Must-see attractions in Northern Greece

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    Vergina Royal Tombs Museum

    Macedonia

    A grass-covered tumulus (burial mound) has been converted into a truly spine-tingling museum where visitors can descend to unspoiled royal Macedonian…

  • Beautiful sunset over Mount Olympus in Greece. This is the small road to Enipea source of the river Zeus Bath near the village of Litochoro; Shutterstock ID 1789244651; your: Erin Lenczycki; gl: 65050 ; netsuite: Digital; full: Digital
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    Mt Olympus

    Macedonia

    The cloud-covered lair of the Ancient Greek pantheon, awe-inspiring Mt Olympus is simply spectacular. It fires visitors' imaginations today, just as it…

  • Family admiring the view of Vikos Gorge.

    Vikos Gorge

    Zagorohoria

    The Voïdomatis ('Good Water' in its Slavic roots) River, a tributary of the Aoös, carved the 12km-long, 900m-deep Vikos Gorge over millions of years. Per…

  • 07.13.2022 Thessaloniki, Greece. Beautifully preserved artwork statue of a muscular short-haired man with a naked torso covering with cape. High quality photo; Shutterstock ID 2194941033; your: Barbara Di Castro; gl: 65050; netsuite: digital; full: poi
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    Archaeological Museum

    Thessaloniki

    Macedonia's prehistory, Hellenistic and Roman periods are charted in this wonderful museum, home to many of the region's major archaeological discoveries…

  • Ruins of the Antique city of Philippi, Eastern Macedonia and Thrace, Greece; Shutterstock ID 2189838665; your: Barbara Di Castro; gl: 65050; netsuite: digital; full: poi
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    Philippi Archaeological Site

    Macedonia

    Founded in 356 BC by the energetic Macedonian dynast Philip II, father of Alexander the Great, this evocatively sited ancient city is on Unesco's World…

  • THESSALONIKI, GREECE - DECEMBER 29: Interior of the Basilica of Hagios Demetrios on December 29, 2015 in Thessaloniki, Greece. Saint Demetrios is the patron saint of Thessaloniki city.; Shutterstock ID 753257872; your: Barbara Di Castro; gl: 65050; netsuite: digital; full: poi
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    Church of Agios Dimitrios

    Thessaloniki

    This enormous 7th-century basilica honours Thessaloniki’s patron saint. A Roman soldier, Dimitrios was killed around AD 306 at this former Roman bath site…

  • Museum of Byzantine Culture

    Thessaloniki

    This fascinating museum has plenty of treasures to please Byzantine buffs, plus simple explanations to introduce this long-lived empire and its culture to…

  • Church of Osios David

    Thessaloniki

    This serene little 5th-century church, once the katholikon (major church) of the Monastery of Saviour Christ of Latomos, is one of the most significant…

  • Castle of Platamonas, Macedonia, Greece.

    Castle of Platamonas

    Macedonia

    Looming from an imposing coastal bluff near Platamonas village, 20km south of Plaka Litohorou, this well-preserved stronghold assumed much of its present…

  • Ruins of Episcopal Basilica at the Archaeological Park of Dion.

    Ancient Dion

    Macedonia

    Dating to the 5th century BC, Dion was sacred to ancient Macedonians worshipping the Olympian gods, especially Zeus, thought to reside on the awesome…

  • Forest and Aoos river at the valley of Valia Calda in northern Greece.

    Northern Pindos National Park

    Epiros

    North of Ioannina, this large protected area includes the Vikos-Aoös region around the plunging Vikos Gorge, and the Valia Kalda forest north of Metsovo…

  • Greece, Thessaloniki, The White Tower

    White Tower

    Thessaloniki

    Thessaloniki's iconic landmark, the 34m-high White Tower has a harrowing history as a prison and place of execution. Built by the Ottomans in the 15th…

  • View of the Umbrellas sculpture created in 1997 by the sculptor Georgios Zongolopoulos, located at the seafront of Thessaloniki.

    New Waterfront

    Thessaloniki

    Thessaloniki's New Waterfront is evidence that architecture can improve urban life through intelligent redesign of the space in which it is lived…

  • The monastery of Vlatadon in Thessaloniki.

    Monastery of Vlatadon

    Thessaloniki

    Believed to have been founded around 1351 on the place where Paul preached in Thessaloniki, this secluded monastery blends fascinating history with some…

  • Concert hall of Thessaloniki designed by the Japanese architect Arata Isozaki.

    Thessaloniki Concert Hall

    Thessaloniki

    Japanese architect Arata Isozaki created the M2, one of two waterfront buildings that house Thessaloniki's high-brow music scene. It's a strikingly…

  • Simonos Petras Monastery, Mount Athos, Greece.

    Moni Simonos Petras

    Macedonia

    Spectacular Moni Simonos Petras rears seven stone-and-wood-fronted storeys above the west coast of Athos. Shorn of frescoes, icons and precious books by…

  • Folk Art Museum

    Epiros

    The Tossizza family mansion conjures life in this mountain town: a cosy dream of fireplaces and gorgeous carpets, and the reality of being snowbound for…

  • Arch of Galerius

    Thessaloniki

    South of the Rotunda on Egnatia, the Arch of Galerius (AD 303) celebrates the eponymous emperor's victory over the Persians in martial scenes carved into…

  • Rotunda of Galerius

    Thessaloniki

    In AD 306 Roman emperor Galerius built this harmonious 30m-high dome, comparable to Rome's Pantheon and possibly intended as his mausoleum. Marking the…

  • Eptapyrgion

    Thessaloniki

    A former Byzantine fortress repurposed as a prison by the Ottomans and only decommissioned in 1989, the Eptapyrgion (‘Seven Towers’) is a grim reminder of…

  • Old Metropolis

    Macedonia

    One of the largest Byzantine buildings in the Balkans, this basilica has a chequered past. Dedicated to St Paul in the 11th century, it was remade as a…

  • Silversmithing Museum

    Ioannina

    Although the centre of Ioannina no longer rings with the distinctive tapping hammers of the city's famous artisans, that sound and their trade are…

  • Kastra

    Thessaloniki

    The kastra (castle) encloses Byzantine churches and timber-framed houses with overhanging upper storeys. Enjoy panoramic views from the tower by the…

  • Kokkori Bridge

    Zagorohoria

    Set between two sheer cliffs below the village of Koukouli, this is one of the most picturesque of the Zagorohoria's stone bridges. It was first built in…

  • Thessaloniki Museum of Photography

    Thessaloniki

    This 1910 port warehouse presents thought-provoking exhibitions of historic and contemporary photography in Greece's only dedicated photography museum…

  • Domaine Porto Carras

    Macedonia

    Greece's largest organic winery, Porto Carras was founded in 1970, and now grows 28 different grapes across 47.5 hilly square kilometres on Sithonia's…

  • Church of Agioi Anargyroi

    Macedonia

    Best guesses date this three-aisle Byzantine basilica, perhaps Kastoria's most beautiful, to the late-10th or early-11th centuries. The external walls are…

  • Moni Dochiariou

    Macedonia

    One of the most elegant and revered monasteries on Athos, 10th-century Dochiariou boasts beautiful buildings, frescoes from the 16th- to the 18th…

  • Moni Evaggelistria

    Zagorohoria

    Built in 1630, this little monastery has a church that glows like a box of jewels: its vivid 18th-century frescoes have never been retouched, but simply…

  • Plakida Bridge

    Zagorohoria

    A stone-paved trail leads down from the roadside parking area to this stone bridge, one of the prettiest in the Zagori region and a rarity in its triple…

  • Church of Agios Stefanos

    Macedonia

    One of Kastoria's oldest Byzantine churches, St Stephen's is a triple-aisled basilica retaining frescoes dating back to its construction in the 9th…

  • Beloï Viewpoint

    Zagorohoria

    All the views of Vikos Gorge are stunning, but this one might be the best. It's reached from outside the village of Vradeto. You must park and walk about…

  • Greece, Epirus Region, Ioannina, elevated city view, Lake Pamvotis and Nisi Island.

    Ioannina Island

    Ioannina

    In the middle of the lake, the reed-encircled patch of land locals just call To Nisi (The Island) is a pretty, peaceful destination, whether you just want…

  • Nekromanteion of Acheron

    Epiros

    This ancient complex is small but comes with a gripping backstory. According to Homer and Herodotus, it was a place to consult with an oracle …

  • Greece, Thessaloniki,  triumphal arch of Galerius

    Palace of Galerius

    Thessaloniki

    Sprawling in splendid incongruity amidst the souvenir shops and crêperies of Plateia Navarinou, the ruins of this 3rd- to 4th-century palace remain…

  • Nikopolis

    Preveza

    The ruins of Nikopolis, built in 28 BC by Octavian (later Augustus), after he defeated Mark Antony and Cleopatra in the naval Battle of Actium (Aktion),…

  • Archaeological Museum of Amphipolis

    Macedonia

    This well-curated museum shows artefacts from the Athenian colony of Amphipolis (later a Macedonian and Roman city) and its surrounding area, from 5000 BC…

  • Dodoni

    Epiros

    Set in a wildflower-carpeted valley 21km southwest of Ioannina, Dodoni was the religious capital of the ancient Epirote Alliance. It is most famous for…

  • Moni Filanthropinon

    Ioannina

    This monastery, active at least since the 13th century, bursts with flowers and is tended by kindly nuns – in stark contrast with its church, in which one…

  • Petralona Cave

    Macedonia

    Some 50km southeast of Thessaloniki on the main road is the stalagmite-rich Petralona Cave. Discovered by Petralona village locals in 1959, it became…