Greece, my favorite European country! The Greek mainland is by far my favorite part of Greece. It is less crowded and a lot cheaper than the famous islands. You can still find many authentic villages and incredible beaches. You can find the most relevant archeological sites here and breathtaking monasteries. It is the best region to go hiking and explore the many waterfalls. We always rent a car and go on a road trip through the vineyards and olive and peach trees. Here’s my Northern Greece Travel Guide including what you can’t miss when you go there and where to eat and stay. 

Ioánnina, Griekenland

Thessaloniki, Griekenland

Meteora, Kalampaka, Griekenland

Chalkidiki, Griekenland

Northern Greece Road Trip Guide

On your first night, head straight to the Heptapyrgion to watch the sunset. Walking here is challenging as you are literally going to the highest point of the city. You can also take a local bus to go up and then descend along the old city wall passing by the Trigonion (Chain) Tower. I loved this! We had dinner at the Rotunda and Arch of Galerius, but you could keep walking a little further to the Navarinou Square for dinner for more options. 

Next up is a full day to walk along the coast, explore the museums and look for the amazing archeological sites all around the city. We took a look inside the orthodox church of Agia Sofia. You can find a church on every corner here. Definitely go in to see the impressive decorations or burn a candle. 

If you're interested in visiting the most important sights, definitely get a combined ticket. I resisted buying everything in the neverending shopping street and then we walked along the boulevard to reach the Skyline. This is a restaurant/bar on top of the OTE tower which turns around and shows you a 360 view in 1 hour. It is a bit expensive to drink anything here, so we shared some great club sandwiches while enjoying the view. Our second sunset we watched from the famous White Tower and we had dinner near Katouni Square.

It is time to pick up the car and do some exploring from the city. In the evening you can park the car in the streets indicated by white lines and set off again before 9am the next morning so you don't have to pay for parking. In the 4th century BC, ancient Pella was a great city, the capital of the Kingdom of Macedonia. The grandeur of the past is reflected in the city's archaeological museum, known for its beautiful mosaics. It was in the city's palace that Alexander the Great was born and it is where Euripides lived and worked, writing his plays Archelaus and Bacchae. 

Edessa is built at the foot of Mount Vermion and overlooks the plain. There is an abundance of greenery, many flowing streams, and gardens full of flowers. North East of the city, in a dense area with a beautiful view, are the famous waterfalls of Edessa.

The 1st peninsula or left "finger" of Chalkidiki, named Kassandra.  Peninsula Kassandra is known for its resorts and beautiful hotels. One of the nicest villages in all of Chalkidiki is the picturesque Afytos and then the somewhat busier, but beautiful Kallithea.

The peninsula of Sithonia is the middle peninsula of Chalkidiki. An area that is much quieter than Kassandra. The big difference with Kassandra lies in the nature, which here consists almost exclusively of beautiful pine forests. We stayed in Nikiti and having dinner at Platanos in the old town is a must! Boats sail daily from Ormos Panagias to the island of Ammouliani. 

Agion Oros (Holy Mountain Athos - Mount Athos) is unique in the world. There is a border exactly below the tourist town Ouranoupoli. When you pass this border, you enter the world of Agion Oros. This is a Monastic state that is autonomous within Greece and the EU. The inhabitants are all monks, women are not allowed to enter this area. On the territory are twenty monasteries where monks live in seclusion. To get here you have to take the boat from Ouranoupoli to the small harbor Dafni and from there you can walk to all kinds of monasteries or take a bus to the capital Karyes. Since I am a woman, we booked a boat tour that took us past all the monasteries and we were even joined by dolphins!

Kavala is another attractive city in Greece. It is a modern city and the main seaport of Eastern Macedonia. It is located on the bay of Kavala opposite the island of Thassos. Kavala was built on top of the ancient city of Neapolis. This requires a long drive. We weren't able to visit the following places, but I wanted to include them in case you have more time than we did.

At one point there were two dozen monasteries in Meteora, today only six are active. We started our visits at the Monastery of the Holy Trinity. It stands alone on a stone island. Accessible by a 140-step staircase, unsurprisingly it was used as a filming location for the 1981 James Bond film For Your Eyes Only. 

Nearby is the Monastery of St. Stephen, the most accessible in Meteora. Varlaam Monastery was our second visit. It has the most monks of all Meteora monasteries, Other monasteries are the Roussanou Nunnery, the most photographed of Meteora and the Saint Nicholas Anapausas almost looks like it grew from the stone pillar it sits on. 

The viewpoints are a great place to be for pictures of these last 3. Especially during sunset! Matching the sun set from here is magical and I would do it every night I spend here if I was you. Driving down to have lunch you pass one of my favorite scenic roads I have ever seen in the whole wide world! We had lunch in a town called Kastraki, surrounded by the rocks, from where we could see the Adrachti Pillar. Some hikes start from here, but do this in colder seasons. 

In this direction you pass by Imathia. The peach flowers bloom here for about fifteen days between late February and mid-March. This makes for a beautiful pink landscape. 

In the area you can find one of my favorite archeological sites in Greece: The Royal Tombs of Aegae. These tombs are incredibly well preserved and the artifacts are blindingly beautiful. 

You can drive to Meteora along the famous Olympus mountain. At 2,918 meters it is the highest mountain in Greece. For a long time it has been a mythical place, said to have been the home of the gods of ancient Greece. Today, however, people visit it for mountaineering and other outdoor pursuits in a location known for its fantastic and diverse fauna and flora, surrounded by breathtaking natural beauty. Known as the City of the Gods, Litochoro is about 100 km away from Thessaloniki and the gateway most people use to explore the mountain.

We started at 10am visiting the oldest and largest of the Meteora monasteries: Monastery of Great Meteoron. The stone ribbon of steps and numerous buildings make it look more like a fortified village than a monastery. You'll be treated not only to views of Meteora, but also to gilded frescoes of saints and a museum of the history of Meteora. The museum is a great place to get some context about the places you visited. We saved the best for last!

Ioánnina is an important university town, located on Lake Pamvotis or Lake Ioannina. In the lake is an islet, Nisos Ioanninon, with important Byzantine monasteries. You can visit the island by taking a ferry for €4. The city consists of two parts: the actual city and the so-called frourion, a Turkish citadel from the 17th century, which includes two mosques. You can drive into the mountains from here to visit some of the 46 villages where time seems to have stood still in the 19th century.

Then we took the non-toll road to Ioannina, passing through the mighty Pindus Mountains. The region is home to rare species of mammals like brown bears, Oblivious about what to expect, we drove into Metsovo to have lunch along the way. Metsovo is a lively mountain town in Epirus, with a diverse history, traditions and customs and it’s a popular winter holiday destination. The region is famous for its cheese. The Katogi wine is one of the most renowned in the country. The area is ideal for hiking on its marked trails, climbing, mountainbiking and of course skiing on the ski centers’ slopes along with many more activities. Anilio Village holds a long tradition in wood processing. 

Megalo (big) Papigo and Mikro (small) Papigo are twin villages with beautiful architecture, lakes and excellent walking routes, for example to the Papingo Rock Pools. Kipi is another village worth exploring as it is one of the oldest in the area and sits on two rivers making it perfect for rafting, canyoning and mountaineering in stunning scenery of the Vikos Gorge. Zagori is know for its old stone bridges.

Thessaloniki

Roman Forum of Thessaloniki

Kapani Market

Louloudadika Flower Market

Agora Modiano

Aristotelous Square

White Tower

SKYLINE cafe bar

Navarinou Square

Arch of Galerius

Rotunda

Atatürk Museum

Trigonion (Chain) Tower

Dorodouli Distillery

Kavala

Holy Baptistery of Saint Lydia of Philippi

Ancient Theatre of Philippi

Giola Lagoon

Lion of Amphipolis

Kerkini Lake National Park

Calypso Cruises - Cruises to Mount Athos

Northern Greece Road Trip Guide

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