Dimitsana © GNTO/ photo George Kakoutis
Let’s follow George to a tour around the traditional villages of Mountainous Arcadia, a place synonymous with legendary heroes, fierce battles and glorious achievements. Today, thanks to its proximity to Athens and its striking beauty, Mountainous Arcadia is one of the most popular destinations in Greece.
I am convinced that more and more of us seek to find ways to “escape” anxiety and the increased requirements of everyday life. As far as our vacations are concerned, the tough financial situation in our country urges us to discover destinations close to Athens and accommodation offering a good ratio between quality of services offered and price, the so-called value for money.
This is how I came up with the idea to escape the city for a weekend together with four good friends of mine. Our destination was Mountainous Arcadia, home to places that combine the natural beauty of the landscape with the history of the Greek Revolution at the Peloponnese.
We started our journey early in the morning. After an hour-and-a- half- drive we reached Vitina. The landscape and the town impressed us from the very beginning: beautiful stone-made lodges, traditional cafes serving tasteful Greek coffee and sweet delicacies, tourist shops dispensing artifacts of popular art from Arcadia, herbs, hand-made pasta and other products from the region. The contradiction between sunshine and the snowy slopes of the mountains made the setting even more idyllic. After a necessary stop for coffee, walks, and shopping from the local stores, we continued our way to the town of Dimitsana.
After having settled at our hotel, we spent the next hours discovering the scenic hidden corners of the most renowned town in Arcadia. Our first stop was the Museum of Water Power, a few kilometers away from Dimitsana, where we came into contact with the process of leather processing at the tanneries, the ruins of old tanneries, that were renovated, and the gunpowder mills preserved from 1821.
Relaxed after our lunch at one of the stone-made taverns of Dimitsana, where we tasted local dishes, sweets and local wine, we went on our touring at Loussios, a river that crosses Arcadia and forms the starting point for a visit to Ancient Gortyna. The night has come for good. We went back to Dimitsana for dinning, walks and drinks.
Night makes Dimitsana ever more romantic and seductive!!! During our long walks, we had spotted some beautiful and elegant stores for food and drink- always in accordance with the local architecture.
The morning after, relaxed and after having bought some traditional local products, we headed to our last destination, Stemnitsa. As every settlement in Arcadia, Stemnitsa offers a great variety of choices equally satisfying the weekend-visitors’ needs for relaxation, outdoor activities and good local cuisine alike. We were surprised by the plethora of young residents; the reason turned out to be the famous School of Silverware, which initiates several students into the secrets of gold- and silversmith.
We had a quick lunch and in the afternoon we headed back to base truly relaxed, having taken back memories of beautiful landscapes with snowy slopes and tasted quality local dishes and wine. This excursion to the villages of Arcadia is truly an ideal choice for those who want to escape even for a single day away from Athens, to encounter historic places and… paint the town red!
George Kakoutis
I would go in September because it isn’t to cold in December it snows and it’s very beutaiful at all but it’s too cold.If you want to see monuments it’s better if they aren’t covered with snow .In September you can also go to the beach it will be a little cold but if there is a warm day you can go there is more possibility to find a warm day in September than in December .In my opinion Athens or Thessaloniki these are the biggest cities and you can find a lot to do and if you want to see some islands you can take the flying dolphin and go to a island like Hydra,Poros or spetses .I hope you will enjoy!
@Janaina
Thanks for sharing your opinion with us Janaina!
I visited Greece last year for the first time and I would remmnceod Skiathos. The company I travelled with have apartments, villas and hotels in Skiathos. It really was a lovely island. I hear Santorini is a nice island too. Definitely travel in Spetember a lot of Greece shuts down in December and the weather is not so good. I have detailed the company I travelled with below contact them if you have any queries they were very helpful.
I would say aim for September. Decembers can get quite chilly there. While I think Athens is a great place to start, I wodnult spend more than a couple days there, then head to one of the islands. The images you always see of Greece are typically from Mykonos or Santorini (the white washed buildings, sparkling seas). You can check with a travel agent that had a good knowledge of Greece. She can recommend an island (or 2) to include in your travels.