Leisure in Greece
During your holidays in Greece you will have the opportunity to discover various and enjoyable ways, for your free time. Traditional market areas but also famous fashion labels are offered for shopping, wellness and spa centers for luxury time, traditional restaurants “tavernas” or café by the sea or in the mountain, cinemas and theaters, are able to satisfy all trends and desires either you are in the city or in the island.
Greece is famous for its especially intense and multifaceted nightlife, which is not restricted to the weekends, in difference with the other European countries; the fun lasts until the early hours of the morning.
Wellness in Greece
Well-being does not concern physical health only. It is a general feeling, an internal ray of health, force and beauty. It is an on-going process.
The successful endeavor by anyone for a better life, the coverage of internal desires, his particularities, the freedom to choose comprise his personal recipe for well-being. I feel good, I’m having a good time, means that I am feeling mentally well-balanced and I feel healthy. Because if health –in accordance with the definition prescribed in the constitution of the World Health Organization (1946) – is “a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not just the absence of an illness or a disability”, a person can easily understand that the meaning of health is not given only by medicine, but also by other factors such as environment, economy, work, etc, and is based solely on a feeling of well-being.
Apart from the rare landscapes and special natural beauties, nature also endowed Greece with springs with important therapeutic properties. Spas are part of the country’s national wealth, while their therapeutic properties were already known in ancient times.
Natural therapeutic springs are found in many different places in Greece, and the water from specific springs differs from ordinary water owing either to its high temperature, or to the presence of rare active components.
Greece is one of the richest countries in the world in terms of natural spas. Thermal and mineral springs appear at 850 different geographical locations.
In addition to revitalising the spirit, the large number of mineral springs in Greece offers visitors an opportunity to receive treatment for chronic conditions in a natural way (hydrotherapy). Ailments like arthritis and rheumatic disorders are traditionally associated with the elderly, and therefore everyone believes that spas are for the “therapeutic” treatment of mainly senior citizens. However, the beneficial properties are much broader as they also benefit people of all ages. They start by improving appearance (concerns mainly the condition of the skin) and arrive at the more generalized feeling of relaxation and well-being.
The development of health and spa tourism in Greece has been rapid and there is to observe a significant growth of supply and service differentiation. The forms of hydrotherapy treatment applied in Greece are spa or mud therapy, drinking or inhalation therapy.
Going Out (Night-life)
Greece is famous for its vivid lifestyle. All visitors may have an excellent stay and experience a lot of pleasant activities. Apart from getting to know the culture, the idyllic countryside, the Greek gastronomy, visitors should meet the tingling greek life style.
To start with, a lot of theatres, music cafes, trendy shops, music stages, cinemas, bars, night clubs, dancing clubs, funky restaurants, classy meeting points, casinos and after hours bars are easy to access everywhere in Greece, all year round.
Shopping in Greece
Greece is the ideal destination for buying goods, offering a wide range of products that will satisfy every taste and desire. Here you will find all the European brand-names, the renowned multinational chains, as well as many Greek products – either in clothing-shoes or popular art or décor. The price-tags on these products vary, so as to satisfy the wallet of every visitor.
The opening hours of the stores are not the same everywhere in the country. The usual opening hours for stores in the centers of the large cities are continuous (9:00 a.m.- 9:00 p.m.), for suburban stores the working hours are split shifts three days a week (Tuesday, Thursday and Friday – 9:00 a.m.-2:30 p.m. and 5:30 p.m.-8:30 p.m.) and morning shifts for the other three days (Monday, Wednesday and Saturday – 9:00 a.m.-3:00 p.m.). Supermarkets operate a continuous shift up to 9:00 p.m., while all the stores are closed on Sundays.
However, you will come across various stores (mini-market, wholesale cigarette stores, kiosks) that remain open almost day and night -even on Sundays- especially those situated in tourist regions.
