Telephones:

OTE (Greek Telecommuncations Organization):

Phone services in Greece are managed by OTE, Greece's state telecommuncations company. The easiest way to make a phone call is by using the "phone cards" that can be purchased at most kiosks and OTE offices for GRD 1,000, GRD 5,000 and GDR 10,000 and used for long distance as well as local calls. All calls are charged by the unit (100 units = GRD 1,000).

Many kiosks and restaurants also have public phones. The red phones take a GRD 10 coin and are used for local calls only. The gray phones at kiosks are metered and one can make long-distance calls from many of them. At the end of the call, one will pay the kiosk owner for the number of units used (no receipt for the call is issued).

The advantage of using OTE for international calls is that you won't suffer any surcharges on your international call. International calls from Greece can be prohibitively expensive, but at OTE offices (unlike at your hotel) one pays a direct rat that corresponds solely to the units used during one's call and charged at OTE's prices. Also, should the connection be lousy or fail altogether, one can hang up and dial again without being charged.

For more information: Greek National Tourism Organization offices

611 West Sixth Str.,
Los Angeles,
California, 90017, U.S.A.
Tel. 213-626-6696

645 Fifth Avenue, Olympic Tower
New York City, N.Y., 10022, U.S.A.
Tel. 421 57 77

168 North Michigan Avenue,
Chicago,Illinois, 60601
Tel. 782 10 84

1233 rue de la Montagne
Montreal,Quebec, H3G 1Z2, Canada
Tel. 871 15 35

1300 Bay Street,
Toronto,Ontario M5R 3K8
Tel. 416 968 2220 ; Fax: 416 968 6533

51-57 Pitt Str.
Sydney N.S.W. 2000, Australia
Tel. 241 1663/4

3-16-30 Nishi Azabu, Minato-Ku
Tokyo 106, Japan
Tel. 403 18 11

3 Avenue de l'Opera
75001 Paris, France
Tel. 42 60 65 75
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