Modern Greece is better known as a great place to vacation rather than a centre of learning and
culture. Today the country attracts by offering simple pleasures: delicious food at reasonable
prices, local wine, beautiful beaches, sunshine, quaint villages, a seemingly endless lacework of coastline and little islands full of scenic surprises. The country exudes traditional charm,
particularly on its ever-popular islands, which cling to their stereotypical architecture and way of life despite being often over-run by tourists. Black-clad women still deliver vegetables to island taverns on panniered donkeys, while bronzed, lined fishermen sit in the sun, drink thick coffee, and play dominoes or dice. The tourist infrastructure has intruded in many respects, but the timeless aspect of whitewashed buildings clustered on hillsides around narrow pebbled alleys has been retained.

Currency: The Euro (EUR) is the official currency, divided into 100 cents

Land Code: +30. The city code for Athens is 21

Language: Greek is the national language, but English is widely spoken

Weather: The climate of Greece is Mediterranean, enjoying long hot dry summers and mild winters.
Summer temperatures in Greece are tempered by the Etesian northerly wind, which blows
across the Aegean Sea, and breezes called "meltemia", but the mercury on the mainland
regularly hits the high spots. Winters are mild and wet (though rainfall is generally low in most
areas). In the mountainous regions, however, rainfall is heavier, snow is likely and
temperatures are severe.