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Greece Cities with Hotels
 Greece (Greek Hellas), officially known as
the Hellenic Republic (Greek Ellinikí Dimokratía), country in southeastern
Europe, occupying the southernmost part of the Balkan Peninsula and numerous
islands. It is bordered on the northwest by
Albania, on the north by the Former
Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia and by
Bulgaria, on the northeast by
Turkey, on
the east by the Aegean Sea, on the south by the Mediterranean Sea, and on the
west by the Ionian Sea. The total area is 131,957 sq km (50,949 sq mi), of which
about one-fifth is composed of islands in the Aegean and Ionian seas. Athens is
the capital and largest city.
 Some of the hotels, motels and resorts available for booking
in our reservation network include, Ramada Inn, Marriott Hotels, Super 8 Motels,
Econo Lodge, Holiday Inn & Holiday Inn Express, Travelodge, Hampton Inn,
Sheraton, Hilton, Best Western, Hyatt and Hyatt Regency, Wyndham Inn, Ritz and
Ritz Carlton, Days Inn, Courtyard by Marriott, La Quinta Inns, Comfort Inn and
Comfort Suite, Embassy Suites, Quality Inn, Radisson Inn, Sleep Inn, Numerous
Resorts and Resort Villas throughout the globe, along with Plaza and Plaza
Suites and and array of private and Golf Clubs and Golf Resorts.
Select a city or territory from the list below.
These Listings have moved to the Eastern Europe Lodging Centre
The mainland portion of Greece comprises the regions of
Thrace and Macedonia in the north; Epirus, Thessaly (Thessalía), and Central
Greece in the central section; and, in the south, the Pelopónnisos
(Peloponnesus), a peninsula, which is connected to the rest of the mainland by
the Isthmus of Corinth. The Corinth Canal, completed in 1893, passes through the
Isthmus of Corinth, making an artificial island of the Pelopónnisos. The
remainder of Greece consists of islands, which include Euboea (Évvoia); Crete (Kríti);
the Northern Sporades; the Cyclades, Dodecanese, and Ionian Islands; and Ikaría
(Icaria), Khíos (Chios), Límnos (Lemnos), Lésvos (Lesbos), Sámos (Samos),
Samothráki (Samothrace), and Thásos.
The coastal waters of Greece are shallow and penetrate far
inland. The gulfs of Corinth and Saronikós, separated by the Isthmus of Corinth,
divide the Pelopónnisos from central and northern Greece. The country, despite
its indented coasts, has few good harbors. The Gulf of Saronikós has the best
anchorages, notably in the fine natural harbor of Piraeus, which is the port of
Athens. Kérkira (Corfu), one of the Ionian Islands, also has an excellent harbor.
Land and Resources
Greece is famous for its natural beauty. The land is
mountainous and rugged and, as the ancient Greek geographer Strabo wrote,
"the sea presses in upon the country with a thousand arms." In natural
resources, however, the country is relatively poor.
Although a small country, Greece has a very diverse
topography. The most important physiographic divisions of the country are
the central mountains; the damp, mountainous region in the west; the dry,
sunny plains and lower mountain ranges in eastern Thessaly, Macedonia, and
Thrace; Central Greece, the southeastern finger of the mainland that cradled
the city-states of Greece; the mountainous region of the Pelopónnisos; and
the islands, most of which are in the Aegean.
The central mountain area, the Pindus Mountains, which
extends in a northern to southern direction, is one of the most rugged,
isolated, and sparsely populated parts of the country. Mount Olympus (2917
m/9570 ft), the highest peak of Greece, was considered in ancient times to
be the home of the gods. The western slopes, which extend through Epirus
down to the Ionian Sea, are somewhat lower and more hospitable. The
southeastern extremity of Central Greece, known as Attica, is broken into
many isolated valleys and plains by mountain ridges. The most famous part of
Greece, the Athenian plain, is in Attica. The largest plain of the eastern
coastal area, however, is in Boeotia, to the north of Attica. Thessaly, a
plain ringed by mountains, is one of the more fertile parts of the country.
Macedonia has the largest plains in Greece. Thrace, to the east of
Macedonia, has a varied topography consisting of mountains, valleys, and
several coastal plains. The Pelopónnisos is mountainous, but to a lesser
degree than Central Greece, and is shaped somewhat like a giant hand with
impassable mountain ridges extending like fingers into the sea. Between the
mountain ridges are narrow valleys, which are isolated from one another, but
which open onto the sea. The western section of the Pelopónnisos is less
mountainous than the eastern section. The islands of the Aegean Sea are
generally high, rugged, stony, and dry, and consequently their contribution
to the economic life of the country is limited. They are important, however,
because of their great beauty, historical importance, potential for tourism,
and strategic military value.
Climate
The climate of Greece is similar to that of other
Mediterranean countries. In the lowlands the summers are hot and dry, with
clear, cloudless skies, and the winters are rainy. The mountain areas are
much cooler, with considerable rain in the summer months. Frost and snow are
rare in the lowlands, but the mountains are covered with snow in the winter.
The rainfall varies greatly from region to region. In Thessaly less than 38
mm (less than 1.5 in) of rain falls in some years, whereas parts of the
western coast receive about 1270 mm (about 50 in). The mean annual
temperature in Athens is about 17° C (about 63° F); the extremes range from
a normal low of -0.6° C (31° F) in January to a normal high of 37.2° C (99°
F) in July.
"Greece," Microsoft® Encarta® 97 Encyclopedia.
© 1993-1996 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.
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Last Revised:
October 08, 2006 12:08 AM. |
