Hi, and welcome to our latest newsletter. If you’re planning on visiting Greece this year, don’t just look at the islands, even though they are wonderful. We’re as guilty as anyone, as we often begin our Greece travel plans by saying ‘Which island next?’
Consider exploring the Greek mainland instead. You’ll find places where you may be the only foreign visitor. You’ll find beautiful scenery, with mountains and lakes. You’ll also find different regional cuisines, and dishes beyond the usual moussaka and souvlaki.
We’ve explored the mainland thoroughly, and highly recommend it. One of Mike’s best trips was when he was asked to write a guidebook to mainland Greece for the AA, the UK’s equivalent of AAA, for our American readers. He packed his bags for four weeks, booked a rental car, flew into Athens, and drove anti-clockwise round the country. Here are some of the places he discovered on that trip, and has been back to over the years.
The Pelion Peninsula
Getting to the Pelion wasn’t much fun. You have to drive through the city of Volos to get there. Volos is a great city with lots to see and do, but I’d reckoned without one thing. This was in the days before SatNav, and I had a good map and sort-of knew the route to take. What I hadn’t allowed for was that I was doing it on a Saturday morning. I turned a corner onto a one-way main street through the city, only to find a street market blocking the way.
I was committed, though. I couldn’t turn round, couldn’t easily reverse, so I had to carefully and slowly drive up the middle of the street, with stalls and shoppers just a few inches away on either side, all giving me dirty looks.
But phew, I made it, and was able to drive on to the Pelion Peninsula. It was worth it, as I had a lovely couple of days exploring the gorgeous mountain villages, like Makrinitsa, above, and had my first taste of the Greek meatball dish, soutzoukakia. This isn’t exclusive to the Pelion but is very popular there and I now eat it every chance I get.
Oh yes, and you will also find some great beaches on the Pelion. If you’re interested, it’s about a 4-hour drive from Athens airport to Volos.
Thessaloniki
You’ll also find beaches in Greece’s second city, Thessaloniki. This is about a 3-hour drive on from Volos, and you’ll want to stop off and get the views of Mount Olympus on the way.
If you’ve ‘done’ Athens, then think about Thessaloniki for a city break. I loved it, and have been back several times. It’s very different from Athens, but equally vibrant. It has a lot of really good museums, great food, lively night life, and lots of interesting old churches. My favourite was the 5th-century church of Ossios David, high up in the Old Town, which has a rare fresco of Christ without a beard. I found the tiny place but the church was locked. As I wondered what to do, an old man came out of one of the buildings and unlocked the door for me, gesturing for me to wait while he switched the lights on and I got the full dramatic impact of the fresco. It was a moment I’ve never forgotten.
The Prespa Lakes
Jumping around geographically now, one of the most beautiful places in mainland Greece is the area around the Prespa Lakes in the extreme north of the country. There are two lakes and they are where the Greek border meets the borders of both Albania and North Macedonia. They are quite simply stunningly beautiful, as the photo shows. They are remote, rich in wildlife, and peaceful, with just one or two little fishing villages. There is some accommodation nearby but I visited them for the first time when staying in a city which was another of my discoveries when first touring mainland Greece: Kastoria.
Kastoria
Kastoria is a gorgeous lakeside city with some impressive old mansions and churches to see, and the simple pleasure of walking by the lake. My abiding memory, though, is of another encounter with a Greek market. This time I arrived on a Friday evening, parked the car, and checked into my hotel.
Next morning I was driving up to the Prespa Lakes and back, and it was pouring rain. I discovered that I’d parked my car right where the Saturday morning market was being held. No wonder I’d found a parking place so easily! Across the street from my car two disgruntled stallholders sat under an umbrella, unable to put up their stall. I managed to jump in and drive off, leaving behind the two irate stallholders. I don’t blame them.
Ioannina
A couple of hours drive south of Kastoria is another lovely lakeside town, which is one of my favourite small cities in Greece: Ioannina. It’s got an impressive fortress, museums, narrow back streets to get lost in, a reputation for silversmithing, and a wonderful island in the middle of Lake Ioannina, called Nissi (which simply means ‘island’).
I’ll never forget my first (but not last) visit to Nissi. I took the little ferryboat across in order to have dinner at one of the several restaurants on the island. The local specialty here, which I couldn’t believe at first, is frog’s legs. I discovered that it’s a local industry and they actually export frog’s legs from Ioannina to France!
I was told that you could walk around the entire island, so before dinner I decided to do that. The sun was going down, and the light disappearing, and it was a magical walk. At one point I stopped to look back at the lights coming on in Ioannina, and a bird started singing. It was so beautiful that, even though I’d never heard one before, I knew it had to be a nightingale. I stood there mesmerised by the sound. I checked later and, yes, they do have nightingales on Nissi, and that is what I heard.
Nafplion
I finished my mainland Greece guidebook research by driving round the Peloponnese and visiting amazing places like Ancient Olympia, the Mani, Mystra, and Monemvasia. By the time I’d finished, I realised I had a few days to spare before I had to return my hire car. It was a wonderful moment, not only because I could relax after the hard slog (there are no days off when you’re researching a guidebook), but that I had a car at my disposal, I had no accommodation booked, so I could spend my free time anywhere I liked.
I chose to spend it in Nafplion, in the north of the Peloponnese and not far from places like Mycenae and Epidavros. This city, which stands on a bay on the Argolic Gulf and was the capital of Greece before Athens, had charmed me when I’d spent a few days there exploring it for the guidebook. I loved it even more when I was able to spend another few days there just pottering round, putting my feet up, and eating where I wanted to rather than where I felt I ought to check out for the guidebook. It was bliss.
So there you have it. Think about a trip to the Greek mainland. You don’t have to give up being by the water, or give up beaches… or even give up islands! The mainland has it all.
Till next time, happy planning, and may your next visit to Greece be a good one.