General Information
»Greece is situated in Southeastern Europe, with an area of 131,957 sq.km. and a population of 10,964,020.
»Athens is the capital of Greece with a population of 3,192,606.
»Local time is GMT +2 hours.
»The Hellenic Republic is a Presidential Parliamentary Democracy.
»President of the Hellenic Republic: Mr Karolos Papoulias.
»Prime Minister: Mr Constantinos Karamanlis
»Parliament: Three hundred elected members with elections held every four years
»Greece is a member state of E.U. since 1981.
»The currency is euro.
»The Greek economy adopts the principles of free enterprise and is bound by the regulations of international organisations such as ECOFIN and WTO, of which it is a member.
Administration of the Country
Greece is divided into 13 administrative divisions, named "Peripheries" (Districts).
The next level of administrative division is the "Nomos" (Prefecture). In total there are 51 Nomi, and one self-governed territorial division (Agion Oros, on Mount Athos).
Local Communities are named either "Dimos" (City) or "Kinotita" (Community). In total there are 900 Dimi and 133 Kinotites.
Climate - Weather
Greece has a Mediterranean climate with plenty of sunshine, mild
temperatures and a limited amount of rainfall. Due to the country's geographical position, its rugged relief and its distribution between the mainland and the sea, there is great variation in Greece's climate. In summer, the dry hot days are cooled by seasonal winds called the meltemi, while mountainous regions have generally lower temperatures.
The winters are mild in lowland areas, with a minimum amount of snow and ice, yet, mountains are usually snow-covered. Moreover, a common phenomenon is the occurrence of different climactic conditions during the same season (for instance, mild heat in coastal areas and cool temperatures in mountainous regions).
Greece's main meteorological data are given below (Source: National Meteorological Service):
Health
In order to have access to necessary health care, tourists from member states of the European Union (EU) wishing to visit Greece must be holders of the European Health Card (EHIC) or any other legal Community document issued by their competent social security agency.
In these cases, the necessary treatment in Greece is provided by:
- the IKA (Social Security Institute) Health Units (polyclinics) or doctor’s offices in the region;
- Regional clinics (former rural clinics) or the Health Centres of the National Health System; and
- the outpatients’ departments of the hospitals on contract
In order to have access to necessary health care, tourists from countries other than the member states of the European Union wishing to visit Greece must consult their social security agency for information before travelling.
In case of emergency call:
»Ambulance Service: 166
»SOS Doctors : 1016
»Duty Hospitals and Clinics: 1434
»Poisoning First Aid: 210 7793777
»Pharmacies: 1434
»Open Line for alcohol drug Addiction: 210 3617089
Tourist Police
The Tourist Police is a Service of the Greek Police Force staffed with specially trained, foreign-language speaking personnel. Within the framework of its duties and functions, it provides the following services:
»It provides information to Greek and foreign visitors and offers them assistance in settling any issues arising with tourist businesses.
»It cooperates with locally competent Directorates of Tourism and local authorities in order to deal with tourism issues.
»It ensures that the tourist legislation in force is applied in all tourist areas, businesses and media, such as hotels, apartments and rooms to let, tourist shops, tourist agencies and coaches, car and motorcycle rental agencies, archaeological sites, tourist guides, ski resorts, spa towns, mass arrival/departure stations, sanitary facilities operating in tourist businesses and sites of free camping, etc.
»It carries out inspections of tourist businesses with the aim to provide better services and higher protection to visitors.
The distinctive insignia of the Greek Tourist Police officers are the following:
»White band on the cap
»White belt
»White gloves
»The distinctive insignia “TOURIST POLICE” worn on the front of the shirt.
The Greek Tourist Police can be reached around-the-clock by dialing “171”. This line provides all kind of information and instructions in Greek, English, French and German, thus helping tourists to deal directly with any arising problem.
In case you need any help, do not hesitate to contact the staff members of the Greek Tourist Police by dialing “171”.
Shopping
Greece is the ideal destination to shop for a wide variety of products, catering to everybody’s tastes and wishes. Prices are very reasonable in relation to product quality and visitors will be able to find something for every budget.
Shops are open Monday through Friday from 09.00 till 14.30 and on Tuesday, Thursday and Friday also from 17.30 through 20.30. On Saturday shops open from 09.00 till 15.00, while they are closed on Sunday. Supermarkets and kiosks may stay open till 22.00.
More specifically, in the centre of large urban areas as well as in tourist areas, tourist shops and kiosks are open from early in the morning till late at night, seven days a week.
Statistics Auto 2006
From The Association of Motor Vehicle Importers-Representatives (AMVIR)
»Registrations, new light commercials vehicles “January-December 2006” 23.735 vehicles
Registrations, new passengers cars & taxi :
January-December 2006 - 267.706 cars
Registrations, new light commercials vehicles :
January-December 2006 - 23.735 vehicles
