The latest print issue of Greece Is magazine – Greece Is Athens Summer 2025 – will be available together with The New York Times International Edition – Kathimerini English Edition this weekend (2-3/08/25), everywhere that international press is sold throughout Greece. In addition, you’ll soon be able to order the issue from anywhere in the world through our e-shop, or download a digital version from our website.

What’s Inside?

Greece Is celebrates its 10th anniversary: ten years of exploring the essence of place and uncovering what makes Greece vibrant, layered, and ever-changing. As Athens continues to evolve into a dynamic cultural destination, Greece Is Athens Summer 2025 returns with new stories, fresh voices, and trusted insights for anyone looking to experience the city beyond the surface.

In this edition, we explore the myriad facets of Athenian summer life: we wander through leafy neighborhoods and sun-drenched ruins, discover tranquil churches built on ancient foundations, and follow the enduring presence of the gods—from sacred temples to the intimacy of the family table.

We meet six Athenians who share their favorite city spots, offering a personal take on the city’s hidden gems and daily magic. We explore the latest arrivals on the dining scene, from low-key garden restaurants to elegant rooftop spots with Acropolis views. And we head for the hills, following historic footpaths that offer the best panoramas in town.

Beyond the city, we spend a weekend on Poros, a serene island in the Saronic Gulf where summer still feels like childhood. And for those seeking deeper resonance, we travel to Mount Parnitha, Athens’ great green sanctuary, and revisit the enduring mystery of Delphi.

Along the way, we meet musicians who are reshaping Greek sound with bold new voices, and we reflect on Athens’ urban fabric, from its neoclassical facades to the hidden layers beneath its modern skin.

Whether you’re passing through or staying for a while, this issue of Greece Is Athens invites you to slow down, look closer, and rediscover the city with open eyes and open questions.

Here follows the editorial of the latest issue

By Giorgos Tsiros, editor-in-chief

When Greece Is launched in 2015, it was, in many ways, a form of therapy for ourselves. Greece was in crisis – economically, socially, symbolically. Unemployment was soaring. Athens bore the marks of unrest; it was a city of shuttered storefronts and an uncertain future. The international media painted a bleak picture. We felt an urgent need to tell a different story. In English. For others, yes, but for ourselves as well. We wanted to rediscover and reframe what makes this country remarkable: its natural wealth and ancient heritage, its food and wine, its everyday creativity, and its global legacy – from democracy and the Olympic Games to the quiet, enduring virtues of Greek hospitality.

What began as a series of thematic print editions quickly found its audience. People responded to the content, the aesthetics and the tone. We still remember the joy of spotting our magazines in the hands of foreign visitors who had chosen, despite the dire headlines, to spend their vacations in Greece. Tourism was one of the few pillars holding up the economy at the time, but their presence was as much an emotional boost as it was a financial one. It reminded us that belief in Greece hadn’t disappeared.

A decade later, Greece is a country transformed. Athens, in particular, is unrecognizable from those early years. Visitor arrivals are breaking records. International hotel brands have flocked to the city. The capital has become a cultural destination in its own right. The challenges, however, haven’t disappeared; they’ve just shifted.

The center of Athens is grappling with its own success: the steady disappearance of traditional commerce in favor of cafés, boutiques and short-term rentals; pressures on infrastructure; and the ambivalence of residents caught between the Greek instinct to welcome visitors and the knowledge of the real impact those visitors have on their daily life.

According to the Annual Visitor Satisfaction Survey conducted by the Athens-Attica & Argosaronic Hotel Association in collaboration with the Athens International Airport and GBR Consulting, tourist satisfaction remains high, with an average score of 8.3 out of 10, buoyed by the friendliness of locals and the city’s vast cultural wealth. Yet concerns are mounting. Cleanliness, accessibility, safety and housing affordability are becoming flashpoints. Some neighborhoods are thriving. Others are being hollowed out.

It’s a moment of celebration, but also of reflection. As the city evolves, so must the conversations we have about it, but they must remain honest, open and informed as well.

And so Greece Is enters its second decade. Still curious. Still committed. We’re here to observe, to highlight what deserves attention, and to share the joy of discovery, whether it’s a remote island taverna, a new museum in the city center, or a quiet street where jasmine still blooms at dusk.

P.S.1 Our website, greece-is.com, just got a fresh new look. Come explore!

P.S.2 A heartfelt thank you to all our distribution partners – especially to the Acropolis Museum – for helping bring Greece Is into the hands of readers around the world.