I recently spent a little over a week in Greece. Here is what I've learned and seen and would recommend.

Facts about Greece

Water usage

Most buildings in Greece have a hot water tank located on their roof, connected to a solar water heater (like a solar panel). This is how they heat up water and store it. Some buildings also come with electrical heaters to provide hot water at any given time.

Speaking of water, locals often said that tap water should not be drinked on the islands. After some googling and trying it myself, it is quite safe to drink, at least on Santorini and Sifnos. It meets EU standard. The taste may feel a little weird as it is desalinated water... but nothing to worry about. I drank plenty and I'm still alive.

Restaurants

Tipping at restaurants is not such a thing but it is usually expected of tourists, probably because of Americans bringing their tipping culture. A lot of POS terminals even offer the annoying buttons to tip 10, 15 or even 20% when paying by card.

Rounding up to the nearest euro is what Greeks do when paying in cash, from what I gathered.

It is also quite common to be served a dessert or digestive at the end of a meal, on the house (for free). It is less common in very touristic areas though.

Pipes

Historically, Greece has had quite narrow pipes connected to their sewers. Narrower than most countries in the world at least. And they clog up easily. To prevent this, Greeks do not throw toilet paper in their toilets. You'll see such signs everywhere. Instead, they throw it in a bin next to the toilet.

Driving

They drive quite old cars, especially on the islands. I saw cars that I haven't seen in Germany or France for like 10 years

On top of that, it is not uncommon to see damaged cars either, with parts missing or replaced with another one with a non matching color, or rusty parts.

Although wearing a helmet when driving a scooter is mandatory, I have seen A LOT of people without one. Sometimes both the driver and the passenger. Not just on 50cc, also 125cc. Reckless!

I saw a lot of 30 or 40 km/h speed limits on road signs on the islands... but everyone was driving faster. Also, and that is valid for Athens too: paint on the road seems too expensive (or too useless?) to be maintained. Stop markings, pedestrian crossings: barely visible. It seemed like it was last painted 20 years.

Fun fact: on the islands, people seem to trust one another at a different level than what I'm used to. So much that they often leave their helmets and scooter keys... on the scooter!! Even at night. Crazy!

Trash management

Greece is infested with trash. It was pretty OK in Athens, but definitely not on the islands.

In Athens, sorting trash and recyling is a thing, despite not being generalized everywhere. On the islands, far from it. I pretty much never saw any recycling bin on Sifnos or Santorini. Everything goes in the general waste bin. I also got to see a massive landfill on Sifnos, a bit hidden behind the hills, far from the villages. Very gross.

Also, the islands are quite dirty. Outside the cities, there was trash everywhere: by the side of the road, in the fields...

Athens

Athens is really nice to visit! History is at every corner. Not only ancient history, but also modern history: things related to the Olympic Games, for instance.

Overall, the city is quite walkable. It is also well connected with subways and trains. A subway ticket costs 1.9 euros at the time of writing. Yet expect a lot of traffic.

The city is a mix of run-down buildings, some of them completely abandonned, and new modern buildings.

I only spent two days in Athens, here's what I visited:

• The Acropolis of course. A ticket costs 30 euros.
• Went to the Lycabettus Hill Viewing Area, where the Holy Church of Saint George of Lycabettus is
• Athens National Garden
• Panathenaic Stadium: a must see for anyone interested in sports. A ticket costs 12 euros.

I highly recommend walking in the evening or at night around the Acropolis or in the Plaka neighborhood. It's lively and full of good restaurants.

Islands

Sifnos

Sifnos was a delight. Not very touristic, and not many people in general. Few villages, very quiet at night. Yet, beautiful beaches and many things to discover. There are also trails for those who like hiking.

I got to do:

• An hour long hike from Vathi to a nice beach called "Paralia Fikiada"
• The beach "Paralia Platis Gialos" is great because of all the cafes and shops next to it. And the view, facing south, is quite nice.
• Apokofto beach and the Chrisopigi Monastery
• Explored Kastro and saw the Church of the Seven Martyrs
• We were staying in Kamares, at a hotel called Margado. 200% recommended! The Kamares beach is AMAZING for its sunsets.
• Drove all the way up to Agios Symeon to enjoy the view
• Had a great dinner at Sunset in Troulaki
• Explored the most northern part of the island around the monastry "Ag. Georgios". Then we enjoyed the sunset from the Cheronissos beach.

Renting a car or a scooter is advisable to easily explore the island.

Santorini

Santorini was... mixed feelings. On the one hand, it's way too touristic and filled with people. Every day, cruise ships come and let out thousands of tourists who flood the streets in no time. Most of them from the US it seemed. The car traffic is insane. And everything is over priced. It is very hard to find a main course under 20 euros. On the other hand, the geological features of the island are unique and truly stunning, it's fascinating! It is the remains of what used to be a volcano. Sunsets on Santorini are second to none.

Even though buses exist in Santorini, I once again recommend renting a car. The island is full of quads and ATVs that tourists rent. Very loud and pretty annoying...

I got to do:

• Swim at Mera Beach, a.k.a. the black beach
• Swim at the Red Beach
• Tried to "hike" to the White Beach. But actually reaching the beach on foot was hard, so we did not do it.
• Explored Oia, Fira and Imerovigli on foot.
• We did a 5-hour-long boat cruise from the old port of Fira, to the Volcano, then Hot Springs, then Thirasia, and back. 100% recommended. Only 35 euros. Great value for money. We had a lot of fun exploring the volcano and swimming in the hot springs. There was nothing special about Thirasia but it was still nice to visit.

All in all, Greece was fun! It seemed extremely popular among French people. I swear, 1 out of 3 tourists was French. Still, I'll happily go again. Next time on different islands. Going from island to island is fairly easy thanks to the many daily ferries.