Destination: Greece

LONELY PLANET'S OFFICIAL ITINERARY INFORMATION

Itinerary: Mainly Mainland

TWO WEEKS / IGOUMENITSA TO ATHENS

This circuitous route takes in the more spectacular scenery of the north plus the centre’s most visited attraction, Meteora, and finally leads you to Athens along routes that are not used by many travellers.



If entering Greece from Italy with your own transport, Igoumenitsa is a good place to start. Once the Via Egnatia motorway is completed access across the north will be facilitated but won’t be half as interesting as it is now.

Do not linger in Igoumenitsa, the busy entry port in Greece’s far northwest: head across the mountains to Ioannina with its arresting lakeside location, Ottoman monuments and teeming social life. Make a day trip to Metsovo in the mountains, a colourful shepherds’ town where the locals speak Vlach, a language akin to Romanian. Loop back and northwards to the Zagoria Villages , unlike anything you will see in Greece. Cross the Pindos Mountains via the less-travelled northern route to Kastoria, a pretty lakeside town. Now make a beeline for the Prespa Lakes where tranquillity reigns over seemingly endless landscapes of water and mountains.

Skirt the artists’ town of Florina and cruise through brooding western Macedonia with an overnight stop in Edessa – famous for its tumbling waterfalls. Spend some time in bustling Thessaloniki before heading to the home of the ancient gods at Mt Olympus, a mere 90-minutes drive south. Passing through the Vale of Tembi you enter the sprawling plains of Thessaly where monks built monasteries atop pinnacles of rock at stunning Meteora. Heading south the route takes you across agricultural plains and mountains to the sea once more near Lamia, not far from where ancient hero Leonidas stood his ground against invading Persians at Thermopylae.

A fast highway now leads on to Athens, a detour from which will take you to Thiva (Ancient Thebes). From here choose the less-travelled mountain route via Erythres to approach the Greek capital.