Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
ARRIVAL AND INFORMATION
IOÁNNINA
By air
Ioánnina airport is on the road to Pérama, 5km from
the centre (city bus #7 links it with town).
Destinations
Athens (2 daily on Olympic, plus 1 daily on
Aegean; 1hr).
By bus
KTEL buses currently arrive at the station at
Zozimadhon 4 (
T
26510 26404). The bus station on
Bizaniou is for local services, such as to the Perama Caves
and Dodona.
Destinations
Athens (9 daily; 7hr 30min); Igoumenítsa (8
daily; 2hr 30min); Métsovo (4 daily; 1hr); Monodhéndhri
(Mon, Wed & Fri early morning & early afternoon; 1hr);
Pápingo (Mon, Wed & Fri early morning & early afternoon;
2hr); Párga (1 daily; 3hr); Pátra (2 daily; 3hr 30min);
Préveza (6 daily; 2hr); Tríkala via Kalambáka (2 daily, 3 Fri &
Sun; 3hr 15min); Víkos (Wed only early morning & early
afternoon; 1hr).
By car
Most drivers arrive from the south via the new Vía
Egnatía expressway. The city's pay-and-display parking
scheme only allows two hours at a time - it's easiest to use
the car park shown on the map, or try for unregulated
spaces in the kástro. The best solution is to choose a hotel
with private parking.
Tourist o
ce
The EOT is at Hodhónis 39 (
T
26510 41142;
Mon-Fri 7.30am-2.30pm) - good for information on
current KTEL timetables as well as hiking tips for the Zagóri
and Víkos Gorge. Alpine Zone (see p.253) are also worth
contacting if you're interested in activities.
3
GETTING AROUND
By bus
Blue-and-white city buses leave from a cluster of
stops below the central Platía Pýrrou, mostly on Bizaniou;
buy tickets from adjacent booths beforehand, and cancel
them when boarding.
By taxi
Local taxis are dark green; central ranks are
marked on the map.
ACCOMMODATION
Most hotels are located along the main drag Avéroff which leads from central Platía Pýrrou north past the dense grid of
lanes in the old bazaar area to the gate of the lakeside kástro.
salon for breakfast (included)
and
a pleasant rear
courtyard. Parking garage included.
€65
Olympic
Melanídhis 2
T
26510 25888,
W
hotelolymp.gr.
The highest-standard hotel in the city centre, in a fairly quiet
spot. Well-appointed rooms (plus a few suites) have music
systems, safes, small but well-executed designer bathrooms
with tubs, and balconies or large terraces. Full-s
ervice
restaurant on-site, breakfast included; private parking.
€100
Tourist
Kolétti 18 cnr Krystálli
T
26510 25070,
W
hoteltourist.gr.
The only recommendable quasi-budget
digs in town, though admittedly in a drab location. Rooms
are clean and basic, all with a/c and en suite. There are a
few with balconies, altho
ugh t
he views are of other high-
rise buildings. No parking.
€40
CENTRAL IOÁNNINA
Galaxy
Platía Pýrrou
T
26510 25432,
F
26510 25032
.
Comfortable and quiet rooms with spectacular mountain/
lake views from the balconies, a/c and small tubs in the
bathrooms. You don't get mu
ch m
ore central; limited street
parking. Breakfast included.
€70
Ì
Kastro
Andhroníkou Paleológou 57
T
26510
22866,
W
ameliko.gr.
Located at the base of the ramp up
to the Its Kale is this freshly restored and very classy inn,
with seven individually decorated rooms done in plush
fabrics and soft tones. All rooms have a/c; one room has
three beds, the o
ther
s two. Adequate street parking.
Breakfast included.
€90
Kentrikon
Kollétti 5a
T
26510 71771,
W
hotel-
kentrikon.gr.
As the name says, “central”: a boutique hotel
in a restored building, with exposed stonework, flat-screen
TVs and quality furnishings in variably sized rooms
(doubles and two galleried family suites). There's a small
CAMPING
Camping Limnopoula
Yachting Club of Ioánnina
Kanari 10
T
26510 25265,
W
camping.gr/limnopoula.
SWEET TREATS IN IOÁNNINA
Ioánnina is the original home of
bougátsa
(custard tart; served with a salty
kouloúra
or round
biscuit), fresh at breakfast time with sweet or savoury fillings from
Select
at Platía Dhimokratías
2, its decor of terrazzo floor and marble tables unchanged for forty years. Its rival, with a more
updated design sense, is
Paleopanos
at Avéroff 3. The patisserie
Vrettania
, under the
eponymous hotel at Platía Dhimokratías 11A, has excellent own-brand ice cream as well as all
imaginable sticky cakes.
