Volos

Tsipouro rounds, spetsofai and meat by the kilo in Volos

Eat at a tsipouradiko in Volos: order tsipouro, the local grape spirit, by the small bottle, and each round brings a new plate, usually seafood such as grilled octopus, small fried fish and mussels. Meat lovers go to a psistaria, where grills are sold by the kilo, and on Pelion the dish is spetsofai, sausage stewed with peppers.

The tsipouradiko is the signature of Volos. Pace yourself, because the meze keeps coming as long as the bottles do. Ouzeri is the other name you will see on these places, and the seafront and the streets by the port are lined with them.

Beyond those, tavernas lean towards meat dishes, psistaries grill meat sold by the kilo (a portion is about 330 g), and the restaurants called estiatoria serve hot dishes cooked earlier in the day. That is better than it sounds. Up on Pelion, try spetsofai, sausage stewed with peppers, a mountain dish that turns up on menus in town too. For coffee or an evening drink, follow the students to Koumoundourou Street and the seafront. In summer many winter bars close and reopen at venues by the sea, so ask around before trusting last year's tips.

The Athanasakeion, Alykes and Pelion over two days in Volos

Two days work well in Volos. Start at the Athanasakeion Archaeological Museum, which can close by mid-afternoon, walk the Argonafton seafront and take city bus 6 to Alykes for a swim; next day drive to the Neolithic sites of Sesklo and Dimini, then visit the Tsalapatas brickworks museum and end on Pelion at sunset.

Then walk the seafront along Argonafton and cut inland to Ermou for a look at the shops before lunch. In the afternoon, take city bus 6 from the city hall to Alykes for a swim at the municipal beach, and come back for a long tsipouro session at a seafront tsipouradiko as the light fades over the gulf.

On day two, drive west to Sesklo, with the remains of what is often called the oldest acropolis in Greece, and on to Dimini and its beehive tombs; both are a short trip from town. After lunch, visit the Tsalapatas brickworks to see the kilns and clay machinery of a factory that ran until 1978. Finish by driving up the slopes of Pelion to Portaria or Makrinitsa for sunset over Volos and the gulf, and dinner in a stone village square.

Pelion and the Sporades from Volos

Mount Pelion rises straight behind Volos, with stone villages such as Portaria and Makrinitsa, the balcony of Pelion, above the gulf, cooler in summer and snowy in winter. Volos is also the mainland port for the Sporades, with ferries and fast boats to Skiathos, Skopelos and Alonissos, most frequent in summer.

Mount Pelion rises straight behind the city, and its villages are the main reason many people base themselves here. Portaria and Makrinitsa sit on the slopes just above Volos, with stone mansions, plane-shaded squares and views across the Pagasetic Gulf; Makrinitsa is often called the balcony of Pelion. Further round the mountain, roads drop to beaches on the Aegean side. In July and August, when the city averages 31C, the villages stay cooler, and in winter the upper slopes get snow.

Ferries and faster boats sail from Volos to Skiathos, Skopelos and Alonissos, with the most departures in summer, so an island stop slots easily into a trip. Closer to town, the Neolithic sites of Sesklo and Dimini are a half-day outing, best combined with the museum. A car is the simplest way to see Pelion, as buses from the Yperastiko KTEL are slow and run to fixed times.