Sports and leisure activities - Central Greece in 2024

Practical information : Move & Laze around Central Greece

Budget & Tips

Free sporting activities are rare in the big cities, but it's still fun to jog around the acropolis in Athens or along the waterfront in Thessaloniki. Elsewhere, nature offers a thousand and one possibilities: swimming on the beaches, hiking in the mountains and so on. For diving, canoeing or mountain biking, numerous stores and associations offer quality equipment for hire.

What's very local

Dancing is practiced by all during the great celebrations that punctuate the national life: you can learn some traditional steps by joining the circle on the occasion of these panigyri. The celebrations of Pure Monday, 41 days before the Orthodox Easter, will hold many surprises for you: Greeks eat fasting food to mark the beginning of Lent and then gather in the city (mainly on the hill of Filopappou in Athens or on the seafront in Thessaloniki), where popular songs and dances take part in the festival. On this occasion, the tradition also wants that great contests of kites are organized.

Your documents please

Public swimming pools are not necessarily easy to access: many require medical certificates. On the coast, a boating license is required to rent a sailboat or motorboat in Greece: normally, a coastal license is sufficient for the captain alone, but some charter companies will ask for an additional guarantee, with a second person who knows how to navigate on board. Scuba diving is regulated to prevent the looting of ancient wrecks: any archaeological finds must be reported to the port authorities or the police. Underwater hunting is prohibited (although you may see locals with harpoons in hand). Finally, windsurfing and kitesurfing are normally forbidden to children under 16, without parental consent.

To be booked

If you want to take part in events such as the Athens Marathon (athensauthenticmarathon.gr) in November, keep an eye on the dates to register. Elsewhere, on the coast, for all diving or kitesurfing courses, you'll need to book at the most popular tourist spots.

Main events

Prestigious cultural festivals are organized throughout the summer in Greece. Impossible to list them all! The most prestigious is the Athens-Epidaurus Festival (aefestival.gr), with plays and concerts between June and August at several sites, including the ancient theater of Epidaurus and the Odeon of Herod Atticus, at the foot of the Acropolis. The equivalent event in Northern Greece is the Festival of Olympus (festivalolympou.gr/en), held in July and August at the archaeological site of Dion and the castle of Platamonas. The rest of the year, sports fans can also watch the dates of major championship matches for soccer and basketball teams.

Tourist traps

Some sporting activities can be dangerous. This is particularly true of diving on the coast or canoeing in the Vikos Gorge in Epirus. It is therefore essential to use professional agencies.

Sports and leisure activities Central Greece

OLYMPUS GRAVITY OUTDOOR ACTIVITIES

TREKKING HELLAS DELPHI

VOILIVOILOU

SENTIERS DES MÉTÉORES

NO LIMITS

VERNIKOS YACHT

NILINA MANAGEMENT YACHTING

TREKKING HELLAS PARNITHA

CLUB ALPIN HELLÉNIQUE DE PAPINGO

ROBINSON EXPEDITIONS

CLUB ALPIN DE XANTHI

GOLF DE GLYFADA

CLUB DE RANDONNÉES MONTAGNARDES

DIVING PELION

IOANIAN BREEZE

FREEDAY

ÉCOLE DE RAFTING PADDLER

CLUB NAUTIQUE ET ÉCOLE DE PLONGÉE DE VOULIAGMENI

STADE G. KARAISKAKIS

MARATHON ALEXANDRE LE GRAND

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