Paralia Katerini, Greece - great beaches and fur coats! All about Greece How to get from Plastika to Paralia Katerini
This is where the Olympus mountain range is located. Pieria also borders Thessaly, where the famous monasteries of Meteora are located. From here it is convenient, if you wish, to get to the Greek capital - Athens.
Mount Olympus photo
What to choose: Chalkidiki or Pieria?
To answer this question briefly, then for an exclusively beach holiday it is better to go to Kassandra or Sithonia (“fingers” of the Halkidiki peninsula). And the resorts of Pieria, as well as the villages of Halkidiki closest to the airport, are best suited for combining a beach and sightseeing holiday, and will also in many ways become a more practical solution for organizing an independent holiday in Greece without a car.
How to get to Pieria?
Transfer from Thessaloniki Airport by car/taxi
The road to the resorts of Pieria from the airport will take about an hour or a little more, depending on the location you need. The road is good (national highway Thessaloniki-Athens), there are no traffic jams. There are several road toll points (fee for a passenger car from 1.2 to 2.4 euros). Of course, if you ordered a taxi transfer, this issue no longer concerns you. (Pros: large reliable company, international taxi service at local prices; confirmation of the order is sent to your email, and the driver waits at the exit from the arrivals area with a sign with your name on it; the fare is known in advance (no unpleasant surprises!); payment of the full amount only upon arrival at the place)
By public transport
You can get to Pieria in two ways: from the main bus station of Thessaloniki on the KTEL intercity bus or by commuter train (a very comfortable train) from the Thessaloniki railway station. All current prices can be found on the websites using the links and even in some cases you can buy a ticket online.
City buses run from Thessaloniki Airport to the train stations.
Car rental at Thessaloniki airport
You can choose in advance and book a car for traveling around Greece here (instant comparison of offers, prices and conditions of the world's leading car rental companies, online booking confirmation and flexible conditions, discounts, super offers)
Which resort should you choose?
If you don't plan to rent a car, then perhaps your best choice is a large urban village Leptocarya in Pieria. The railway station is located right inside the town and it is divided into two parts by railway tracks. Lower, closer to the sea, is exclusively touristic, a typical resort village with a minimum of local residents. There you can find both economy class studios and more expensive hotels. The entire infrastructure is “tailored” for tourists.
Above the railway tracks in Leptokarya there is a large settlement with large shops, a weekly market, and children's playgrounds. If you want to save on housing, then it makes sense to rent an apartment in this part, however, the journey to the sea on foot will take 15 minutes or more. You can come to Leptokarya throughout the year, because even outside the high tourist season, everything works in the upper part of the village.
Private apartments in Leptokarya
The beaches in Leptokarya are mostly pebble and sand. Towards the four-star hotel "Olympian Bay" - when entering the sea there is sand. This hotel can be reached either on foot or by taxi for a few euros, and in the evenings you can take a ride on a tourist train for 2 euros per person. In the direction of the five-star hotel “Poseidon Palace” - the entry into the sea gradually worsens, more and more stones are found in the sea, the entrance to the sea in those places is along specially organized paths.
Beaches of Pieria
Other major resorts in Pieria - Paralia Katerini, Olympiaki Akti, Nei Pori– with their wide sandy beaches and very shallow entry into the water, they are perfect for vacationers with children. The infrastructure necessary for life is also well developed during the season. For children there are inflatable trampolines, rides and other entertainment.
You can get to Paralia Katerini and Olympiaki Akti by taxi from the railway station in Katerini, or use KTEL buses. Nei Pori can be reached by both bus and train, the railway station is located a short walk from the village itself.
Paralia Katerini photo
Village Platamonas- another large resort in Pieria. It is located between Leptokarya and Nei Pori. The beaches there are generally worse than in neighboring villages, but they also have everything you need, including shops and entertainment. This village may be more suitable for vacationers without children, since there are fewer noisy families here and the overall atmosphere is calmer.
If you travel by car, then your choice is not limited to the above resorts, so you can safely choose others - for example, Plaka Litohorou, Paralia Panteleimon, Paralia Skotinas. There are no large shops or markets here at all, mostly only small tourist shops and a completely different atmosphere. Many areas are occupied by campsites, free-standing taverns or beach bars.
Mountains of Pieria
In Pieria you can live not only by the sea, but also in mountain villages or, for example, in the foothills of the divine Mount Olympus - in the town of Litochoro. From here you can reach the beaches in a few minutes by car.
Olympus is a large mountain range. For lovers of mountaineering or trekking in the Olympus Mountains, routes of varying difficulty are available, and there are also several organized shelters. Those who do not like to walk can drive by car to the highest point to which the highway leads - Prionia (approximately 1100 meters above sea level). The climb can be difficult for those who get motion sickness on the road - stock up on the appropriate equipment in advance.
No less interesting trips through the mountains can be made by climbing through the old village of Leptokarya. The road does not end there and you can take a long and exciting walk through various mountain villages, returning to the sea by another road and leaving, for example, closer to Paralia Katerini.
If you are only interested in short walks in the mountains, it is worth visiting a mountain village Palios Panteleimonas. This picturesque place is located a 15-minute climb from Platamonas along an easy serpentine road. There are small and cozy guest houses, taverns with a pleasant family atmosphere, beautiful views, delicious food and reasonable prices.
Panteleimonas village
Excursions
Pieria, as already mentioned, is an ideal place to combine a beach and sightseeing holiday. In addition to the mountains, here you can see, for example, a beautiful ancient Platamonas fortress. It is located on a hill between the villages of Platamonas and Paralia Panteleimon, from these villages you can get here by car or just walk. The fortress is open to visitors for a small fee.
It’s easy to get from Katerini or Leptokarya to the ruins of ancient Dion.
There are also organized bus excursions to all of these places, which are offered by guides both at hotels and at independent travel agencies in large villages.
In addition to excursions around Pieria itself, it is easy to get to famous monasteries on the rocks in Meteora, get to Thessaloniki and even to the Greek capital Athens. You need to get to Meteora on your own by car or with an organized excursion, but you can also get to Athens and Thessaloniki by train.
Cost of a holiday in Pieria
If you wish, you can organize an independent holiday of completely different levels. In Pieria there are both campsites and modest budget studios with a kitchenette and shower, as well as luxury five-star hotels with an all-inclusive system.
If you are planning a budget vacation, then, as usual, we advise you to pay attention not only to the price of housing, but also to the walking distance to shops, markets, and pharmacies.
The cheapest housing is studios above the railway tracks in the village of Leptokarya, a 15-20 minute walk from the sea. During the season (but not at its peak), you can find accommodation here from 20 euros per day for 3-4 people; in high season, prices start from 25-30 euros and it is better to book in advance.
On the first lines by the sea in Pieria, prices even for modest housing are higher and start from 30 euros in June/September and from 40-45 euros in July-August.
Beach cafes in Pieria usually provide umbrellas and sunbeds to all visitors, subject to ordering any drink.
If you don’t want to cook yourself, then you can eat in Greek fast food (numerous pizzerias and gyros cafes are at your service), in cheap taverns, and in expensive restaurants, of which there is no shortage here either. An approximate budget for feeding one person per day starts from 15-20 euros for partial self-cooking and from 30-40 euros per day if you plan to eat entirely in public places. If you save and live on fast food and vegetables/fruits, you can get by with much more modest sums, it all depends on your desires and capabilities.
When to go on vacation to Pieria?
A comfortable season for swimming in the sea for everyone is from the second ten days of June to mid-September. Many people swim in both May and October. The ideal time to combine an excursion and beach holiday is May-June or September. If you are planning to conquer Olympus, then the best time is the end of August - beginning of September. In the mountains you can relax in the coolness even at the height of summer.
But you can safely come on excursions to Pieria at almost any time of the year: riding in the mountains, admiring the sea, walking along deserted beaches is pleasant both in spring and autumn, and even on some fine winter days.
Might be interesting:
Paralia Katerini is located in the northern part of mainland Greece and is part of the prefecture of Pieria. Despite its youth, the resort has gained popularity for its convenient location (the journey from Thessaloniki airport takes about an hour), affordable prices, clean beaches, proximity to Mount Olympus, and, of course, shubbing.
Paralia Katerini is a remote seaside suburb of the district capital of Pieria Katerini. This fact is reflected in the name of the place, where the word “Paralia” means nothing more than “beach”.
Holidays in Paralia Katerini are very popular among “our” tourists. And it’s not just the beautiful beaches of Pieria and the proximity of one of the main attractions of this part of Greece - Mount Olympus.
The famous Mount Olympus is located just 20 km from Paralia Katerini
Paralia Katerini is primarily known as one of the main centers of trade. Tourists who are too lazy to travel too far from the coast to travel to the capital of the fur trade – Kastoria – come here to buy new fur clothes. Actually, there is no great need for this: the assortment in Paralia Katerini is considered very diverse.
How to get to Paralia Katerini
Finally, the third way is to rent a car. In the Thessaloniki airport terminal there are several international car rental companies, which you can contact and get to Paralia Katerini with a breeze.
As in the case of a taxi, ordering on the spot is not always profitable, since many car rental companies provide separate discounts for online booking. In this simple way, they try to avoid subsequent competition in the fight for the client directly in the terminal. In addition, conditions even in neighboring car rentals can differ significantly, and often these differences are not noticeable upon initial acquaintance.
Famous fur coats can be purchased in small factories at fairly reasonable prices.
You can avoid markups by using the European car rental price comparison service Rentalcars. The service database contains a current and regularly updated database of rental cars, the cost of their rental and other conditions that influence the choice of operator. It takes a few minutes to find the best offer without the need for a long independent comparison. All conditions and prices are brought to a single denominator, which greatly simplifies the choice. Ordering the car you like is also a matter of a few minutes.
Climate and weather in Paralia Katerini
The climate in Paralia Katerinis is Mediterranean, with characteristic warm and rainy winters followed by sunny and dry summers. The coldest times are December and January, when temperatures on the coast can drop to +5 C.
The beach season opens in Paralia Katerini, usually in the third ten days of May and ends in September. At this time, the weather pampers vacationers with an almost complete absence of precipitation, a warm sea, and on the hottest days of the peak season, a fresh breeze that softens the heat.
The most suitable months for holidays with children are June and September. During this period, the average air temperature is in the most comfortable zone – +25+28C, and the sea warms up to +24C.
The white-walled Church of St. Paraskeva is the main attraction of the resort
Paralia Katerini Hotels
Excursions and fur coats
The only noteworthy attraction of Paralia Katerinis is the white-walled Church of St. Paraskeva with a small chapel and wonderful stained glass windows, located in the very center of the resort. But very close to the resort - just 20 km - is the famous Mount Olympus, on which, according to myths, the gods of the ancient Greek Pantheon lived.
Excursions to Olympus usually depart from the village of Litochoro. Several tourist routes originate from here, allowing you to fully experience the mysterious atmosphere of the Abode of the Gods. After descending from Olympus, visit ancient Dion, an ancient Macedonian city built in honor of Zeus. This is one of the most important archaeological parks in Northern Greece, from where Alexander the Great set out on his Asian campaign. Grekoblog wrote in more detail about Olympus itself, the myths and excursions associated with it.
Ancient Dion - one of the most important archaeological parks in Northern Greece
Another remarkable place in the vicinity of Paralia Katerini is the village of Paleo Panteleimonas, considered one of the most beautiful in Greece. The village is located at an altitude of 700 m above sea level and offers magnificent views of the Aegean coast. The architecture of the village has remained faithful to ancient traditions and surprises with its harmony with the surrounding landscapes.
If the attractions in the vicinity of Paralia Katerini are not enough for you, then you can get ideas for diversifying your leisure time from our article.
“Our” tourists most often complement their acquaintance with archaeological and historical sites in the surrounding area with shopping, in which fur coats play a central role. High-quality fur coats in Paralia Katerinis can be purchased in small factories at fairly reasonable prices. There are about fifty such stores in the resort village, and almost every one has a salesperson who knows Russian. The range of fur products offered is extremely wide, so when choosing a fur coat, the help of a knowledgeable person will be very helpful.
The resort's beaches are annually awarded the Blue Flag
Resort beaches
Lovers of sea holidays consider the magnificent coastline of Thermaikos Gulf to be the main attraction of the resort. A wide strip of fine golden sand, gently sloping into turquoise water, is especially popular with families with small children. The beaches of Paralia Katerini are annually awarded the Blue Flag, an award confirming the environmental friendliness and well-groomed coastline.
For those who prefer an active holiday, there is a lot of entertainment on the beaches of Paralia Katerini. These include water attractions, although for the most part they are aimed at children, and paragliding. Diving enthusiasts can visit diving centers to scuba dive in the warm waters of the Aegean Sea or even go spearfishing.
Our holiday in Greece
All happy resorts are alike. Paralia Katerini
I didn’t go to Greece very willingly. Morocco was in the plans - I madly love the East with its wonderful throat singing in mosques, some kind of laziness in the very flow of life, exoticism in everything - in architecture, food, Arabs... Alas... The money issue decided everything in favor of Greece. And – Northern.
A vacation in Greece is great in itself, I thought. If this is Southern Greece. Athens, Mycenae, Corinth, the ruins of ancient cities, descendants of the Hellenes... But Southern Greece, like Morocco, beckoned with its finger and waved after it a wad of money needed for a vacation there. And so I fly to Paralia Katerini, having previously been upset by the lack of major significant attractions there (the well-known monasteries in Meteora, described in advertising brochures as the “eighth wonder of the world,” were not taken into account. For me, Greece is, first of all, Hellas and Gods are plural, not singular). Looking ahead, I will say that reality exceeded all expectations. 13 days seemed like a whole month in terms of the number of impressions and quality of relaxation.
The place was very reminiscent of Rimini - several resort streets stretched along the coast (which is why any hotel is just a stone's throw from the sea) and densely built up with small, 2-3-story hotels, literally stuck to each other. The same as in Rimini, a long sandy beach and exactly the same (albeit Aegean, not Ligurian) sea - clear in the morning and evening, with floating algae, the rest of the time - clouded by hundreds of feet and clogged with the bodies of vacationers. Yes, after all, we saw the most amazing sea in Malta - emerald, crystal, purest. They say (and postcards prove this) that there is a sea of equal beauty here – in Chalkidiki. Apparently, the famous stamp about Greece – “the cleanest sea in the world” – refers to them.
Despite the fact that the Greeks themselves consider Paralia Katerini a very mediocre resort and prefer respectable Halkidiki, the resort, I must tell you, is wonderful. Neat - I didn’t see any dirt there, compact, surrounded by amazing flowering trees, with civilized hotels - we lived in the most inexpensive one and we really liked it. We have good experience traveling to the cheapest hotels in the world, so I can say with confidence that our “GL” in Greece was a truly worthy hotel. Imagine, in the room, in addition to air conditioning, telephone and TV with 8-9 programs, there was also a refrigerator and a hairdryer!!!, which is always a property of hotels only of the highest category. It’s interesting that, like in Italy (again similarities with Rimini), we were not able to use their sockets - and it’s not because of the adapter. The way they are designed there is that no plug fits. A civilized hotel, a civilized resort, civilized people... No one grabs your hands shouting “Rus-Rus”, as in Rimini, no one stares at you when you sunbathe “topless” and no one pesters you if you don’t want it.
While we're talking about beaches, we can't help but mention a local attraction that gives a beach holiday a special flavor - donut sellers. Oh, these are special people, these donut sellers! With what feeling, with what gusto they sang in every possible way all day long “La-aaa kumades”, that is, donuts, gentlemen! I immediately decided that Greece is a country of failed singers: daily voice training on the beaches, morning chants of staff in the hotel, testing the voice of store owners: a person stands calmly and suddenly starts humming. In the heap of “la-aaa kumades”, “ice-cafE-ee”, “cafEe-frape-ee”, I was intrigued by the unusual - “great good cones”, “cones for free-aa”. Why "cones" if there are donuts? Maybe this is in Polish (a huge number of Poles vacation in Parilia Katerini, just crowds. By the way, I still don’t understand why there are so many of them there, it seems like the cost of the trip is quite ordinary, not prohibitively low)? It turned out - in Slovenian. And “cafe-frape” is an absolutely wonderful cold coffee made from a special type of Nescafe coffee, which is designated “frape” on the cans. A simple recipe - and an amazing taste: 1-2 spoons of this “Nescafe-frape”, sugar to taste, pour milk or water, or water with milk powder (1 spoon), beat everything with a mixer - and you get coffee with a gorgeous 5- centimeter foam. Be sure to try it! Only I didn’t like it on the beach; it tasted much better at the bar. And donuts are just like donuts. Nothing special, although they cost almost a dollar apiece.
To Athens – on your own!
But all this, of course, is lyrics, impressions of the general atmosphere of the resort town and relaxation on it. The main thing is that we are in Greece, albeit in the North. This means that, despite the fact that Athens is 6 hours away, not going there is unforgivable. A trip to Athens was one of our main goals. The cost of the excursion is quite reasonable - $40 (by the way, after wandering through local travel agencies, in one of them serving Poles, we found the same excursion for DM40!). According to the excursion program, we arrive in Athens at 6 am - great! Probably home - in the evening, that means - a whole day in Athens! If so, everything would be great. But it turned out that the total excursion time in Athens was 4 hours. Of these, the Acropolis is only half an hour! This finally finished us off, and we decided: even if it’s more expensive, we’ll go to Athens on our own (thanks to the Internet - from the many notes about Greece we found one tiny mention of the same trip taken by three girls. Someone did it, which means it’s not all true scary). We generally love going on excursions on our own. Complete freedom in everything is so great, you manage your time as you want, you develop the program yourself - and it may not coincide with the template, there is an opportunity to really get into the spirit and feel from the inside the places you visit, which, alas, Due to the constant rush and huge number of people, it is impossible to do excursions. So, let's share our experience.
There are 2 types of trains running daily from Katerini to Athens - regular and express. The cost of an express ticket in a seated carriage is approximately $20-25 one way. Travel time is about 5 hours (maybe a little less, but still express). A trip on a regular train takes 6.5 hours. You can take seats in sleeping and sitting cars. We decided to travel in a seated carriage, where a round-trip ticket costs about $21. An interesting story happened with our tickets. We booked them in advance (you may not be able to take them the same day), and when we came to buy them, we paid only $16 per person - why, we found out on the way back. Having received, instead of a normal paper ticket, a small cardboard equivalent without any special distinctive signs, such as indication of seats, we looked around. Among those with whom we had to travel were several hitchhikers, judging by the huge backpacks, a couple of suspicious-looking individuals who looked very much like homeless thieves, a group of Caucasian Greeks, also quite gangster-like in appearance, and we were not at all happy about traveling with them. A small, Russian-speaking Bulgarian, whom we met on the way to the station, “reassured” us with warnings to take care of our bags on the train, otherwise they might be stolen. We immediately decided to stick with the hitchhikers - after all, our people, travelers, and loaded into the compartment really successfully: a couple of Belgians, us, a Bulgarian and a rather decent-looking Greek.
A train is like a train. It’s reminiscent of our reserved seat, only with seats divided into compartments, closed with dirty glass doors. We appreciated how lucky we were with our neighbors when, making our way through the carriages, we looked for free seats. They could have ended up next to anyone. Then we did not focus our attention on the fact that the tickets were without seats; we decided that everyone was going that way. But when we returned the next day, crammed into the train and plopped down on the hard-to-find empty seats, we realized that people were traveling, as expected, in their seats. And they even found signs with numbers above each of the seats. There was no one speaking English around, only one young man was able to clarify the situation for us, explaining, yes, you, of course, can take any seats, but if passengers with tickets appear on them, you will have to give them up. When asked what we should do, he hospitably offered to sit nearby, in the aisle, where a group of young people were already hanging out, having prudently grabbed rugs on which they sat. We were not at all happy with traveling in the aisle for 6.5 hours, so we remained in our previously occupied seats with a determined look, waiting for the controller. He showed no interest in us or our tickets, punched them and moved on, from which we concluded that we could remain in our seats. In a compartment designed for 8 people, 10 were thus crammed in. And the two men, without any words, croaked in the aisle the whole night. Gallantly, though. Having analyzed this situation later, I realized that, apparently, we simply got into the wrong carriage. Apparently there really are carriages without seat numbers, which we passed by because they were overcrowded. I devote so much time to all this here because I hope that our experience will be useful to fellow travelers who move around the world at minimal cost. Regarding the cost of tickets, knowledgeable people told us later that they probably sold us “wrong” tickets and this is a fairly normal phenomenon.
At 6.00 we were in Athens. Athens greeted us with a tiny train station (Larissa) - 2 times smaller than our old station building in Minsk (those who have seen it will understand). For such a big city, such a station is at least surprising. True, we were reassured that a new station is now being built and it is expected that it will be the second largest in the world. A dozen tourists were sleeping soundly right on the platform, stretched out on sleeping bags and other blankets. A very touching picture. Next to the station building is the entrance to the metro. A civil line, clean, neat, decorated with copies of some ancient Greek statues and all sorts of different objects of ancient Greek life under glass. There are elevators for the disabled! Apparently this line is relatively new. To be fair, let's say that others looked much worse. 10 minutes - and we are at the Acropolis station. After having breakfast and putting ourselves in order, we went in search of the Acropolis itself. Instead, they found the Temple of Zeus (open to the public from 8.00 to 15.00) - as it turned out, they went in the wrong direction. After asking passers-by, we reached the Acropolis just 10 minutes before opening. It also opens at 8.00. Entrance ticket is 2000 drachmas (about $5), students receive a discount upon presentation of an international student card, as always.
It was a luxurious morning! In Greece, on the Acropolis, on top of a mountain overlooking all of Athens. There weren't many people. We calmly wandered around the fairly small area that the fortress occupies and took pictures. The biggest disappointment is the inability to come closer, look, and touch these ancient columns. Everything is fenced off, fenced off (what if the column is knocked down!). Everything that is possible (statues) has already been broken off, taken away and replaced with copies. We remembered with nostalgia Egypt, where you can climb onto the pyramids and into the pyramid, stroke the sphinx (the real one, not a copy!) in the Karnak Temple, hug the column, admire the real ancient drawings on the walls of the temple... Eh!... If you wait, you can sit down with Russian-language excursion and listen to a story about what you see. I was struck by the fact that for all the visual harmony of the Parthenon, the building, how best to put it, is slightly distorted. According to the architect's idea, there is no ideal mathematical rigor in the lines of the structure and so on. So, all the columns of the building seem the same. But it turns out that the extreme ones are slightly thicker than the others. If they were exactly the same as the others, then, due to the incidence of light, optically, on the contrary, they would appear smaller. And they are all slightly inclined inward and, if you mentally continue the columns, then somewhere at the top they will converge, forming a pyramid. Or this example: if you put a coin at one end of the stairs leading to a building and look at it from the opposite end, the coin will not be visible. Unfortunately, I read about this interesting fact later, so I couldn’t check it. We had a wonderful time until about 10 am. Then the horror began. Herds of tourists - just herds, there is no other way to say it - filled the tiny space of the Acropolis. I don’t know how and what one can admire in such a crowd. I have never seen such a nightmare anywhere else in my five years of travel experience.
From the height of the hill below one could see another wonderful building with columns - the Temple of Hephaestus -, as it turned out, one of the best preserved monuments of antiquity. Of course, if you go to Athens on an excursion, there is no question of any Temple of Hephaestus. But we got there too. More precisely, they crawled. In Athens that day (mid-August) it was +43C, and the heat began at 10 am. Taught by the sad experience of Luxor, where my friend suffered from heatstroke, we constantly moistened handkerchiefs with water on our heads and drank like crazy. We had enough time. Therefore, after taking a break, we went to the National Archaeological Museum. Seeing our faces stretched out from the incredible heat and fatigue, the cashier, apparently to brighten up our impressions of Athens, handed us discounted tickets, although we did not have student tickets and we did not expect such kindness at all.
There were two things that struck me about the museum: the lack of air conditioning and Egyptian motifs. Even at the very beginning of our arrival, the incredible erudite, amazing guide of the host company, Peter, explained to us that Greek civilization - and this is already a proven fact - is older than Egyptian. If we don’t believe it, we can verify this personally by turning to such and such an encyclopedia, such and such a page. It seems like Greek writing was found near the Egyptian pyramids and so on. And now I’m walking around and trying to figure out whose culture influenced whom—Greek to Egyptian or Egyptian to Greek. Because in the National Greek Museum we saw sphinx statues and statues of people whose faces look like images of pharaohs. And it turns out that the ancient Greeks loved gold. Like those Incas, they forged many, many different things from them...
…We said goodbye to Athens in a beautiful restaurant on the top of a hill. In front of us lay the night sea, merging with the sky and opening up an unforgettable view of the mountains strewn with lights - a city on the hills...
Hellas
The Greeks still call their country beautifully and poetically - Hellas (I always thought that this was an ancient, historical name, now used as an artistic name, but no - the most modern, as philologists say, is a self-name).
We have botanical parks, they have archaeological parks. We also went to Dion - an ancient city at the foot of the Olympic Mountains, and now an archaeological park - on our own (15 minutes by bus from Katerini). In addition to the fences, there were also women on scooters with whistles and poor eyesight. Bad, because as soon as it seemed to them - it seemed! - that one of the zealous tourists came too close to the precious ruins (although we, like decent people, walked along the paths), they immediately began blowing their whistles and waving their arms. In general, there is no quiet contemplation.
Very little remains of the ancient city - many, many stones. Everything has been destroyed by time and history. Somewhere you can see an amphitheater, somewhere a former swimming pool. The ancient, excuse me, toilet and several floor mosaics are well preserved - it’s surprising that they have not yet been ripped off the ground and moved to some museum.
We didn’t go to Athos - as I wrote above, we were primarily interested in antiquity, but we booked an excursion to Meteora - monasteries on the rocks ($ 20). Yes, of course, it’s beautiful - rocks for us, lowland people, always evoke a lot of emotions. Yes, it’s unusual - lonely inaccessible rocks and somewhere above, like swallows’ nests, monasteries are stuck. But they didn’t make a particularly strong impression on me. In some ways it reminded me of Montserrat in Spain, where the monastery was also built in inaccessible, wildly beautiful rocks. I was impressed by the life of the monks - they pray 4-5 hours a day, sleep 3-4 hours a day. Three meals a day are provided only a couple of times a week, the rest of the time - two or even one meal. Once again I was convinced that people with a certain, very peculiar mentality become monks.
The monasteries in Meteora are called very romantically - “hanging” monasteries. When the fog rises, the rocks are not visible and it seems as if the monasteries are floating in the air. Probably an amazing picture. But, as it turned out, it is almost mythical. We did not find a SINGLE image, not a single photograph that would capture this impressive landscape. There are no such pictures either on postcards or in specialized publications dedicated to Meteors and only to them. It's a pity…
Fur coats and all that stuff
Our excursion program was completed, and we enjoyed our vacation - sea, sun, food and... shopping! Yes Yes. It's shopping. Greece is a really cheap country. After a rather expensive Europe - Spain, Malta, Italy - it was a real pleasure to choose gifts, souvenirs for family and friends, and things for yourself. We are lucky - sales are held in Greece twice a year, in February and August. Discounts – 30-50%. The prices for things are fabulous. You can just go and get dressed. For example, although the country is not famous for leather, leather jackets cost $115-120, raincoats cost $190. And of course, fur coats! It's just a song! The store sits on the store and drives the store around. Particularly common is mink with all its possible parts: plates, front legs, hind legs, tails, foreheads (mink coats are valued in this order). The most varied models... God, what kind of fur coats a certain Uncle Fyodor showed us from the catalog (you can order any one - they will deliver it in a couple of days) - from $ 2000. Blue, pink, short, long and everything - inexpressibly beautiful and fashionable (softer than a woman! - Fedor praised us. - It can’t be! - We bet!?).
After spending a couple of evenings in fur shops (the sellers and owners there all speak Russian), we learned everything about fur coats. Or almost everything. Fur is supplied to Greece from Canada and Scandinavia. For some reason, Russian fur is less valuable. You can freely export from Greece either one fur coat made from plates or three from pieces. Nowadays sheared mink is very fashionable. Although her fur is short, it is still beautiful. Apparently, this is such a lightweight option for Europe.
When buying a fur coat, feel free to bargain. This is normal, there is a discount. Judge the prices for yourself: I saw a long mink coat made from lobs for $330 (but it was of very poor quality), and a mink coat made from tails, quite decent, for $450. In general, I speak from my own experience, the experience of a person who went on vacation to Greece, and although I didn’t think about buying a fur coat, I bought it, because I still needed it for the winter - save up some money before your vacation and still buy yourself a fur coat. Where else if not in Greece?!
Briefly about the unimportant
What to bring from Greece, besides a fur coat? Greek amphorae vases, dishes and sets, incredibly cheap beautiful shells, olive oil, olives (they are not like the usual Spanish ones - very salty and spicy), wine, Metaxa - Greek cognac - and much, much more. There are tons of different souvenirs there. You'll like it!
What to try: cold coffee frapé, charcoal octopus, Greek salads - tzatziki (fresh or salted cucumbers, grated with a lot of garlic and dressed with thick - that's thick - sour cream) and eggplant; local “fast food” dish - gyros - pork on a spit, tender, soft. Of course - wine, sea fish and Greek men. There are extremely appetizing specimens. By the way, my idea of them has changed for the better. I expected to see people just like the Cypriots - dark-skinned, with noses and an unpleasant, undressing gaze. They turned out to be quite fair, with a beautiful profile and an undressing, but not greasy look. In short, in any case, a little flirting on vacation never hurts.
Instead of an epilogue
We had a wonderful time. To paraphrase the famous cat: the country is VO! Prices – WOW!! Rest – WHOO!!! I wish the same for you.
That's all, actually.
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4,8 /5 (119 )
Eh, HO-RO-SHO!!!
Lena, thank you very much for the interesting story. I really enjoyed it... And thank you for your enthusiasm and optimism, which means that not all travelers travel with criticism :) Eh, when will I get to the stories about my travels (Czech Republic and Andalusia)?...:)
Well done, fellow countrywoman!
I completely agree with you, since I was there last year in Kassandra. I remember Pyotr Nikolaevich(?). But have you been to Petralona and Thessaloniki? They did the right thing by missing Athos - just a cruise near the shore. The best things about Greece are the sea and the cuisine!
Greece doesn't need songs...
last year I went to Greece with my 20-year-old daughter - alas, a ruined vacation at a 4-star hotel (possidi paradisi) - no hairdryer, the air conditioner works by the clock - it rattles, but does not get cold, there is nowhere to go, the attitude towards tourists is worse than ever; the trip cost everyone 800 bucks, everything on the beach is paid, there is no nature, it’s better to choose Turkey - the service is excellent, cheaper and more beautiful and in general, tourists there are like a sacred cow
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“Greece has everything!” We have known this since childhood. Greece has a gentle sun, a warm clean sea, good sandy beaches, delicious fruits, delicious food, fur coats and much more. Relaxing there is a pleasure. Greeks are very friendly and hospitable.
We went to Greece on a last-minute tour. It turned out very budget holiday in Greece. We got together literally in 4 days. We needed to book a hotel with instant confirmation and the tour operator offered us Hotel Edem Holiday Club, which is located on Paralia Katerini (they write Katerina and even Katerina). This budget hotel located in the area Pieria, whose capital is the city of Katerini. At first we couldn’t understand all this - Pieria, Paralia...
Pieria, translated from ancient Greek - fertility. The Pieria region is actively involved in agriculture. There are many gardens and vegetable gardens there.
Paralia- this means embankment or, some even translate it as beach, in essence in this case it is the same thing. Paralia Katerini is a town on the shores of the Gulf of Propontis on the Aegean Sea. The distance from the city of Katerini is 8 km, from the city of Thessaloniki about 100 km, from the city of Athens - 500 km.
Hotel Edem Holiday Club located between two small towns. One town is called , and the second Olympic. Between these towns there is an embankment, and behind it the beach and the sea. The embankment has a pedestrian path, a bicycle path and a road for cars. Many people ride bicycles and rollerblades along the embankment. All this can be rented. Bicycles are available for 2 and 4 people with a canopy from the sun and rain.
This is what the embankment looks like between the towns of Olympic and Paralia Katerini. On the left is our hotel, on the right is the sea.
Hotel photos Edem Holiday Club.
From Hotel Edem Holiday Club Paralia Katerinis is about 2 km away, you can walk in half an hour, and Olympic is 500 m away, you can walk in 10 minutes. If you look at the sea, then Olympic is to the right, and Katerini is to the left. In the towns of Katerini Paralia and Olimpica there are many shops with clothes, souvenirs, fruit, and many taverns where you can have a delicious meal. There are many fur coat shops in Katerini Paralia. The towns are very nice, and I would say cozy. It's quite pleasant to walk there.
Prices vary from tavern to tavern. You can get soup from 2 euros, a hot dish from 6 euros. Drinks from 2 euros. The wine is very cheap and tasty. Look, where there are more people, there will be the best price-quality ratio. You can't go wrong. This works all over the world! 🙂 Near almost all taverns there are stands with photographs of dishes and prices. Almost always, gifts are given at the end of dinner. It will be either ice cream, or cut and peeled watermelon, or something else.
We often went to these towns along the embankment, along the sea. There are always a lot of people on the embankment, until late at night and in any weather. There are more people on the embankment in the evening than during the day. Many people do race walking or jogging on the embankment between the towns. Shops, taverns and travel agencies in the towns are open until late.
IN Hotel Edem Holiday Club we arrived at 10 am and were checked in at 11, although the website stated check-in time was 2 pm. We really liked the hotel, despite its 2* service, the service was at a fairly good level - they cleaned the rooms and changed towels every day, and changed the bed every 3 days. The quality of the bed and towels is impeccable, very good quality and immaculately clean. The rooms had good quality liquid soap. There was no hairdryer or kettle in the room, but there was a refrigerator. The hotel has a swimming pool, sun loungers, a restaurant, and a children's playground.
We only took breakfast. The restaurant seemed expensive to us and we did not have lunch or dinner there. Those who ate there were, in principle, satisfied with the cuisine. From the restaurant windows there is a view of the sea or the pool.
Breakfasts are quite sufficient - excellent natural yogurt, milk, tea, coffee, juices, boiled eggs, 4 types of muesli, 2 types of cheese, ham, sausage, jams, honey, olives, sometimes fresh vegetables, peaches blanched in syrup , butter... It is prohibited to take food with you. The hostess is watching this.
At the hotel, and almost everywhere in Greece - in shops, taverns, travel agencies, there are Russian-speaking staff - Greek women from the CIS countries.
Safe in the hotel only at the reception for 1 euro per day. There are no safes in the rooms.
The sea is across the street from the hotel. Very comfortably. The sea was different. There were algae near the shore, one evening there were jellyfish and large fish right off the shore, and the next morning the sea was quiet, clean and without a single algae, without fish or jellyfish. The water in the sea was both very warm and cool, but not cold. We were there from September 6 to September 15. The sea seemed beautiful to us.
WITH weather in early September We weren't very lucky. First there were showers. The showers were as if water was pouring from the sky from an upside-down, huge - all over the sky - troughs, umbrellas and shoes were meaningless. Umbrellas were twisted in the wind, and there was a lot of water on the streets, rivers - and that’s all. Raincoats and knee-high rubber boots could help. Basically, everyone wore flip-flops. But there were gaps between the showers and we swam. There were also storms, and we admired them and walked around the towns and along the embankment. It was wonderful. There are always a lot of people on the embankment, day and night. We thought it was safe there. And the girls from the travel agency said that they are safe and don’t get stolen. But in big cities - in Athens and Thessaloniki, you need to be careful, there are a lot of thieves and scammers there.
Then the weather improved. It was sunny and not very hot.
Beaches of Paralia TO aterini equipped with fresh water showers, volleyball courts, sun loungers and sun canopies. Having bought a drink or something else from the menu, you can use the sun lounger all day. Some people did not buy drinks and were not touched or kicked out from under the awning. Possibly due to the end of the season. Many were lying on their mats right on the sand, next to the sea. The sun was not hot, gentle and not everyone needed a canopy.
They carried sweets and souvenirs along the beach, and also massage therapists walked around and did a good, according to the reviews of those who used their services, Chinese massage.
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