8 Best Sights in Epirus and Thessaly, Greece

This fascinating museum of regional paintings and sculptures showcases the outstanding art collection amassed by politician and intellectual Evangelos Averoff (1910–90), whose effect on Metsovo is still lauded today. The 19th- and 20th-century paintings depict historical scenes, local landscapes, and daily activities. Most major Greek artists, such as Nikos Ghikas and Alekos Fassianos, are represented. One painting known to all Greeks is Nikiforos Litras's Burning of the Turkish Flagship by Kanaris, a scene from a decisive battle in Chios. Look on the second floor for Pericles Pantazis's Street Urchin Eating Watermelon, a captivating portrait of a young boy. Paris Prekas's The Mosque of Aslan Pasha in Ioannina depicts what Ioannina looked like in the Turkish period. There is also a children's art room where fidgety youngsters can create masterpieces set for the kitchen fridge.

Visit a restored 14th-century monastery, about a 30-minute walk (each way) into the valley. Two images of the Pantocrator (Godhead), one in each dome—perhaps duplicated to give the segregated women their own view—stare down on the congregation. You can also see the monks' cells. The guided tour in English explains the 18th-century frescoes created in Epirote style.

Vestiges of two of ancient Greece's important cosmological and cultural institutions, divining and drama, are here—you can see the space of the ancient oracle and the superbly preserved and impressive theater. As you enter the archaeological site, you pass the stadium on your right, built for the Naïa games and completely overshadowed by the theater on your left. One of the largest and best preserved on the Greek mainland, the theater once seated 17,000; it is used for summer presentations of ancient Greek drama. Its building in the early 3rd century BC was overseen by King Pyrrhus of Epirus. The theater was destroyed, rebuilt under Philip V of Macedon in the late 3rd century, and then converted by the Romans into an arena for gladiatorial games. Its retaining wall, reinforced by bastions, is still standing. East of the theater are the foundations of the bouleuterion (headquarters and council house) of the Epirote League, built by Pyrrhus, and a small rectangular temple dedicated to Aphrodite. The remains of the acropolis behind the theater include house foundations and a cistern that supplied water in times of siege.

The remains of the sanctuary of Zeus Naios include temples to Zeus, Dione (goddess of abundance), and Heracles; until the 4th century BC there was no temple. The Sacred Oak was here, surrounded by abutting cauldrons on bronze tripods. When struck, they reverberated for a long time, and the sound was interpreted by soothsayers.

One of Ioannina's main attractions is the Kastro, with massive, fairly intact stone fortress walls that once dropped into the lake on three sides; Ali Pasha completely rebuilt them in 1815. The city's once-large Romaniote Jewish population, said to date from the time of Alexander the Great, lived within the walls, alongside Turks and Christians. The Jews were deported by the Nazis during World War II, to meet their deaths at extermination camps; the population of 4,000-plus around the turn of the 20th century is now fewer than 100. The area inside the walls is now a quaint residential area with a few hotels, cafés, restaurants, and stores. Outside the citadel walls, near the lake, a monument at Karamanli and Soutsou streets commemorates the slaughter of the Jewish community.

Superlatives can be trotted out to describe Megalo Meteoro—the loftiest, richest, biggest, and most popular of the monasteries. Founded by St. Athanasios, the monk from Athos, it was built of massive stones 1,361 feet above the valley floor and is reached by a stiff climb of more than 400 steps. As you walk toward the entrance, you see the chapel containing the cell where St. Athanasios once lived. This monastery, known as the Grand Meteoron, gained imperial prestige because it counted among Athanasios's disciples the Hermit-King Ioasaph of Serbia and John Cantacuzene, expelled by his joint emperor from the Byzantine throne. Dating from 1387–1388, the sanctuary of the present church was the chapel first built by St. Athanasios, later augmented by St. Ioasaph. The rest of the church was erected in 1552 with an unusual transept built on a cross-in-square plan with lateral apses topped by lofty domes, as in the Mt. Athos monasteries. To the right of the narthex are the tombs of Ioasaph and Athanasios; a fresco shows the austere saints holding a monastery in their hands. Also of interest are the gilded iconostasis, with plant and animal motifs of exceptional workmanship; the bishop's throne (1617), inlaid with mother-of-pearl and ivory; and the beautiful 15th-century icons in the sanctuary. In the narthex are frescoes of the Martyrdom of the Saints, gruesome scenes of persecution under the Romans. Note the kitchen, blackened by centuries of cooking, and the wine cellar, filled with massive wine barrels. The gift shop is noted for its icons and incense. From November to March the monastery may close early.

Look back at the outline of the citadel and its mosques in a wash of green as you take the 10-minute ride from the shore toward small Nissi island. The whitewashed lakeside island village was founded in the late 16th century by refugees from the Mani (in the Peloponnese). No outside recreational vehicles are allowed, and without the din of motorcycles and cars, the picturesque village seems centuries away from Ioannina. Ali Pasha once kept deer here for hunting. With its neat houses and flower-trimmed courtyards, pine-edged paths, runaway chickens, and reed-filled backwater, it's the perfect place to relax, have lunch, visit some of the monasteries (dress appropriately and carry a small flashlight to make it easier to see the magnificent frescoes), and have a pleasant dinner. Frogs' legs, eel, trout, and carp (displayed live in large tanks) take center stage, although traditional fare is also served at most tavernas here. To cap off your visit, stop by quiet Aleion Square for a relaxed coffee and a leisurely game of backgammon.

For generations the Tossizza family had been one of the most prominent in Metsovo, and to get a sense of how Metsovites lived (and endured the arduous winters in style), visit their home, a restored late-Ottoman-period stone-and-timber building that is now the Tossizza Museum of popular art and local Epirote crafts. Built in 1661 and renovated in 1954, this typical Metsovo mansion has carved woodwork, sumptuous textiles in rich colors on a black background, and handcrafted Vlach furniture. In the stable you'll see the gold-embroidered saddle used for special holidays and, unique to this area, a fanlight in the fireplace, ensuring that the hearth would always be illuminated. The goatskin bag on the wall was used to store cheese, one of the area's most noted products. Wait for the guard to open the door prior to the tour. Guides usually speak some English.