Meteora
Of all the Meteora monasteries, Moni Agias Triados, which featured in the 1981 James Bond film For Your Eyes Only, feels the most remote. A long down-then…
Must-see attractions in Meteora & Thessaly
Meteora
Dramatically perched atop a steep pinnacle and accessed via a high narrow wooden bridge, Rousanou convent has an intimate atmosphere. Its small community…
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Meteora & Thessaly
The remains of a walled Neolithic settlement, where perhaps 250 people lived 7000 years ago, stand atop a low mound just north of the village of Dimini,…
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Meteora & Thessaly
Trikala's best museum, housed in the city’s former Ottoman baths (later a prison), houses an intriguing and unusual mixture of exhibits. Displays…
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Pelion Peninsula
This inconspicuous and faded mansion in little Anakasia preserves fanciful and colourful murals by Theofilos Hatzimihail (1866–1934). A wandering self…
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Meteora
High above Kalambaka, at the end of the road, Moni Agiou Stefanou suffered considerable damage during and after WWII, and is less architecturally…
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Natural History & Mushroom Museum
Kalambaka
Once you pass its forbidding modern exterior, this museum comes as a quirky surprise. Downstairs, dioramas display stuffed birds and animals ranging from…
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Meteora & Thessaly
First inhabited before 6000 BC, and thus the oldest acropolis in Greece, this Neolithic site occupies a gently sloping hillside 14km west of Volos. Well…
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Meteora
Beside the road a few hundred metres short of Moni Megalou Meteorou, Moni Varlaam was first occupied by the hermit Varlaam around 1350. It’s now…
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Meteora
The 15th-century Moni Agiou Nikolaou is the first monastery you reach from Kastraki, 1km from the village square. Many visitors, keen to press on to the…
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Meteora & Thessaly
To reach this superb little 13th-century Byzantine church in a lovely riverside setting, cross the Portaikos river in modern Pyli, 18km southwest of…
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Pelion Peninsula
To find out what the Pelion’s historical mansions looked like in their prime – before being transformed into luxurious guesthouses – follow a circuitous…
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Meteora & Thessaly
Set behind a pretty rose garden, this excellent museum is just back from the seafront at the southeastern limit of Volos. As well as some amazing…
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Meteora
The Meteora’s largest monastery looks down on Kastraki from the highest rock in the valley (613m). Founded by St Athanasios in the 14th century, it grew…
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Meteora & Thessaly
Trikala’s castle crowns a hilltop just back from the northern side of the river, 400m west of the central squares. Although it stands on the site of…
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Meteora & Thessaly
The amazing brick-built dome of this imposing mosque, built in the 16th century for the nephew of Süleyman the Magnificent, rises above the southern…
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Kalambaka
This enjoyable museum focuses on a beautifully displayed collection of antiquarian books, from versions of Aesop’s Fables to a 1567 edition of Homer. The…
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Meteora & Thessaly
The Varousi quarter, just east of the fortress, was home to Trikala’s wealthiest Christians under Ottoman rule. Their fine old mansions, sporting…
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Byzantine Art and Culture Museum
Pelion Peninsula
Perched immediately above the village square (and church) in a mansion that’s been given a modern, air-conditioned makeover, Makrinitsa’s ‘showroom of…
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Church of the Dormition of the Virgin Mary
Kalambaka
The 14th-century frescoes in this Byzantine basilica, at Kalambaka’s highest point where the footpath sets off to Moni Agias Triados, are a match for…
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Meteora & Thessaly
Filled with exquisite artefacts that range from stone arrowheads and Neolithic effigies to ancient Greek tombstones and 19th-century wall paintings,…
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Meteora & Thessaly
Founded during the 16th century, Moni Agiou Vissarion sustained heavy damage during the Greek struggle for independence, though its central church still…
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Pelion Peninsula
A one-woman, one-of-a-kind labour of love, Serpentin Organic Garden is the brainchild of Doris Schlepper, who, over 30 years, has created a virtual museum…
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Meteora & Thessaly
Lake Plastira, 30km west of Karditsa or 40km south of Trikala, was created by the damming of the Tavropos River in 1959. To learn about its evolving…
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Meteora
Theopetra Cave, 7km southeast of Kalambaka, has been closed to visitors since 2016 due to the fear of landslides. Its first human occupation has been…
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Pelion Peninsula
Dedicated to Rigas Feraios, a martyr of the Independence campaign, this humble museum once held a concealed classroom where a lone priest taught children…
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Meteora & Thessaly
From 1926 until 1975, Tsalapatas Rooftile and Brickworks, 1.5km west of the port at the Old Town’s South Gate, formed part of the cultural fabric of Volos…
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Meteora & Thessaly
Constructed during the 3rd century BC and rebuilt by the Romans, Larissa’s well-preserved ancient theatre remained in use for around six centuries,…
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Municipal Art Gallery of Larissa
Meteora & Thessaly
This stunning contemporary edifice stands 3km southwest of the centre, towards the history museum. As well as housing a high-quality private collection of…
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Meteora & Thessaly
A grassy fenced-off enclosure, 200m west of Plateia Iroon Polytechniou towards the fortress, is stubbled with the ruins of what’s said to be the ancient…
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Meteora & Thessaly
Larissa’s lone hill, a short walk northeast of the modern centre, beyond the ancient theatre, was home to the city’s original acropolis. It held a Stone…
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Meteora & Thessaly
This smart modern museum, in a former tobacco warehouse in the Palaia district, tells the story of Volos through beautiful black-and-white photos from the…
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Pelion Peninsula
Set in an old stone mansion, very near Ano Gatzea’s station on the To Trenaki train line, this inviting little spot is dedicated to the olive and its oil…
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Pelion Peninsula
If you’re one of those people who think nostalgia isn’t what it used to be, turn your dial to this spot. A celebration of one collector’s pre-digital love…
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Meteora
For a panoramic break while visiting the monasteries, visit the clifftop Psaropetra Lookout, 650m south (right) from the fork in the road where continuing…
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Pelion Peninsula
The gorgeous but somewhat decrepit little church of Agios Nikolaos stands near the car park in Damouhari. Its interior is covered in fine frescoes by an…
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Pelion Peninsula
At the wonderful Popotech Workshop, a couple of kilometres south of Pouri, Irish and Dutch transplants Gemma and Gary create unique jewellery, ceramics…
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Pelion Peninsula
The flower-festooned village of Kissos spreads across steep terraces to all sides of this 18th-century church, where the frescoes are considered the…
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Meteora
Towering above the northern end of Kastraki, Doupiani Rock became home to the region’s first church, Panaghia Doupani, in the late 12th century. Hermits…
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Meteora
A striking solitary rock column known as the adhrakhti (‘obelisk’) commands the skyline as you look up the valley from Kastraki village. Considered the…
