Greek language

Modern Greek words and phrases:

Hello (casual) - Γειά σου (YAH-soo)

Hello (formal) - Γειά σας(YAH-sas)

Good morning - Καλημέρα (Kah-lee-MEH-rah)

Good evening - Καληνυχτα (Kah-lee-NEEK-tah)

Goodbye - αντιο σας (AHN-dee-oh)

Thank you - Ευχαριστώ (i-PRAYER-is-toe) (note: the initial "i" is a soft "i" like the "i" in "hit")

Please - παρακαλούμε (per-a-ka-LOW-may)

Excuse me (Sorry)- συγνώμη (Sig-NOH-mee)

How much? - Πόσα; (Poe-saw)

0 - μηδέν (me-VEN)
1 - ένας (A-nas)
2- δύο (VE-oo)
3 - τρία (TREE-ah)
4 - τέσσερις (TESS-e-rees)
5 - πέντε (PEN-day)
6 - έξι (EX-ee)
7 - επτά (EP-ta)
8 - οκτώ (AWK-toe)
9 - εννέα (HEN-a-ah)

 

10 - δέκα (VAY-ka)
20 - είκοσι (EE-ko-see)
30 - τριάντα (tree-AH-da)
40 - σαράντα (sa-RON-da)
50 - πενήντα (pen-EE-da)
60 - εξήντα (EX-ee-da)
70 - εβδομήντα (e-VO-me-da)
80 - ογδόντα (OGG-vo-da)
90 - ενενήντα (EN-e-me-da)
100 - εκατό (EK-a-toe)

Athens sites

This tourist map provides the locations of major sites and the bus lines to each. Mainly the Acropolis (A4), The Museum of the Acropolis, the National Archeological Museum (A11), Hadrian's Arch & the Temple of Olympian Zeus (A5). 

A different tourist map showing additional sites and train stations.

Here is Athens Metro information. Buy 3-day Tourist ticket at airport for €20. I will get you from the airport to the city centre and then within the city.

Athens Metro Map

Try the City Sight Seeing hop-on, hop-off bus which you can catch at any of the stops on the map. It runs 08:30-17:30 every 30 minutes.

Must see sites

The list of top sites in Greece that I'd like visit:

Acropolis, Athens

Ancient Agora of Athens

National Museum, Athens

Thessaloniki - British Military Cemetery 

Museum of the Royal Tombs of Aigai, Vergina (5)

Ancient Mycenae (1) and Theatre of Epidaurus (4) - check out KeyTours

Knossos Archaeological Site, Crete (2)

Olympia & museum (Praxatiles statue!) (3) - My Tours offers full-day tours from Athens from £62 per person.

Delphi (6) - Athens Delphi Tour runs guided Delphi tours from Athens from £57 per person

(Wolter's World recommends Crete as a good place to start.)
On Crete, visit Knossos and the Archealogical Museum of Heraklion; Visit Knossos offers combined tours of Knossos Palace and Heraklion archaeological museum from £37 per person, transport included.

Drive from Thessaloniki to Vergina via A1 west and then Egnatia Odos/A2/E90 (this route has tolls):

Road from Thessaloniki to Vergina

A few websites have reviews of great sites to visit in Greece: Hotels.com, Greeka, and HistoryHit.

And here is a Rick Steves tour itinerary: 

Beginning Greece

Looking at visiting Greece for both short and long stays. I'm extremely interested in Greek history and culture, and in Greek cuisine.

My interest in Greece is partly to look for a place to winter in Europe. The website TravelPassionate has a list of the best places to stay in the December to March period. These places are not the really warm climates you would find in the Caribbean or Central America. The weather is more like early autumn weather in southern Canada, with temperatures in the 15-18°C (59-64°F) range. 

They list Crete, Sicily, the Côte d'Azur, Monte Carlo and Cyprus. They mention that Cyprus can be 19°C (66°F) in December. According to Wikipedia, "Cyprus has one of the warmest climates and warmest winters in the Mediterranean part of the European Union." In Limassol (Λεμεσóς), Cyprus the average temperature in January and February is about 18°C (64°F). See the Visit Cyprus website for information on tourism in Cyprus.

Zeus bronze (c460BC), National Archaeological Museum, Athens