Volos

Volos is a city that knows how to live. Its great seafront boulevard, one of the finest in Greece, runs for miles along the Gulf of Pagasitikos, lined with cafés, tavernas, and grand neoclassical buildings, and on any evening it is full of people walking, eating, and watching the sea. The train from Athens brings visitors in close to the waterfront — a line of cranes and ships at the port end, and beyond it the great green mass of Mount Pelion, the mountain of the centaurs, rising directly behind the city. Volos is the base for two of the great experiences of mainland Greece: the village of Makrinitsa and the stone villages of Pelion, with their waterfalls and their forested lanes, and the wild beauty of the Sporades islands just off the coast. But the city itself is worth a stay: its neoclassical mansions, its superb fish tavernas along the waterfront, and its sense of being a real, working, cheerful Greek city. The Argonauts sailed from here, they say — Jason and his crew setting out from the harbour of Iolkos to find the Golden Fleece. Standing on the quay, watching the fishing boats come in, you can believe it.

Volos has one of the deepest histories in Greece, though the modern city is young. The region was the site of the Neolithic settlements of Dimini and Sesklo, among the oldest in Europe (dating to around 6000 BC). In the Bronze Age it was the site of Iolkos, the city from which Jason and the Argonauts sailed in search of the Golden Fleece — a legend that made Volos the mythic starting point of the Greek age of exploration. The modern city was founded in the 19th century, when the port was developed after the liberation of Thessaly in 1881, and it grew rapidly into one of the great commercial ports of Greece, exporting the produce of the Thessalian plain. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Volos was the most 'modern' city in Greece, with its grid plan, its trams, and its cosmopolitan trading community. It was badly damaged by the earthquakes of 1955 and rebuilt, and its character today is a lively, prosperous university city. The nearby village of Makrinitsa, at the foot of Pelion, was a centre of the Macedonian Struggle, and the mountain itself, with its 24 stone villages, is a treasure of traditional architecture.

Volos's beaches are a short drive from the centre. The city itself has a long pebbled beach along the waterfront, but the real swimming is to the south and on the mountain. The long sandy strand at Alykes, near Nea Anchialos, is the popular local beach; further south, the coast toward Trikeri and the Pagasitic peninsula offers quieter coves. On the eastern side of Pelion, the beaches of the Aegean coast — at Agios Ioannis, Plaka, and Papa Nero — are among the loveliest in Greece: golden sand, clear water, and the mountain falling into the sea. And the Sporades islands, a short ferry ride away, are a beach-lover's paradise.

Volos is a serious food city, and its soul is the sea. The waterfront is lined with tsipouradika — tavernas that serve the local tsipouro with a succession of mezedes, from fried calamari and sardines to octopus, anchovies, and the local mussels. The seafood is extraordinary, and the local speciality is the ouzo-and-tsipouro culture: a meal of small plates that goes on for hours. The city is also the gateway to the produce of the Thessalian plain and of Pelion, with its apples, chestnuts, and the famous Pelion wild cherries. Do not miss a plate of the local feta, a bowl of the shellfish pasta, and a glass of the local white wine — and let the evening take its time.

Spring (April to June) and autumn (September to October) are the finest seasons — the mountain is green, the sea is warm enough for swimming in autumn, and the city is at its most relaxed. Summer is the season of the waterfront and the beaches: the city is lively, the Pelion villages are full, and the ferries run to the Sporades. Winter is quiet and cool, but the mountain villages of Pelion, with their fireplaces and their winter light, are magical. The late-afternoon light on the Gulf of Pagasitikos is beautiful in every season.

Volos has no airport of its own. Nea Anchialos, about 25 km south-west, serves Volos along with Karditsa, Trikala and Lamia, and is linked to the city by bus. The city is also a port of departure for ferries to the Sporades.

Do not leave without eating at a tsipouradiko on the waterfront — order the tsipouro and let the mezedes come; it is the city's great ritual. Spend a day on Mount Pelion: the village of Makrinitsa, reached by a winding road above the city, is a marvel of traditional architecture, and the mountain paths lead to waterfalls and chestnut forests. Take the funicular-like rack railway or simply drive. For a beach day, head to the Aegean coast of Pelion. And if you have time, take the ferry to the Sporades — the islands are an easy escape.