Welcome to Villa Verde, our home in a quiet residential area of the seaside town of Nea Makri near Athens in Greece, just 150 metres from our local beach.
We live upstairs whilst on the ground floor we have four self-contained guest studios. All are very well equipped with:
Double or twin beds
En-suite shower and toilet
Solar powered hot water all day long
Environmentally friendly air conditioning
Environmentally friendly heating for winter visitors
Kitchenette with refrigerator, kettle, toaster and double electric hotplate
Fitted cupboards
Television with a number of satellite channels
DVD/CD player
Hard wired ADSL internet access
Individual veranda in the garden with table and chairs
Use of other tables and chairs in sunnier or shadier parts of the garden
A ramp is available for easy wheelchair access. Two of the studios can be linked for family use.
We designed and built Villa Verde in 2008-09. The house is built to very high environmental standards. Geothermal energy provides most of our heating and cooling needs. Those needs are relatively small because the house is extremely well insulated. Very large solar panels provide hot water for personal use with geothermal back up if there’s no sun. Water from a well is used for the garden.
Nea Makri is a very green, medium sized town situated on the eastern Attica coast between the port of Rafina and the small town of Marathon, famous for its ancient battle and the associated long distance road race. Attica is the region (prefecture) of mainland Greece that includes the city of Athens.
All the main Greek banks have branches here and good rates of currency exchange are readily available.
There are many bars and restaurants in and around town. Along the coast most of the restaurants cook high quality fresh fish and meat to order, though it is possible to find more traditional Greek meals in the town. On the outskirts of town are a Vietnamese restaurant and an American style steak and beer house. Half way to Marathon there is an Indian restaurant.
The centre of Athens is around 32 kilometres (20 miles) away. The journey to the heart of the city by public transport takes about one and a quarter hours.
Athens International Airport is a little over half an hour’s drive away, or again about one and a quarter hours by public transport.
The port of Rafina, around 12 km (8 miles) away, has frequent sailings to the Aegean islands of Andros, Tinos and Mykonos. Through the summer there are sailings to other islands.
Fifteen minutes away by car is the spectacular long sandy beach backed by pine forest at Schinias. In winter months the wetlands of Schinias National Park, behind the pine forest, have a very impressive range of bird life.
Also within half an hour’s drive are the impressive ancient site of Ramnous, the archaeological and road race museums of Marathon, Marathon Lake, the monastery (convent) of St Ephraim, and Attica Zoo.
