Jaunted

Tags: Drunk Travel / Alcohol / → All Tags

Good Luck With That: U.K., Greece Aim to Curb Booze Tourism

When it comes to getting 'housed on holiday, few nationalities do it better than the British, whose reputation for expatriate debauchery is legendary. Turns out, though, that such extreme inebriation has a downside, ranging from fights to sexual assaults to automobile and scooter accidents. Officials in the U.K. and Greece, a popular holiday destination for young Brits, are fed up with the embarrassing actions of a few hardcore lager louts and are doing something about it. As Reuters points out, Britain urged "Grease" on Thursday to ban bar-hopping tours in which patrons visit so many bars in an evening that even having one drink in each would put you well out of touch with your senses.

more ›

Tags: Ancient History Travel / Elgin Marbles / Museum Travel / Historical Travel / History / History Travel / → All Tags

New Acropolis Museum Reopens Age-Old Debate Over Elgin Marbles

Today's a big day in the world of Greek antiquities, as the massive New Acropolis Museum in Athens opens its doors to the public for the first time. The fancy new building was designed by architect Bernard Tschumi, and incorporates classic and contemporary elements to display 4,000 artifacts, more than ten times the number of the inadequate old museum it replaces. The New York Times has a nifty article and slide show of the $200 million museum, which it calls "one of the highest-profile cultural projects undertaken in Europe in this decade."

more ›

Tags: Movie Set Travel / Athens / My Life In Ruins / Greece Travel / → All Tags

Tour Athens With Nia Vardalos in 'My Life In Ruins'

My Life in Ruins, a new rom-com in theaters today, stars Nia Vardalos (My Big Fat Greek Wedding) as a tour guide in Athens who accidentally falls in love. The plot is as dull as it sounds, but Vardalos' character's chosen profession does provide some great vistas of the city. Taking a cue from Nia, here is our guide to the best of all that Athens has to offer:

more ›

Tags: Travel Bans / Greece Travel / Shoes / Ancient History Travel / Rules / → All Tags

Greece Says Leave Your High Heels At Home

If you've decided that this is the summer you're going to party in Greece, you'd better check your packing list and take out your high heels.

Officials in Greece are trying to get stiletto heels banned at important archaeological sites because these evil heels are damaging the ancient stuff. To quote Eleni Korka, a director taking care of such ancient sites:

Female visitors must wear shoes that do not wound the monuments. These monuments have a skin that suffers and people must realise that.

Too many tourists is a bit of a problem at many of the ancient sites in Greece - a few years ago they did a big clean-up of the Odeon of Herodes Atticus theater in Athens and removed 59 pounds of chewing gum stuck under the seats in the process. For some reason they haven't thought of banning chewing gum a la Singapore, but the anti-stiletto movement is growing strong.

Related Stories:
· Women Banned From Wearing Stilettos at Ancient Greek Sites [Daily Mail]
· Will This Be The Summer You Party in Greece? [Jaunted]
· Greece Travel Guide [Jaunted]

[Photo: **Mary**]

Tags: Greece Travel / European Vacations / Europe Travel / Summer Vacations / → All Tags

Will This Be The Summer You Party In Greece?

Last week we asked you if you're going to Europe this summer, and for the most part the wanderlust of Jaunted readers appears to be recession-proof. Many travelers who are intent on getting away are considering Eastern Europe, which tends to be cheaper and more accessible and just a little bit stranger than the standard London-Paris-Berlin itinerary.

If you're still deciding on an Eastern European destination, it's worth noting that some of our posts on summertime in Greece have included the phrases "oral sex competition" and "out-and-out degeneracy." The country is insane during the summer, whether you're close to Athens or you're gallivanting around the all-Spring-Break-all-the-time islands.

more ›

Tags: Airport WiFi / Airport-WiFi-Map / ATH / → All Tags

Declaring Our Independence in Greece

On March 25, Greece celebrates its independence as won from the Ottoman Empire as won between 1821 and 1829. The occasion is typically celebrated with military parades; New York's Greek population is even having one, albeit not until April 26th.

In the Athens airport, you can celebrate your independence every day with free WiFi via the Wiz portal. We hear you're limited to 45 minutes, though, so make sure to take full advantage (or wait to log on if you've got a long layover).

Feel free to share your airport WiFi experiences.

Related Stories:
· Independence Day in Greece [ExploreCrete.com]
· From Bengal to Nepal, Happy Diwali [Jaunted]
· Airport WiFi Map [Jaunted]

Tags: Clubbin' / Nightlife / To Do / → All Tags

Pure Greek Nightclub Decadence at Akrotiri

One of the hottest nightclubs in Athens isn't so much "in" Athens as it is a 20 Euro cab ride from the center of the city.

Akrotiri - opened in 2008 in nearby Aghios Kosmas - is where the young, beautiful, and occasionally famous of Greece's glitterati come out to see and be seen. The parking lot is filled with polished BMWs and the rope line is overflowing with tall, busty blondes.

It's not the least expensive place to dance away the night. But if you're looking for an evening of out-and-out degeneracy you'd be hard-pressed to do better.

more ›

Tags: War on Christmas / Riots / Crime / Dangerous Travel / → All Tags

Greek Rioters Still Trying To Ruin Christmas

And you thought the anarchists had given up: Riots that were touched off by the killing of a teenager earlier this month, but were more broadly caused by economic concerns and growing dissatisfaction with the government of Prime Minister Kostas Karamanlis flared up again today in Athens. After breeching security at the Acropolis earlier this week and continuing to chuck molotov cocktails at police, today rioters attempted to burn down Athens' new Christmas tree--new because they torched the old one last week.

Just days ago, Athens seemed poised for recovery. But today, police are again warning holiday shoppers and tourists away from downtown, partly because the teenage son of a teacher's union official was shot in the hand Wednesday night. The UK's Foreign Office recommends avoiding downtown as well. For its part, the US State Department is staying mum on conditions on the ground in Greek capital.

After the jump, four very different video looks at the December riots, now in their 13th day.

more ›

Tags: Open Threads / International Travel / Overrated Places / → All Tags

So What Makes A Place Overrated?

This time of year, it can be fun to throw around the word "overrated" in its pop-culture sense--for example, a lively debate about the most overrated movie of 2008. (As opposed to, "Bernie Madoff's investment prowess was, in retrospect, overrated.") But what makes a trip or a destination overrated? For the Los Angeles Times' Leon Logothetis, it's all about the people you meet. Logothetis singles out cities like Prague and Athens for particularly negative interactions with the locals; in Paris, no one would speak English to him even when they were able, and a cab driver ripped him off in Moscow.

We tend to believe people in other countries were not put there for our own edification, but everyone has his own yardstick for determining whether a place is overrated. We'll get started with a few of ours right here; won't you add yours in the comments?

First and Foremost: Hype:
This can be a very personal scale, although many destinations come packaged with universally recognized "You're gonna love it!"s. We went to New York City for the first time too young to be exposed to the hype, but for many first-timers, that initial cloud of bewilderment never lets up. If no one you know has been to a city like Bilbao, you could end up loving it. (Or did we just overhype it right there?)

Comparative Demand:
Logothetis mentions the masses of tourists who "move along the Charles Bridge like zombies" in Prague, and while it doesn't seem fair to completely discount a place because everyone else is there, high-season crowds can put the most seasoned traveler off. Long lines can create Disney-sized anticipation or Sartre-esque ennui. And those crowds may suggest something more damning to a destination: That beyond the tourist track, there isn't much of a public life for visitors to join. Responding to the LA Times article, Village Voice columnist Michael Musto came up with his own list, and of Vienna he writes, "What a snoozy town of old farts! I swear by 9 pm, there isn't a light on in the whole place. You could crap into a streetcorner garbage can and be the most exciting person in town."

Money, or This Way To The Egress:
As much as Logothetis comes off as a bit of a Scrooge in his Moscow tale, it's hard to go to a place where the attractions are free and truly deem it overrated. He's not just being cheap: Destinations that entice you there specifically with the intent on getting you to spend money are tourist traps, but destinations that promise an unforgettable experience for your money are overrated. That's the difference between South of the Border and, say, Iceland, where Foreign Policy warns "you won’t run into Björk in a bar."

Related Stories:
· Athens Overrated? Yes, and There's More Such Travel Spots [LAT]
· The Most Overrated Destinations In The World [Village Voice]
· World's Most Overhyped Vacation Spots [Foreign Policy]
· Three Mexican Restaurants in New York Better Than Dos Caminos [Jaunted]
· Good Circulation Is Overrated [Jaunted]

[Photo: alexey05]

Tags: Riots / Dangerous Travel / → All Tags

Tourists Reappear as Riots Abate in Athens, But Tension Remains

It's been eight days since the killing of a 15-year-old boy by police in Athens touched off riots across the country, and things are finally starting to calm down. The AP reports that open-topped buses filled with tourists have returned to the city's famous historical sights, while the bars and cafes in the Thissio district, with its sweeping views of the Acropolis, are once again packed with patrons. The scene was quite different a week ago, when angry youths clad in red-and-black - some of whom identified themselves as anarchists - took to the streets to protest the killing by overturning garbage cans, looting stores, and scuffling with police. While most Greeks deplore the violent tactics of the rioters, a significant number of citizens have legitimate grievances against the government, not only about the police shooting, but a host of economic and social issues as well. It's sad to think that the country that created the basic fundamentals of philosophy and rule of law could degenerate so dramatically. Perhaps the rioters and government officials both need to take a tour through the Parthenon and other ancient centers of Greek justice, democracy, and scholarship for a reminder of the heights their nation was once able to reach, and ought to aim for again.

[Photo: destination360.com]

Related Stories:
· Greece Calm After 8 Days of Riots [USA Today]
· Democracy in Athens Temporarily On Hold [Jaunted]
· Riot Coverage [Jaunted]

Tags: Adventures of Link / Dangerous Travel / Riots / → All Tags

Democracy In Athens Temporarily On Hold

OMG, Greece! The land of dank tavernas, crumbling temples and ouzo pounding, cigarette huffing Paris Hilton exes is going absolutely bananas right now, after the funeral of the 15-year-old shot by police Saturday.

Gangs of red-and-black-clad anarchists are roving the streets of Athens, smashing windows and chucking molotov cocktails at cops, while smaller interest groups are using the unrest to rally for their pet causes. Some rioters even burned the city's Christmas tree, a total dick move.

While tourists were spared the full force of the violence until now--at least as long as they stayed indoors--the riots are now touching everyone: A strike will completely shut down all airports in the country Wednesday, and hotels came under heavy assault on Monday. The brutes didn't even spare a life-sized diorama of The Nutcracker!

Related Stories:
· Greece Riots: People Have Lost Faith in Government [Guardian]
· Funeral Leads to More Mayhem [NYT]
· As Riots Continue, Greece Faces Mounting Political Crisis [IHT]
· Greek Riots: Airport Strikes Add to Misery [Telegraph]
· Anarchist Riots in Athens, Thessaloniki Keeping Tourists On Their Toes [Jaunted]

[Photo: xamogelo]

Tags: Violence / Crime / Police / Anarchists / → All Tags

Anarchist Riots in Athens, Thessaloniki Keeping Tourists On Their Toes

We've been to Greece and just love it to death, but what we don't know about contemporary Greek society could fill a warehouse. Who knew that the capital of Athens and the northern port city of Thessaloniki were hotbeds of disaffected youth gangs and violent left-wing extremism? The cities have been in the headlines this weekend as riots erupted in response to the shooting death of a youth by a police officer on Saturday near the National Museum in Athens. According to the police, two officers were attacked by thirty stone-throwing youths in the central district of Exarchia, "an unruly haven for far-left youths, including anarchists." Anarchists! The officers responded with superior firepower, fatally wounding one of the youths and touching off riots that have extended into a second day. According to the International Herald Tribune, hundreds of black-clad youths smashed up banks and storefronts, set fires, and harassed cops, who responded with tear gas. It's scary stuff, and we'd advise visitors to keep a low profile until things cool down. As is often the case, the violent demonstrators represent only a small minority of an otherwise peaceful and bohemian segment of society. Unfortunately, it only takes a couple of violent people to set off a maelstrom. As for the police shooting, it's being investigated and the officers involved have been suspended. Be careful out there.

[Photo: International Herald Tribune Europe]

Related Stories:
· Police Shooting Sparks Riots in Greece [International Herald Tribune]
· Violence Coverage [Jaunted]