Night Halt in Larissa during Road Trip through Greece

During our road trip through Greece we made a night halt in Larissa. We could have seen more of Larissa in Greece but for the winter timings. It was just around 4 in the evening when we reached Larissa after the road trip from Vergina.

In the last week of December, sun bids an early goodbye; as early as 5 – 5.30 in the evenings when the tourists are still in the mood of exploring more. Ticket counters at heritage sites are shut, not a single soul around and night lights illuminate the mute crumbling structures. I visited in December 2014.

Night halt in Larissa Greece

Night Halt in Larissa

After seeing the world heritage sites in Thessaloniki and Vergina, our next destination was Meteora which is yet another UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Distance from Vergina to Meteora is 240 km which could easily take 3 hours. And with evenings setting in as early as 5, we had no wish to drive in darkness and miss the road trip sights. We had to pause for the night and after some study made the night halt in Larissa.

Larissa is the capital and largest city of Thessaly region of Greece. It is the capital of the Larissa regional unit. In Greek mythology Larissa is a nymph who was daughter of Pelasgus who was son of Triopas, king of Argos.

Ancient city of Larissa in Greece meant citadel.

Heritage Sites of Larissa

We try to peep over the walls and try to make some meaning of the outline of the structures we see. I have the pics of the remains of foundations of ancient structures in Larissa, some structures belonging to Bezesteni which is a monument of big historical value.

Bezesteni is the most important Ottoman monument of Larissa, a market in the 15th century. “Bezesteni” I later read, means ‘fabric market’ and it comes from the persian word ‘bez’ which means cotton and the word ‘bezzaz’ means ‘textile merchant’.

The markets were used to buy and sell gold, silver jewelry, precious stones. They maintained the legacies of citizens and other important documents. This is the only one that I saw of all the heritage sites there.

Night halt in Larissa

Heritage Sites of Larissa

Bezesteni important Ottoman monument of Larissa

Bezesteni important Ottoman monument of Larissa

Interesting Things to do in Larissa

There are interesting things to do in Larissa if you have one whole day to spend in the city. I have mentioned here those spots that Larissa is famous for and we missed seeing and doing.

  • Acropolis on the hill of Áyios Ahíllios (Saint Achilles, the patron saint of the city). This is a location which has been continuously inhabited since the Neolithic period.
  • The ruins of the ancient theater.
  • 15th century Turkish market, constructed with the remains of older structures
  • The Alkazár Park stretches along the Pinios (or Pineios) River.
  • Walks across the river, surrounded by big, evergreen trees.
  • At the outskirts of the city, on the road to Týrnavos, is the monument of Hippocrates, the father of medicine. The tomb of the great scientist was discovered in 1826.
  • Municipal Art Gallery with 781 exhibits all with English descriptions.
  • It is also called G I Katsigras Museum after the surgeon who donated all his collections to museum in 1981.
  • Diachronic Museum of Larissa with outstanding exhibits of archaeological finds from middle Paleolithic to late Byzantine period.

Where to eat when visiting Larissa

Larissa has many tavernas (restaurants) dishing out authentic Greek cuisine.

Koutouki Restaurant in Larissa – At the tavernas “Koutouki” there, we had one of the finest dinners in Greece. Here is the picture of sweet dish we had at the taverna! Just writing about the food is making me hungry, I wish I could go there again.

Koutouki Restaurant Night halt in Larissa

Koutouki Restaurant Larissa-friendly waiter

Dessert at Koutouki Taverna Larissa

Where to stay when visiting Larissa

There are plenty of good hotels in Larissa in luxury, mid range and airbnb categories.

Hotel Asteras – We stayed in mid range budget hotel in Larissa at Hotel Asteras. It is located within the pedestrian precinct in the heart of Larissa, in between the 2 central squares and fountains. Rooms were comfortable with free WiFi. We got free private parking too.

Hotel Asteras night halt Larissa Greece

Hotel Asteras night halt Larissa Greece

Location and How to Reach Larissa

Being a major transport and service hub for Thessaly the main railway route connecting Athens and Thessaloniki passes through this city of Larissa.

Athens to Larissa is 354.6 km, time for travel: 3 hours 45 min

Thessaloniki to Larissa distance is 151.6 km, time for travel: 1 h 45 min

Pin this for later

Night Halt in Larissa during road trip through Greece

 

From Larissa to Meteora: A Road Trip to Remember
Smooth Road Trip Drive from Vergina to Larissa, Greece

35 Responses to “Night Halt in Larissa during Road Trip through Greece

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.