The Greek state administration is divided into the 13 regions Attica, Epirus, Ionian Islands, Crete, Central Greece, North Aegean, East Macedonia and Thrace, Peloponnese, South Aegean, Thessaly, West Greece, West Macedonia and Central Macedonia , which are divided into further prefectures and each by one own parliament and be governed by a regional president. On the other hand, the Chalkidiki peninsula is largely administered autonomously and is not part of the EU’s tax area.
Athens
According to estatelearning, Athens is the capital of Greece and one of the oldest cities in Europe. The area in the Attic plain was settled around 7,000 years ago and is today the center of Greece both from a cultural and economic point of view and the destination of numerous cultural trips. The name is derived from the ancient goddess Athena, who, according to a legend that has been passed down many times, prevailed against the sea god Poseidon with her gift, an olive tree, in the competition for the favor of the residents of that time. Athens experienced its heyday with the construction of the Acropolis in the 5th century BC, which is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site. At that time, monumental buildings and sculptures were created by artists such as Iktinos and Polygnot, the anthropological philosophy was founded by Plato and Aristotle and the probably first democracy in world history (Attic democracy) was implemented. Due to the settlement history going back to the Neolithic Age, Athens has a lot to offer in terms of ancient culture and was named the first European Capital of Culture in 1985. The architecture of the 19th century to the early 20th century in Athens was largely shaped by classicism and the restoration of the Greek state. Almost all important public buildings such as the theater, the Supreme Court, the Parliament, the Zappeion exhibition hall, the cathedral, the town hall, etc. are classicist buildings. Prominent examples are the Parliament building (former castle) on Syntagma Square, the “Athens Trilogy” with the National and Kapodistrias University of Athens, the National Library and the Academy of Sciences. The Catholic Episcopal Church and the old eye clinic are in the immediate vicinity. Urban development after 1930 was shaped by the idea of the functional city according to the so-called Charter of Athens.
The port of Piraeus in the immediate vicinity of Athens is around 2,500 years old. Piraeus is considered the third largest port in the world. Travelers benefit from the good infrastructure, which enables fast and safe travel through the capital. The Attiki Odos, the “Attic Street”, connects the new airport “Eleftherios Venizelos” east of Athens with the town of Elefsina in the west and runs north of Athens city center. In addition, tourists in Athens have the opportunity to explore the city using the Athens metro, tram and suburban train. In addition, regular buses run between the airport and the city center.
Due to its culturally and historically significant sights, Athens is one of the most visited cities in Europe.
Thessaloniki
Thessaloniki is an important modern university, trade fair, cultural, industrial and port city at the crossroads of millennia-old traffic routes in northern Greece, on the coast of the northwestern Aegean. With over 325,000 residents in the core city, it is also the second largest city in Greece. Together with the surrounding communities, the agglomeration of Thessaloniki has a population of around 1 million.
The city already mentioned in the Bible was founded in 315 BC. Founded by the Macedonian king Kassandros on the Thermaic Gulf and named after his wife Thessalonikē, a half-sister of Alexander the great.
Due to its long and eventful history, Thessaloniki has a number of cultural and historical sights to offer. The city’s landmark is the White Tower, which dates from the Venetian or early Ottoman times and was probably built by Venetian builders and is now used as a museum. Buildings from the Roman period are the remains of the imperial palace with an octagon, the Galerius Arch and a rotunda from the 4th century, which was later converted into a mosque and is now a museum. There are also remains of a forum with an underground stoa and a theater.
One of the early Christian and Byzantine buildings is the Latomos Monastery of Osios David, whose church is a forerunner of the cross-domed church, with mosaics and paintings from the end of the 5th to the 14th century. There are also numerous important early Christian and Byzantine churches, some of which have excellent mosaics and paintings, which have been included in the list of World Heritage Sites by UNESCO.
Buildings from Ottoman times are the Besesteni, a covered market with six domes, which mainly housed cloth merchants and goldsmiths, Turkish baths, the mosques Hamsa-Bey-Tsami, Alatsa-Imaret-Tsami and Yeni Cami (from 1902), the Konak and the Ataturk’s birthplace.
Due to the international airport and the large port with numerous ferry connections to the Aegean islands, Thessaloniki is an important hub for tourism and the starting point or starting point for numerous trips to Greece.
Patras
With around 214,000 residents in the actual city center, Patras is the third largest city in Greece. It is located on the north coast of the Peloponnese peninsula, on the Gulf of Patras, which opens the strait between the Peloponnese and the mainland from the west in a zone of increased seismic activity, which led to repeated earthquakes in the city. The important port city was one of the first of twelve Achaean cities from whose alliance around 280 BC. The Achaean League against the Macedonians was established. Archaeological finds in the city center date back to the Bronze Age with remains of Mycenaean chamber graves and stone box graves from the transition from the Middle Helladic to the Late Helladic.
Although Patras was largely destroyed during an earthquake and by the Turkish siege around 1820-22, many cultural monuments from antiquity and recent history have been preserved or rebuilt in Patras. These include the Mycenaean settlement and necropolis Voundeni, the Roman Odeon, the Roman amphitheater, the Apollon Theater, the Patras Castle and the Agios Andreas Church. The exhibitions in the Archaeological Museum of Patras are also worth seeing.
With a total length of 2883 m, the Charilaos-Trikoupis Bridge opened in 2004 as an impressive engineering structure spanning the Gulf of Corinth. The use of a trip to Patras or the Peloponnese peninsula by car is chargeable. The university town of Patras is known for its two-month winter carnival events and was elected European Capital of Culture in 2006.
Corfu
Corfu belongs to the Ionian Islands and is the second largest of this group of islands after Kefalonia and a popular travel destination in Greece. The only a few kilometers wide road from Corfu separates the island from the Albanian coast. Lush vegetation awaits the visitor with many olive groves, orange and lemon plantations – but also with acacias, pines, cypresses, laurel and myrtle trees. Long sandy and pebble beaches alternate with small bays. The bay of Kalami is one of the most beautiful bays. Empress Sissi already loved this island and spent several months in the Achillion Villa. The main town is Corfu Town on the east coast of the island, the old town of which was built in the Venetian style. In addition to the scenic beauty, Corfu also has some cultural attractions to offer.
Crete
None other than Zeus, the father of the gods, once chose the island as his birthplace. Crete is myth and mythology, antiquity and history together. The legendary King Minos, in whose labyrinth the monster Minotaur lived, comes to life again during your excursion to the Minoan Palace. The Cretan-Minoan culture was the center of the Mediterranean long before the mainland Greeks visited the island around 1400 BC. conquered. Later came the Romans, the Venetians and the Turks who besieged Crete one after the other for two millennia. The multicultural legacy of these invaders is still present in many ways. With an area of around 8,330 km², Crete is the fifth largest island in the Mediterranean. The capital is Heraklion, also called Heraklion. Next to the island of legends and myths, Crete is a paradise for nature and hiking enthusiasts, for beach holidaymakers and of course for cultural trips. Welcome!