Athens will look completely different over the Greek Independence Day weekend as the capital prepares to celebrate the national holiday.
The first significant change will be be the look of the Port of Piraeus, with two ships of the Greek fleet docking and opening to the public for visitors.
The Hellenic Navy's frigate 'Themistoklis' and the gunboat 'Karathanassis' will be docked at Akti Themistokleous, Gate E12 as follows:
Friday (March 24): 15:00 to 19:00
Saturday (Independence Day): 09:00 to 19:00
Sunday (March 26): 09:00 to 17:00
At the same time, traffic restrictions will be introduced in Athens for the parades celebrating Greek Independence Day (March 25), Hellenic Police said on Wednesday.
The schools parade takes place on Friday, and the military parade takes place on Saturday (March 24-25).
On Friday, stopping and parking will be banned from 06:00 and gradual shutdowns as of 10:00, while on Saturday all traffic activities will be shut down as of 06:00. Restrictions will be lifted soon after the parades conclude.
Streets affected include those around Syntagma Square, major and minor streets thoroughfares leading to the Square and central Athens, as far as Syngrou Avenue and Lycabettus area.
Mass transportation will also be affected.
Elsewhere, the Athens metro employees' union has declared a work stoppage on Friday, from 21:00 until the end of the shift.
According to employees, chronic problems are hampering the operation of fixed rail transport services provided by STASY, as well as the services to 1.5 million passengers that use the metro every day, so that employees are daily faced with an unequal battle against these adversities.
The issues that raised by the union include, among others: a lack of drivers, technicians, station masters and specialised railway personnel. A lack of trains and spare parts and problems in the railway infrastructure, as well as a failure to uphold what has been agreed.
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