If you wish to visit a place full of history, full of scents, flavors, movement, life, art, pack your bags for Volos.

Prominently placed between the Pagasetic Gulf and Mount Pelion, Volos or Golos is the metropolis of tsipouro (spirit) with anise. It is named either after the way and the place fishermen throw their nets, or from the word “Golos” (word of Slav origin, meaning headquarters), another name for the city during the Ottoman Period of Greece. Whatever the case, Volos has been a fishing town, it has experienced the Slavic raids of the 6^th century CE and it has also been an important administrative and commercial center.

Close your eyes for a moment and walk side-by-side with Jason and the Argonauts before they set sail from Iolcus for their quest for the Golden Fleece. Then, meet Demetrius I of Macedon, descendant of Alexander the Great and founder of the city of Dimitriada in the early 3^rd century BCE. Skip the Byzantine and Ottoman Greece periods, as the city was limited to only one castle, as wanderers describe, and move on to 1881, when Thessaly was set free. And thus begun the “Golden Age”: new port, new railway lines to Athens and the beautiful villages of Pelion (1890 onwards), and new industries.

Spend a moment there and see all the forges, the machine shops, the tobacco industry, all these industrial units that were the main employers of the manpower of Volos. Stay a little longer and watch the refuges of Asia Minor flowing in, people who renewed the dynamics of the city, and established – through their lunch breaks – a treasured habit and trademark, maybe even synonym, of Volos: tsipouro and mezes (small dishes). Thanks to said refuges, this habit became part and parcel of the everyday life of the citizens of Volos, but also a delicious visitors’ attraction. Despite the fact that the industry in the 60’s was set aside, the buildings remained. During the 80’s they started accommodating the University of Thessaly, public companies, sports and art hall that can be visited to this day.

Volos has always been radiating life and prosperity alongside an economic well-being, in spite of all hardships. The city was able to survive and harness its potential to the fullest: from the delicious fruit of the land of Magnesia, the healing herbs of the Centaurs’ mountain, the chestnuts, the olives, and the fine fish of the Pagasetic Gulf to its own people – Volos is a proud birthplace of many artists, cultural figures, and musicians.

What are you waiting for, then? Come to Volos, see the history, taste and enjoy the plethora of experiences it has to offer. Whenever you make such a smart choice, the city will be vibrant with all its people, irresistible with all its flavors, charming with all the scents, and most of all, ready to satisfy the needs of every traveller!