Kastro
AtmosphereThe walled old town on the lake, with mosques, museums and quiet lanes.
Ioannina city guide
Things To Do In Ioannina
A lake city in the mountains of Epirus, with an Ottoman citadel on the water, an island you reach by boat, and the Zagori villages above it. Cheap, cold in winter, and almost undiscovered by foreign visitors.
2
Hostels in the city
9.8
Average, from 460 reviews
1913
The year Ottoman rule ended here
10 min
By boat to the island
€0
The meze with your tsipouro
Ali Pasha's city on the lake
Ioannina sits on the shore of Lake Pamvotida, ringed by mountains, in the north-west corner of Greece. For thirty years around 1800 it was the capital of Ali Pasha, an Albanian-born Ottoman governor who ruled most of western Greece from here as a near-independent state, and his citadel still juts into the lake.
The city stayed Ottoman until 1913, a century longer than southern Greece, and it shows: minarets over the old town, a tradition of silversmiths, and a Romaniote Jewish community that lived here for centuries.
Today it is a university city and the capital of Epirus, lively all year and cheap by any standard. Two days covers the city and the island. Add two more for the Zagori villages and the Vikos Gorge, which are the reason many people come.
Where to stay
The old town inside the castle walls and the streets just outside it are where to stay. It is all walkable.
Centre
First-timersThe streets around the main squares, just outside the walls. Shops, cafés and the bus stations.
Lakefront
EveningsThe promenade below the walls, lined with bars and cafés, and the boats to the island.
Nisaki
Something differentThe lake island: a car-free village, monasteries and fish tavernas. A few rooms to rent.
Orange labels are neighbourhoods, dots are the 2 top-rated hostels. Map © MapTiler © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Things to do
Things to do in Ioannina
Start in the Kastro, the walled old town on the promontory. The inner citadel, Its Kale, holds the Fethiye mosque, the tomb of Ali Pasha and the Byzantine Museum. The Aslan Pasha mosque, at the other end of the walls, overlooks the lake and is now the Municipal Ethnographic Museum. The Silversmithing Museum, in one of the bastions, tells the story of the craft the city is known for.
Then take the boat to the island, Nisaki, about ten minutes across the lake. It has a car-free village, Byzantine monasteries with frescoes, and the house where Ali Pasha was killed in 1822 — the bullet holes are still in the floor.
The Perama cave, a few kilometres from the centre, is one of the largest show caves in Greece, with stalactites and a guided route through it.
The lakefront promenade is where the whole city walks in the evening.
Free things
Free things to do in Ioannina
The Kastro is free to walk through, and the lanes inside the walls, the Jewish quarter and the views over the lake cost nothing.
The lakefront promenade runs for kilometres and is the city's evening habit. The old bazaar streets below the castle, with silversmiths' workshops, are free to browse.
The university campus and the hills around the lake have walking paths, and the view from the Kastro walls at sunset is the best free thing in town.
State museums and sites are free on the first Sunday of the month from November to March.
Food and drink
Eating and drinking in Ioannina
Epirus is pie country. Pites — filo pies of greens, cheese, leeks, chicken or meat — are the regional speciality, and every bakery has several. Ioannina bougatsa, with cream or cheese, is the breakfast.
The lake gives the city its traditional dishes, trout, eel and frogs' legs, and the mountains give lamb and goat.
The local way to drink is in a tsipouradiko: order a small bottle of tsipouro, the grape spirit, and small plates of meze arrive with it, often free, with more coming with each round. It is the best-value night out in Greece.
A taverna meal is €12 to €18. The city's sweet shops, selling baklava and syrup pastries, are famous across the country.
Nightlife
Going out in Ioannina
Ioannina is a university city, and the nightlife runs all year. The bars along the lakefront and in the streets around the Kastro fill late, and prices are student prices.
The tsipouradika are the heart of it: small bars where a bottle of tsipouro brings plates of meze and the evening goes on for hours.
A beer is €3 to €5, and a night out costs a fraction of Athens or the islands.
Getting around
Getting around Ioannina
The centre is compact and walkable. The boat to the island leaves from the lakefront below the Kastro every half hour or so in summer, less often in winter, and takes about ten minutes.
Ioannina has a small airport with flights from Athens, and KTEL buses to Athens take around six hours, to Thessaloniki about three and a half, and to Igoumenitsa, for ferries to Corfu and Italy, about an hour.
For the Zagori villages and the Vikos Gorge, a hire car is by far the best option. Some KTEL buses reach the villages, but only a few times a week.
The Perama cave is reachable by city bus.
Costs
What Ioannina costs
Ioannina is one of the cheapest cities in Greece. The two hostels in town have dorms from about €14 to €15, a taverna meal is €12 to €18, and a round of tsipouro with meze costs almost nothing.
A careful day is €35 to €50. The costs to plan for are a car for Zagori, which is well worth sharing, and the entry to the Perama cave.
The tsipouradika, where the meze comes with the drink, are the single biggest saving in the city.
Safety
Staying safe in Ioannina
Ioannina is very safe, with almost no crime affecting visitors.
The hazards are the mountains. The Vikos Gorge is a long, rough walk with few exits, and the weather in Zagori changes fast. Start early, carry water and tell someone your route.
Winters are cold, with snow in the mountains and fog over the lake, and mountain roads can close. Check conditions before driving to Zagori from November to March. Emergency number is 112.
Day trips from Ioannina
The mountains of Epirus are the reason many people come. Most of these are best with a car.
Vikos Gorge
One of the deepest gorges in the world relative to its width. The Oxya viewpoint is a short walk; the full hike to Vikos village is a long day.
Papingo
The two Papingo villages under the Towers of Astraka, with the natural rock pools nearby.
What's on
What is on while you are there
The city's liberation day in February is the big local celebration.
21 February
Liberation of Ioannina
City centre
The anniversary of the city joining Greece in 1913, with parades and celebrations.
April or May
Orthodox Easter
Citywide and villages
Processions, midnight fireworks and lamb on the spit. The Zagori villages do it beautifully.
July and August
Village festivals
Zagori and mountain villages
Panigyria with Epirot clarinet music and dancing, peaking around 15 August.
Hostels
Where to stay in Ioannina
Ioannina has two hostels, both close to the Kastro and the lake. These are live from Hostelworld.
When to go
Ioannina has real seasons. Spring and autumn are ideal for the mountains, and winter is cold and often foggy.
Jan
Cold, foggy and very local
Feb
Liberation day on the 21st. Snow in the hills
Mar
Cold nights, spring coming
Apr
Easter usually falls here or in May
May
Excellent. Mountains green, gorge walkable
Jun
Warm. The best month for Zagori
Jul
Hot in the city, cool in the villages
Aug
Village festivals across Zagori
Sep
Excellent for hiking
Oct
Autumn colour in the mountains
Nov
Cold and wet
Dec
Cold, foggy and festive
Bar height is temperature. Colour is how busy it gets:
quiet
busy
peak
Average highs. Ioannina is much colder than southern Greece in winter, with frequent fog over the lake and snow in the surrounding mountains.
What your trip will cost
Pick how you travel. Per person per night, in euros.
Transport assumes local buses. Car hire for Zagori, shared between two, adds about €15 to €25 a day each.
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- Beds—
- Food and drink—
- Getting around—
- Doing things—
Ioannina travel questions
The ones we get asked most.
Is Ioannina worth visiting?
Yes. It has a walled Ottoman old town on a lake, an island with a car-free village, excellent food and some of the lowest prices in Greece. It is also the gateway to the Zagori villages and the Vikos Gorge.
How many days do you need in Ioannina?
Two for the city and the island, and two more for Zagori and the Vikos Gorge.
How do I get to the island?
Boats leave from the lakefront below the Kastro every half hour or so in summer, less often in winter, and take about ten minutes.
How do I get to the Zagori villages?
A hire car is by far the easiest way. KTEL buses reach some villages, but only a few times a week.
How do I get to Ioannina?
KTEL buses from Athens take around six hours, and there are flights from Athens. From Thessaloniki the bus takes about three and a half hours.
What is a tsipouradiko?
A bar where you order tsipouro, a grape spirit, by the small bottle, and plates of meze arrive with it. Each round brings more food. It is the local way to eat and drink.
When is the best time to visit Ioannina?
Spring and autumn, especially for the mountains. Summer is warm and good for Zagori, and winter is cold, foggy and snowy in the hills.
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