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. The island of Hydra in the Saronic gulf is unique in its architecture, significant in its role in mo...
Read moreFor many families living in Athens, half-term school holidays are just around the corner. Make use of Autumn’s awesome climate to sample our pick of fun family adventures that they’ll be only too happy to ditch the ipad for – all in the Great Attica Outdoors. Meet the Magic Horses of Rafina There are many delights on offer at t...
Read moreSwedish entrepreneur and photographer Lisa Furuland Kotsianis shares her favourite summer snapshots of elegant Spetses, the Argo-Saronic treasure that’s often called “The Monaco of Greece”. When did your romance with the island of Spetses begin? We met a mere five years ago. But it was love at first sight. [caption id="atta...
Read moreThe Road to Self-Improvement is Paved with Good Excuses! This was just one of the many Life Lessons Insider’s Amanda Dardanis learned during last weekend's 3km Spetses Swim event at the Spetses mini Marathon. That wise old soul Eleanor Roosevelt famously preached about the psychological benefits of doing one thing each day tha...
Read moreA stunning and self-sufficient island with its own steady year-round pulse, Samos is one of the best-value-for-quality Greek destinations around. Once a holiday haunt of Antony and Cleopatra, Pythagoras’ birthplace also has a riveting history, reports Amanda Dardanis. For a fairly small island just 43km across, the Isle of Sam...
Read moreSince the arrival of two world-class luxury resorts – Amanzoe and Nikki Beach – the once sleepy seaside hub of Porto Heli now attracts a new class of global traveller. Together with its stylish companion island Spetses, the two destinations are one of the Greek Riviera’s Classiest Double Acts, writes Amanda Dardanis. Porto Hel...
Read moreCosta Navarino in Spring is almost unbearably beautiful. Temperatures are in the mid-twenties and nature is at its most abundant. With two long weekends in May – May 1 Labour Day and May 28 Holy Spirit Monday – why not take advantage of this prime window to enjoy a spontaneous and value-packed Spring holiday at Costa Navarino. ...
Read moreNothing says “green shoot” quite so convincingly as the wave of foreign investment currently changing the face of Athens’ luxury hotel landscape. With visitor numbers to the capital continuing to confound all crisis-logic, the appetite for quality inner-city accommodation has soared.Some of the world’s biggest hoteliers have answered the ...
Read moreThese are exciting times for the Athens hotel landscape. After five painful years of crisis, and the closure of several hotels, appetite for accommodation in the Greek capital is soaring. Especially in the downtown precinct connecting Syntagma Square to Omonia and Athens’ famous archeological sites. Enter a fresh new breed of inner-city b...
Read moreJohn Carr goes into bat for Salamina, that much-maligned, silent achiever of the Saronic, shaped just like a “stranded octopus”. “So, did you go anywhere interesting over the weekend?” “Yeah, Salamina.” (A shocked silence.) “Please tell me you are joking.” That’s the kind of reaction you may well expect after you adm...
Read more
