Greek American life is vibrant and surprisingly diverse, ranging from small town Florida sponge divers to the nearly 200,000 city dwellers in or near NYC. With traditions kept alive by Greek community centers, churches, businesses, festivals, and museums, our nation's Greek American communities offer an intriguing and lively world to explore.

Homey little Greektown -- of Astoria, New York, in the Queens borough of NYC --

is a bustling Greek town, smack within the biggest American metropolis. There, nestled mostly into an 8 block by 10 block area, are an estimated 35,000 Greek Americans. Ambling through, you'll find a wealth of Greek shops, cafes, churches, and community centers, in a neighborhood recently named one of the "ten coolest in the world." Plan your trip right, and you can enjoy music, dance and arts at one of the area's many Greek festivals (see below). As a great bonus, Astoria today is wonderfully multi-ethnic, with fascinating pockets of Latin, Middle Eastern, European, African and Asian life. Finally, you're just a short ride away from seeing world-class Ancient Greek art -- in this case, at Manhattan's Metropolitan Museum of Art .

Other wonderful Greek communities across the U.S. include:

Tarpon Springs, Florida boasts the highest concentration of Greek Americans in the U.S., dating back to Greek sponge divers who, well, dove into that marine opportunity in the early 1900's.

Chicago, Illinois' Greektown packs a wealth of Greek restaurants, shops and churches into one cozy neighborhood --