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attica
Athens cradle of civi
Photo: Y. Skoulas
22
Named after Athena,
goddess of wisdom and
knowledge, Athens is
generally considered to
Location
be the cradle of
of democracy
Western civilisation.
Once the glory of the
classical world, the city
still pulses with life and
holds a great fascination
for large numbers of
visitors arriving yearround,
especially from
spring to fall.
Photo: Y. Skoulas
Athens
is the birthplace
Home to nearly 5,000,000 people, Athens is an important political, social,
cultural and economic centre in the Balkans and Southeast Europe.
Located in east-central Greece, Attica, the country's most populated region
known as Greater Athens or Attica basin, is surrounded by the mountains of
Hymettus in the east, Pendeli and Parnes in the north, the low hills of Mt
Aegaleo in the west and the Saronic coastline south-west. Attica comprises the
capital, Athens, the adjacent port city and commercial centre of Piraeus, the
picturesque Saronic islands of Aegina, Poros, Hydra and Spetses, the wineproducing
region of Messogia in the east and a number of smaller towns and
municipalities in the west.
Transportation
Travel to and from Athens is very easy. The selection of Athens as the 2004
Olympic assisted in the completion of many infrastructure projects with emphasis
on the transportation sector, including the modernisation of road and rail links
between Athens and the rest of mainland Greece. The Egnatia Highway, a 680-
kilometre four-lane motorway runs from Greece's west coast in the Ionian Sea all
the way to the Turkish border in the east, featuring some 85 kilometres of bridges
and tunnels. Major infrastructure changes have transformed the city of Athens,
including 120 kilometres of new, modern roads, 90 km of upgraded roads, 40 flyover
bridges, 135 km Metro lines, a 23.7 km Tram network, parking lots in central
locations with accompanying new management systems, modern train stations
and a new, ultra-modern Traffic Management Centre, making the city easier to
navigate and more enjoyable for even casual tourists. Athens’ Tram system is
modern and clean, impressive and peppy. The futuristic, Italian designed carriages
run from the heart of the capital to the coastal suburbs, offering a good
inexpensive tour of the coastline, all the public and pay beaches on the capital’s
southern coastal zone. The Athens state-of-the-art subway system consists of two
lines radiating in four directions along 77 kilometers of track- including the Athens
railway - from Syntagma Square, in central Athens, serving 45 stations and over
500,000 commuters daily. One of the Metro’s striking features is the underground
"station museums" displaying 5th century BC artefacts that were excavated by
crews during the project and incorporated into the walls of the stations. Air travel
has been made more appealing with the March 2001 opening of the Athens
International Airport. Located just 20kms east of Athens, the new airport features
state-of-the-art facilities for the comfort and security of 16 million passengers per
year and it is linked with Athens by a recently constructed major freeway.
Regular public bus, light rail and cab services give easy access to every part of the
capital, facilitated by a number of newly constructed ring-roads, another bequest
of the Olympics. Ferry schedules to and from all the Aegean islands are carried
out daily from the Attica ports of Piraeus, Rafina and Lavrio.