Shopping 

cctv.com 07-18-2004 16:28

Do you like shopping? Are you one of those who jump at any occasion to visit the shops? Are you an unredeemed bargain hunter who forages through the markets armed with your trusty credit card? Does the joy of discovering a secret source give you as much pleasure as the purchase itself? Or do you prefer to kit yourself out fully at the beginning of the season? Whatever your shopping style, these pages of the Athens Guide have been designed as an irreplaceable tool to help you get the most out of your shopping experience.

We will share our shopping philosophy and practice with you, and give you a guide to shopping in the five Athens districts where the heart of the city's marketplace beats most strongly. Five districts where you will not only find the most interesting stores, but feel the rhythm of the marketplace and have a good time as you go.

Shopping can be the best way to begin or end a difficult day. And by this we don't mean just hitting the stores (expensive or otherwise), emptying your wallet, pushing your credit limit. We also mean browsing through a good bookshop for something that will take you to new destinations, buying a gadget spotted in a window that is just the thing to brighten up your desk, choosing a small treat for yourself or a gift for a friend, splurging on something from Gucci or Armani. Shopping can be lots of things, a combination of all those moments that give you a lift: visiting the shops, having coffee with a friend, opening the bag at home, experiencing the pleasure of that special purchase that makes you feel good or look even better. Shopping, in other words, can be a marvellous...form of alternative therapy.

A look at the shops in Athens is enough to persuade even the most difficult shopper that Greece's capital is perfectly at ease among the world's fashion metropolises. And this is not only because all the great designer names and global brands are there in its shops, and at prices that can compete with any city in Europe: Greece, and Athens in particular, creates fashion, international fashion. From Giannis Galatis in the '60s to Sofia Kokosalaki, the pet of today's international catwalks, Greek designers are at the heart of things.

Let's be on our way, then, for a relaxed and relaxing tour of the city, for shopping and coffee: we'll go to Kolonaki, to the "Historic Centre" of Athens, to Neo Psychiko and neighbouring districts along Mesogeion Ave., to Kifisia and Glyfada. In each district we selected the shops that mark its particular life style and define its particular character. Among them you will discover small gems, the places we call 'secret shopping', as well as easy solutions to ordinary or more difficult shopping problems.

Source:The official website of the ATHENS 2004 Olympic and Paralympic Games

Editor:Wang  Source:CCTV.com