Precious things rarely come easy. Come October, the landscape of Kozani erupts into a purple carpet of saffron blossoms. Behind this glorious spectacle, however, lies weeks of back-breaking labour to transform this most fragile of flowers into the world’s most sought-after spice. Driving north in October on the Greek mainl...
Read moreArt critic Peter Schjeldahl of The New Yorker, described the acclaimed 81-year old artist Brice Marden as "the most profound abstract painter of the past four decades." And for good reason. Some of his paintings have been sold for more than 10 million dollars. He is also a hotelier, a member of the American Academy of Arts and Letters, ...
Read moreThe Gem Society’s Muse bistro delivers a snapshot of the elegant Beirut way of life, delivered one delicate plateful at a time. Infused with flavours from France, Lebanon and Greece, the cuisine here is soulful, a textural memory of large family dinners, as the large black and white photograph that dominates the restaurant suggests. Sudha N...
Read moreIn the sixties Hydra became an artists’ colony, even Leonard Cohen couldn’t resist and bought a house there. It has changed quite a bit since then and the simple lifestyle of those days changed into a more luxurious one. One local has been through it all – Stephan Colloredo-Mansfeld, who made his fortune being one of the first rare-record...
Read moreArt historian Els Hanappe researches into the making of an international artists’ community on the island of Hydra during mid-20th Century. Hydra 1936. Crumbling stone mansions testify to the glorious seafaring past of this long, bare and rocky island, close to Athens and across from the mainland of the Peloponnese. Less popul...
Read moreWant to keep the summer feeling alive in September? Athens Insider culls the best addresses where you don't just have a sea-view perched a few metres above, you can dip your toes in the water. From fine dining bastions to simple seafood eateries on the sands, here's our pick of 12 restaurants where you can sink your feet in the sand and t...
Read moreAcclaimed chef Hervé Pronzato moves back to Greece to launch his eponymous restaurant in Petralona. Hervé, mercifully doesn’t fall into a narrow culinary category, and that is what makes a meal there worth all the anticipation! Flavour-packed with whiffs from Pronzato’s itinerant forays into India, the Middle East and Malaysia, Hervé wrap...
Read moreWhile Greece is a world-renowned tourist destination for sailing holidays, it’s not the hub for professional racing sailing that its climate and location warrants. Graham Wood talks to Akis Tsarouchis, a passionate sailing guru who is trying to remedy all that. On the face of it, Greece should be the European epicenter for pro...
Read moreSail the Greek islands with the charismatic Peter Maneas as he takes his superyacht to 227 of Greece's inhabited islands. My Greek Odyssey is a 13-part series where Peter explores their rich history, culture, cuisine, and people as well as their hidden secrets and surprises. Series One starts in Athens and travels to the Saronic and Ionia...
Read moreMichael Winterbottom's Trip to Greece launches this week at cinemas across Greece. The comedic-culinary travelogue featuring Steve Coogan and Rob Brydon will draw you in with their singular brand of wit, with pit-stops at Greece's fave gourmet destinations. Behind-the-scenes shots with Chef Lefteris Lazarou and his team at Varoulko Seasi...
Read moreAt a time when Greek restauranteurs have been tested in more ways than one, the Michelin Awards provide a glimmer of hope and recognition, further bolstering Athens’ cred as a gourmet capital. A Michelin star is a perplexing badge of honour — mainly because nobody can quite pinpoint exactly what's needed to get one. The ambig...
Read moreIn his third corona series, Jeff Siger ponders on populist choices and consequences when politics trumps science. One of the lessons in June has been how the power of one event can have an impact on global businesses and popular culture. "When faced with a pandemic disease of the human body or of the body politic, it is only the elected a...
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