Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
By bus
The KTEL
is on Óthonos on the southwest bank of
the river, 300m southeast of the square.
Destinations
Athens (7 daily; 4hr 30min); Eláti (2 daily
Mon-Fri, 1 Sat & Sun; 1hr); Ioánnina (2 daily; 2hr 30min);
Kalambáka (hourly, 6am-10pm; 30min); Lárissa (hourly;
1hr); Métsovo (2 daily; 2hr); Pýli (hourly; 20min).
By car
Drivers should be mindful of the prevailing pay-
and-display parking scheme, easily enough avoided by
parking slightly out of the centre - or following signs to
attended fee car parks.
ACCOMMODATION AND EATING
Ì
Palia Istoria
Ypsilanti 3
T
24310 77627.
A popular
taverna (the name means the “Old Story”) in the Manavika
district, with good prices (€10-12) for dishes such as
sardines, grilled mushrooms, ostrich steak,
imám baildí
and
hot peppers.
Daily lunch & dinner.
Panellinion
Platía Ríga Feréou
T
24310 73545,
W
panellinion.com.
There are three mid-range hotels in
town but the
Panellinion
is the most distinctive and historic.
This Neoclassical beauty is away from traffic noise, gracing a
mostly pedestrian area. It dates from 1914 and hosted
leading Greek politicians and artists of the era; during World
War II it served as the Italian and German HQ. En-suite
rooms are parquet-floored and a/c, some with balconies and
small tubs; there's a mezzanine bar and a decent g
roun
d-
floor restaurant, the
Aigli
, where breakfast is offered.
€60
Selemekos
Óthonos 10
T
24310 22118.
Come here for
an excellent
mayireftá
meal and rub elbows with what
passes for the town's young and stylish set. Located near
the KTEL station, in the hub of daytime café society on
pedestrianized Asklipíou. Dishes start at just €3.
Daily
lunch & dinner.
3
Pýli
It takes some exercise of will to delay immediate progress from Tríkala to the Metéora.
Byzantine aficionados, however, should make a detour to
PÝLI
, 19km southwest, for
the thirteenth-century church of
Pórta Panayía
, one of the unsung beauties of the
region, in a superb setting at the mouth of a gorge.
A kilometre upstream from Pórta Panayía, easiest reached along the Pýli bank of the
river, a graceful
medieval bridge
, built in 1514 by St Vissarionos, spans the Portaïkós at
the point where it exits a narrow gorge.
Pórta Panayía
Daily: summer 8am-noon & 4-8pm; winter 9am-noon & 3-5pm • €2
Much of the current church of
Pórta Panayía
was completed in 1283 by Prince Ioannis
Doukas of the Despotate of Epirus, atop an ancient Athena temple (its masonry liberally
recycled into the walls); the domed narthex, Serbian built, was added a century later. In
the three-aisled Doukas section, perpendicular barrel vaults over a narrow transept and
more generous nave lend antiseismic properties, with further support from six columns.
The highlights of the interior are two
mosaic icons
depicting the adult Christ plus the
Virgin holding the Child right-handedly, contrary to the usual iconography. Slightly
later
frescoes
have fared less well, either blackened by fires or long covered by plaster.
The most interesting is the
Metastási
(Assumption) of the Virgin on the west wall,
reflecting the church's August 23 festival and a late medieval Holy Trinity over the apse,
showing Renaissance influence.
ARRIVAL AND DEPARTURE
PÝLI
By bus
Pórta Panayía church is a 10min walk from the bus
stop in Pýli village. Cross the Portaïkós River on the footbridge,
then bear left on the far bank until you see the dome.
By car
Cars must use a slightly longer route via a one-lane
vehicle bridge.
ACCOMMODATION AND EATING
The church caretaker is often found in the excellent, reasonable café/bar just upstream from the church, and may admit you
outside of the stated hours.
Pyli
T
24310 23510,
W
hotelpyli.gr.
A comfortable,
traditional hotel upstream from the church, with a mix of
wood- and tile-floored balconied rooms, from which there
are superb views of the gorge and river. Substantial
break
fast
included featuring home-made jams, cheese and
ham.
€40
