Section
Places
Towns, villages, rivers and monuments. Thessaly up close and from the air.
PlacesMagnesia
Volos, the city between Mount Pelion and the Pagasetic Gulf
Volos, at the foot of Pelion, carries Iolcos, Demetrias, the port of the plain, de Chirico and the tsipouro bars of the waterfront.
PlacesLarissa
Mount Kissavos, Larissa's mountain of beech, chestnut and sea
Kissavos, or Ossa, 1,978 metres, looks over the Larissa plain and the sea, with a protected beech forest, chestnut groves and a refuge at 1,605 metres.
PlacesTrikala
Neraidochori, the village of the wind spirits at 1,140 metres
Neraidochori, at 1,140 metres on Koziakas, has changed its name three times, has the 1792 monastery of Agia Paraskevi and looks towards Pertouli.
PlacesLarissa
Mount Olympus from the Thessaly side, above Larissa
Olympus, 2,918 metres at Mytikas, is also a Thessalian mountain. Its slopes towards Elassona have Vlach villages, monasteries and fewer people.
PlacesMagnesia
Mylopotamos, the Pelion beach with a stone arch in the middle
Mylopotamos, 6 km from Tsagkarada, is an Aegean beach split in two by a natural stone arch.
PlacesTrikala
Trikala, the city on the Lithaios from ancient Trikki to today
Trikala, built on ancient Trikki, has the Lithaios river through its heart, the Asclepieion, Varousi and the Fortress, an hour from Meteora.
PlacesTrikala
Kalambaka, the town below Meteora named after a rock
Kalambaka is more than a base for Meteora: it was ancient Aiginion, the Byzantine fortress of Stagoi, and a town with museums of its own.
PlacesSporades
Glossa, Skopelos: the "high village" of Papadiamantis
Glossa, in north-west Skopelos, looks down from 240 metres on the port of Loutraki, on Skiathos and on the lighthouse at Gourouni.
PlacesKarditsa
Mesenikolas, the wine village above the plain of Karditsa
Mesenikolas in Karditsa has made wine since at least the 15th century and gives its name to one of Thessaly's few PDO wines.
PlacesMagnesia
Zagora, the big Pelion village famous for its apples
On north-east Pelion, Zagora lives from its apples, which have Protected Designation of Origin, and keeps a history of trade and learning.
PlacesMagnesia
Hania, the Pelion pass between two seas
At Hania, at 1,200 metres, the road crosses from one side of Pelion to the other through beech forest, with views of the Pagasetic Gulf and the Aegean.
PlacesSporades
Lalaria, the Skiathos beach of white pebbles
On the north coast of Skiathos, Lalaria has white pebbles, sheer cliffs and a stone arch. You can only reach it by boat.
PlacesMagnesia
Damouchari, the little Pelion harbour made famous by Mamma Mia
A small pebbly cove with olive trees and ruins on eastern Pelion. Damouchari was a harbour long before it became a Hollywood set.
PlacesMagnesia
Vyzitsa, one of the best-preserved villages of Pelion
Stone mansions, cobbled paths and a square with plane trees. Vyzitsa, next to Milies, keeps old Pelion almost untouched.
PlacesSporades
The Kastro of Skiathos, the old capital on the rock
At the northern tip of Skiathos, on a sheer rock, the islanders lived for centuries out of reach of pirates. Churches and ruins survive today.
PlacesMagnesia
Portaria, the first big village of Pelion above Volos
Portaria is a few minutes from Volos. It has a square with plane trees, a Byzantine church and a view over the whole Pagasetic Gulf.
PlacesTrikala
Elati, the village of the firs in the mountains of Pyli
In the mountains above Pyli, Elati is one of the best-known mountain villages in Thessaly, with views, forests and quiet cobbled paths.
PlacesMagnesia
Milies, the village of Anthimos Gazis and the Pelion train
The Pelion railway ends at Milies, and a library with two centuries of history begins. A walk through the village.
PlacesTrikala
Pertouli, meadows and fir forest above Trikala
At 1,100 metres, Pertouli has open meadows, dense fir forest and a university forest that has been studied for decades.
PlacesSporades
Koukounaries, the Skiathos beach with a forest behind it
Sand, stone pines down to the waterline and a wetland behind the trees. Koukounaries is the best-known beach on Skiathos.
PlacesTrikala
Kastraki, the village at the foot of the Meteora rocks
Below the rocks of Meteora, Kastraki lives with climbers, hikers and an old custom of hanging kerchiefs on the rock face.
PlacesMagnesia
Tsagkarada, four parishes, one plane tree and the road to the sea
On eastern Pelion, Tsagkarada spreads over four parishes among chestnut trees, with an ancient plane tree in its square.
PlacesLarissa
Ampelakia, the village that dyed Europe red
Above Tempi, Ampelakia sent red yarn as far as Vienna in the 18th century. The Schwartz mansion still recalls that time.
PlacesLarissa
Tempi, the gorge between Mount Olympus and Mount Kissavos
Ten kilometres of gorge, the Pineios river, Agia Paraskevi and the suspension bridge. The Vale of Tempi beyond the motorway.
PlacesTrikala
Varousi and the Koursoum Mosque: a walk through old Trikala
Below the castle, narrow lanes with mansions and churches. A little further down, one of the finest Ottoman mosques in Greece. Two faces of the same city.
PlacesMagnesia
Makrinitsa: the balcony of Mount Pelion
Stone roofs, cobbled paths and a square of plane trees looking over Volos and the Pagasetic Gulf. The place to start discovering the villages of Pelion.
PlacesSporades
Alonissos: the Old Chora and Greece's first marine park
A village abandoned after the 1965 earthquake and born again, and a sea where the Mediterranean monk seal still lives.
PlacesKarditsa
Agrafa: the mountains that never made it into the registers
Sheer peaks, stone bridges and villages clinging to the slopes. The Agrafa are among the most untouched mountains in Greece, a short drive from the plain of Karditsa.
PlacesSporades
Skopelos: the Chora, the chapels and Agios Ioannis at Kastri
Ancient Peparethos, a town that descends like an amphitheatre to the harbour, and a chapel on a rock that the whole world came to know.
PlacesTrikala
The Bridge of Pyli and Porta Panagia
A stone arch of 1514 over the Portaikos river and, a few steps away, a 13th-century Byzantine church. Where the Thessalian plain enters the Pindus mountains.
PlacesTrikala
Meteora: monasteries at the edge of the sky
Giant rock pillars, monasteries perched on their summits and seven centuries of history. What Meteora is, and how to see it with respect.
PlacesMagnesia
The Pelion railway: the little train called Moutzouris
Tracks just 60 centimetres wide, iron bridges and a route through the plane trees. The story of the railway designed by the father of Giorgio de Chirico.
PlacesKarditsa
Lake Plastiras: the water that brought the mountains to the plain
A man-made lake that looks natural, between the plain of Karditsa and the Agrafa mountains. Its story, and why it is worth the drive.
PlacesLarissa
The First Ancient Theatre of Larissa: the heart of the city back in the light
For centuries it lay buried under houses and streets. Today its marble auditorium stands again in the middle of the city, looking back at it.
PlacesLarissa
The Second Ancient Theatre: Larissa's other theatre
Smaller and less known, hidden among apartment blocks. From above, its semicircle looks like a footprint in the grass.
PlacesLarissa
The Pineios: the river that made the plain
From the Pindus to the Vale of Tempe, the Pineios crosses Thessaly and flows through Larissa. A river that is landscape, myth and daily life at once.
PlacesLarissa
Larissa from above, in ten pictures
Ponds, squares, monuments and lights. A photographic journey over the city by drone.