Shopping in Greece: competition to Milan

If in Milan, which, as you know, is not on the seacoast, mods and women of fashion go to buy, then the Greek cities and towns can compete with this Italian fashion capital. After all, there you can combine trips to the shops with a rest on the beach and interesting excursions. Shopping in Greece is calm and measured, like the whole lifestyle of the locals. Shops work with a huge lunch break (here it is called mesimeri). Small boutiques in the summer close at 14.30, and open only at 17.00. In winter, the operating mode changes somewhat: the siesta is reduced by an hour, but shops are closed earlier. The Greeks are known for their cool attitude towards work. Therefore, some private shops on Mondays, Wednesdays and Saturdays only work until noon. And that is not all. Many shops, in addition to Sundays, are closed on Saturday.

But almost always and everywhere you can make a successful shopping in Greece: Halkidiki, Thessaloniki, the islands and, of course, the capital of the country Athens - the best examples. In each town there is at least one street, given to merchants. Typically, such shopping areas are located in the city center. This is the Athenian street of Ermou, in Thessaloniki - Zimiski, in Rethymno - Arkadiu. Among other things, in each densely populated metropolitan area there are network supermarkets "Ok", which work without interruption from early morning until late at night.

This country has not so far affected the process of globalization, so most of the products are on the shelves of local shops. But hunters for world-known labels will also be satisfied. Shopping in Greece will allow you to buy as a product that practically does not occur outside this region, and buy French or German gizmos in "CARREFOUR" or "LIDL".

Quite a lot in Greece and trade malls. As usual, they are located on the outskirts of big cities: Metro Mall, Athens Mall, Golden Hall in Athens or Mediterranean Cosmos in Thessaloniki. From the middle of July to the end of August, and also from the middle of January to the end of February, a discount season is announced in these stock shops. But apart from these periods, from time to time a mall conducts an action or a sale. From the perspective of economy shopping in Greece is very beneficial. The most budgetary are the supermarket chains "Sklavenitis" (ΣΚΛΑΒΕΝΙΤΗΣ) and "Ab Vasilopulos" (ΑΒ ΒΑΣΙΛΟΠΟΥΛΟΣ). Olive oil and other goods with which the country is famous, can be found in Tanopoulos (ΘΑΝΟΠΟΥΛΟΣ).

Each region of the country is still famous for some specific crafts, and this circumstance should be taken into account when shopping in Greece. In Crete, for example, you can not do without buying leather goods, especially sandals or boots. Ceramics is taken from Skyros, Sifnos and Rhodes. The islands of Kefalonia and Zakynthos are famous for carving and embroidery. Athens and Rhodes are the capital of jewelry mastery. Gold jewelry should be bought there. But for silver things, it makes sense to call in the town of Yanina, located in the region of Epirus.

But the best shopping in Greece is, first of all, fur coats. Specially designed tours are specially organized for fur products. The capital of furriers is Kastoria in the north of the country. Historically, in this city, located in the mountains, with rather severe winters, there was a demand for warm shrouds. And since there were many beavers in the surrounding forests, at first fur coats and sheepskin coats were made from their skins. Well, now Kastoria has become the center of fur farming of the broadest profile. If you can not get to go to the north of Greece, you can buy a beautiful fur coat in Athens and the tourist centers of the country. But it will cost 500-600 euros more.