Tips on travel to Athens...
Tickets
Speciality sports operator Treacy Tours and Events (TTE) is Ireland's official agent for Olympics tickets. The company is asking fans to register their interest by calling 01-8553033 or e-mailing info.tte@tte.ie.
Tickets are also available from other European agents.
Accommodation
Rooms in Athens are in short supply, and travellers will have to book well in advance. The most likely option is private accommodation, but expect to pay through the nose for rooms near venues. Plenty of agencies in Athens will arrange private bookings for graded studios, apartments and single dwellings. An example is Filoxenia, an agency that is affiliated with the games' organising committee. (www. filoxenia.gr, e-mail info@filoxenia 2004.com)
Flights
British Airways offers flights with Aer Lingus to Athens (see www.britishairways.com). Other European carriers, such as Air France, Lufthansa and KLM, operate flights from Paris, Frankfurt and Amsterdam.
Budget airline easyJet offers cheap flights from the UK. See www.easyjet. com. TTE is offering packages in a five-star hotel on the island of Evia, 90 kilometres from Athens, for about 2,600 for one week and €4,000 for two. The prices, which the company stresses are guides only, include economy-class flights with British Airways or Malév Hungarian Airlines and daily transfers from the hotel to the Olympic stadium.
