Business trip to Athens, Greece.

• Communication:
  Use formal names, professional and academic titles.
  A good business relation is the key to success in Greece.Greek are not direct, they prefer subtlety to directness.
  Never interrupt somebody.
  Dress formal and conservative.
  


• Meetings and negotiations:
  When making appointments use the 24-hour clock time format to avoid misunderstandings.
  Be very punctual, if you suspect you will late, call and explain the situation.
  Never cancel a meeting at the last minute.
  Shake hands with everyone upon arriving at the meeting and leaving.
  Remain standing until invited to sit down or others do so.
  A very long time is spent to getting to know you before the business conversation begins.
  Agenda’s are not strictly followed and a meeting can take much longer then planned.
  The first appointments are more socially oriented, Greeks would like to know you a bit better at first.
  Keep your presentation as short as possible, to the point, accurate and precise, do not exaggerate.
  Follow up a meeting with a letter with all agreements outlined.
  


• Table manners:
  If unsure on how to behave, mimic the behavior of others.
  Wait until you are appointed a seat.
  Avoid alcohol if possible, otherwise drink little.
  Return a toast from your host later at the meal.
  Put a napkin on your lap.
  Food can be shared from plates.
  Ask small portions seconds are expected. Eat not too much but finish your plate.
  Keep your hands above the table when eating.
  After finishing your plate lay your knife and fork parallel on your plate with the handles to the right.
  Thank your host at the end of the meal.
  

The Greek market has its peculiarities, especially when it comes to procurement and government tenders. Lack of familiarity with regulations and government agencies can lead to frustration and delays in contract negotiations. Therefore, a competent local representative is invaluable.

A company that is not willing to travel to Greece to establish an agent, distributor, or partnership relationship, is generally regarded as not ready for the Greek market regardless of the company’s success in other foreign markets.

Compagnies considering investing in Greece should review the relevant regulations with legal, tax and other business experts in order to avoid potential problems. The Hellenic Center for Investment (ELKE), the Greek national investment agency, is able to provide initial assistance in dealing with government institutions.

Product tip: There are also nice looking laptop bags on the market! A laptop bag doesn’t have to be a dull conservative black bag. There are lot’s of great looking bags on the market these days. Special laptop bags with the protection that is needed for your laptop but also with nice designs in models and materials.

Address
Athens Eleftherios Venizelos
International Airport
Administration Building 17
Spata 19019
Greece
Telephone: +30(0)210 353 0000
Fax: +30(0)210 353 2284
Email: airport_info@aia.gr
www.aia.gr

Airport codes
IATA airport code: ATH
ICAO airport code: LGAV

Lost property
For items lost in the Terminal areas, you can contact the Lost Property Office, operated by the Hellenic Police. It is located at the Arrivals Level, across Exit 3, and operates on a 24-hour basis.
For further information, please contact: (+30) 210 35 30 515.

Train
The metro leaves every 30 minutes to the center of the Greek capital (Syntagma Plein), you can change trains there if you want to go to Omonia Plein or Makriani, you must go further if you want to go to Monastiraki Station, there, you can change to Line 1 to Piraeus.There is also a city train connection to Larissis Station, trains from there, leave to all destinations on the Greek mainland.

Taxi
Taxis are by exit 1. A ride to the center of the Greek capital is between €15.00–€25.00 and takes about half an hour to an hour, depending on the traffic. Ask the driver to set the meter and make sure he uses the correct rate (a “2” before the meter means you pay double the price but is only applied at night).

During your business trip to Athens, you will need a taxi service. There are more than 20 taxi companies in Athens and as their phone numbers often change, it’s worth checking the daily listing in a newspaper. Your hotel can make the call for you and make sure that the driver knows where you want to go. Most restaurants will call a taxi for you without charge. Taxis are plentiful, but avoid during rush hours (13.00-15.00) when they are very difficult to get.

Restaurant Ideal
The oldest restaurant in the heart of Athens, today’s Ideal has an Art Deco decor and lots of old favorites, from egg-lemon soup to stuffed peppers, from pork with celery to lamb with spinach. Ideal is a favorite for business travelers, and is a must during your business trip to Athens! The service is usually brisk, especially at lunchtime.
46, Panepistimiou Str.
10680 Athens
Phone : +30 210 3303000, 3814604
users.otenet.gr

"Petrino" restaurant
The first "Petrino" restaurant was established in one of the most beautiful traditional buildings in Athens in 1990 and has, from then till today, from a first glance, captured and held the imagination allowing the travel to a bygone era, which seemed to have been lost forever. If you are on a business trip to Athens, this is a great restaurant for entertaining your hosts.
THEMISTOKLEOUS & AKADIMIAS
TEL.: (210) 38 04 100 / (210) 38 22 625
www.petrinorestaurant.gr

Restaurant Vitro
At the cozy and tastefully decorated interior lounges, which is full of colorful art glasses called "VITRO", under a friendly and romantic atmosphere, you have the opportunity to relish a delightful meal that comprises of an amalgam of tasteful dishes and a big variety of wines.
7 Makrigianni Str
Athens GR
Tel.: 210 9238124
www.greektaverna.gr

Hilton Athens
Take in Acropolis views from the Hilton Athens hotel in the heart of the city. Work out at the Hiltonia Spa, featuring a large indoor pool or be pampered at the Beauty Center. Try gourmet Greek cuisine at the famous Milos Restaurant from Montreal and New York.
46 Vassilissis Sofias Avenue
Athens, Greece 11528
Tel: 30-210-7281000
More info about Hotel Hilton Athens

Best Western Dore Hotel
The Best Western Dore Hotel, a newly built Art Nouveau property is located in the center of Athens, close to the cosmopolitan Fokionos Negri pedestrian street. From there is is only a short walking trip to the city’s business and shopping center and near public transportation to all directions which is very convenient during a busy business trip.
7, Aghias Zonis Str. & Tenedou Str.
Athens, 11361
Phone: 0030 210 8655554
More info about Best Western Dore Hotel Athens

Holiday Inn Athens - Attica Avenue
It is the perfect Athens Greece hotel for the experienced business traveler, as it offers excellent access to transportation hubs for the center of Athens City and all points of business, shopping trips and tourism interests. It is one of the preferred Athens Greece Hotels for business executives who travel frequently.
Attica Avenue 40.2 km, between exits 17 & 18
Peania, 19002, Attica
Tel. +30 210 668-9000
More info about Holiday Inn Athens - Attica Avenue

Besides the areas of the Plaka and Monastiraki which are well known to travelers for their large variety of tourist shops all of central Athens is a shopper’s dream. Here you will find the perfect gifts for your loved ones when your return from a business trip to Athens.

The clothing shops have quality men and women’s apparel from all over the world and the shoe stores make you wonder why your choices at home are so limited. The two other main shopping streets of Eolou and Agiou Marou are the streets where you can find incredible bargains in clothes, fabrics, yarn, shoes, and cafes where you can catch your breath after a period of furious shopping.

There are old women from Russia and young men from Persia, selling silk shirts, socks, and underwear on the street. You probably won’t be in the market for any meat or fish but you can buy some fruit, olives or nuts for your hotel room.

Setting out from the Presidential Palace and crossing the National Gardens and the Zappeion, you come to the columns of the Temple of Zeus, the boundary between the old and the new city in the period of Roman rule. A oasis in the heart of the city. Perennial trees and classical buildings combine ancient Greece and the modern world. The highlights are Irodou Attikou Street, perennial trees in the National Gardens, the classic charm of the Zappeion, Hadrian’s Arch.

Start a walk along Irodou Attikou Street, one of the most aristocratic in Athens. The street is home to the Presidential Palace designed by the architect Ernst Ziller, the Maximos Palace (now the official residence of the Prime Minister) and apartment buildings looking out over the National Gardens and occupied by some of the oldest and wealthiest families in Athens.

Originally known as the Royal Gardens, the National Gardens were laid out in 1839 by Amalia, the first queen of Greece. Some five hundred species of plants were ordered from all around the globe which was a very bold enterprise given that the dry climate of Athens often proved fatal to plants unused to it. Yet, the gamble paid off and visitors can now enjoy a veritable jungle with lofty perennial trees rising from thick shrubs and climbing plants.

You can learn more about the gardens at the small Botanical Museum housed in a neo-classical building standing within the gardens and dating from the reign of Otto. It is open daily except on Mondays from 09:00 to 14:00 - tel: 210 721 5019. Close to the museum you will find the foundations of a Roman villa as well as several other buildings dating from the reign of Otto. Among them there is one that has been converted into a modern children’s library.

An excellent spot for a cup of coffee is the tranquil little café you will find as you enter the gardens by the second entrance coming up from the Zappeio off Irodou Attikou Street. In recent years, the National Gardens have had a face-lift. Landscaping work involved the creation of a new children’s recreation area, one of the most appealing and best equipped in the centre of Athens.

From the interior of the National Gardens, follow the wooden signs and you will come out in the grove of the Zappeion, on the path which goes round the rear op the building. If you carry on down you will come face to face with the Kallimarmaro Stadium also known as the Panathenaic Stadium. The venue for the 1896 Olympic Games, the first games of the modern era. It was constructed on the remains of an ancient stadium and it is entirely faced in marble.

The Zappeion, with its carefully tended avenues, statues and imposing stairways, is one of the most characteristic expressions of the neoclassical spirit in the creation of public open spaces. The building itself often is used to house exhibitions and in spring 2003 it hosted the summit of the EU leaders. If you are allowed to, you really should go through the impressive gateway to admire the superb circular atrium with its marble colonnades.

Opposite the Zappeion are the columns of the Temple of Zeus and beyond them Hadrian’s Arch. Your walk takes you elsewhere however. Go down Vasilissis Olgas Street. Four hundred meters down on your left side you will come to Anapafseos Street which leads to the entrance to the First Cemetery of Athens, the most historic burial ground in modern Greece. Here you can see the impressive funerary monuments of some of the greatest families in Greece (Averof, Benakis etc.), famous politicians and of individuals who played an important role in the history of Greece. The best known are the graves of Melina Mercouri and of Sofia Afentaki.

In most hospitals is always an English speaking doctor on call.