Mainland · Μετέωρα
Monasteries on top of rock pillars, above the plain of Thessaly. Stay the night to see them at dawn.
Meteora
01IntroductionΜετέωρα
Meteora means “suspended in the air”, and that is how the monasteries look. Monks built them from the fourteenth century onwards on sandstone pillars hundreds of metres high. Six are still active and open to visitors, each on its own schedule.
Day trips from Athens are long and rushed. Stay overnight in Kastraki, below the rocks, so you can see the pillars at first light and visit the monasteries before the coaches arrive.
- How long
- 1–2 nights
- When to go
- April to June
- Ancient sites nearby
- 1
02Highlights
- 01 Sunrise from the viewpoints above Kastraki
- 02 The Great Meteoron and Varlaam, the two largest monasteries
- 03 Walking the old monks’ paths between monasteries
- 04 Rousanou, the most graceful of the six
03Practical
- When to go
- April to June, and September to November. Winter mist is magical.
- Getting there
- Trains run from Athens to Kalambaka, sometimes with a change of train. By car it is around four to five hours from Athens, or about two and a half from Delphi.
- For couples
- Dress codes apply: shoulders and knees covered, and skirts for women at most monasteries. Wraps are often provided at the door. Each monastery closes one day a week, on different days.
04Sites, food and stays
Ancient sites nearby
- Monasteries of MeteoraFounded from the fourteenth century in the last Byzantine centuries, and still home to monks and nuns.
What to eat
- Epirus piesHand-stretched pies, the region’s pride: greens, cheese, leek or wild herbs. Every village argues over its own.
Mainland stays
- Petrino ZagoriPlaceholderMountain guesthouse · Papingo, Zagori
- Kastro RoomsPlaceholderRooms inside the walls · Monemvasia lower town
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Meteora