Athens, Greece: Protests, Strikes Continue Amid Travel Warnings
The violence in Athens has worried many tourists traveling to Greece this spring and prompted several countries to issue travel warnings on Thursday.
The British Foreign Office issued a travel warning today, advising Britons to exercise “extreme caution” around public demonstrations and protests in major urban centers.
The U.S. State Department, meanwhile, has not issued a travel warning, despite the deaths of three bank workers and the burning of four buildings during recent protests in the Greek capital.
Though no formal travel warning has been issued, the State Department is telling American tourist and travelers to avoid the areas of demonstrations and to get away quickly from the vicinity of a protest.
Tourists heading to Greece this summer can do a few things to keep in line with the State Department’s recommendation.
Though protests may look chaotic to outsiders, most Greek demonstrations are scheduled far in advanced and well publicized.
Tourists can keep clear of demonstrations by monitoring them on the U.S. Embassy’s Citizen Service page under demonstrations.
The page provides information about when and where a strike is taking place, and who is partaking in them.
See how it started: Deadly Riots & General Strike in Greece – Athens in Chaos
The Embassy also points out areas where a protest is likely to occur and has advised visitors to be cautious around the Polytechnic University area, Exarchia, Omonia, and Syntagma Squares in central Athens, and Aristotle Square in Thessaloniki.
Travelers with a flexible attitude can then adapt their itineraries to avoid protest locations and days.
During demonstrations, a good alternative for tourists in Athens is to visit towns further from the center of the city such as Glyfada or Vouliagmeni by the coast, or Kifissia or Penteli in the north.
Unfortunately, there is not much travelers in Greece can do about the closing of tourist sites during general strikes.
The best bet is to call sites ahead of time for opening hours and days or enlist your hotel or tour group to keep track of availabilities.
By Adriana Padilla for PeterGreenberg.com.
Related Links: US Embassy – Athens, BusinessWeek
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