Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Another station, 2km west of town in a small restaurant/shop at Pieron 155, serves
Kastoria (€12, two hours, six daily), Ioannina (€27.10,five daily), Igoumenitsa (€26.60,
two daily), Preveza (€29.30, two daily) and in summer Kerkyra/Corfu (€30.20, one
daily).
TRAIN
The
train station
(
23310 24444)
, north of town, has trains for both Thessaloniki and
Florina.
Getting Around
Veria is walkable and has
taxis
(
23310 63394)
.
DON'T MISS
TRACES OF ANCIENT MACEDON: VERGINA & PELLA
While significant sites associated with the ancient Macedonian dynasty are
sprinkled across the Balkans and Mediterranean, Greece loudly boasts two of the
greatest. Vergina (ver-yee-nah), 11km southeast of Veria, was the royal burial site
and had the first capital (ancient Aigai). While nearer to Edessa, ancient Pella was
Alexander the Great's birthplace.
Vergina is also where King Philip II was assassinated, at his daughter Cleopatra's
wedding, in 336BC. This World Heritage-listed site is also called the Royal Tombs.
Enter the majortholos(beehive-shaped tomb) to see the four individual tombs.
Tomb I, 'Persephone's Tomb,' alludes to an intact mural depicting Hades' rape of
Persephone. Tomb II, discovered in 1977, probably belonged to Philip II himself. It
contained a gold larnax (ossuary) with bones; the 16-pointed star of the royal
Macedonian family on the larnax lid and damage to the skull identical with descrip-
tions of an injury Philip sustained, identified the king. Philip's larnax and that of his
presumed concubine or wife, plus some exquisite gold-leaf diadems, are displayed.
Tomb III was probably designated for Alexander IV, son of Alexander the Great.
Tomb IV was looted in antiquity.
About 400m past the Royal Tombs lie extensive
palace ruins
of 3rd-century-BC
King Antigonos Gonatas. Its large Doric peristyle is surrounded by pebble-mosaic
floors, the most beautiful with geometric floral design.
Pella became famous when King Archelaos (r 413-399 BC) made it the capital,
though Aigai remained the royal cemetery. Its phenomenanal mosaics, created
with naturally coloured, subtly contrasting stones, depict mythological scenes. The
ruins of the ancient structures remain in situ or in the museum. Six re-erected
