How to get to Meteora

If you wish to travel from Athens to Meteora, whether it’s only for a day trip or for a multiday visit, you have the opportunity to choose to travel by train, bus or car.

Getting a train to Meteora is most probably the easiest way to go. Get into the Metro at Syntagma station and get to the red line heading to Anthoupoli. Get off at Larissa Station, which is the central train station in Greece. At the Train station, you can board the train to Kalampaka, which is the city below Meteora. Kalambaka is a terminal station, meaning that if you get on a direct train you won’t have to worry about getting off at the right station. It will be the last one! Please take into consideration that some train routes change to Paleofarsalos station. You should be aware of your train if it is a direct one or not!

Getting a bus to Meteora is a bit trickier. The bus station is located near Kato Patissia (green line) station. From any metro line, change at Monastiraki station and get into the green line heading to Kifissia. Get off at Kato Patisssia station and either walk about 1km (0.62 miles) to the bus station or get a taxi to get you there. The taxi should cost 3.20€ plus any extra charges for luggage but it won’t go over 5.00€. At the bus station, you should get a bus to Trikala, which is the big city near Kalampaka and Meteora. Once you get to Trikala you can catch a bus to Kalampaka.

Driving from Athens to Meteora is quite easy. Once you are out of the city, you will enter highway E75. Continue on this road until you reach Lamia city, where you should take the exit to Lamia/Karditsa/Trikala. There you will have to get uphill and downhill at Domokos mountain range, after the city of Lamia. It takes about 1 hour to get on and off but there are plenty of turns, so drive carefully. After you get off Domokos, follow the road signs to Karditsa, then to Trikala, and lastly to Kalampaka. It is highly recommended that you have a GPS onboard.

Things to do in Meteora

You can’t visit Meteora without visiting the 6 monasteries. Visit the Meteora monasteries even if your interests are not deeply religious. Their serene, spiritual, mystical and magical aura, along with the extraordinary and breathtaking view will surely remain etched in your memory.

The area of Meteora has a historical and cultural heritage that spreads 130.000 years back in time. You can find out more about the city’s history by visiting its Archaeological Sites and Museums. The Prehistoric Cave of Theopetra, the Byzantine Church of Virgin Mary, the Hellenic Culture Museum and the Natural History and Mushroom Museum are only a few of them.

You can also visit the villages of Pindos Mountains. Pindos is the biggest mountain range of Greece, stretching from the Greek-Albanian borders to the northern Peloponnese. It is roughly 160 km long (100 miles) and is considered the backbone of mainland Greece. The mountains of Pindos allow for the formation of vast ecological zones such as the Valia Calda National Park, which is a protection zone for rare species of mammals, brown bears, wolves and deer.

You can visit a few of the villages that are located along the mountain range of Pindos, such as Aspropotamos, Elati, Metsovo, Lake Plastira and Pyli. There you can take part in mountain walks, do extreme sports such as rafting in Acheloos river, buy souvenirs and taste the local delicacies.