- Ioannina
- (18)
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Greece
I admit that when I arrived at Limnopoula Camping in Ioannina (Epirus, Greece), I was tired and smelly. Any welcome and comfort would have made me ecstatic. What I was not ready for was the best view in Ioannina: forget all the hotels in town, here you can have a ground level lakeside pitch, close enough to the water for the slightly eggy smell of the lake to fill your nose and for the noise of jumping fish to punctuate your sleep like a curiously soothing and spasmodic metronome.
For just €12 I effectively got the best view in town. In the evening I watched the local kayaking club training. Go there and enjoy the historic town, the lake, the mountains and access to the villages of Epirus.
Some pictures attached on my travel blog:
www.crazyguyonabike.com/doc/page/?o=3Tzut&page_id=100262&v=3J
A few minutes north of the old fort and on the edge of the lake
The island in the middle of the Lake of Ioannina used to be home to the monastery of Agios Pantelaemon until 17 January 1822, when it gained a permanent place in Greek history and legend.
On that day, Ali Pasha, the legendary Ottoman ruler of Albanian descent was executed, at the monastery, by troops sent by the Sultan, from Constantinople, for the crime of insubordination. Ali Pasha had fled to the island after the defence of Ioannina to the 2-year siege by the Sultan's troops had laid on the city started collapsing.
The Turks promised Ali Pasha amnesty, arrived at the island supposedly to hand him the pardon papers that had arrived from the capital, and killed him. His body was decapitated and later buried next to the Fetihie Mosque, up on the castle of Ioannina. His head was taken to Constantinople, shown to the Sultan and then buried in a local cemetery.
Today, the monastery is a museum that tells the story of that day and of Ali Pasha's Ioannina.
You will also find a restaurant that serves local food, including lake seafood and frog's legs, and various gift shops. Boats leave from the quay in front of the castle every 10 minutes.
Lake island
452 21
Ioannina
The castle of Ioannina was built in its present state by the legendary Ali Pasha, the Albanian-born, Ottoman governor of Epirus in the early 19th century, on the foundations of the old Byzantine fortifications of Ioannina.
The northeast end of the castle includes the madrassa, or islamic religious school, which today houses a lovely Museum of Weaponry, and the Mosque of Aslan Pasha, which today houses the Museum of the City of Ioannina.
The southeast end is the Its Kale, or Inner Castle, and was the main compound of the Ali Pasha administration and living quarters.
The castle of Ioannina is the core from which the city expanded to its present size, and included all the major civic monument and sites of the city, including the synagogue of the once mighty local Jewish community.
Castro
452 21
City Centre
Ioannina
Molos means lake front where there is a variety of restaurants and sophisticated bars to choose from. I had enjoyed my first meal there and I kept going back again and again for more of that fresh trout and frog's legs that are delicious but they don't cost the earth! It's a must to visit any of the restaurants along the lake, freshness of ingredients and quality is guaranteed, plus there is a real buzz of Greek life at its best! I love going there in the summer afternoons when the city centre is quiet and all the Greeks go down molos for a long long lunch...
Ioannina
At the bottom end of Molos along the lake.
Prices from €6-€30
Open all day
It is a museum about the Greek history and especially the one of the years Greece was in the othoman empire. The magnificent idea is that all the exhibits are waxworks of Greek heroes that reconstruct moments of Greek history! An enjoybale and educational experience for kids. The museum is housed in a 18th century style building that is a masterpiece of arcitecture. It is south of the city, approximately 10 minutes drive from the city centre.
12th klm of National Road of
Ιoannina-Athens
Bizani
Ioannina
455 00
Tel: +30 26510 92128
Tue-Sun 10:00-16:00
Anytime you are in Ioannina a walk alongside the lake is a must, especially in the hot months of the summer. People of Ioannina love to walk around the lake where there many cafe-bars and truly can feel the cosmopolitan and continental style. There is a lot of green and trees that make the walks very fresh in the summer. A very romantic evening around the lake where also can admire the sculptures and other design monuments on your way (it's like an outside gallery).
City Centre
Ioannina
The museum organizes temporary exhibitions and lectures open to the public. The permanent exhibition includes collections of finds from Palaeolithic sites (Kokkinopelos, Asprochaliko, Kastritsa), from the excavations at Dodona (sanctuary, theatre etc.), the Oracle of the Dead at the river Acheron, Vitsa (settlement and cemeteries), Votonosi, Katamache and Stephane; finds from the excavations at the University Campus of Dhouroute (graves) Merope-Palaiopyrgos in the Pogoni area (tumuli), and Michalitsi; also, a collection of coins, and many other finds from various sites in Epirus.
It also includes a marble sarcophagus from Ladochori (district of Thesprotia). The relief decoration on the walls depicts scenes from the Iliad and the lid has the shape of a funeral bed with the reclining figures of the dead couple. Dated to the 2nd century A.D.
6, 25th Martiou Square, Ioannina
45221
Tel: +30-236510-33357, 25490
Fax: +30-236510-22.595
Special ticketing package for the Archaeological and the Byzantine Museum
of Ioannina: € 4 (reduced: € 2).
The Perama Cave is at least 2 million years old!
Greece’s largest cave in terms of area (14,800 square metres) and one of the largest in terms of total length of its passages (1,700 metres), the Perama Cave is well-known world-wide for its beauty and scientific value and the subject of a number of publications in international journals.
The cave was first discovered by geologist Ioannis Petrohilos and hiw wife Anna in 1951 and explored by the couple through 1955.
There are at least 14 different types of stalagmites and stalactites in curious shapes and sizes which can be admired by visitors on a guided tour along a 1 Km-long illuminated pathway. It's located a few minutes drive from the City centre.
Perama
Ioannina
Open daily 8:00-20:00
Tel: +30 26510 81521
€2.5-€6
It's a museum of Byzantine art and it is located in one of the buildings (previous Royal pavilion) of the acropolis that offers panoramic views of the city and lake, inside the castle of Ioannina. It has collections of silver items that are housed in a seperate 19th century building on the acropolis, and the exhibitions are arranged in several more buildings of the acropolis, as well.
The museum contains collections of early Christian and Byzantine sculptures, excavation finds from Arta, pottery, manuscripts and early editions of printed books, post-Byzantine icons and silver items.
Byzantine Museum
Ioannina Castle
45221
Tel: +30 26510-25989, 39580,
Fax: +30 26510-39342
Open Tue-Sun, 8:00-17:00
€2-€5 (free for students)
One of the best hotels I have ever stayed in, minutes from the lively and full of stylish people city centre. I felt like I was in heaven, fantastic service and huge bedrooms and bathrooms. One of the good things is that it is a short drive from the ancient theatre of Dodoni and about 35 minutes from the Ioanian sea for sanbathing and swimming. Don't forget the amazing and traditional food, excellent.
7th Km. NR Ioannina - Athens 452 21 Ioannina Tel: +302651 093555 Fax: +302651 092595 www.epiruspalace.gr
In the heart of the city with all the classy locals dashing for their lunches. Open every Midday & Night. Lively in late evening. Reasonable priced food of high quality!
Ioannina, 45 Averof Street, PO 452 21; Tel: +3026510 26477
This is a must for all those willing to try a special type of regional cooking that involves heaping red-hot embers over a gastra - the conical cast-iron lid that's lowered onto the baking dish holding the food (lamb, goat, pork, or chicken), which then roasts slowly to appear on your table as an especially succulent meal. It's delicious. Main courses €6-€18.
Eleousa, along the Airport-Igoumenitsou Hwy. (7km/4 miles outside Ioannina; 3km/2 miles past the airport) +3026510 61530
If you have only one meal to eat in Ioannina, it has to be at one of the restaurants on the islet out in the lake. Greek cuisine, mainly seafood, reasonably priced. You can choose your fish on the spot and a bit later you can eat it! It can not be any fresher. Main courses €5-€15.
Take the ferry from the lake front to the islet and it is very easy to find from there. People will love to help you to find it.
This is the house restaurant of the Olympic Hotel and has become a favourite gathering spot for foreigners and Greeks who like to feel they're at Ioannina's crossroads. The decor is sophisticated, service is a formal-casual, and the menu ranges from Greek to Italian. Main courses €6-€20
Tel: +3026510 25147; On ground floor of Olympic Hotel, 1 block off Central Sq, Around Town
It is one of the best guesthouses in the conservation area of Zagoria in Ioannina and more specifically in the small village of Vitsa. It is newly built in traditional style and it is spotless! I love the place for the friendly atmosphere, the excellent traditional cuisine, especially those pies, and that it offers the best of both worlds - shopping, museums and nighlife in Ioannina on one side and river fishing, country walking and climbing on the other. It is only a 20 minute drive from the city and very cheap. Rooms from €48 per night, 3 stars.
Vitsa, Zagoria Ioannina; Tel +3026530 71571
Built next to the picturesque lake of Pamvotis, a lake of legends and traditions, the hotel is designed in a mansion-traditional style. It is surrounded by extensive lawn gardens and offers a great many modern facilities to its guests, including swimming pool and conference facilities. A few minutes' walk from the buzzing city centre and so close to the excellent nightlife of Ioannina. Rooms from €102, 4 stars.
Tel +306510 59100; Andrew Miaouli and Ikkou Avenue, 45221, Ioannina, GREECE
It is a 5-star luxurious hotel just outside the city that is ideal for visits to the Dodoni ancient theatre, the Vrelli Museum of the waxworks and one day trips to the Ionian Sea for swimming and sunbathing (approx. 35 minutes drive). Excellent service, gorgeous food and amazing facilities, plus many of the Greek A list stars have stayed here. The prices are quite reasonable, especially considering that Ioannina is not a cheap place, it is actually one of the most expensive places in Greece.
7th Km Ioannina-Athens PO BOX 1045 Tel +3026510 93555, 91072, 91074 Fax +3026510 92595 www.epiruspalace.gr
It is a group of 44 traditional villages that are brilliantly preserved. Hidden away in the Pindos Mountains, some miles north of the city of Ioannina and they are known as Zagorochoria or Zagoria. The majority of the area is heavily wooded, surrounded by a truly exciting geography, showing a remarkable diversity for such a quite small area. Imposing mountains, luxuriant valleys are interspersed with rivers, waterfalls and lakes, such as the dragon lake, in an altitude of 6,500ft. Around every corner there are dramatic cliffs and breathtaking traditional stone bridges. Everything is gorgeous but nothing like the outstanding beauty of the Vikos Gorge, reputedly Europe's largest gorge.
Epirus, flying to Ioannina, Greece.
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