The July–September issue of 2board magazine features a gastronomy guide, suggested tours for Athens and Chania, and profiles of top boutique hotels
Tons of great tips: If you’re passing through Athens International Airport anytime this month, be sure to grab a copy of the July–September issue of 2board magazine while you’re in the terminal.
The 212-page glossy publication (the cover is shown at left) is packed full of useful travel tips about hotels, restaurants, and attractions at a variety of destinations — information that could come in handy during your current travels in Greece, or for planning a future holiday.
2board is the official magazine of the Athens airport. Copies are available free of charge from magazine racks situated at various locations in the terminal building.
I always find a wealth of interesting information, travel ideas and helpful research material in 2board, and this summer’s edition is no exception. In fact, it’s one of the better issues, content-wise, that I’ve seen. (And, as always, it’s packed with photos of luxurious resorts, villas and restaurants I can only dream about visiting someday … but it’s still great fun to imagine what it would be like seeing these places and photographing them with my own camera.)
Gastro Guide to 10 top restaurants
Foodies will want to flip directly to page 21 for 2board‘s “Gastro Guide to Greece,” which profiles “Ten restaurants that do not simply dish up Greek high gastronomy, they consistently take it one step further.”
The guide highlights two acclaimed restaurants on Mykonos, three on Santorini, one each on the islands of Corfu, Crete and Rhodes, and two on the Greek mainland — one at Preveza and another in Halkidiki:
♦ Etrusco at Kato Korakiana on Corfu;
♦ Old Mill at the Elounda Mare Hotel at Elounda on Crete;
♦ The Squirrel, one of the restaurants at Danai Beach Resort & Villas in Halkidiki;
♦ the dining room at Bill & Coo Suites & Lounge above Megali Ammos beach on Mykonos;
♦ the brand new White Star at Lakka Square in Mykonos Town;
♦ the restaurant at SESA Boutique Hotel at Kanali beach in Preveza;
♦ The Greek, a new dining room at the Sheraton Rhodes Resort on Rhodes;
♦ Selene in Pyrgos village on Santorini;
♦ Sea Side by Notos at Santorini’s Perivolos beach; and
♦ the dining room at the Grace Santorini hotel in Imerovigli.
The Gastro Guide includes full-page photos of the respective restaurants’ chefs and some of their tantalizing creations, along with suggestions of signature dishes to try if you get the opportunity to dine at one of these fine establishments. A word of warning: don’t read this article on an empty stomach, because the stunning food photos and descriptions of the unique dishes will instantly make you feel hungry!
The seaside dining terrace at The Squirrel restaurant in the Danai Beach Resort & Villas in Halkidiki. The photo is from the Danai Beach Resort Facebook page.
Profiles of select boutique hotels
Guests enjoy fantastic sunset views at the Aigis Suites resort on Kea island. This image is from a gallery on the resort’s website.
In addition to its restaurant recommendations, 2board promotional profiles spotlight several upscale or boutique hotel properties at various locations on the Greek islands and mainland.
Among the resorts profiled in the summer magazine issue are the St Nicolas Bay Resort on Crete; Aigis Suites on Kea; the King George Hotel at Syntagma Square in Central Athens; and the Elefsina Hotel in the city of Elefsina, less than 30 minutes’ driving time from downtown Athens.
This photo showing the view from a swimming pool at the St Nicolas Bay Resort appears in a gallery on the hotel website. The resort overlooks Mirabello Bay in the Agios Nikolaos area of Crete.
Highlights of the Chania area of Crete
A photo caption for the magazine’s “5 days in … Chania” feature says “there is so much to explore besides the charming old town.” That’s a bit of an understatement! The article author describes five busy days of activities that included meals at Kandani, Anidri, Theriso and other traditional Cretan villages; visits to Elafonissi island and Balos beach; a hike down the Samaria Gorge, and of course sightseeing in and around the town of Chania itself.
Website or telephone contact information is provided for most of the hotels, restaurants and sights mentioned in the article, so it will be a useful resource to consult if you’re planning a trip to Crete yourself.
The magazine’s “5 days in … Chania” feature suggests things to see and do on a getaway trip to what it calls “one of Crete’s most atmospheric towns.”
“Customized” Athens visits
One of the magazine’s main features is “45 Tips for Tailor Made Athens,” a city guide chock full of suggestions for sightseeing, dining, accommodations and shopping.
It’s actually three guides in one package — divided into three separate levels appropriate to travellers with varying familiarity with Athens:
♦ Level One describes 15 “must see” attractions for the “Enthusiastic Newcomer” to Athens;
♦ Level Two offers 15 suggestions for the “Frequent Lover” who wants to “see the city’s underbelly and experience it as natives do”, and
♦ Level Three provides 15 recommendations for the “Almost Local” — the frequent Athens visitor who may think they have seen everything. “Think again,” the guide advises. “Athens is the city that never ceases to amaze.”
11 top reasons to visit Greece
Another fun feature in the summer issue is “60+ Reasons to Holiday in Greece,” in which 11 experts offer 66 reasons that “explain why this country never looks better than it does during the [summer] holiday season.”
There’s something for every kind of traveller here, since the experts highlight attractions and activities that appeal to all kinds of tourists. The subjects they explore include:
♦ Magical festivals;
♦ Divine local delicacies;
♦ Windsurfing hotspots;
♦ Fun family holidays;
♦ Unique stays;
♦ Boutique havens;
♦ Dreamy resorts;
♦ Awesome nature trails;
♦ Sporting events;
♦ Unspoilt beaches;
♦ Wine destinations;
♦ Wildlife spots, and
♦ Unique adventures
Besides the special articles described above, the magazine is loaded with information about shopping and activities in Athens and elsewhere, cultural events like the annual Athens & Epidaurus Festival, and even destinations outside of Greece.
It also has several sections about shops, restaurants, services and facilities in the airport terminal, including a special section on the building’s newly redesigned food court.
If you can’t pick up a copy of the 2board summer magazine because you won’t be travelling through Athens International Airport this month, you can still view the complete issue online. Click here to reach the airport’s publications webpage, where you can review either the current edition of 2board, or browse back issues.