HIT THE COAST
A trip to Athens would be incomplete without a day or two spent at the seaside idyll and luxury hotels of the Athenian Riviera, along the Saronic Gulf and easily accessible from the city centre by bus, tram or car. Thessaloniki also has a coastal side — the city is just over an hour’s drive from the hypnotic beauty of Halkidiki’s three peninsulas. The newest addition to Halkidiki’s luxury wellness scene is the Miraggio Thermal Spa Resort on the Kassandra Peninsula. Its 300 rooms and 48 private pools will certainly be making a splash this summer.
PICTURE: REGION OF ATTICA GALLERIES AND MUSEUMS
Athens and Thessaloniki both have energetic, creative arts scenes. Film buffs and technology aficionados will love Thessaloniki’s Cinema Museum. Founded two decades ago to preserve the life of Greek movies, it displays old camera equipment, film reels and photos from almost 2,000 films. For a glimpse of Greek history visit the permanent collection at the Benaki Museum in Athens’s Koubari Street or its temporary exhibitions at the Pireos Street building, nicely contrasted with a trip to see contemporary art at The Breeder Gallery, based in an old ice cream
factory in the Metaxourgeio district. In Thessaloniki, contemporary work can be found at the Toss Gallery and the neoclassical spaces of the Nitra Gallery, which focus on the Balkans and eastern Europe. In Athens, it would be remiss to
leave out the Acropolis Museum, built to house close to 4,000 fascinating artefacts from Greece's glorious past. The Zoumboulakis Galleries are second to none for contemporary art. This collection of Athens venues hosts some incredible exhibitions, such as Sophia Papacosta's ink-jet drawings dealing with fears and phobias.
FESTIVALS AND MORE
For history and sports fans, November’s annual international classic marathon in Athens is a kind of epic running festival, based on the route that gave the 26.2-mile distance its name (
athensauthenticmarathon.gr). Sporty visitors to Thessaloniki will enjoy tackling the longest waterfront in Europe for cyclists; the 5km shoreline has views of Mount Olympus and takes you from the city’s Concert Hall to the port. The Athens Open-Air Film
Festival runs from June to September with screenings in parks and pedestrian areas (
cinemag.gr/aoaff), while from June to August, the famous Epidaurus Festival features classical music, dance, opera and theatre (
greekfestival.gr). The 57th Thessaloniki
International Film Festival takes place in November, dedicated to independent cinema. Film makers and film lovers will come together for viewings, tributes, masterclasses, discussions and lots more across 10 days.
PICTURE:
FILMFESTIVAL.GR
PICTURE: REGION OF ATHENS
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