Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Maria Paradhosiakos Xenonas
T
22670 31803,
W
mariarooms.com.
One of Aráhova's better restoration
inns, occupying a pair of lovely old buildings in the village
centre with an array of rustic mountai
n de
cor doubles,
triples and quads. Breakfast not included.
€50
Pension Petrino
T
22670 31384,
E
petrino
@webtourists.com.
Small stone-clad inn south of the
through road with a basement breakfast salon; upstairs
galleried rooms (sleeping four) are more exciting than
the
conventional ground-floor doubles. Breakfast included.
€45
EATING AND DRINKING
During summer, about half of Aráhova's restaurants and cafés shut, as do most of the bars, music clubs and sweet shops
pitched at trendy local youth as well as visiting Athenians. More traditional
kafenío
and ouzerí tables on the main fountain-
square attract an older crowd all year until late.
Ì
Panayiota
T
22670 32735.
About 260 steps up
behind Áyios Yeóryios church, you'll find comfy chairs
and tables are set out under poplar and plane trees to
take advantage of an unbeatable setting. The traditional
cuisine is decent and well priced (€5-12 for main
dishes). Service is good and there's usually a sweet
offered on the house, in the Greek tradition.
Daily lunch
& dinner; weekends only in summer.
To Kalderimi
T
22670 31418,
W
tokalderimi.gr.
Down
from the main road, this atmospheric stone taverna is
known for its traditional meaty stews, pies and assortment
of local starters. Main dishes €6-10.
Daily lunch & dinner;
closed mid-July to mid-Aug.
3
Chaeronea
Retracing the way back from Delphi and onto the Lamía road heading north, you
come to
Chaeronea
, site of one of the most
decisive
ancient Greek battles
. Here, in 338
BC, Philip of Macedon won a resounding victory over an alliance of Athenians,
Peloponnesians and Thebans. This ended the era of city-states, from whom control
passed forever into foreign hands: first Macedonian, later Roman. Beside the road, at
modern
Herónia
, stands a 6m -high
stone lion
, said to have been erected by Alexander
the Great to honour the
Theban Sacred Band
, composed entirely of
warrior couples
,
who fought to the last man.
Galaxídhi and around
GALAXÍDHI
is a charming port town appearing mirage-like out of an otherwise lifeless
shore along the Gulf of Kórinthos, just 35km from Delphi. With your own
transport, it makes an ideal base for visiting both
Delphi
and
Ósios Loukás
, and it's
also worth at least two days in its own right. Amazingly, given its size, Galaxídhi was
once one of Greece's major harbours, with a fleet of over four hundred two- and
three-masted
kaïkia
and schooners, trading as far afield as the UK. But shipowners
failed to convert to steam power after 1890, and the town's prosperity vanished.
Clusters of nineteenth-century shipowners' mansions, reminders of those heady days,
reflect borrowings from Venice, testament to the sea captains' far-flung travels, and to
their wealth. Despite some starts at gentrification, the town retains its authenticity,
with an animated commercial high street (Nikólaou Máma) and a good range of
places to eat and drink.
The old town
The old town stands on a raised headland, crowned by the eighteenth-century church
of Ayía Paraskeví (the old basilica, not the more obvious belfried Áyios Nikólaos,
patron saint of sailors). With its protected double harbour, the location proved
irresistible to early settlers, which explains stretches of walls - all that's left of
ancient
Chaleion
and
its successor
Oianthe
- between the two churches and the water on the
headland dividing the two anchorages. What you see dates from 1830-70, as the town
was largely destroyed during the War of Independence.
