Smirnis 3, Tel: 210.689.1222 The only place in Athens to try authentic Persian dishes

Kifisias 254, Tel: 210.677.6747 Great drink menu and perfect garden for spring and summer Αndrea Papantreou 9, Tel: 210.683.3677 Great cocktails and sophisticated jazz tunes

Yi

Laodikis 33-35, Tel: 210.894.6089 Basque “pinchos” in a cozy setting

CreperieS

Keep Woking

To Paramythi

Dimitriou Gounari 70, Tel: 211.012.2801, Create-your-own Asian cuisine, fast and funky

Bourbon

Vasileos Georgiou B 24b, Tel: 210.685.7323 Athens’ best table by far

Marangou 18, Tel: 210.894.1511 A wine bar and Italian restaurant with regular art exhibitions and cool decor

Markou Botsari 13, Tel: 210.894.8397 Minimal décor, elegant Italian fare

Konstantinoupoleos 15, Tel: 210.968. 0643

Bo Botrini’s

Posidonos 58, Tel: 210.898.3577 Waterfront lounging

Kyprou 74, Tel: 211.215.8737 Fab burgers, great cocktails, right next to the sprawling UBU organic store

Pere Ubu

Foivis 17, Tel: 210.894.0260 NY style, organic burgers in a casual and relaxed environment.

Lazaraki 26, Tel: 210.894.4982 Sushi fusion

Balux

Capri Bay

Su Casa

Holy Spirit

Kifissias 250-254 & Serron Tel: 210.671.7890, Refined cuisine and cocktails in stylish urban atmosphere

Mutfak

Giouvetsakia

Grigoriou Lambraki 34, Tel: 210.960.0595, Sophisticated Japanese cuisine in a cosy setting

Bars, Clubs & Lounges

Yannitsopoulou 8, Tel: 210.894.4247 Irish pub serving probably the best Irish Stew in Athens

Laodikis 33, Tel: 210.968.0460

Hama

Apsendi

Daskaroli 67, Tel: 210.964.7600 American style bar with rock, blues, soul music and live events

Laodikis & Filikis Etairias10, Tel: 210.894.2177 International fare with attitude Ithomis 20 and Moreos, Tel: 210.964.8081 Organic mageirefta food

DRINK

Halandri

Tapas Bar

Triptolemou 44, Tel: 210.347.1844 Cocktails and tapas at the bar, just like in Spain

Kyprou 9, Tel: 210.894.1361 Creperie in a fairy-tale setting

insider athens | September - October 2016 55

EAT

Hilton

Oozora

Agiou Trifonos 15, Tel: 210.801.8515 Japanese-Thai fusion Restaurant

Alatsi

O Tzitzikas Ki O Mermigas

Vrassida 13, Tel: 210.721.0501 Exquisite Cretan specialties

Drosini 12-14, Tel: 210.623.0080 A modern taverna serving traditional dishes at reasonable prices

Byzantino

Athens Hilton, Vas. Sofias 46, Tel: 210.728.1400 Traditional Greek recipes with a Mediterranean twist

Paul

Cookoovaya

Kolokotroni 37, Tel: 210.808.9160 Generous portions of Mediterranean fare

CTC

Oumplianis 14 & Dioharous 27, Tel: 210.722.8812, Different 6 course menus every night, with exceptional quality!

Leilimlei

Baltinon 2 , Tel: 211.700.9383

Milos

Athens Hilton Vas. Sofias 46, Tel: 210.724.4400, Simply prepared local flavours. Guaranteed value for money

Vezene

Vrasida 11, Tel: 210.723.2002 Modern bistrot serving seafood & cured beef

Vlassis

Meandrou 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

Kerameikos

EAT Aleria

Meg. Alexandrou 57, Tel: 210.522.2633 Adventurous Greek cuisine in a cosy setting

Athiri

Plataion 15, Tel: 210.346.2983 Greek & Mediterranean cuisine in beautiful surroundings

Funky Gourmet

Paramythias 13 & Salaminos, Tel: 210.524.2727, Haute cuisine in art deco interior

Polly Maggoo

Leonidou 80 & Salaminos, Tel: 210.524.1120, Gourmet cuisine in a post-modern setting.

Safka

Megalou Alexandrou 80-82, Tel: 210.524.3340, Scandinavian cuisine

Prytaneion Galaxy Bar - Hilton

Tamarind

Elaias Gi

DRINK

Gefsis Me Onomasia Proelefsis

Keramikou 51, Tel: 210.522.5945 Thai food in a beautiful setting

CV Bar

Konstantinoupoleos 108 Tel: 210.345.1744

Nixon

Agisilaou 61B, Tel: 210.346.2077 Top Athenian hedonist hangout for the 30-something crowd.

EAT

Kifissia

Hatziyianni Mexi 2A, Tel: 210.723.5005 5 famous chefs combine their talents to create unique flavors.

Levidou 4, Tel: 210.808.4288 French boulangerie

21 Restaurant

Kolokotroni 21, Tel: 210.623.352, Highly recommended.

Refined al-fresco dining with excellent service

Artisanal

Zirini 2, Tel: 693.614.4744 Unique lounge & garden with exceptional classy touch

Berdema

Skiathou 3 & Strofiliou, Tel: 210.620.1108 Family restaurant with Mediterranean fare

Blue Pine

P.Tsaldari 37, Tel: 210.807.7745 A hark back to retro Athens

Buba

Papadiamanti 4, Tel: 210.623.1151 Mixing pot of cuisines from around the world

Cash

Diligianni 54, Tel: 212.100.4772 Cosmopolitan hang-out with upscale Mediterranean cuisine

Dexamenis & Olimpionikon 4, Tel: 210.620.0005 The authenticity of Greek cuisine with stunning views of the city Kifissias 317, Tel: 210.800.1402 Divine food from all over the world

Golden Phoenix

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

Gourounakia Kifissias

Kifissias 289, Tel: 210.801.1093 Delicious salads, appetizers, souvlakia & grilled platters

Il Salumaio di Atene

Panagitsas 3, Tel: 210.623.3934 Specially-prepared Italian meals

Jaipur Palace

Kifissias 222, Tel: 210.808.8318 Indian cuisine and fine wines

Kastelorizo

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

Kokkino Psaraki

Evagelistrias 36, Tel: 210.620.1572 Seafood taverna

Kool Life

Life Gallery, Thiseos 103, Tel: 211.106.7400 Innovative cuisine in a cool restaurant cum deli

La Gabinoteca

Th. Diligianni 56, Kefalari Tel: 210.808.3988 Tapas bar with decadent atmosphere

Margherita

Kifisias 363, Tel: 211.408.1132 Fantastic pizza made with local ingredients from all over Greece

Nargile

Common Secret

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

Harilaou Trikoupi 50, Tel: 210.808.3333 Lebanese cuisine in a cosmopolitan ambience

Dos Hermanos

Nui

Kyriazi 24, Tel: 210.808.7906 Excellent Mexican food & super margaritas

56 insider athens | September - October 2016

Gortinias 11, Tel: 210.801.3553 Gourmet mutli-Asian restaurant

Rakkan

Kifisias 238-240, Tel: 210.808.7941 Japanese restaurant, bar, lounge with signature cocktails

Royal Thai

Zirini 12, Tel: 210.623.2322 Thai cuisine in an opulent setting

Semiramis Restaurant

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

Suba

Levidou 11, Tel: 210.808.5586 A blend of traditional and modern Japanese cuisine

Telemachos Barbeque Club Fragkopoulou 22, Tel: 210.807.6680 Rare meats char-grilled to perfection

The Dalliance House

Kyriazis 19, Tel: 210.623.0775 The 19th century meets the 21st in beautiful setting, with successful recipes

Tomoe

Gortinias 11& Dangli, Kifissia, Tel: 210.801.3553 Great sushi at terrific prices

DRINK Dyo 48

Kifisias 248, Tel: 210.623.0870 New hang out oasis with retro ambience

Mento CafĂŠ

Ag. Theodorou 10, Tel: 210.808.0193 Traditional home turned stylish cafe

Vinifera

Kifissias 317, Tel: 210.807.7709 Selection of wines from all over the world

Food & Wine Cellier

Kifissias 369, Tel: 210.801.8756 By far, one of the best cellars stocking the finest labels in town

To advertise, contact ads@insider-magazine.gr

Kalamaki Kolonaki

Bakeries & Patisseries

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

Cake

Kiku

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

Fresh

Kriezotou 12, Tel: 210.364.2948 Desserts and cakes

Restaurants Altamira

Tsakalof 36A, Tel: 210.361.4695 Flavours of multiethnic cuisine

Cafe Boheme

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

Capanna

Ploutarchou 38 & Charitos, Kolonaki Tel: 210.724.1777 People-watching and authentic Italian fare

Cinco

Skoufa 52, Tel: 210.364.3603 Great cocktails and specialty tapas

Codice Blu

Haritos & Loukianou, Tel: 210.723.0896 Italian cuisine, great for family brunches and people-watching.

F+W

Xenokratous 49, Tel: 210.721.1146 Gourmet food by Oliver Campanha

Filippou

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

Freud Oriental

Xenokratous 21 Tel: 210.729.9595 Creative fusion cuisine

IT restaurant

Skoufa 29, Tel: 210.363.5773, Affordable gourmet menu in a chic environment.

Sale e Pepe

Aristipou 34, Tel: 210.723.4102 Authentic Italian trattoria

Scala Vinoteca

Dimokritou 12, Tel: 210.364.7033 Fresh, beautifully presented sushi

Sina 50, Tel: 210.361.0041 Mediterranean restaurant ideal for wining & dining

L’Abreuvoir

Showroom

Xenokratous 51, Tel: 210.722.9106 Fine French cuisine

La Pierrade

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

Spefsippou 30, Tel: 210.723.7297 Elegant setting, refined cuisine, extremely polite service.

Simul

La Suite Lounge

Lachitos 5, Tel: 210.723.7575 Original French cuisine

St George Lycabettus Hotel, Kleomenous 2, Tel: 210.741.6000 Gourmet Greek cuisine

Malconi’s

Patriarchou Ioakeim 43 & Ploutarxou, Tel: 210.724.8920 Great food, bustling atmosphere.

Nice n Easy

Omirou 60 & Skoufa, Tel.: 210.361.7201 Gourmet cafe-restaurant with organic products and jazz music

Nikkei

Leventi 3, Tel: 210.723.9366 Peruvian aromas and flavours in Kolonaki!

Orizontes Lycavyttou

Mai Tai

Ipsilantou 63, Tel: 722.4737

Ploutarhou 18, Tel: 210.725.8306 Early evening cocktails in a laid-back atmosphere

Spiros & Vasilis

Rosebud

Stinking Bishops

Omirou 60 & Skoufa 40, Tel: 210.339.2370 All day hang-out with music ranging from jazz to famous soundtracks

Suba Restaurant

Skoufaki

TGI Friday’s

Ten

Kolokotroni 35, Tel: 210.623.3945, American restaurant with real steak and barbecuesauce for casual dining!

Ploutarhou 10, Tel: 210.721.0161 One of the most popular hot spots in town

Tutti a Tavola

Cafés

Loukianou 36, Tel: 213.026.3656 Fashionable gastro pub Skoufa 58 & Sina, Tel: 210.338.8211 Authentic sushi in the heart of the city

Lycabettus Hill, Tel: 210.722.7065 Gourmet dining with a spectacular view

Spefsippou 8, Tel: 210.722.2785 Authentic Italian trattoria at affordable prices.

Ouzadiko

Tuttitalia

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

Ratka

Haritos 32, Tel: 210.729.0746 Popular haunt of the rich and almost famous, with cosmopolitan cuisine

Valaoritou 14, Tel: 210.338.9669 An authentic and hospitable Italian trattoria

Skoufa 47-49, Tel: 210.364.5888 All time classic café bar

Da Capo

Tsakalof 1, Tel: 210.360.2497 Long-established people-watching hangout

Peros

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

Yoko Sushi & Bento

39 Patriarchou Ioakeim Tel: 210.342.4654 Fresh sushi to-go!

Tea To Tsai

DRINK Bars, Clubs & Lounges 56

Soutsou 19, Tel: 210.338.8941 Tea & tea paraphernalia from around the world

EAT

Ploutarchou 56, Tel: 210.723.1424 A quaint jazzy whiskey bar for the discerning

Agani

City

Altamira

Charitos 43, Tel: 210.722.8910 Modern aesthetics, mutli-culti crowd and soulful music

London str 72

To Tsai

IT Restaurant

Maroussi

Kolonaki

EAT

Solonos 72, Tel: 693.951.1760, 690.607.3362 Union jacks and red telephone booths in an all day bar-restaurant

Kifissias 22, Tel: 210.277.7065 Delectable, inspired Greek cuisine Perikleous 28, Tel: 210.612.8841 Multiethnic cuisine in funky environment

Aneton

Stratigou Lekka 19, Tel: 210.806.6700 Traditional cuisine in a comfychic setting reminiscent of the 50s & 60s

insider athens | September - October 2016 57

Alamanas 1, Tel: 210.619.9902 Clean lines and a beautiful garden make this café, bar, restaurant a must

Pausa

Ag. Konstantinou 46 & Ifestou 3 Tel: 210.617.9290 Italian cuisine accompanied by a selection of Greek & Italian wines

Wagamama

Kifissias 37A, Tel: 210.683.6844 Fresh, nutritious Asian fusion food in a sleek yet simple setting

Whispers of wine

Ag. Konstantinou 48, Tel: 210.617.9051, Gourmet food with rich wine list and vintage decor

Mavili Sq

EAT 48 Urban Garden

Armatolon kai Klefton 48, Tel: 210.80.18.515 Cool, minimalist environment and interesting, fusion cuisine.

Fuga

Vas.Sofias & Kokkali 1, Tel: 210.724.2979 Italian inspired menu by chef Andrea Berton at the Athens Concert Hall

Ginger

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

St’Astra

Alexadras 10, Tel: 210.889.4500 For an unforgettable roof-top dining experience

To Parko Eleftherias

Next to Megaron Mousikis, Tel: 210.722.3784 Classic recipes and nice atmopshere in a lush green park

Thanassis

Olive Garden

To Kouti

Hotel Titania, Panepistimiou 52, Tel: 210.332.600. Good food and great view of the Acropolis.

Tsoha 43, Tel: 210.644.4308 Gourmet cuisine and funky beats

DRINK

Athinas 65 & Lykourgou Tel: 210.325.0900 Urban design, organic cuisine, Cretan deli corner

Briki

360 Cocktail Bar

Balthazar

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

Baraonda

Dorileou 6, Tel: 210.654.2380 Trendy hole-in-the-wall hangout

Mitropoleos 69, Tel: 210.324.4705 A souvlaki lover’s paradise Adrianou 23, Tel: 210.321.3229 Mediterranean fare right next to the ancient agora

Ifestou 2, Tel: 210.321.0006

A for Athens

EAT

Miaouli 2-4, Tel: 210.324.4244 An urban terrace with the most stunning view of the Acropolis

Bairaktaris

Couleur Locale

Monastiraki Square 2 Tel: 210.321.3036 Old-world taverna serving traditional Greek fare

Café Avissinia

Kynetou 7, Tel: 210.321.7407 Specializing in regional dishes & live music on weekends

Cosa Nostra

Agias Theklas 5, Tel: 210.331.0900 Excellent Italian food with a 1920’s Chicago retro atmosphere.

Melilotos

Kalamiotou 19, Tel: 210.322.2458 Greek-Mediterranean cuisine with fresh local ingredients

Savvas

Mitropoleos 86, Tel: 210.321.9919 Gyros & Middle Eastern dishes like pastourmali

Sigalas-Bairaktaris

Monastiraki Sq. 2, Tel: 210.321.3036 Century-old restaurant serving a variety of fresh dishes

Souvlaki Bar

Adrianou 7 & Thisiou 15, Tel: 210.515.0550

Stou Meïdani

Sokratous 3 & Evripidou Tel: 210.324.9073, A menu that is sure to please with speciality oven dishes

Normanou 3, Tel: 206.700.4917 A young scene with great cocktails and affordable finger food overlooking the Acropolis

Loukoumi Bar

Plateia Avissinias 3, Tel: 210.323.4814 An all day hang-out with good music, cool atmosphere and great views

Six Dogs

Avramiotou 6-8, Tel: 210.321.0510 A day&night cultural entertainment center and bar with a vivid 600m2 back-garden.

Spollati

Aiolou 27A, Tel: 215.551.3004 A delicious combination of signature cocktails with homemade syrups and funky Mediterranean cuisine

Taf

Themistokleous 8 and Nikitara 9, Tel: 210.383.8531, Excellent fish taverna in the centre of Athens

CAFes Cosa Nostra

Agias Theklas 5, Tel: 210.331.0900 Excellent Italian food with a 1920’s Chicago retro atmosphere.

EAT Fatsio

Efroniou 5, Tel: 210.721.7421 Greek food & political gossip

Mavro Provato

Ariannou 31, Tel: 210.722.3466 Best value-for-money meal in Athens

Spondi

Pyrronos 5, Tel: 210.756.4021, A mix of European & more exotic flavours. Voted one of the best in Athens

Tortuga

CAFes

Efronionos 13, Tel: 210.921.3500, Mediterranean cuisine in chic setting

Archimidous 1, Tel: 213.030.7520, Healthy, affordable street-style food.

Trapezaria

Trata o Stelios

Mokka

Athinas 44, Tel: 210.321.6892 Best espresso in town.

Tailor Made

Aghias Irinis Square 2, Tel: 213.004.9645 Trendy and hip coffee shop and cocktail bar.

EAT

Anagenniseos Sq. 7-9, Tel: 210.729.1533 The best grilled fish in town

Vespa Rosa

Naiadon 2, Tel: 210.723.4551 Great value-for-money Italian cuisine

DRINK LIVE BARS

Athinaikon

Abaroriza

Duck Soup

Half Note Jazz Club

Panepistimiou 39 Tel: 210.323.3916

Ideal Restaurant

Panepistimiou 46, Tel: 210.330.3000 Greek classics in old-world decor

58 insider athens | September - October 2016

Trata

Normanou 5, Tel: 210.323.8757 Outdoor bar in a neoclassical building with arty atmosphere and great exhibitions

Themistokleous 2, Tel: 210.383.8485 A traditional Greek ouzeri

48 Urban Garden

Pallas Athena

Pangrati

Mauzac

DRINK

Omonia

Agiou Konstantinou 56, Tel: 210.610.9988, Italian menu with a menu that changes daily!

Monastiraki

Dal Professore

Mama Tierra

Akadimias 84, Tel: 211.411.4420

Plastira Square 10, Tel: 210.701.9530 A pet friendly place with long balcony tables that fill up every night Trivonianou 17, Tel: 210.921.3310 A jazz club with great history, hosting important names from the international music scene.

Superfly

Empedokleous 28-30, Tel: 211.404.6076 The new hot spot for retro gamers

To advertise, contact ads@insider-magazine.gr

Alopis 65, Athens, Tel: 211.210.4939, Thai food in an exotic setting

Blue Bamboo

Kydantidon 24, Tel: 210.342.3124, Thai food with modern interior design

Thio Tragi

Kidatidon 36, Tel: 210.341.0296 Creative gourmet kitchen with high quality ingredients

DRINK Kurios Hou

Yperionos 1 & Dimofontos, Tel: 210.342.3972, Among Petralona’s trendy dining options with attitude.

Piraeus

EAT Captain John’s

Ak. Koumoundourou 16A, Tel: 210.417.7589 Traditional seafood

Dourambeis

Ak. Protopsalti 29, Tel: 210.412.2092 Classic fish taverna

Jimmy and The Fish

Ak. Mikrolimanou, Tel: 210.412.4417 Excellent seafood; try the astakomakaronada

Keg ‘n’ Crew

Akti Miaouli 83, Tel: 210.429.0396 Comfort food and cold beers

Kollias

Plastira 3, Tel: 210.462.9620 Excellent seafood but difficult to find; reserve on weekends

Papaioannou

Akti Koumoundourou 42, Tel: 210.422.5059, For Greek fish specialities on the harbourfront.

Notara 131, Piraeus, Tel: 210.429.4494, Home-style Thai food

Tony Bonano

Papanastasiou 63, Tel: 210.411.1901 Italian cuisine with a view of the harbour enu!

New m hes for Ak. Koumoundourou 52, 5 dis 50€ Mikrolimano, Tel: 210.522.8400 Varoulko

Seafood prepared by Michelin star-winning chef Lefteris Lazarou

Vassilenas

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

Vosporos

Akti Koumoundourou 20, Tel: 210.412.7324, Mediterranean dining with a sea view.

Zefyros

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

Zorbas

Ak. Koumoundourou 14, Tel: 210.411.1663 Unique flavours of the Mediterranean

DRINK

Ydria

Adrianou 68 & Eolou, Tel: 210.325.1619 Taditional Greek cuisine

China’s Fantasy

DRINK

Dioskouroi

Kambouroglou 32, Tel: 210.674.9889 Chinese cuisine

Bars, Clubs & Lounges

Dim. Vasiliou 16, Tel: 210.671.3997 All day café-restaurant

Noël

Dourampeis Oyster

Kolokotroni 59B, Tel: 211.215.9534 An evening lounge scene with friendly service and Italian inspired food and drink

The Clumsies

Istioploikos

Praxitelous 30, Tel: 210.323.2682 Features tasty cocktails and premium spirits that attract all ages

Katafigio

Aghias Eirinis Square & Vasilikis 1, Tel: 210.323.0926, A cozy and colorful space with a good selection of coffee and cocktails

Ak. Microlimanou, Tel: 210.413.4084 One of the hip places to see and be seen with a rooftop bar overlooking the yachting marina Ak. Koumoundourou 4, Tel: 210.413.1612 Club, cafe & beer house

EAT 2 Mazi

Nikis 48, Tel: 210.322.2839 Creative gourmet dishes that change monthly

Brettos

Kydathaneon 41, Tel: 210.323.2110, Legendary watering-hole in the Plaka district

Daphne’s Restaurant

Lysikratous 4, Tel: 210.322.7971 Refined classic Greek dishes in a resplendent atmosphere

Electra

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

Mono Wine Restaurant

Venizelou Paleologou 4, Tel: 210.322.6711 Unpretentious gourmet cuisine

Scholarheio Varoulko

Albion

Tripodon 14, Tel: 210.324.1605 A traditional tray taverna with old fashioned decor & prices

Throubi

Toy Cafe

Karytsi 10, Tel: 210.331.1555 Jazz and funk venue that started the Karytsi street scene

Andrianiou 37, Tel: 210.671.0100 Delectable seafood and frech oysters

Fish Co. Platters

Perikleous 11, Tel: 210.671.1976 A modern take on a traditional psarotaverna

Gaspar Food and Mood

Dim. Vasiliou Av. & Lykourgou, Tel: 210.677.5011, Creative bistro cuisine ideal fro business lunches

Krithamos

Mpoumpoulinas & N. Paritsi, Tel: 210.672.8790 Traditional flavours in an informal atmosphere

Matilde Pizza Bar

Perikleous 7, Tel: 210.671.6803 Italian fare with accent on high quality ingredients

EAT

Psychico

Andaman

Rouan Thai

Plaka

Petralona

EAT

310 Street

Kifissias Av. 310, Tel: 210.671.0688 Juicy burgers and rich salads with retro look

Ombra

Albion

Piperia

Olimpionikon 220 & Lykourgou, Tel: 210.671.1320 Italian food with attitude

Omirou 6, Tel: 210.674.0710 Mediterranean flavours in a cosy atmosphere

Antaios

G. Drosini 7, Tel: 210.675.5493 Relaxed atmosphere with delicious mezedes

Bluefield Burger

Rena tis Ftelias

25th Martiou 28, Tel: 210.674.3874 Highly recommended Greek taverna

DRINK

Aggelopoulou 3, Tel: 210.677.7739 For real American burgers

The Burger Joint

Agg. Sikelianou 8 & Andrianiou, Tel: 210.672.9114 Terrific fusion food with piquant flavours

CAFES

Solomou 4-6, Tel: 210.671.2222, New York style, organic burgers in an industrial and fresh restaurant environment.

Kudu

25th Martiou 22, Tel: 217.722.3040 Authentic coffee experience.

insider athens | September - October 2016 59

EAT

Diporto

Theatrou & Sokratous, Tel: 210.321.1463 Old-world tavern offers bargain basics like salads, sardines & fava

Falafellas

Aiolou 51,Tel: 210.323.9809 Gourmet ethnic street food

Gostijo

Aisopou 10 street, Tel: 210.323.3825, Kosher menu and Mediterranean “repertoire”

Ipiros Tavern

New Taste

Syntagma

Psyrri

EAT

Amandine Bagels & Gourmandises

Nikis 13, Syntagma Tel: 210.323.9829 Fresh bagels and French pastries

Avocado

Nikis 30, Tel: 210.323.7878 Vegetarian restaurant

Budoo

Lekka 14, Tel: 210.331.3845 Authentic Thai

By The Glass character

Souri 2, Tel: 210.323.2560 Charming wine bar with

Athens Central Market Filopimenos 4, Tel: 210.324.0773, Great traditional Greek tavern, an excellent place for lunch

City Bistro

Kouzina Cine-Psirri

Dosirak

Stoa Spiliomilou,Tel: 210.321.1315, Refined cuisine in chic setting

Sari 40, Tel: 210.321.5534 Mediterranean fare & eclectic music

Museum of Greek Gastronomy

Agiou Dimitrious Street, Tel: 210.321.1311, Modern Hellenic cuisine and avant-garde gastronomic exhibitions.

Ochre & Brown

Leokoriou 7, Tel: 210.331.2950 Mediterranean/French cuisine

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

green space

Dude

Kalamiotou 14, Tel: 210.322.7130 Uptempo bar inspired by “Big Lebowski”

Apollonos 6, Tel: 210.323.7720

Ioannis

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

Kiki’s de Grece

Leokoriou 8, Tel: 210.325.1668, Tiny standing bar, ideal for socializing

O Tzitzikas ki o Mermigas

Mitropoleos 12-14, Tel: 210.324.7607 Savoury Greek cuisine, perfectly combining modern & traditional elements

Osterman

Agias Eirinis Sq, Tel: 210.324.3331 Mediterranean dishes in a setting where minimalism meets retro

Pasaji

Stoa Spyromiliou, Tel: 210 .322.0714, Bang in the heart of Athens’ luxe zone.

Paul

Panepistiomiou 10, Tel: 210.722.4824

GB Corner

Indian Kitchen

Cantina Social

Apollonos 11, Tel: 210.331.8585 A congenial place to drop in for a quick noodle fix

Romvis 24A, Tel: 210.325.0362 Gluten-free bliss for unconventional foodies

Beer Time

Kolokotroni 57, Tel: 211.405.3733 A multi-purpose meeting venue for drinks, performances, and games

Noodle Bar

Furin Kazan

Bars, Clubs & Lounges

Booze Cooperativa

Voulis 31-33, Tel:210.324.3545

Tel: 210.335.2400 All day lounge with salads & snacks

Hotel Grand Bretagne, Tel: 210.333.0750, Luxurious surroundings, Mediterranean cuisine

Iroon Square 1, Tel: 210.322.8443 Relaxed atmosphere with wide selection of microbrews

Nolan

for A true French patisserie Feedέλ Urban Gastronomy al-fre sco Plaza Lounges Ktena 1, Athens, Tel: 210.321.0551 moment NJV Athens Plaza Hotel s Vas. Georgiou A & Stadiou Funky interior, a delightful patch of Apollonos 2, Tel: 210.322.9170 A Japanese favourite of expats & Athenians alike

DRINK

New Hotel, Filellinon 16, Tel: 210.327.3170, Mediterranean cuisine with a modern twist

Ipitou & Voulis 38, Tel: 210.321.1279 Cosy wine bar with French flair

Koi

15 Nikis, Tel: 210.321.1099 Affordable street-food style sushi

Los Loros

Pure Bliss

Taqueria Maya

Petraki 10, Tel: 211.216.7081, Feisty Mexican street food choices at pocket-friendly prices

The Parliament

NJV Athens Plaza Hotel Vas. Georgiou A & Stadiou Tel: 210.335.2400, International cuisine with Mediterranean accents

Tudor Hall Restaurant & Lounge

King George Hotel, Vas. Georgiou A3, Tel: 210.322.2210, Elegant setting, refined cuisine and an incredible Acropolis view

Wild in the City

Stoa Bolani, Voulis 7, Tel: 210.331.5776

Xenofontos 14 & Nikis, Tel: 210.324.3232

The concierge of the Grande Bretagne Hotel recommends EAT

DRINK

DO

New Ergon, Syntagma, Athens Classic Spondi Restaurant, Pangrati, Athens Alternative La Pantera Negra, Plaka, Athens

New Barreldier, Syntagma, Athens Classic Balthazar, Mavili Sq, Athens Alternative Shamone Gazi, Athens

New Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Center Classic Theoharakis Foundation Alternative Imagine a palm Tree,

60 insider athens | September - October 2016

Navine G. Khan–Dossos, Benaki Museum, Keramikos Complex

Feedέλ

DRINK Bars, Clubs & Lounges 42 Bar

Kolokotroni 3, Tel: 694.824.2455, Delicious creative cocktails and mixology

9

Kolokotroni 9, Tel: 210.323.2795 A cozy jazz bar with specialty cocktails

Abariza

Lekka 14, Tel: 210.325.7644 A wall of booze for serious drinkers

Alexander’s

Hotel Grande Bretagne, Syntagma Sq, Tel: 210.333.0000, For cherished cigar and single malt evenings

Baba Au Rum

Klitiou 6, Tel: 211.710.9140 Amazing cocktails and rum collection with a cozy environment

Barreldier

Voulis 7, Tel: 210.325.4711 An all-day café-cum-watering hole open into the wee hours

Barley Cargo

Kolokotroni 6, Tel: 210.323.0445 Enjoy a wide selection of international and Greek beers accompanied by live music

Boutique

Filellinon 15, Tel: 210.323.1315 Popular Athenian night spot

Drunk Sinatra

Thiseos 16, Tel: 210.331.3733 A friendly place to drink to vintage music from the ‘50s and ‘60s

To advertise, contact ads@insider-magazine.gr

EAT

Explorer’s Lounge

NJV Athens Plaza, Syntagma Square, Tel: 210.335.2400, Magnificent cocktails and live jazz in an intimate atmosphere

Baku

Fokionos 2, Tel: 210.323.9406 A true wine destination with focus on Greek vineyards

Al Bacio

Posidonos 17, Tel: 210.896.0400 Trattoria serving traditional Italian dishes & pizza

Kalua

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

Low Profile

Aiolou 48, Tel: 213.004.8382 A comfortable atmosphere with a variety of international cuisine and an elaborate Sunday brunch

Oinoscent

Voulis 45-47, Tel: 210.322.9374, Trendy winebar

The Clumsies

Praxitelous 30, Tel: 210.323.2682 Find out why it is rated amongst the best bars in Europe.

The Gin Joint

Christou Lada 1, Tel: 210.321.8646 Popular drinks, classic cocktails and the fanciest G&T in Athens!

The Trap

Othonos 10, Tel: 210.321.5561 Alluring gold trimmings, cosy mood and smooth tunes and dangerously delicious cocktails on tap

CAFES Kaya

Voulis 7, Tel: 213.028.4305 For a caffeine fix like no other.

Syngrou

EAT

Indian Chef

Athanasiou Diakou 22, Tel: 210.923.3585

Indian Haveli

Syngrou Ave. 12, Tel: 210.924.4522

Kollias

Syngrou Ave. 303, Tel: 210.940.8620 Excellent seafood in a pleasant Mediterranean atmosphere

Ledra Kai

Athens Ledra Hotel, Syngrou 115, Tel: 210.930.0000 Polynesian Tepanyiaki restaurant going strong after 30 years

Première

Athenaeum InterContinental, Syngrou Ave 89-93, Tel: 210.920.6981 Gourmet cuisine with splendid views

EAT Indian Masala

Ermou 129, Tel: 210.321.9412 Amazing Indian food at affordable price in a pleasant environment

Kirki

Apostoplou Pavlou 31, Tel: 210.346.6960 Ideal for a lunch break

Ai Nikolas

Syngrou Ave. 156, Tel: 210.923.2918 Original seafood dishes, fresh ingredients and simple elegant interior

Avenue

Metropolitan Hotel, Syngrou Ave 385, Tel: 210.947.100, French bistrot inspired by Michel Roux

Café Zoe

Athenaeum InterContinental, Syngrou Ave 89-93, Tel: 210.920.6655 Casual dining and terrific buffets for lunch and on Sundays

Hytra

Onassis Cultural Center Syngrou Ave 107-109, Tel: 217.707.1118, 210.331.6767 Creative gourmet Greek cuisine with stunning views

Kuzina

Adrianou 9, Tel: 210.324.0133 Inspired traditional recipes in a cozy arty environment

The James Joyce

Astiggos 12, Tel: 210.323.5055 Genuine Irish pub with typical pub fare

DRINK The Sowl

Iraklidon 10, Tel: 210.345.0003 Art, taste, fashion and music collide at this welcoming new “ethnic urban” space

Underdog

Iraklidon 8, Tel: 213.036.5393 Specialty coffees, impressive selection of foreign and Greek craft beers, and exceptional cocktail menu

EAT

Voula

Mama Roux

Thissio

Voulis 7, Tel: 213.035.2144 Impressive selection of single malts

Vouliagmeni

Margi Hotel, Litous 11, Tel: 210.967.0924 Delicious variations of Mediterranean food

Heteroclito

Ithaki

Apollonos 28, Tel: 210.896.3747 Beautiful sea view, fresh seafood

Malabar

Coconuts

Vasileos Pavlou 67, Tel: 210.895.5177, The place to stock up on your quinoa chips and acai berries

Drakoulis Meat Open Project

The Margi, Litous 11, Tel: 210.892.9160 Multinational tastes in a chic Mediterranean ambience

Matsuhisa Athens

Vas. Pavlou 103, Tel: 210.932.0211 A nightclub, gourmet emporium, and Athens’ most glamorous meat boutique all in one

Dulcis in Fundo

Prinkipos Petrou 33, Tel: 210.894.2136 Top-quality authentic Italian

Koi

98 Vas. Pavlou, Tel: 213.032.0890 Affordable street-food style sushi

Naiades

Vas. Pavlou 74, Tel: 210.965.7706 Popular family grill joint

Rey Pablo’s

Vasileos Pavlou 89, Tel: 210.899.2068 Fab smoothies, terrific brunch, and vibey music that draws a young fashionable crowd

Troufa Chocolate Bar

Vasileos Pavlou 80, Tel: 211.012.0004 Heaven on earth for chocoholics

Astir Palace, Apollonos 40, Tel: 210.896.0510, Celebrity chef Nobu Matsuhisa serves up sushi favourites with a Latin-American flair

Moorings

Marina Vouliagmeni, Tel: 210.967.0659

Mythos of the Sea

Ag. Nikolaou 10 & Iliou, Tel: 210.891.1100 Gourmet Mediterranean cuisine that blends local produce with fresh seafood

Psaraki

Posidonos 15, Tel: 210.896.2215 Seafood served in an informal setting

Rafale

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

Sardelaki

Leof. Poseidunos 18, Tel: 210.967.0913 Affordable seafood on the waterfront

Schara

DRINK Bars, Clubs & Lounges Alia Brasserie

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

Testaccio Organic

Astir Palace, Apollonos 40, Tel: 210.8901794 All-day lounge bar and restaurant

Litous 2 & Apollonos, Tel: 210.896.4112 Oyster bar, succulent steaks and of course, pasta in inviting setting.

Cava Faydon

Waffle House

Agiou Ioannou 28, Tel: 215.510.9975 Mid-range or special edition wine varieties with a giddy range of imported goodies

Cava Vegera

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

DRINK

Poseidonos 11, Tel: 210.964.6635 A new wine bar changing the game for the stagnant costal enclave

En Plo

Nelly’s Gastro Pub

Island

Plastira 3, Tel: 210.899.4965 An unpretentious hang-out with reasonably-priced drinks, themed sports nights, and knock-out burgers

Posidonos 4, Tel: 210.967.1770 Cocktails overlooking Vouliagmeni Bay 27th klm Athinon-Souniou Tel: 210.965.3563-4 Award-winning cuisine & an unmatched location

insider athens | September - October 2016 61

Bookstores

Compendium

Alikarnassou 8, Athens Tel: 210.383.2139, 210.322.1248

Eleftheroudakis

Panepistimiou 15, Athens Tel: 210.331.7609 The largest foreign language bookstore in Greece

Ιanos

Sina 60, Kolonaki Tel: 211.012.0547

Le livre ouvert

Solonos 77, Kolonaki Tel: 210.362.9703

Lexikopoleio

Stasinou 13, Tel: 210.723.1201

Ouranio Toxo

Perikleous 41, Ag.Paraskevi Tel: 211.184.6771

Papasotiriou

Panepistimiou 37, Athens Tel: 210.325.3232, 210.332.3301

Polyglot

Akadimias 84, Tel: 210.330.0455

Public

Karageorgi Servias 1, Syntagma, S. Karagiorga 4 & Lazaraki, Glyfada The Mall and Golden Hall, Maroussi Tel: 210.818.1333

Deli

Arapian

Evripidou 41, Monastiraki Tel: 210.321.7238 Old-style butcher shop offering cured meats

Bahar

Evripidou 31, Monastiraki Tel: 210.321.7225 Well-known herb haven

Kostarelos

Cava Anthidis

Patriarchou Ioakeim 45, Kolonaki Tel: 210.725.1050 Comprehensive wine and liquor wholesalers

Cellier

Kriezotou 1d, Syntagma Tel: 210.361.0040, Kifissias Ave. 369, Tel: 210.801.8756, Syngrou Ave. 320, Tel: 210.453.3551 Stockists of premium wines and spirits

Kostarelos

Patr. Ioakeim 30-32, Tel: 210.725.9000 Great selection of cheese and Greek goodies

Kylix

Karneadou 20, Tel: 210.724.5143 Quality picks from the world’s best vineyards

Marks & Spencer Food

Ermou 33-35, Athens, Tel: 210.324.0675 Vouliagmenis Av. 85, Glyfada, Tel: 211.012.4968 Lazaraki 13, Glyfada, Tel: 210.894.3147 Pentelis Av. 23, Vrilissia, Tel: 211.012.5381

Mesogaia

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

Miran

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

Provence

Posidonos 80, Tel: 210.898.1435 Gourmet French delicatessen

Sorpresa Italiana

Kiriazi 6-8, Tel: 210.801.7886, Authentic fresh Italian pasta, sauces, truffles & more

Jewellery

Lea Books

Stefanidis Finest Foods

Dimitrios Sq 13, Tel: 210.808.2191 Excellent European delicatessen

Varsos

Kassaveti 5, Tel: 210.801.2472 Milk products & patisserie

Wine Garage

Xenokratous 25, Tel: 210.721.3175, Browser-friendly cava with helpful service

Apriati

Pindarou 29, Tel: 210.360.7878 Smartly designed jewellery for the young

Elena Votsi

Xanthou 7, Tel: 210.360.0936 Conversation pieces in gold and stone

Fanourakis

Patriarchou Ioakim 23, Kolonaki, Tel: 210.721.1762, Unique collection of animal and insect pins & earrings

Folli Follie

Tsakalof 6 & Solonos 25 Kolonaki, Tel: 210.323.0739 Greece's high-street export stocks watches and everyday bijoux

Omega

Voukourestiou 2, Kolonaki Tel: 210.322.7682 Elegant boutique showcasing the brand's timeless timepieces

Van Cleef & Arpels Athens Metro Mall

Dept Stores

Stadiou 24, Athens Tel: 210.321.7917, 231.022.1113

Vouliagmenis Avenue 276, Tel: 210.976.9444 Shops, cinemas and food

Attica

Panepistimiou 9, Tel: 211.180.2600 Home to an array of luxury goods

Golden Hall

Kifissias 37A, Tel: 210.680.3450 131 high-end (and highstreet) stores for anyone with a passion for fashion

Voukourestiou 1, Kolonaki Tel: 210.331.0319 The jeweller of the international jetset

Bulgari

Voukourestiou 8, Kolonaki Tel: 210.324.7118, Opulent designs in jewellery, watches & accessories

Cartier

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

McArthurGlen

Building Block E71, Yalou, 19004, Spata, Tel: 210.663.0830, 210.663.0840 Designer Outlet Shopping Centre

The Mall Athens

Andrea Papandreou 35 Tel: 210.630.0000 Shops, cinemas and food Attica

62 insider athens | September - October 2016

Chopard

To advertise, contact ads@insider-magazine.gr

Orloff Spa Astir Beach

It's all, oh so souvenir to me!

Chopard

Greece is for Lovers

Stadiou 2 & Vas. Georgiou Tel: 210.325.0555 Legendary time pieces and jewellery.

Ilias Lalaounis

Panepistimiou 6, Tel: 210.361.1371 Fabulous gold designs by famous Greek jeweller

It's all, oh so souvenir to me!

Panepistimiou 7, Tel: 210.323.2919 Wide range of luxury brand timepieces

Marathianakis

Karagiorgi Servias 4 (Stoa Kalliga), Tel: 210.362.7118 & 210.322.2424 Old-world shop known for its original & elegant designs

Kori

Mitropoleos 13, Monastiraki Tel: 210.323.3534 Traditional & contemporary jewellery

Pentheroudakis

Voukourestiou 19, Tel: 210.361.3187 Timeless pieces inspired by classical Greek design

Forget me not

Adriannou 100, Plaka Tel: 210.325.3740 www.forgetmenotathens.gr

Paliosintheies

Vas.Sofias 46, Tel: 210.728.1000

Protogenous 8, Psyrri, Tel: 210.656.0574 Vintage home décor and furniture

I-Spa

InterContinental Athenaeum Athens Syngrou Avenue 89-93, Tel: 210.920.6000

Preloved

Olive Tree Spa

Ipitou 5, Syntagma Second-hand clothing collected from the cities of Paris and Berlin

Orloff Spa Astir Beach

Aghias Eirinis 3, Monastiraki Tel: 210.545.1553 Great collection of merchandise ranging from the ‘20s to the ‘90s.

Hatzigianni Mexi 4, Hilton Tel: 210 724.4425

Retrosexual Vintage Shop

Apollonos 40, Vouliagmeni Tel: 210.896.0028

Sofita

Iraklidon 35, Thissio Tel: 210.346.9904

Ananea Spa

Life Gallery Hotel 103 Thisseos Ave., Ekali, Tel: 211.106.7400

Arion Resort & Spa,

Astir Palace Complex, Apollonos 40, Vouliagmeni Tel: 210.890.2000 Open daily for treatments from 09:00 to 21:30 (last appointment at 20:00)

Amerikaniki Agora

Yesterday's Bread

Athinas 30, Monastiraki 1st-2nd Floor Tel: 210 3217876

Kallidromiou 87-89, Tel: 210.881.1233 Imported second-hand clothes; individuality guaranteed

Bohbo

Ippokratous 39, Exarhia Tel: 210.338.9202

Gouadeloupi

Protogenous 12, Psyrri, Tel: 697.852.3933

Like Yesterday’s

Sports

Koumbari & Vas. Sofias Tel: 210.367.1045, 210.367.1002 www.benakishop.gr

Hiltonia Spa

Vintage

Benaki Museum Shop

Neophytou Douka 4, Kolonaki Tel: 210.722.8321-3

Spas

Souvenirs

15 Dionysiou Areopagitou, Tel: 210.900.0911

Sarri 28, Psyrri, Tel: 210.331.1922 Vintage and contemporary style home décor and furniture

Museum of Cycladic Art Shop

Panepistimiou 10, Tel: 210.360.1272 Designs inspired by the ancient Greece as well as contemporary collections by designers like Paloma Picasso

Acropolis Museum Shop

Mofu

Vasileos Georgiou 1, Syntagma Sq 210.333.0799

Concierge Athens, Ay.Theklas 8, Psirri, Tel: 213.036.9266 More than 50 Greek designers' unique, new imaginative and unexpected ideas that re-define the souvenir www.ohsosouvenir.com

Kessaris

Zolotas

GB Spa at Hotel Grande Bretagne

Valtetsiou 50 - 52, Kolonaki Tel: 210.924.5064 www.greeceisforlovers.com Tongue-in-cheek souvenirs for the discerning traveller

Protogenous 16, Monastiraki Tel: 216.700.4810 Vintage clothes mainly from the United States

Water Action Ltd

Vouliagmenis Avenue 12, Voula Tel: 210.895.8873 Mob: 694.476.1502 e-shop: www.water-action.gr e-mail: dspilioti@gmail.com

Paliosinitheies

insider athens | September - October 2016 63

Badminton Theatre Goudi, Athens, Tel: 211.101.0020 Gialino Music Theatre Sygrou 143, N. Smyrni, Athens Tel: 210.9316.101-4 Pallas Theatre Voukourestiou 5, Athens, Tel: 210.321.3100

Acropolis is open daily and entrance, includes archaeological sites. Tel: 210.321.0219 Ancient Agora was the heart of ancient Athens - the focus of political, commercial, administrative and social life for centuries.

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 markedthe boundary of ancient Athens and the new city. Located at the corner of

64 insider athens | September - October 2016

Hellenic Cosmos Foundation of the Hellenic world Pireos 254, Tavros. Tel: 212.254.0000. hellenic-cosmos.gr Frissiras Vlassis Museum of Contemporary European Art Monis Asteriou 3-7, Plaka, Tel: 210.323.4678 frissirasmuseum.com Goulandris Foundation Museum of Cycladic Art Neofytou Douka 4, Athens .

Tel: 210.722.8321, cycladic.gr Herakleidon Herakleidon 16, Thissio, Tel: 210.346.1981 Apostolou Pavlou 37, Thissio Tel: 211.012.6486, herakleidon-art.gr Ilias Lalaounis Jewellery Museum Karyatidon & Kallisperi 12, Makrygianni, Acropolis. Tel: 210.922.7260, lalaounis.com Jewish Museum Nikis 39, Plaka.

Tel: 210.322.5582. jewishmuseum.gr Kerameikos Museum Ermou 148, Monastiraki, Tel: 210.346.3552.

National Archaeological Museum Patission 44, Athens, Tel: 210.821.7724 National Gallery and Alexandros Soutsos Museum Vas. Konstantinou 50, Athens.

Tel: 210.723.5857, 210.723.5937 Numismatic Museum Panepistimiou 12, Athens.

Tel: 210.363.5953, nma.gr The Acropolis Museum Dionysiou Areopagitou Street, Acropolis.

Tel: 210.924.1043, theacropolismuseum.gr The National Art Gallery and Alexander Soutzos Museum Michalakopoulou 1 - Vas. Constantinou 1, Athens, Tel: 210.723.5857

Agora Museum Located in the Stoa of Attalos, Athens. Tel: 210.321.0185.

Atelier Spyros Vassiliou Webster 5A, Athens.

Tel: 210.923.1502, spyrosvassiliou.org Athens University History Museum Tholou 5, Plaka, Tel: 210.368.9502, history-museum.uoa.gr Benaki Museum Koumbari 1 & Vas. Sofias Avenue, Athens Tel: 210.367.1000, benaki.gr Benaki Museum of Islamic Arts Dipylou 12, Kerameikos.

Tel: 210.325.1311, benaki.gr Benaki Museum, Pireos Pireos 138 & Andronikou, Gazi Tel: 210.345.3111, benaki.gr Byzantine Museum Vas. Sofias 22, Kolonaki, Tel: 210.721.1027

Allou Fun Park Kifissou & Petrou Ralli, Ag. Ioannis Rentis, Tel: 210.425.6999, allou.gr Children’s Museum Kydathinaeon 14, Plaka, Tel: 210.331.2995.

Goulandris Museum of Natural History Levidou 13, Kifissia.

Tel: 210.801.5870, 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: 210.331.2621 childrensartmuseum.gr Summit The Wall Sport Climbing Center Ag. Athanasiou 12, Pallini, Tel: 210.603.0093, summit.gr Westin Kids Club Apollonos 40, Vouliagmeni, Tel: 210.890.2000 www.westinathens.com/en/westin_kids_club/

Museums

Galleries

A. Antonopoulou Art Aristofanous 20, Psyrri Tel: 210.321.4994 Artzone 42 42 Vas. Konstantinou, Athens, Tel: 210 725 9549 Astrolavos Dexameni Xanthippou 11, Kolonaki Tel: 210.729.4342 Astrolavos ArtLife Irodotou 11, Kolonaki Tel: 210.722.1200 Athens Art Gallery Glykonos 4, Dexameni Sq., Athens, Tel: 210 721 3938 Bernier/Eliades Gallery Eptachalkou 11, Thissio, Tel: 210.341.3935 (The) Breeder Gallery Iasonas 45, Metaxurgeio, Tel: 210.331.7527 Ekfrasi Gallery Valaoritou 9a, Tel: 210.360.7598 Eleni Marneri Galerie Lebessi 5-7& Porinou 16, Acropolis Tel: 210.8619.488 EMST National Museum of Contemporary Art Kallirrois Av. & Amvr. Frantzi street Athens, Tel: 210.924.2111- 3 Gagosian Gallery Merlin 3, Athens, Tel: 210.364.0215 K-Art Gallery Sina 54, Athens, Tel: 211.401.3877 Kalfayan Gallery Haritos 11, Kolonaki, Tel: 210.721.7679 Kourd Gallery Kassiani 2-4, Athens, Tel: 210.642.6573 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, Athens, Tel: 210.364.0288 The Eynard Mansion Aghiou Konstantinou 20 & Menandrou, Athens, Tel: 210.322.1335 Titanium Yiayiannos Vas. Konstantinou 44, Pangrati, Tel: 210.729.7644 Xippas Gallery Sofokleous 53D, Athens, Tel: 210.331.9333 Zoumboulakis Gallery Kolonaki Square 20, Kolonaki Tel: 210.360.8278/ Kriezotou 6, Syntagma, Tel: 210.363.4454

Vas. Olgas and Amalias Avenues.

Lykavittos Hill is the highest point in Athens. Take the teleferique from the top of Ploutarchou St. Odeon of Herod Atticus built in 161 AD, this is where the Athens Festival takes place. Accessible for €1.50 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 €3.50. 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. €2.00. 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.

Just for kids

Cultural venues

ASSOCIATION OF GUIDES Tel: 210.322.9705

Athinais Cultural Centre formerly a silk factory, this space has been converted into a large cultural centre. astorias 34-36, Votanikos. Tel: 210.348.0000.

B&M Theocharakis Foundation for the Fine Arts & Music Vas. Sofias 9 & Merlin 1, Athens Tel: 210.361.1206 Ileana Tounta Contemporary Art Centre 48 Armatolon-Klephton st. Athens, Tel: 210.643.9466 Megaron Mousikis (The Athens Concert Hall) live concerts, operas and other performances. Vas. Sofias Ave. & Kokkali. Tel: 210.728.2333 Michael Cacoyannis Foundation Piraeus 206, Tavros, Tel: 210.341.8550 Onassis Cultural Centre Syngrou 107-109, Athens, Tel: 213.017.8000 Stavros Niarchos Foundation Vasilissis Sofias Ave. 86A The Art Foundation Normanou 5, Athens, Tel: 210.323.8757

Sites Theatres

ORGANISED TOURS

ARION RESORT & SPA

ATHENS HILTON

COCO-MAT HOTEL NAFSIKA

DIVANI PALACE ACROPOLIS

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

506 renovated rooms, two pools, convention facilities, business center, four restaurants, two bars and spa. The rooftop Galaxy Bar and Restaurant has gorgeous city views.

Vas. Sofias 46, Ilisia Tel: 210.728.1000

Located in Kifissia, the hotel offers an unforgettable experience thanks to COCOMAT‘s unique sleep systems in its 22 guest rooms, power breakfast, bike rids and herb garden.

Pellis 6, Kifissia. Tel: 210.801.8027

Located at the base of the Acropolis and close to Plaka. Pool with bar, roof garden restaurant with Acropolis view.

Parthenonos 19-25 Makrigianni, Acropolis.

Tel: 210.928.0100

ATHENAEUM INTERCONTINENTAL ATHENS

COCO-MAT HOTEL

Crowne plaza

GRANDE BRETAGNE

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, Neos Kosmos.

Tel: 210.920.6000

COCO-MAT Hotel Athens is an understated luxury, design hotel that sits in the heart of Kolonaki and offers relaxing sleep, delicious homemade breakfast and selected services for its esteemed guests. 36 Patriarchou Ioakeim str.

Tel: 210.723.0000

Newly renovated, at a very convenient location attracts both business and leisure travellers. Amenities include restaurant, bar, rooftop swimming pool, conference and business facilities, garage parking.

Michalakopoulou 50, Athens.

Tel: 210.727.8000

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

ATHENIAN CALLIRHOE HOTEL

CIVITEL ATTIK

DIVANI APOLLON PALACE & SPA

Holiday Inn Attica Avenue

66 state-of the-art rooms, 15 executive rooms and 3 suites. The acclaimed Etrusco Restaurant serves top quality Mediterranean cuisine.

Kallirois 32 & Petmeza, Neos Kosmos.

Tel: 210.921.5353

A tranquil first-class business, sports and family hotel set in the leafy green suburb of Maroussi, with a swimming pool, conference facilities and spacious restaurant with terrace.

Eptalofou 13 – 15, Maroussi. Τel: 210.610.1000

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

New five-star property on Attica Avenue linking Athens with the international airport. Stateof-the art conference facilities, restaurant, two bars, pool and fitness center.

40.2 km Attica Road, between exits 17 & 18, Spata. Tel: 210.668.9000

ATHENS ELECTRA PALACE HOTEL

CIVITEL OLYMPIC

DIVANI CARAVEL

Holiday Suites

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

Right across the Olympic Stadium, its Superior Rooms and Junior Suites are fitted with modern amenities, from free minibar to free wifi internet access and interactive tv.

Kifissias 2A & Pantanassis, Maroussi.

Tel: 210.680.1900

Situated close to major tourist attractions with, rooftop restaurant and swimming pool.

Vas. Alexandrou 2, Kesariani.

Tel: 210.720.7000

Elegant, all-suite hotel offering high standard accommodation. Each suite provides guests with a separate living room and kitchenette.

Arnis 4, Ilissia.

Tel: 210.727.8000

insider athens | September - October 2016 65

KEFALARI SUITES

METROPOLITAN

RADISSON BLU

THEOXENIA PALACE HOTEL

Turn-of-the-century hotel in Kifissia, part of YES! Hotels.Themed suites with modern facilities.

Pentelis 1, Kifissia.

Tel: 210.623.3333

Overlooking the Acropolis and the Saronic Gulf, the Metropolitan Hotel combines warm hospitality and urban luxury.

Syngrou Ave 385, Paleo Faliro T. 210 947 1000, metrpolitan@chandris.gr

Set across from the lush groves of Pedion tou Areos park, this contemporary hotel is a 4-minute walk from Victoria metro station and 2.9 km from the Acropolis.

Alexandras Avenue 10, Athens Tel: 210.889.4500

In an elegant neoclassical building, this hotel has a restaurant, gym, sauna and outdoor pool. Business centre, internet & conference facilities.

Filadelfeos 2, Kifissia.

Tel: 210.623.3622

KING GEORGE

NEW

SEMIRAMIS

THE MARGI

Situated in the heart of the city, it’s 102 guest rooms and suites are elegantly furnished and natural wood floors. Meeting & Conference spaces, restaurants with panoramic views. Vas. Georgiou A’ 3. Syntagma Sq. Tel: 210.322.2210

Designed by the Campana brothers, NEW, the latest venture of YES! Hotels has 79 luxury rooms, including 18 Studios and 6 Junior Suites. NEW Taste, is the Hotel’s innovative restaurant concept.

Filellinon 16, Syntagma.

Tel: 210.3273000

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

Boutique hotel with 90 spacious rooms and suites and great views to the sea and pine forests. Baku Restaurant offers a unique dining experience while Malabar and the Lobby lounge are perfect for a glass of champagne.

Close to the lake, beach and tennis courts.

Litous 11, Vouliagmeni. Tel: 210.892.9000

LIFE GALLERY

NJV athens plaza

SOFITEL ATHENS AIRPORT

THE WESTIN ATHENS

Modern architecture finds its expression in a minimalist designed building with discreet swimming pools, Zen gardens and ethnic elements. The hotel offers 29 spacious, luxury rooms, including 3 art studios and 2 suites and a spa and fitness centre.

Thiseos Avenue 103, Ekali. Tel: 211.106.7400

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, Syntagma Sq. Tel: 210 3352400

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

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

MELIÁ ATHENS

NOVOTEL

ST. GEORGE LYCABETTUS HOTEL

ATHENS WAS

Located in the heart of Athens with 136 luxury rooms, spacious dining areas, a modern health club and views of historic monuments.

Chalkokondili 14 & 28th Octovriou, Acropolis.

Tel: 210.332.0100

Located in the center of Athens. Two Bars/ Restaurants at outdoor Rooftop Pool & lobby area, play area, gym, free indoor parking, free Wi-Fi and panoramic view from the Roof Garden.

4-6 Michail Voda Street, Vathis Square.

Tel: 210.820.0700

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: 210.741.6000

Urban adventure, daring design, original architecture, energetic social hub and stylish comfort, AthensWas’ 21 rooms all feature verandas to take in a truly authentic Athenian experience.

Dionysiou Areopagitou 5, Tel:210.725.4871

66 insider athens | September - October 2016

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TwentyOne

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, Kifissia Tel: 210.623.3521

Herodion

A five minute walk to Plaka. 90 guest rooms, meeting facilities and a lovely atrium bar-coffee shop.

Rovertou Galli 4, Makrigianni.

Tel: 210.923.6832

A CATEGORY AVA HOTEL & SUITES

HOTEL ELECTRA

Luxurious apartments and suites in Plaka. Magnificent views of the Acropolis, Hadrian’s Arch and Zeus Temple. Short walk to Syntagma.

Lysikratous 9-11, Plaka.

Tel: 210.325.9000

Within walking distance from all archaeological sites, business and commercial districts. Includes bar, restaurant, lobby and meeting areas.

Ermou 5, Syntagma Sq. Tel: 210.337.8000

amarilia hotel

PERISCOPE HOTEL

An excellent choice for business and leisure travellers. 100 renovated rooms and suites with great sea views, meeting and banqueting facilities, outdoor swimming pool.

Ag. Nikolaou 13 Vouliagmeni.

Tel. 210 8990391

17 rooms, 4 junior suites and a super-lux penthouse suite. Part of YES! Hotels.

Haritos 22, Kolonaki.

Tel: 210.729.7200

Fresh Hotel

Philippos

Situated in the heart of old Athens within walking distance of the Plaka. Enjoy the Orange Bar, rooftop restaurant and pool.

Sophocleous 26 & Klisthenous, Omonoia.

Tel: 210.524.8511

Recently refurbished, all 50 rooms are wellappointed and comfortable. Good value for money.

Mitseon 3, Acropolis.

Tel: 210.922.3611-4

COSTA NAVARINO

SANTORINI

The Westin Resort Costa Navarino

MYSTIQUE

Inspired by old Messinian mansions, its 445 deluxe rooms, suites, 123 with private infinity pools, offer access to an extensive common pool areas, and reflect Westin’s soothing aesthetic.

Navarino Dunes Costa Navarino, Pilos Messinia, Tel: 27230.95000

Mystique is an 18 villa hotel, designed by Frank Le Fevbre.

Mystique, Oia. Tel. 22860.71114

The Romanos, a Luxury Collection Resort

The Tsitouras Collection Hotel

289 exquisitely appointed rooms and 32 suites with individual infinity pools.

Traditional Greek design with contemporary touches.

Navarino Dunes Costa Navarino, Pilos Messinia, Tel: 27230.96000

Art and hospitality are graciously combined in the unique backdrop of a dramatic landscape.

Firostefani, Santorini Tel: 22860.23747

evia

VEDEMA

THERMAE SYLLA wellness hotel

Voted one of the ten best spas in the world, it has 101 rooms, 7 Suites and 1 presidential suite with an incredible sea view. 2 restaurants offer traditional Mediterranean cuisine Posidonos 2, Edipsos, Evia. Tel. 22260.60100

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: 22860.81796

SYROS

PATMOS Patmos Aktis Suites & Spa

VILLA SELENA

A 5-star luxury hotel situated only a few steps from Grikos beach. Considered possibly the best located hotel in Patmos.

Patmos, Grikos Bay. Tel: 22470.32800

A luxurious five-star boutique hotel with suitably equipped rooms and suites to ensure a comfortable stay. The spacious terrace with a panoramic view is ideal for breakfast or drinks Tel. 22810 86007, www.villaselena.eu

insider athens | September - October 2016 67

OTE video conference service

7.30am-10pm. Patission 85.

Tel: 210.883.8578, 210.822.0399

Commercial Office spaces Regus

Tel: 210.727.9000

Global Business Services Tel: 210.876.4876 Kifissias Ave. 90, Maroussi

COURIER SERVICES ACS

Asklipiou 25, Kryoneri Tel: 210.819.0000

DHL Tel: 210.989.0000 Express City S. Trikoupi 71, Athens Tel: 210.821.9959

Geniki Taxydromiki

Kifissou 14, Renti, Tel: 210.485.1100

Speedex

Seneka 24, 15klm Athinon-Lamias, Kifissia Tel: 801.110.0011

UPS

Driving School Highway

Amfitheas and Ag. Triados 30, 175 64 P. Faliro, Tel: 210.988.8098, 699.772.2777

Vlachos Bros

25th Martiou 20, Peristeri; Xenofodos 17, Peristeri; Afroditis 39, Ilion Tel: 210.574.4895, 210.576.9190

Relocation Agencies Allied Pickfords

Mourouzi 7, Athens, Tel: 210.610.4494

Athens Relocation Centre Zakynthou 10, Glyfada Tel: 210.965.0697

Attica Movers

Syngrou Ave. 19, Neos Kosmos, Tel: 210 922 7221

Celebrity International Movers Kapodistriou Ave. 102, Nea Ionia Tel: 210 272 0106

Corporate Relocations Athens Ag. Saranta 32, Nea Erithrea Tel: 210.800.3510

Orphee Beinoglou

27th km Old National Road Athens-Korinth Location Elefsinia, Elefsina Tel: 210.946.6100

Octopus Relocation Services

Ygeias 7, Marina Zeas, Tel: 210.459.9530

4klm Peanias-Markopoulou Av., Koropi Tel: 210.998.4000

TRANSLATIONS / INTERPRETING

Driving Schools in English

Global Business Services Kifisias 90, Maroussi, Tel: 210.876.4876

Trochokinisi Driving School

IBS - International Business Services

28th Oktovriou 126, Ambelokipi, Thessaloniki Tel: 2310.729.092

Michalakopoulou 29, Kaissariani Tel: 210.724.5541

MISSED THESE GREAT ISSUES?

Travel Agencies Travel Plan

Christou Lada 3, Athens Tel: 210.333.300, www.travelplan.gr

Amphitrion

Kyprou 46 & Ploutarhou, Dafni Tel: 210.900.6000, www.amphitrionholidays.gr

TravelPlanet24

Karagiorgi Servias 4, Syntagma Tel: 211 107 9684, www.travelplanet24.com

Mid-east Travel

Vas Sofias 105-107, Ampelokipoi Tel: Tel: 211.211.8888, www.mideast.gr

French Institute

Embassies Cultural Institutes

Business services

AUDIOVISUAL

Tel: 210.721.3039

BULGARIA Stratigou Kallari 33A, P. Psychico. Tel: 210.674.8105

CANADA Eth. Antistaseos 48, Halandri Tel: 210.727.3400

CHILE

Rigilis 12, Athens, Tel: 210.729.2647

CHINA Krinon 2A, P. Psychico, Tel: 210.672.3282

CROATIA Tzavella 4, N. Psychico, Tel: 210.677.7033

CUBA Sofokleous 5, Filothei, Tel: 210.685.5550

CYPRUS Xenofontos 2A, Athens, Tel: 210.373.4800

Hellenic American Union

DENMARK Mourouzi 10, Athens,

Massalias 22, 10680 Athens, Tel: 210.368.0900

British Council

P. Psychico. Tel: 210.671.9701 Tel: 210.725.6440

EGYPT Vas. Sofias 3, Syntagma, Tel: 210.361.8612

Kolonaki Square 17 106 73 Athens Tel: 210.369.2333

ESTONIA Messoghion 2-4, Ampelokipoi,

Instituto Cervantes

Tel: 210.725.5860

Mitropoleos 23, 105 57 Athens, Tel: 210.363.4117

Goethe Institut

Omirou 14-16, 100 33 Athens, Tel: 210.366.1000

Onassis Cultural Centre

Syngrou Ave. 107-109, 117 45 Athens, Tel: 213.017.8000

Instituto Italiano di Cultura Patission (28 Oktovriou) 47 Tel: 210.369.2333, 210.524.2646

ALBANIA Vekiareli 7, Filothei, Vas. Constantinou 14, Athens Tel: 210.756.4191-2

ARGENTINA

Vas. Sophias 59, Athens Tel: 210.724.4158

ARMENIA

Tel: 210.747.5660

FINLAND Hatziyianni Mexi 5, Athens, FRANCE Vas. Sofias 7, Syntagma, Tel: 210.339.1000

FYROM Papadiamanti 4, P. Psychico.

Tel: 210.674.9585

GEORGIA Ag. Dimitriou 24,

P. Psychico. Tel: 210.674.2186

GERMANY Karaoli & Dimitriou 3, Athens, Tel: 210.728.5111

HUNGARY Karneadou 25, Kolonaki Tel: 210.725.6800

INDIA Kleanthous 3, Mets, Tel: 210.721.6481 INDONESIA Marathonodromon 99, P. Psychico, Tel: 210.674.2345

IRAN Stratigou Kallari 16, Patisia, Tel: 210.674.1436

IRAQ Mazaraki 4, Psychico, Tel: 210.677.8276

IRELAND Vas. Konstantinou 7, Mets, Tel: 210.723.2405

ISRAEL Marathonodromon 1,

K. Palaiologou 95, Athens, Tel: 210.683.1130, 210.683.1145

P. Psychico, Tel: 210.670.5500

AUSTRALIA

JAPAN Ethnikis Antistaseos 46, Halandri.

ITALY Sekeri 2, Kolonaki, Tel: 210.361.7260

Kifisias & Alexandras, Ampelokipoi, Tel: 210.870.4000

Tel: 210.670.9900

AUSTRIA Vas. Sofias Av. 4,

Tel: 210.674.4161

Athens, Tel: 210.725.7270

AZERBAIJAN

Skoufa 10, Athens, Tel: 210.363.2721

68 insider athens | September - October 2016

BRAZIL Vassilis Sofias 23, Athens

CZECH REPUBLIC G. Seferi 6,

ALGERIA

send us an e-mail at: subscriptions@insider-magazine.gr or give us a call at: 210.729.8634

Hatzikosta 3, Athens, Tel: 210.641.0788

Sina 31, 10680 Athens Tel: 210.339.8600

Tel: 210.687.6200

35.000 readers get the best of Greece each month.

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BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA

BANGLADESH

JORDAN Papadiamanti 21. P. Psychico.

KAZAKHSTAN Imittou 122, Papagou Tel: 210.654.7765

KOREA Messoghion 2-4, Athens.

Tel: 210.698.4080

Marathonodromon 119, Palaio Psychiko Tel: 210.672.0250

KUWAIT Marathonodromon 27,

BELGIUM

LEBANON 6, 25th Martiou, P. Psychico,

Sekeri 3, Kolonaki, Tel: 210.360.0314

P. Psychico, Tel: 210.674.3593 Tel: 210.675.5873

To advertise, contact ads@insider-magazine.gr

LIBYA Vyronos 13, P. Psychico,

TUNISIA

LITHUANIA Vas. Sophias 49, Kolonaki

TURKEY Vas. Georgiou B’ 8, Athens,

Goudi. Tel: 210.772.6000 & 1535

LATVIA Vas. Konstantinou 38, Athens

UKRAINE Stephanou Delta 4, Filothei, Tel:

Private Hospitals

LUXEMBOURG Vas. Sofias 23A & Neofi-

UAE Kifissias Av. 290 & N. Paritsi 2,

Advanced Medical Services, Symmetria Building

MALTA

UK

MEXICO Filikis Etaireias Sq. 14, Kolonaki,

USA

MOLDAVIA Georgiou Bacu 20, Filothei.

URUGUAY

MOROCCO Marathonodromon 5,

VATICAN

Tel. 210.729.4483

tou Vamva 2, SyntagmaTel: 210.725.6400 V. Sofias 96, Athens, Tel: 210.778.5138 Tel: 210.729.4780

Tel: 210.699.0660

P. Psychico. Tel: 210.674.4210

Tel: 210.726.3000 210.680.0230

Tel: .210.677.0220

Ploutarchou 1, Athens, Tel: 210.727.2600 Vas. Sofias 91, Athens, Tel: 210.721.2951 Menandrou 1, Kifissia, Tel: 210.361.3549 Mavili 2, P. Psychico, Tel: 210.674.3598

NETHERLANDS Vas Konstantinou 5-7,

VENEZUELA Marathonodromon 19,

NIGERIA Streit 17, Filothei Tel: 210.802.1188 NORWAY Hatziyianni Mexi 5, Athens

VIETNAM Yakinthon 50, Psychico,

Tel: 210.729.0122

PALESTINE Giassemion 13,

P. Psychico. Tel.: 210.672.6061-3

PANAMA Praxitelous 192 & II Merarchias, Piraeus, Tel: 210.428.6441 PERU

Semitelou 2, Athens, Tel: 210.779.2761

PHILIPPINES Antheon 26, P. Psychico.

Tel: 210.672.1837

POLAND Chrysanthemon 22, P. Psychico. Tel: 210.679.7700

PORTUGAL Vas. Sofias 23, Kolonaki Tel: 210.729.0096 / 210.723.6784

QATAR Perikleous 2 & Kifissias Av. 212, N. Psychico, Tel: 210.725.5031 ROMANIA Emm. Benaki 7,

P. Psychico. Tel: 210.672.8875

RUSSIA Nikiforos Lytra 28,

P. Psychico. Tel: 210.672.5235

SAUDI ARABIA Palaiologhou 2 & Agias

Annis, Halandri, Tel: 210.671.6911

SERBIA Vas. Sophias 106, Athens, Tel: 210.777.4344

SINGAPORE Aigialias 17, Paradissos Amaroussiou. Tel: 210.684.5072 SLOVAK REPUBLIC G. Seferi 4, P. Psychico. Tel: 210.677.1980

SLOVENIA Kifissias Av. 280 & Dimokra-

tias 1, N. Psychico, Tel: 210.672.0090-091

SOUTH AFRICA

Kifissias 60, Maroussi. Tel: 210.610.6645

SPAIN Dionysiou Areopagitou 21, Plaka, Tel: 210.921.3123

SWEDEN Vas. Konstantinou 7, Athens, Tel: 210.726.6100

SWITZERLAND Iasiou 2, Evaggelismos, Tel: 210.723.0364-6

TAIWAN Marathonodromon 57, Psychico, Tel: 210.677.5122 Representative office THAILAND Marathorodromon 25 &

Kyprou, P. Psychico, Tel: 210.674.9065

Tel. 210.612.8733, 210.675.3080.

EMERGENCY NUMBERS

Emergencies

Tel: 210.724.6173

PAKISTAN Loukianou 6, Evaggelismos,

P. Psychico. Tel: 210.672.9169

Ambulance Tel: 166 Doctors SOS Tel: 1016.

They will issue an invoice to claim reimbursement from your insurer.

Ipirou 1, Athens.

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 Coast Guard Tel:108 Air Police Tel: 210.964.2000

ROAD ASSISTANCE ELPA Tel: 10400 Emergency Service Tel: 104 Express Service Tel: 154 Hellas Service Tel: 1057 Interamerican Tel: 1158

Asklipiou St. 31, Athens, Emergency number 1169 or Tel: 210.367.4000 www.centralclinic.gr

EUROCLINIC

Diagnostic, surgical and treatment centre.

Athanasiadou 9, Athens, (near Mavili Sq.), Tel: 210.641.6600

EURODENTICA

Specialized dental care Patision 150, Athens, Tel: 210.866.3367-8 Alamanas 3, Maroussi, Athens, Tel: 210.619.5760-1, El. Venizelou 162, Kallithea, Athens, Tel: 210.956.5365

YGEIA

Mikras Asias and Thivon, Goudi. Tel: 210.746.7000

Areos 36, P. Faliro.

Tel: 210.989.2100-20. Distomou 5-7, Maroussi. Tel: 210.619.8100

METROPOLITAN HOSPITAL

Newspapers & Magazines Athens Insider, the bi-monthly magazine for Greece in English

The International New York Times

carries the English version of

Kathimerini

Radio

GREEK LANGUAGE

Ethnarou Makariou 9 & El. Venizelou, N. Faliro. Tel: 210.480.9000 www.metropolitan-hospital.gr

The Athens Center

48 Archimidous Street, Mets, Athens 11636, Greece Tel: 210.701.5242

IASO

Kifissias 37-39, Maroussi.

Tel: 210.618.4000

CELT Athens

MITERA

77 Academias Street, 106 78 Athens, Greece, Tel: 210.330.1455

Kifissias & E. Stavrou 6, Maroussi.

Tel: 210.686.9000

Greek House

public Hospitals ASKLEPIEION HOSPITAL

Vas. Pavlou 1, Voula. Tel: 210.895.8301-4

EVANGELISMOS

Dragoumi 7, 145 61 Kifissia, Tel: 210.808.5186

Hellenic American Union

22 Massalias str., 106 80 Athens, Tel: 210.368.0900

Ypsilantou 45-47, Kolonaki, Tel: 210.720.1000

Omilo Greek Language And Culture

KAT HOSPITAL

Panagi Tsaldari 13 (4th floor), 15122 Maroussi, Tel: 210.612.2706

Nikis 2, Kifissia, Tel: 210.628.0000 Specialized trauma unit.

International SCHOOLS

TZANNEIO

Afentouli & Tzani, Pireaus, Tel: 210.451.9411-9

St Catherine's British Embassy School

Sofoklis Venizelou 77, Lykovrissi Tel: 210.282.9750

(ENGLISH SPEAKING)

St. Lawrence College

Plastic & Reconstructive Surgery, Harilaou Trikoupi 62, Kifissia, Tel: 210.808.0682

A.J. Kanellopoulos, MD

Anemon St, Koropi, Tel: 210.891.7000

American Community Schools of Athens

Aghias Paraskevis Ave. 129, Halandri, Tel: 210.639.3200

Eye Surgeon, Tsoha 17, Athens, Tel: 210.747.2777

Dimitris Linos, MD FACS

Dermatologist – Venerologist Adult / Pediatric Dermatology Patriarchou Ioakim 44, Kolonaki Tel: 210.729.4502, 6974355942.

Good Morning Athens at 10am, English programs at 11am, music programs on weekdays at 9pm, weekends at 1pm. Peiraios 100, Athens, Tel: 210.341.1610

IATRIKO KENTRO (ATHENS MEDICAL CENTER)

Ioannis Bitzos, MD

Lia D. Papathanakou

Athens International Radio 104,4

Kifissias & E. Stavrou 4, Maroussi, Tel: 210.686.7000, www.ygeia.gr

EUROCLINIC PAEDON

PAEDON AGIA SOFIA HOSPITAL

terventional cardiologist. Southern Athens.

Vakchou 2 & Vas. Kostantinou, Tel: 210.897.6276, www.heartline.gr

CENTRAL CLINIC OF ATHENS

PHYSICIANS

Lemessou 39-41 & Aharnon 209, Kato Patissia, Tel: 210.869.1900

heart & vascular centrE E.N. Deliargyris, MD FACC FSCAI In-

Ethnikis Antistaseos 66, Halandri.

Tel: 210.677.3573 www.symmetria.gr

Paediatric Hospitals

Health

Mets, Tel: 210.725.4900

PAEDON AGLAIA KYRIAKOU HOSPITAL Livadias 3 and Thivon,

English media

Tel: 210.729.4356

Antheon 2, P. Psychico, Tel: 210.671.7590

Schools

Tel: 210.674.2120

Byron College

General Surgeon, Kifissias 227, Kifissia, Tel: 210.612.5001-2

Filolaou 7, Gerakas, Tel: 210.604.7722

insider athens | September - October 2016 69

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

Road Assistance ELPA: 104

Public Power Corporation (DEI)

www.ika.gr

Greek Manpower Employment Organization (OAED)

www.oaed.gr, Tel: 210 99 89 000

Public Services

Paramythia

Cycladon 11, Glyka Nera, Tel: 210.600.3196

Play and Learn

Kassaveti 22, Kifissia, Tel: 210.801.1428

German kindergartens

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

O mikros Antonis

Tel: 148, www.hnms.gr

Scuola maternal italiana de Atene

Water Supply & Sewage (EYDAP)

Citizen’s Rights Ombudsman:

Il Mulino magico

Mitsaki 18, Ano Patissia, Tel: 210.202.0274 Troados 23, Ag Paraskevi, Tel: 210.600.3148

German School in Athens

Dimokritou 6 & Germanikis Scholis Athinon Maroussi, Tel: 210 6199260-5

Greek German School

25 Martiou & Vernardou, Vrylissia Tel: 210.682.0566

International School of Athens Xenias and Artemidos, Kifissia, Tel: 210.623.3888

Lycée Franco-Hellénique Eugène Delacroix

Chlois & Trikalon, Ag. Paraskevi Tel: 211.300.9121

Scuola Statale Italiana

Odos Mitsaki 18, Ano Patissia Tel: 210.228.2720

St Catherine's British Embassy School

Sofoklis Venizelou 77, Lykovrissi Tel: 210.282.9750

St. Lawrence College

Anemon St, Koropi, Tel: 210.891.7000

Universities University of Indianapolis

Ipitou 9, Athens, Tel: 210.323.6647

DEREE

Gravias 6, Aghia Paraskevi, Tel: 210.600.9800

ALBA Graduate Business School Athinas Ave. & Areos 2A, Vouliagmeni Tel: 210.896.4531

English kindergartens

International Kindergartens

Aghias Ioulianis, Pallini, Tel: 210.607.1700

The Cottage Kindergarten Psaron 74, Halandri Tel: 210.682.7629

Early Learning

Rizountos 53, Elliniko Tel: 210.961.8763

Hopscotch International Kindergarten Ag. Triandos 93, Vari Tel: 210.965.3985

Learning Steps

Ath. Diakou 81 & Ydras 5, Kifissia, Tel: 210.620.5818

Melina’s Kindergarten

Harilaou Trikoupi 16, Kifissia Tel: 210.801.2719

Stephanou Delta, P. Psychico Tel: 210.679.8100

Benakeios Library

Anthimou Gazi 2, Athens Tel: 210.367.1027

British Council Library Kolonaki Sq. 17, Kolonaki Tel: 210.363.3211/5

French Institute Library

Prince Allen The English Nursery School Lysimahou 8, Vari Tel: 210.965.6800

French kindergartens Au petit bonheur 50 Iraklitou, Glyfada, Tel: 210 9658 207

Mary Poppins

Spartis 36 & Harilaou Trikoupi, Kifissia Tel: 210 80 11 570 4, Kodrou, Filothei, Tel: 210.677.3803

Tel: 210.929.0200

MASTERCARD

Tel: 00.800.1188.703.03

VISA

Tel: 00.800.1163.803.04 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 9am1:30pm.

Country Code: 30 City Code: 210 international calls first dial 00,

then the country code.

To call from a Public pay- phone buy a phone card at the kiosks.

Prepaid mobile phone cards (SIM cards) are available for €5 at kiosks, post offices, mini markets and mobile phone company stores.

German Archaeological Institute Library Pheidiou 1, Athens Tel: 210.362.0270

Goethe Institute Library Hellenic American Union Greek Library

Lakonias 4-6, Voula Tel: 210.895.9654

DINERS CLUB

31 Sina St, Athens Tel: 210.362.4301

Peter Pan

Business College of Athens

70 insider athens | September - October 2016

Athens College Library

Omirou 14-16, Athens Tel: 210.360.8111

Vougliameni, Tel: 210.967.1970

Les Alouettes

Tatoiou 2 & Othonos 77, Kifissia Tel: 210.808.8008

Souedias 54, Athens Tel: 210.723.6313

Peek-a-boo PreSchool

American University of Athens Kifisias & Sochou 4, Neo Psichiko, Tel: 210.725.9301

Libraires

American School of Classical Studies Blegen

Campion School

Tel: 210.324.4975

Italian kindergartens

Weather Attica,

5 Hatziyiannis Mexis (near the Hilton Hotel), Tel: 210 72 89 640

AMERICAN EXPRESS

Barbayiannis, Pallini, Tel: 210.603.2527

In case of power failure: Tel: 210, 523 9939 www.dei.gr

In case of water cut: Tel: 1202, www.eydap.gr

LOST OR STOLEN CREDIT CARDS

Money

Social Security & Health insurance (IKA)

Phone Post

Telephone & Internet Services (OTE)

Masalias 22 (7th floor), Athens Tel: 210.362.9886

Italian Archeological Institute Library Parthenonos 14-16, Acropolis Tel: 210921.4024

Italian Institut Library Patision 47, Omonia

National Library

Tzavella 25, Syntagma, Tel: 210.382.0657

Nordic Library

7 Kavalotti St, Makrigianni Tel: 210.924.9210, 210.924.9211

advertise in our Advertise business here and on our website: listings, andyour reach www.insider-publications.com thousands of customers

LIMOUSINES

tram

AAA Royal Prestige

From the Port of Piraeus

Alitalia Tel: 210.998.8888 American

Convecta Travel Agency & Limousine Services

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

Air Taxis (Helicopter and

Limousines Kacaya

TAXIS

Tel: 210.965.2300-22

Tel: 210.361.3373

plane charters) Tel: 210.938.4149

British Airways Tel: 210.353.0453 Continental Tel: 210.353.4312 Cyprus Airways Tel: 210.353.4100 Easy Jet Tel: 211.198.0013 El Al Tel: 210.934.1500-1 Emirates Tel: 210.933.3400 Etihad Tel: 210.324.1010 Iberia www.iberia.com/gr Lufthansa Tel: 210.617.5200 Olympic Airways Tel: 801.801.0101 Qatar Airways Tel: 210.950.8700 Singapore Tel: 210.994.2567 Swiss / Crossair Tel: 210.617.5320 Tunisair Tel: 210.969.6496 Turkish Tel: 210.988.5700

Airport

Eleftherios Venizelos International Airport Spata. Tel: 210.353.0000, 210.353.1000. www.aia.gr

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 public transport

Car rental

Ada Rent-a-Car

Tel: 210.988.3221

Astra Limousine Service

Tel: 210.922.0333/807.9996

Tel: 210.322.5090 Tel: 210.323.4120

Combined tickets for metro, buses and trolleys (€1,40) 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 8€.

EXPRESS BUS from/to airport

X93 Kifisos Intercity Bus Station - Athens Airport Express.

Direct Connection to the intercity bus (KTEL) terminals KIFISOS and LIOSION X95 Syntagma – Athens Airport Express.

Direct Connection to Syntagma Square at Athens city center.

X96 Peiraias – Athens Airport Express.

Direct Connection to Piraeus central passenger port terminals.

X97 Dafni Metro Station – Athens Airport Express.

Direct Connection to DAFNI metro station.

Tickets available at the Arrivals Hall; validate on board. Fare is €6 One-way travel time estimates**: X93 (65’ min), X95 (70’ min), X96 (90’ min), X97 (70’ min).

For further information dial 185 or visit www.oasa.gr, www.ametro. gr. For info on trains visit www.proastiakos.gr

Arena Tel: 210.894.6883,

HELLENIC RAILWAYS ORGANIsATION

Auto Union

Karolou 1. Tel: 210.529.7002, www.ose.gr

Tel: 210.322.0087 210.614.7400

Tel: 210.602.0162

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

ATHENS METRO Line 1 (Piraeus-Kifissia) 5am-midnight, Line 2 (Anthoupoli-Elliniko) 5.30ammidnight, Line 3 (Aghia Marina-Doukissis Plakentias) 5.30am-midnight Line 3 (Aghia Marina-Airport) 5.30am22.52pm 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

Taxis from the airport have a flat rate of €35 to Central Athens. 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 100, Tel: 210.512.4910-1, www.ktel.org

Terminal 2: Buses for Delphi, Evia,

Galaxidi, Karpenisi, Katerini, Lamia, Livadia, Thiva and Volos. Liosion 260.

For KTEL itineraries all over Greece call 14505

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: 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 Gtt

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 Thessaloniki: 2310.560.700, www. superfast.com

Hellenic Seaways

RADIO TAXI

210 41 99 000 www.hellenicseaways.gr

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

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

Tel: 210.960.5600

There is a booking fee of €2 added to the meter, and a €3,40 + VAT for a pre-arranged meeting. For PET taxis there is an extra charge of €5.

YACHT CHARTERS A1 Yacht Trade Consortium

Akti Themistokleous 8, Marina Zeas, Piraeus. Tel: 210.458.7100

Ghiolman Yachts

Filellinon 7, Syntagma. Tel: 210.323.3696

Seaports

Air Malta

Public transport

Tel: 210.998.0222

Ferries

Airlines

Aegean Tel: 801.11.20000 Air France KLM

Sea ports

Northstar

Lavrio Tel: 22920.27711, 22920.22089 Piraeus Tel: 210.422.6000-4 Rafina Tel: 22940.22300, 22940.28888

Ferries

Poseidonos 9 & Achilleos, P. Faliro. Tel: 210.988.4000

PGA

Shipping Posidonos 61, P. Faliro.

Tel: 210.985.9400

Seahorse Alkyonidon 83 (Marina), Voula. Tel: 210.895.2212

Seascape Poseidonos Ave. 29,

Alimos.

Tel/Fax: 210.985.8301

Valef Yachts Pl. Chatzikonstanti 2,

Ferries run year-round. For information on seasonal schedules contact a travel agent or call the Port Police on 210.422.6000

Piraeus. Tel:210.451.2010

Vernicos Yachts Posidonos 11,

Kalamaki. Tel: 210.985.0122-8

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Images of Another Europe Costantinos Pittas’ dream of capturing on film the “Great European Family, beyond borders and walls” is the subject of an evocative new exhibition at Benaki Museum Pireos (until November 20). Consumed with his theme, Pittas travelled across Western and Eastern Europe, between 1985-1989. But when the Berlin Wall came down, he considered his photo collection redundant and “buried” the negatives in a drawer, without showing them to anyone. Twenty-five years later, his work is being presented to the public in its entirety for the first time, in Benaki’s “Images of Another Europe”. ‘I am profoundly touched by the persons who let me read on their face the very essence of life, the human condition, the tragedy of our substance,’ Pittas tells Insider. 1. Balaton, Hungary 1987, 2. Vienna, Austria 1986, 3. Prague, Czechoslovakia 1986, 4. Bucharest, Romania 1986, 5. Mannheim, West Germany 1985, 6. Paris, France 1987, 7. Berlin, 11 November 1989, 8. Paris, France 1986 To order a copy of the book, visit www.cpittas.com

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insider athens | September - October 2016 73