Athens, Greece – Autumn 2019

Radisson Blu Park Hotel Athens Hotel

A memorable accommodation in Athens city center
10, Alexandras Avenue Athens 106 82 Athens Greece
+30 210 8894 500 – https://www.radissonblu.com/en/hotel-athens

The Radisson Blu Park Hotel places you right in the center of Athens. The conveniently located Athens hotel sits at the edge of Pedion tou Areos, one of the city’s largest parks, and is only a short stroll from the National Archeological Museum. Discover the city’s vibrant atmosphere and immense history right on your doorstep.

Room rates

Room rates include: Free Wi-fi internet, super buffett breakfast , Gym, Sauna, Hamam and all taxes.
As of January 1st 2018, an accommodation tax of 4 EUR per room per night is charged during check-out. The accommodation tax will be paid directly by guests to the hotel during check-out.

Transfer (optionally): € 55/per way

A private taxi driver will be waiting at the arrival hall of the airport, with the sing of participant’s name.

* By taxi: Athens InternationalAirport (ATH), 30 – 45 min by taxi (approximately EUR 45)

• Full program: 340 €
• Friday: 110 €
• Accompanying persons: 60 €

ECOO members full program fee includes

• All meetings
• Coffee breaks and lunches during meetings
• Welcome reception on Friday
• Get together dinner on Saturday

EDO Board of management / Board of examiners fee include (Friday)

• EDO Board of management meeting and/or Board of examiners meeting/s
• Coffee breaks on Friday
• Lunch on Friday
• Welcome Reception on Friday

Accompanying person

• Welcome reception Friday
• Get together dinner on Saturday

You will receive a confirmation with the details of your registration when the payment as been confirmed at the indicated email address in the registration form.

Accommodation payment conditions

• 50%of the accommodation package, payable to ERA Ltd, is required in order to confirm your Hotel Reservation
• Full payment for accommodation package should reach the Meeting Secretariat, not later than September 15th, 2019.

Accommodation cancellation policy

• Cancellation requests must be made to ERA Ltd in writing.
• For cancellation received by September 15th , 2019, 30% cancellation fee charge will apply, calculated on the total amount of accommodation expenses.
• For cancellation received between September 15th – October 1st, 2019, 50% cancellation fee charge will apply, calculated on the total amount of accommodation expenses.
• From October 1st , 2019 accommodation refunds will not be possible.

Registration Cancellation policy

• Cancellations received latest August 19th 2019, will have a penalty of 10% of the registration fee.
• Cancellations received between August 20th and September 15th 2019, will have a penalty of 50% of the registration fee.
• Cancellations received from September 16th 2019, will not be refunded.
• Cancellations must be notified well in advance to the Congress Organizer, via e-mail: info@era.gr, estamena@era.gr

The nearby Victoria Metro Station connects you to virtually the entire city, and a well-developed network of buses and electrical trolley-buses fully serve Athens as well as the surrounding region. Guest appreciate the bus stop approximately 2 minutes’ walk from the accommodation for destinations like Lavrio and Rafina ports and Sounio (with the Temple of Poseidon). Taxis are also readily available. Guests traveling by car are welcome to use the hotel’s on-site, indoor parking. Victoria Metro Station – 300 m

Transport from Airport to conference venue

By taxi

Athens InternationalAirport (ATH) – 30 – 45 min by taxi (approximately EUR 45)

By train

Take Line 3 Airport-Douk (Plakentias-Monastiraki) to Monastiraki station and then change to Line 1-ISAP (Piraeus-Kifissia) toward Kifissia. Stop at Victoria station, which is only 300 meters from the hotel.

Getting to Athens

Throughout the year millions of visitors getting to Greece and Athens. For the majority of them, the best way to arrive to Athens is by air, but there are, or course, the alternative routes by train, car or ferry boats which leave from various ports of Italy like Venice, Ancona, Bari , Brindisi and Otranto as well as the train journey through the Balkan Peninsula. Visitors to Athens and Greece in general from the European Union countries and Schengen countries ( Sweden, France, Germany, Iceland, Italy, Greece, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland) do not need a visa and they can travel with their ID’s. For more information about visa requirements you should visit the local Greek Consulates and Embassies .There are offices of the Greek National tourism Organisation in many European cities from the offices you can obtain useful information map of Greece and brochures about Greece .For US citizens the official site of the Greek Embassy www.greekembassy.org gives many information and details. Though most tourists use Athens as a stop over before visiting the Greek islands like Paros, Naxos, Kos, Santorini or Crete island, the capital of Greece is worth for more than a couple of days of staying and has a lot of beauties and attractions to offer.

Travel to athens by airplane

The new airport of Athens Eleftherios Venizelos located in Spata and is one of the best airports in Europe. The airport serves flights to Greece daily from several international airlines from all over the world ,It has a modern design and was build by a famous German construction company. Within the airport there are many facilities and shops, restaurants, bars, fast food, pharmacies, duty free shops, internet, banks, ATM’s, money exchange offices, news and magazines kiosks and all that makes any traveller to feel comfortable. The metro and the Proastiakos Suburban rail as well as taxis and buses to and from Athens are to be found opposite the main exit of the airport, the bus journey is cheap and takes between 40 and 45 minutes to the city centre at Syntagma (Parliament) Square (of course depending on the time and traffic), therefore the best way is to take the Athens metro that connects the airport with Athens and Piraeus. There are car hire agencies at the airport and if you want to rent a car.

Travel to athens by train

Train travel is not so much in fashion anymore due to the complexity of the journey through the Balkans. For those arriving from western Europe by car or train a good recommendation is to use the Greek ferries route from Italy to Greece.

Travel to athens greece by car

If you are driving to Greece coming from the European continent and you prefer to take the ferry from an Italian port, you need to head towards Italy and the Italian ports of either Ancona, Venice Bari or Brindisi, those ports have daily connections to Corfu Igoumenitsa and Patras. Patras is about 207 km away from Athens. Be aware though that driving in Greece is not as easy as you think, Greek drivers are speeding and overtaking many times without any warnings. There are some good highways a like the Corinth- Athens and the Athens Larissa, Corinth to Tripolis and the Egnatia highway.

Useful links

• Tram & Metro Transportation(ametro.gr)
• Tram & Metro Transportation(stasy.gr)
• Athens Urban Transport Organization
• Athens metro, tram and suburban rail map
• Athens International Airport

Sightseeing

The Acropolis

Literally “high city,”the Acropolis is Greece’s great marvel. Ascend through the olive groves of the lower slopes to reach the marble crown, before passing through the Propylaia gateway. You’ll see the Temple of Athena Nike, the Erechtheion and the Parthenon along with numerous fragments arranged for reassembly. The state’s grand plan is to put right centuries of sackings, lootings and decay.

The Acropolis Museum

The Acropolis Museum is an absolute must see. Inside the modern exterior visitors can discover the ancient aesthetic wisdom of the Acropolis and feel the atmosphere of ancient Athens. The Gallery of the Slopes of the Acropolis, the Archaic Gallery and the Parthenon Gallery display sculptures, inscriptions, finds from sanctuaries, as well as objects used in everyday life. Visitors can also watch conservators working, speak to an archeologist host and acquire small souvenirs from the museum shop. The restaurant on the second floor offers a breath taking view of the Acropolis.

Mount Lycabettus

Twilight is the best time to venture up this abrupt peak. At 745 ft. (277 m),Lycabettusstands high above Athens, commanding a clear view across the Attica basin and the Aegean. Facing the viewing platform is Agios Georgios, the tiny white-stuccoed chapel of St. George. There is also a superb café, although prices match the altitude. To get there, hike up the path that starts at the end of Aristippou Street in Kolonaki and winds upwards. Or you can opt for the funicular ($8.20), which leaves from Ploutarchou and Aristippou Streets.

Monastiraki Flea Market

In the morning, make your way to the flea market at Avissynias Squarefor a jumble of curios, from books to paintings, clothes to trinkets. Afterward, cross Athinas Street to Psiri, where interlocking streets secret away a wealth of galleries and vintage stores.

Changing of the Guard

Although the guards change hourly, there is a big ceremony once a week. These ceremonial guards, the Evzones, stand motionless at the tomb of their Unknown Soldier. They are volunteers—Getting into this unit is an honor, and they have to be over 6 ft. tall. They wear white tights, a white skirt, a white blouse with very full sleeves, an embroidered vest, red cap, and shoes with big pom-poms. The uniform is based on the clothing of the Klephts, mountain fighters who fought the Turks from the 15th Century until Greek independence in the 19th Century. The two guards stand inside small guardhouses. Just before the ceremony they step outside it, and soldiers in regular uniforms tidy them up. We watched a guy smooth out the tassels on the guard’s sash so each thread laid flat. At the appointed time a military band comes down the street, followed by dozens of these guards. After they reach the paved area in front of Parliament, there is a lot of marching around, presenting arms, etc. Eventually, the two replacement guards go up the few steps to the booths and the other two leave.

Plaka

A walk through the oldest neighborhood in Athens is a must and one of the most pleasurable activities especially in the early evening. There are hundreds of shops from kitchy tourist to the workshops of some really great artisans. There are several good restaurants where you can sit outside almost year round. There are also some nice little ouzeries that are cozy when it is too cold to sit outside. The famous Brettos distillary on Kydatheneon could be in this top 10 list on its own. The out-door Cine Paris where you can watch a move on the roof of a building below the lit walls of the Acropolis could too. There are ancient Greek and Roman ruins scattered around as well as some beautiful 19th century and older buildings and several Byzantine churches.

The Ancient Agora

Of all Athens’ ruins, the famed marketplace ofAgoramakes the most fitting start to your sightseeing — it stands testament to Athens’ status as a cradle of Western civilization. It was, in Socrates and Plato’s day, the heart of public life, and among the site’s extensive excavations you’ll find temples, a concert hall and long, colonnaded arcades.

Anafiotika

For its size, Athens is remarkably low-rise. A good way to get a feel or life at street level is to stroll through Anafiotika, a 19th century neighborhood on the northern slopes of the Acropolis hill, beside the entrance to the Agora. The masons who built it hailed from the island of Anafi, and were brought here by King Otto I to build his Palace. Nestled above Plaka, Athens’ center, and bustling Monastiraki, the old bazaar, Anafiotika seems far removed. There, bougainvilleas splash whitewashed walls and cats stalk sunny paths, evoking the island life the masons left behind.

Museums

• Acropolis Museum
• National Archeological Museum
• Benaki Museum
• Byzantine & Christian Museum
• Theocharakis Foundation
• Cycladic Art Museum
• Museum of the City of Athens

Liability

The congress organizer will bear no liability for loss, accident, damage or injury to persons or property irrespective of the cause. The clients participate at all sessions, tours and Events at their own risk.

Insurance

It is recommended that delegates arrange an appropriate travel and health insurance prior to travelling.

Force Majeure

Unexpected cancellation of the event:

ERA Ltd. organizes the ECOO General Assembly 2019 on behalf of the organizing society. ERA Ltd. reserves itself the right to cancel without notice or compensation the ECOO General Assembly 2019 in the event of force majeure cases (for example, but not limited to acts of nature such as fire, earthquake, hurricane, flood or terrorist attacks). In such cases, ERA Ltd. is freed of all responsibility.

Limitation of liability of ERA Ltd: In the event of it being impossible for ERA Ltd. to carry out the ECOO General Assembly 2019 for force majeure cases, so long as this arises from a cause not attributable to ERA Ltd., ERA Ltd. shall only be obliged to reimburse the payments received subject to deduction of any costs it has incurred in preparing the event. This liability only extends to the payments made directly to ERA Ltd. and not to payments made by the attendees to the hotel or airlines.

Smoking

Smoking is forbidden by law in public transportation and in public buildings. Smoking is not permitted inside the conference building.

Weather

Hot & sunny during the day clear and light breeze during the night pretty much sums up all weather forecasts for the summer in Greece. Historical average temperature is 16 C low – 26 C high.

Voltage/Electrical Current

In Greece electricity is supplied at 230 V, 50 Hz. 230V, 50Hz. Please remember to bring the right power plug adapter with you (especially if you are travelling from the US or the UK). If not, do contact our Contact Secretariat and they will help you out.

Metric System

Greece uses the metric system of weights and measures. Temperatures are given in degrees Celsius; distances and speed limits are indicated in kilometers; dimensions in meters and centimeters; volume in liters and milliliters; weights in kilograms and grams

Nearby Attractions

Athens city center hotel’s location is near cultural attractions and museums

Appealing to outdoor and cultural interests alike, this Athens city-center hotel’s surroundings provide sightseeing for everyone. Among the largest in Greece, the adjacent park includes a network of walking and jogging paths. Take in the park’s calm, green surroundings, and then explore the city’s many renowned historic treasures. Walk easily to the National Archaeological Museum and Hellenic Motor Museum, and take a brief metro ride to Syntagma Square and the famed Acropolis.

Within walking distance:

• National Archaeological Museum
• Hellenic Motor Museum
• Pedion Areos (park)

Distance from Victoria Metro Station:

• Acropolis and Acropolis Museum – 5 min
• Plaka, Monastiraki – 5 min
• Syntagma Square – 8 min
• Megaron Athens Concert Hall – 10 min
• The Mall Athens Shopping Center – 20 min
• Olympic Stadium – 20 min

Distances from other significant attractions:

• Kolonaki District with fashion shopping area – 2.5 km
• Benaki Museum – 3 km
• Lycabettus Hill – 3 km
• National Museum of Contemporary Art – 3 km
• Flisvos Marina – 11 km
• Attica Zoo Park – 24 km